Tis' The Season - YOUR Favorite Charity(ies)

[Refugee 7]

In keeping with the spirit of the Season, list your favorite charity(ies). And no, it can't be for *you* either, lol - just legitimate charities you think are really worthwhile. Many are receiving less in these harder economic times, so spreading the word could help them out. Tell us what they do, or list their website if you have it. NON-profits are preferred. Like a friend of mine said, even a dollar can make a big difference.

And BTW, to verify the authenticity of charities, try these websites that rate them on their efficiency and percent going to the cause, not to administrative costs. (NBC Today show feature said The Giving Alliance recommends no less than 65% should support the charitable works, and the higher the better)

http://www.charityguide.org/volunteer/charityratings.htm

http://www.give.org/reports/index.asp

http://nwnc.bbb.org/search.html

[Refugee 7]

Two of my favorite people and also Farmers, Starfish and Nylle, are planning to walk in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this May in Washington, DC. If any of you are looking to make a tax-deductible, charitable donation to a good cause, please consider this one. The link below will take you to their team page, where you can learn more about where your money will be going. Click on their individual pages to contribute online. If you would prefer to donate by mail, please contact these ladies by PM, let them know and they will send you the donation coupons and envelopes.

http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/...eam&fr_id=1760

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These charities mean so much to me.

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary -

https://www.bestfriends.org/donate/index.cfm

The Humane Society of the United States -

http://www.hsus.org/humane_living/memorial_and_planned_gifts/other_ways_give.html

The ASPCA -

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=donate_home

The Tazzy Fund -

http://www.tazzyfund.org/

Paw Prints Animal Rescue -

www.pawprintsrescue.org

And always very close to my heart, The Salvation Army -

http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf

[Mudcrutch 285]

http://www.columbushumanesociety.com

[Refugee 7]

Ryan and I can't be the only ones that have charities we care about.

[Starfish 0]

Linda, thanks for posting our Avon walk information

My other favorite charities are a horse/dog/cat rescue www.lastchanceranch.org from whom we adopted two of our three dogs, and of course www.kidneycancerassociation.org

[angelic_22 0]

Here are another couple of charities -

I learned about these guys years ago when TP&HB played a special charity event in Southern California:

Orange County AIDS Services Foundation:

http://www.ocasf.org/

Laugna Art Museum

http://www.lagunaartmuseum.org/

Tis the season for giving

[Beamish 0]

http://www.mendpoverty.org/

I have volunteered here and the donations really do go directly into the programs.

[Echosoftom 3]

I also like Tazzyfund and Pawprints. Along with...

Sacramento SPCA -

http://www.sspca.org/

The Salvation Army -

http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf

St. Judes Childrens Research Hospital -

http://www.stjude.org/aboutus

[WildflowerNJ 136]

I think it is a very personal thing.....people should give and help what they are passionate about and something that has touched them or means something important in their lives. I do not give just at Christmas time, it should be an ongoing thing....but it is a good time for people to think how blessed they are and give to others.

I will always support our two incredible Farmers, Nancy and Ellyn. You both are inspiring and devoted to your cause and may God Bless you both.

The American Cancer Society....always in memory of my Mom.

The Dover Township Animal Shelter...I will go with Fred this year to give food and a donation.

The Salvation Army....

The Food Banks in our county...

Those are some....

[jawallac 48]

I'm thinking about donating to the local food bank this year. There have been several news stories recently about how their supplies are low. And I usually donate to public TV/Radio - I've got friends at the local station.

[Starfish 0]

I'm glad you mentioned food banks - our local food bank is running low this year, too (and not just at the holidays.)

[wild1forever 152]

These days, nearly all of my charity dollars go to local organizations. It seemed that when I donate to national groups, all they do with my donation is use it to send me solicitations for more money. :icon_rolleyes:

[gatorlily 3]

As somebody who works for a large national non-profit, I know that if you ask the organization to not send any fund appeals, they will most likely honor that and not send you solicitations. We are very careful about honoring our donors wishes about what they do and do not want to be contacted about. You should also include a request that your information is not shared with any third party or outside organizations. One of the first things that happens when you give to a large national organization is that your name is sold to other organizations and you get tons of solicitations from other organizations. If you have not already done this, you can contact them after the fact.

Anyhow, around Christmas time, I usually give to Unicef, Salvation Army, and my local foodbank which also runs a homeless shelter. The rest of the time I also give to various social causes that I am into (environmental kind of stuff, which is my "thing").

[Refugee 7]

Thank you for that information, Lil.

[BlueMoonPie 0]

Big suporter of Humane Society of the United States, ASPCA...and local shelters...great to see others on the board that have them, too!

Edited December 14, 2008 by BlueMoonPie
spelling

[LizzieB 0]

I love the Tazzy Fund. I'll always support any friends fundraising for charity, like Nancy and Ellyn. I'll be riding my bike for MS again this year (so please get your checkbooks ready).

I like AmeriCares for humanitarian aid. 98.6% of donations go to programs.

I think I'll look into donating to my local food bank this year. Good idea.