9 Charities Hit Extra-Hard By The Economic Crisis

These nine charities have been hit particularly hard by the Wall Street crisis. What you can do to help.

1. Food Bank
Why they're hurting: Washington Mutual and Lehman Brothers used to hold corporate volunteering days at the Food Bank's 90,000-square-foot warehouse in Hunts Point. "Now we've lost that entire network," says spokeswoman Carol Schneider. Meanwhile, the number of people who need the Food Bank's services is rapidly rising. "I just got an e-mail from the Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger," says Schneider. "They've seen 1,200 people in the last two days. At least 50 of the families are completely new."

What you can do: A donation of $1 at foodbanknyc.com translates into five meals. The group also relies heavily on volunteers to unpack and sort food donations and serve weekday meals at the community kitchen in East Harlem. E-mail Heather Joseph ([e-mail]) to help.

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