First Annual HuffPost Charity Chain

It's that time of year -- or at least it's almost that time of year -- when we get out our checkbooks and give some money away to worthwhile causes. And it crossed our minds that because you're feeling full of the holiday spirit, you might be looking for someplace new and interesting to give money to. So here's one of the charities I'm giving money to this year. Post a comment and tell us what you're giving to. Just one charity. And tell us why. We're especially looking for charities you're giving money to for the first time.

This year I'm making a contribution to the Innocence Project for a simple reason -- I keep reading about them. Almost every time someone is freed from prison and exonerated, it turns out to be because of DNA evidence and the legal help of this organization. It seems to me that the Innocence Project has done a huge amount to undermine support for the death penalty -- which this week was outlawed in the state of New Jersey. What's more, they're a relatively small organization that my contribution will make a difference to.

You can go to Innocenceproject.org and read about them and give them money if you feel like it.

And meanwhile, post a comment below and tell us what you're giving money to this year. Just one charity. Tell us why. And include its URL and email address, so that anyone you inspire can easily send money. Happy holidays to all...

Read more holiday-themed posts from HuffPost bloggers.

Comments

[bheffner]

I'm a fan of RoomtoRead.org - building schools and libraries in the developing world. You can see its founder (John Wood) today (Dec. 27) in a rerun of his appearance on Oprah. It's an inspiring episode of several people who are making a difference. Happy New Year and thank you Nora.

[Rephater]

Norah, there's no such thing as "first annual," and as a writer, YOU should know that. The first is the "inaugural," subsequent events are "second annual," and so forth.

You make us look like idiots when you make such basic mistakes.

[evesegal]

Lots of wonderful ideas have been offered here, including volunteering. Here's another idea for volunteering: tutor at your local PUBLIC school. I've been doing it for several years, just a few hours a week. It's a lot of fun and you discover that every child, however disadvantaged, can learn; some just need a little more personal attention and encouragement. I hug every child at the end of the tutoring session; it means a lot to them (and to me).

I donate to about a hundred charities (many of them ones that have been named by others). I divide the donations equally over the year, and schedule them through my online bank so I don't have to think twice about it. Some months I have to be extra careful to manage on what's left of my retirement income, but I'd sure rather give the money to charity than to an administration in Washington that squanders our taxes on war and killing and corruption and the special needs of the rich and powerful.

[twocrows]

There are so many urgent needs out there, I've given to several recently ranging from the ACLU to The National Conservancy to Doctors Without Borders.

The most recent is greatergood.org which distributes the Berkeley Darfur ultra high-efficiency cook stove which runs on 75% less fuel and burns more efficiently than conventional woodstoves thus emitting less carbon into the atmosphere-- which benefits us all.
The stove makes the lives of the refugees in Darfur safer by requiring them to leave the safety of their camps 75% less frequently thus running the risk of rape, torture and death that much less frequent.
FWIW, the donation site can be found at http://www.thehungersite.com/

[LoRiseAntlers]

I've been helping a friend of mine with groceries for his family,paid a bill or two for them and gave him money to get his kids presents.He's suffering from fibromyalgia,can't work because of the constant pain he's in,and his wife makes a few bucks too much for them to get assistance from the state,and SSI just ignores them.He of course had no insurance,so he's just screwed.I am not really well off,but this man has been a good friend who spent many years working alongside me,so I do what I can.

It really pisses me off that this man,who worked hard for over twenty years,has been essentially thrown away and his family left
with a bleak future.What in the hell has happened to us that we abide this?Why can we not give our fellow citizens at least a modicum of support and systenance?

[llozano]

I give to a number of organizations each year. The one I want to mention is The Beacon House Association of San Pedro, a non-profit residential treatment program for men. The Beacon House has been providing services for over 37 years and has helped over 4500 men find a new life in sobriety and service to the community. In total self-disclosure I am also a graduate of the program and its' current Director. The website is www.beaconhouseassociation.com Thank you.

[bubba584]

bandofparents.org

Parents of children with neuroblastoma fighting for their children's survival.

[[e-mail]]

It's been a tough year, and I don't have any extra money, but I donated frequent flier miles I had to the Dream Foundation, which helps dreams come true for terminally-ill adults.

Happy holidays everyone.

[EvenSteven]

I gave to FINCA this year. Its a microfinance group which in my opinion means it is sustainable. http://www.villagebanking.org/site/c.erKPI2PCIoE/b.2394109/k.BEA3/Home.htm
That's a lengthy URL for a worthy group.

[taxnspend]

My favorite charity is Central Oregon Veterans Outreach, inc. COVO works with homeless and at risk veterans. At this time we can only provide some housing. We provide food, tents, sleeping bags heaters etc. to the many homeless living in the forest service and BLM lands in the area.
We also work with veterans to get their much needed disability benefits. Our problem right now are the vets this disgraceful military has discharged with NO benefits claiming their PTSD or TBI existed prior to their service.
http://www.covo-us.org
354 NE Greenwood Ste. 113 Bend, OR 97701

[missellie]

We decided to give a whole Christmas to a needy family. We live in a small town of 5000 so I called the town office to ask if they knew of anyone who needed help. Fairly soon we got a call back about a woman with 3 children and no money for Christmas. We gathered some items from friends and then put together a large box of decorations and a large box of stuffed animals and some clothing and food. We then purchased gift cards so the mom could go out and get the things she really needed and some Santa gifts. This was fun to do and made us happy to help someone else. She was very appreciative and thrilled that someone would help. It sure beat the usual stuff we buy for ourselves. And now we will be going back at New Year to give her a bunch of frozen moose meat that a hunter friend has donated.

[rayboat]

My favorite charities are those dealing with Native American children. St Joseph's Indian School
http://www.stjo.org/
and Running Strong for American Indian Youth http://www.indianyouth.org/

[unclebucky]

Slightly tangential.

I watched it's a Wonderful Life last night, naturally. When you deconstruct it of it's holiday message and all that rosy-cheeked carol singing (on the colorized version, haha), this really heavy messages comes out:

Potter = Republican/Neocon/Money-Grubbing Rich Guy - doesn't believe in sharing, hates the poor, considers them financial burden and a source of entrapped money, and steals from the common man to exact his revenge.

Bailey = Ordinary Guy, could be a Lincoln Republican, but probbly an FDR Democrat - believes in pooling wealth for all to benefit (Savings & Loan), offers his services, asks for cooperation during the run on the banks and gets it, gets impacted by Potter's greed, but still forges ahead with his ideal. Will sacrifice himself (get the insurance money) for the Community's (S&L, the Family) Well-Being.

Greed/Revenge Vs. Sacrifice/Community.

Here is where we are, and according to the Big Guys (Jesus, Buddha, Ghandi...) it is Better to Give than Receive. Hence my report of my little donation and my applause for other people's donations. Now if we could match this at our Government level with Education, Health Care, Environment Concerns and International Peace, maybe we could really have a Happy Holiday.

Ugh.

--UB.

[unclebucky]

Nora,

If no one has asked, would you please tally the reports and the names of the orgs donated to?

It should would be interesting to see what folks are doing?

Thanx,

Ugh.

--UB.

[unclebucky]

Happy Christmas Nora, and everyone else:

Several times in the past year I have heard wonderful reports about two efforts, both of which will intersect with my favourite adopted country, Perú.

1. Plumpy'Nut - http://www.plumpynutinthefield.com/
I made my first donation to: Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières [MSF])5 x $20 = $100, which gives twenty weeks Plumpynut. The product Plumpy'nut is designed for the treatment of severe malnutrition. This Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food has a nutritionnal value similar to F100 therapeutic milk.It is a high protein and high energy peanut-based paste in a foil wrapper that can be distributed to children at home rather than in specialist feeding stations and can be eaten without any preparation. It tastes like a slightly sweeter kind of peanut butter. The product Plumpy'nut is manufactured locally in cups in Niger, DRC and Malawi. The product Plumpy'nut is manufactured locally in sachets in Ethiopia since April 2007. Countries such as Ecuador, Perú, Argentina, Brazil and others are petitioning for local processing plants.

2. OLPC, One Laptop Per Child - http://www.laptop.org/ The XO Laptop was designed to provide the most engaging wireless network possible. The children can connect, chat, share information on the Web, gather by videoconference, make music together, edit texts, read e-books, and enjoy the use of collaborative games online. Uruguay is the roll-out country. Peru has already ordered 250 thousand XO Laptops, and other countries are beginning to turn on to this inexpensive, effective way to get kids connected to the world. I donated to the One Laptop Per Child Foundation: $200.00 = One XO Laptop.

I am sure there are others, and one cannot spread oneself too thin, but it's important to get kids health and education.

Ugh.

--UB.

[nkeneally]

For the past several years, in lieu of gifts to adult family members and friends, I give a donation to Donors Choice (www.donorschoose.org).
I also fill the recipients in about the project, school and children. This year, DC made gift certificates available so my recipients can choose a project directly.

DonorsChoose.org was pioneered by teachers at a Bronx public high school in the spring of 2000. Charles Best, then a social studies teacher, saw first-hand the scarcity of materials in our public school classrooms and the profound impact of this scarcity on kids' education. Looking for a way to address this problem, he sensed an untapped potential in people who were frustrated by their lack of influence over the use of their charitable donations. DonorsChoose.org, a website connecting classrooms in need with individuals who want to help, was born.

DonorsChoose.org is dedicated to addressing the scarcity and inequitable distribution of learning materials and experiences in our public schools. We believe this inequity is rooted in the following factors:

1. Shortages of learning materials prevent thorough, engaging instruction;
2. Top-down distribution of materials stifles our best teachers and discourages them from developing targeted solutions for their students; and
3. Small, directed contributions have gone un-tapped as a source of funding.

Our Projects
Project proposals at DonorsChoose.org range from "Where Did All the Pencils Go?" ($60), to "Dictionaries for At-Home Use" ($259), to "Geological Field Trip" ($2,000). Most proposals are not simply requests for materials but fantastic ideas for helping students learn. Thanks to the participation of dedicated and imaginative teachers, DonorsChoose.org has become a showcase of original and successful student projects.

[EleanorH]

From a desire to spend as much for the betterment of life circumstances as was being spent in my name for its antithesis, I decided to give an amount equal to my IRS withholding to a world charity. Having read J. Sack's book End of Poverty, I chose Millenium Promise and made an ongoing monthly checking account transfer. It's painless and it salves my conscience.

[BushBites]

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer

In fact, I also give to them all year, with an ASPCA credit card that gives them .07 percent of all my purchases.

(There are credit cards that give to other charities as well, and you don't really have to give up anything. Mine donates to ASPCA and also has a reward program for me. It's from Chase, but there are others from other banks.)

[brushfinch]

There are a lot of charities out there...but check the Charity Navigator website, before you give,and see what percentage of your money is actually used for charity..My favorites are KIVA, Heifer International, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders,the Nature Conservancy, Fisher House. Some of these organizations have a system whereby you can automatically donate a small amount every month through the internet..which is easy and convenient

[Mariel]

This year I bypassed my usual charities such as Salvation Army and Union Gospel Mission. I gave a small donation, all we could afford this year, to the Huckabee for President campaign. Since this candidate has fewer donations than others, and since we think his presidency could indirectly help the poor and middle-class through fairer taxation, we felt this was a worthy cause. Not tax-deductibe, of course.

Some posters here gave to "disease" prevention groups, such as the Cancer Society. I would give to a Porphyria charity if there were one, as most of us with this disease have become poor for one reason or another, and we don't often die quickly, just hang on.

[DavidJames]

Nora,

Here is a link to the Network for Good Web site. It provides you with a way to give charitable donations as gifts(tax deductible).

http://www.networkforgood.org/

Cheers

[HateIsARepublicanValue]

Food Bank

[TRYKER]

The local Food Bank and the Homeless Shelter, the Salvation Army and the Wind River Reservation.

[rfmezzy]

I recently discovered Kiva.org, about which many have already written. Planned Parenthood is always a must, especially when freedom of choice for women is more endangered now than it has been in the last 30 years.
For those babies who are already here, I donate to the New Haven Diaper Bank: http://www.newhavendiaperbank.org/donate.html
Its mission is to provide diapers to low-income families. No public benefits program (WIC, food stamps, etc.) covers the cost of diapers for babies and toddlers. Needless to say, diapers are essential for the health and well-being of little ones, and of their families.

[dahpunkster]

I also give to angel tree every i usually buy a fun toy and an american girl book
because I remember how much joy and fun those book brought me when I was a child