What Charities do you Donate to?

sarahbeth and coffeechat, Thanks for the great posts. I guess that a certain amount of "diversion" of donations is to be expected in a very large organization, unfortunately. But I agree that on the whole the Salvation Army has a solid reputation for assistance in disasters. I was disappointed in them locally because there were some strong allegations about them being "homophobic" and not helping the AIDS patients that I had referred to them. But I can see from your discussions that this most likely reflects the opinions and actions of a few people, and not of the organization as a whole.

Sarabeth - quite understandable. The Salvation Army is like any other organization that has grown oh so big. With size comes unwieldiness and bureaucracy to stick to the straight and narrow. SA is truly transnational and operates on a very low overhead basis with abundant community support. It is inevitable that pockets of concern arise from time to time in one part or the other. But overall, I would contribute to the SA because despite all this, they have had a track record for being there when people need help.

You have a great point, and you're absolutely right. HIV and AIDS is my field, and I am passionate about the cause. It drives me crazy when these glitzy American Hollywood movie stars go over to Africa or some other underdeveloped part of the world, stay in a 5-star hotel, ride around in a car with a hired driver, eat American food at hotel restaurants, and make an "appearance" in a poverty-stricken village to have photos taken with the native people for the purpose of saying to the world "look at how compassionate I am; look at what I'm doing for those poor people". Then they throw a bunch of money at them and fly back to America to enjoy the publicity. Why don't they try spending some time with the natives? Get to know them; learn what their lives are like and what challenges they face? Stay with a "host family", eat the native foods, etc? Because they are too good to do that. Those are the people (and I don't have to mention names, because we have all seen them) who are FAKE- they don't care- they're doing it for their own gains. Besides, money means nothing to them. Sorry to ramble on- This topic gets me heated! Thanks for responding!

yeah me too.well we still need their money still.cant complaint too much.:)

That's right, we'll take all of the money they want to throw at the cause. I just hope that people see how they truly are and don't idolize them.

I agree- you can't go wrong with animals. They are always in need, their love is unconditional, and they are in shelters through no fault of their own. The shelters are always appreciative of any donations. I go to the SPCA near my house frequently just to visit the animals, especially the cats. I bring treats for the dogs and cats whenever I go, also. A few times I've brought blankets for the cages and kennels.

I actually for the last 3 years buy bulk wool and knit squares during Winter months and make a blanket to donate with the food (at the same time, as the blanket grows it keeps me warm) LOL They use them for the kittens and cats and it gives me pleasure to make them! There is nothing nicer that the love you get from your pets, even if it is just because they want food! (only joking)

It's even better that you take the time to make the blankets yourself! Like I said to another poster, anyone who loves animal is a friend of mine! On some days I love my cat more than I love most people! LOL

What was your experience with the "save the children" program? I have often thought about doing that, but I had heard one time that so many of the programs are actually scams. I would love to be able to do that if I knew for sure that the child was benefiting.

This is very true. Do you donate directly to a person or family, or through an organization? How do you find people in need? I would be interested in this type of charity; it makes me so angry that so much of the money that we all donated for the Tsunami victims went to rebuilding the tourism district, and the real victims are still struggling even 2 years later.

You are very involved with charities. The IT/IS Foundations is very interesting. What a great concept, and I'm sure that type of program is still much needed in many parts of the world. Is the Foundation still active? It just makes me think of how spoiled we have become here in the U.S. What we call a "junk" computer would be like gold to one of those children.

Thanks for posting this link. I'm going to spend some time at this site. It's a really worthwhile venture, and one that will help the entire world in the longrun. We need to start looking for solutions to these huge problems in the world in addition to the smaller local problems.

The IT/IS Foundation was a casualty of the Asian economic crisis that took place in 1997. By the year 2000 the main sponsor, SnapShot Solutions had been hit by the double whammy of the economic crisis and the technology meltdown. The ORT Foundation see http://www.ort.org continued various projects. I am not sure if they continue to do so since their Director for Asia Pacific retired a couple of years ago.

What a great idea! I never thought of that, but I'm sure that these items are given to those who are truly in need. I'm going to do this. Thanks for the response

You're welcome about the site. I've seen the TV specials for St. Judes Children's Hospital. That place does amazing things for those kids and their families; you're right, it's a great place to donate. I'll do that the next time I see the infomercial- it's on quite frequently on late-night TV. I used to work as a nurse in a Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, and we got kids from age 7 and up. Those people at St. judes have to really be special, because I had a hard time emotionally with the kids- it's just not the way the circle of life is supposed to be.

And those are the charities that are generally more reputable- you can actually see where the funds are spent.

You can't go wrong with the Red Cross. Between the blood supply and responding to international, national, and local disasters, they do great things. Thanks for responding.

These are all great causes. I've never thought about sweets for the orphans- what a great idea!! There is a live-in orphanage school near me, and I could do that- I wonder if they're allowed to have candy or if it would have to be healthy snacks. I would prefer candy- it's more of a treat!