Charitable Organizations -faves? worst?

[Michelle T]

ASPCA, Pulmonary Fibrosis Association, and my favorite, Mazon, a Jewish charity that works to end hunger.

 

I also always have $100 on Kiva, currently have four loans going there.

Michelle T

[Tracey in TX]

American Cancer Society

Dh gives to alzheimer's group (don't know name)

local community outreach (much like a Good Will, for our county)

 

and NPR--not charity, but still valuable IMO

[Kate in Arabia]

We donate to various charities, we don't have any particular favorites. We avoid those that include evangelism as a part of their charity work (I mean overt evangelism, not in showing the goodness of their faith through their actions, kwim?). This would rule out, for me, Samaritan's Purse (I also could never support anything that was connected with Franklin Graham). So I guess I would need to agree with the basic premise of the group and not have any "issues" with founding members or those running the show.

[laylamcb]

Aside from giving at church, we support some missionary friends who do development work in West Africa, NPR, Hospice, and my university. In terms of goods, we give to Goodwill, Purple Heart, and the local crisis pregnancy center. And in terms of time, dh is involved with Project Healing Waters.

[Jenny in Florida]

We give small but regular amounts to a local homeless shelter. I used to sing there periodically with a folk group that has since collapsed. And we've also visited to hand out backpacks full of school supplies to the kids there.

 

My family donates in my name (usually as my gift for various holidays) to a few animal/nature organizations: World Wildlife Fund, Nature Conservancy, Save the Manatees, etc.

 

Lately, we've been giving to a local cat rescue organization.

 

For a few years, my daughter collected (by asking for that instead of gifts at her birthday parties) and donated toys and supplies to the Give Kids the World village. We've also given them money now and then.

 

Not a "charity," exactly, but an organization I like is Ten Thousand Villages: http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/ A couple of years ago, we decided to direct much of our gift-giving budget toward "intentional shopping," buying gifts for friends and family through organizations whose work we support. Some folks from our church opened a Ten Thousand Villages store locallly, and we've bought quite a bit from them.

 

Each Christmas, we donate gifts for children through one or more charities. Sometimes, we do the Salvation Army angel tree. Most often, though, we go with the children's home that works with our local grocery stores. The kids there tend to be older, and I think most people tend to want to help cute little kids, instead of adolecents. Generally, each of my kids chooses one child of the same gender and as close as possible to their age. And I choose a teenage girl in honor of my own troubled youth. We buy each of them several things, both practical and fun. That's actually one of my very favorite holiday activities.

 

We also support various local arts and cultural organizations: NPR, local theatres, United Arts, etc.

 

My husband just finished cleaning out his parents' house and donated quite a lot of furniture and clothing and other things to a social services organization in their home town.

 

And, of course, we give to our church and, by extension, to the charities the congregation supports.