A Few Great Charities

The focus in recent times has been on “going green” and “changing the world.” The Gap’s (Red) campaign and the awesome “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” dog tag campaign for AIDS awareness are both examples of how charities have gone mainstream to reach a larger audience and to make a bigger difference.

1. 
   

   Heifer

   Through this organization, animals are donated to impoverished areas with the goal of increasing quality of life and giving people the food and nutrients they need. These animals are not given primarily for slaughter, but rather to reproduce and help as many people as is possible. Chicken eggs and cow, goat, or water buffalo milk, for example, provide children nourishment without killing the animal. Similarly, the family receiving the animal is to give its first offspring to a neighbor, who in turn will give that animal’s first offspring to another. The goal is to help whole communities to fight hunger by sharing resources. I’ve thought a lot about it, and I’ve decided to save my money and donate a goat.

2. 
   

   Free Rice

   Read more in Philanthropy

   « Charity Helps Tsunami Victims

   Five Ways to Give Back and Leave the World a Better Place »

   This website is a bit different because it fights hunger but requires no donation. By simply playing the game on the website, one can donate rice  with every correct answer through the United Nations world hunger organization. Every correct answer in the vocabulary game results in a donation of 20 grains of rice. This doesn’t sound like much, but if you play the game when you are bored, you can make a significant donation. I have a friend who donated 50,000 grains of rice in only a couple of days. This is also helpful if you are studying for the ACT, SAT, or just want to improve your vocabulary.

3. 
   

   Helpuu

   Another way to help others at no cost is this search engine powered by Google. For every search made, a small amount is donated to impoverished and hungry children. If you’re going to search for something anyway, why not help someone in the process?

4. 
   

   TWLOHA

   To Write Love On Her Arms is a campaign to raise awareness for teenage depression. The charity was prompted by a true story about some teens who take in a drug addict to help her come down enough to go to rehab. The original group made shirts to raise money for their friend and they have branched out from there. The story, the shirts, the progress, and the way to donate can all be found on their website. It’s definitely worth a look, especially the story, which is brilliant.

5. 
   

   Invisible Children

   This is one that I won’t even try to explain. Invisible Children has many facets and angles. Through this organization, you can get informed about the conflict in Uganda, the longest-running war. You can learn about the children, general and specific, who are affected by this conflict daily. Go to their website. Watch the videos. Help a child in the torn-apart country go to school by making a donation or buying a bracelet. Write letters to senators to raise awareness so that this war will soon come to an end. It’s an amazing organization.