It's the time of giving.
 

The boys over at Penny Arcade have really inspired me with Child's Play. I think it's so cool that not only are they doing this in the first place, but the overwhelming response it's getting. So, I think this season all of us should donate to charity. It doesn't have to be a group thing or a community wide, simngle goal fund-raising thing, it could be as simple as donateing some used toys to needy children, or some spare cash. If you really don't know where to start, there's always Child's Play. Here are also some rather good options:

Toys for Tots - There are places all over that should be partnered with Toys for Tots, and even a simple toy can cheer up a kid in need.

Coinstar - In most (if not all) supermarkets you should be able to find a Coinstarmachine. Just take all those pennies and nickles that you're never going to use (you know you won't, stop hoarding them ^^), and instead of getting the cash back, it will allow you to donate the money to a non-profit organization (I think it varies from location to location the orginizations you can donate to).

If you really don't have the money or resources to spare, that's fine, but if you do, I recommend that you do donate. We can make differences if we work together, and also it gives you a good feeling that'll follow you around.

And, hopefully, we won't just limit this type of charity to just the Holiday season.

I led a thing in my school to donate to a local charity... got a good response too I'd say. If I get a picture of what we collected in a mere two weeks I'll send.

Another good charity is the United Nations Population Fund's "34 Million Friends" campaign -- they provide AIDS education, pre- and post-natal care for pregnant women and their infants, and contraceptives to third world nations, but their US funding was cut when it was falsely claimed that they support China's coerced abortion policies. Without our funding, they estimate that there'll be 4,700 maternal deaths and 77,000 infant and child deaths a year in the countries their program supports.

The name of the campaign comes from the idea that if 34 million people each gave a dollar, they'd be able to make up for the lack of US funding. Nobody here is so poor that they can't spare as much money as it takes to get a coke out of a vending machine, are they?

Another awesome charity. Campbell's fight against hunger NFL style
 

http://www.chunky.com/click_for_cans.asp

that's right! you can vote for your favorite team AND donate a can all for your one e-vote! just click it and click ya team and it'll bring up a code to prevent bots and campbell's will donate a can for your one click! very awesome i must say and absolutely 100% legit too.

do it because it's incredibly easy!

That's a really neat link, but I'm gonna try to combine this thread with the other charity thread, okay? Please don't start a new thread for the same subject until the first gets closed. :)

Any more charities, anyone?

Sometimes the best way can be to just simply let go of things you really don't want/need anyway. Old clothes (that are in good condition, of course) are a great example. Some shoppingmarkets have collection bins for local churches around then (mine does at least), or you can bring old clothes, books, toys, etc. down to you local church. It's amazing how I had about 4 full boxes of things that I didn't need/want anymore, that were in perfectly good condition to give to those less fortunate.

Also, when you see a collection running ouside a store or supermarket, just spend a dollar or two and get some cans for them, no lame excuses, no 'I already donated"'s, you can afford it, even I can afford it, and I don't have a job.

this thread should be stickied.

Here's a bunch more of those "One click will help us out!" sites. There's no reason why you can't visit them every day.

The Breast Cancer Site - Help fund free mammograms
The Hunger Site - Each click is worth about 1.1 cups of food given to a starving person.
The Child Health Site - Help give medical care to children who aren't fortunate enough to have any.
The Rainforest Site - Help preserve the rainforest.
The Animal Rescue Site - Help take care of abused and abandoned animals.

These are free, and there is no reason not to help out. No more than 5 minutes a day. I'm sure you can spare that.

*seconds this being stickied*

Well, I had a back-seat full of old clothes that were bound for goodwill, but now that said backseat (And the majority of the interior, for that matter) is covered in snow, it may just have to find a new home in the dumpster at work.