Thursday, December 31, 2009

My Fav Charities

It's December 31, 2009.  What better date to relaunch the Electric Philanthropy blog?  If you are still making last minute choices on charities to support, I thought I would suggest some remarkable organizations for your consideration.

Best Friends
The Best Friends Animal Society is quite possibly the most remarkable organization working on behalf of animals today. They accept all kinds of animals: injured, abused, neglected, abandoned, elderly and those needing special care and treat every one of them like a long-lost pet.  Their direct mail program is second to none (and believe me, I've seen just about every kind of direct mail package known to man) with each story more compelling than the next.  I can't say enough about them and they deserve every single penny they receive.

The Children's Miracle Network

Ok, so I may be slightly biased about CMN because I work at a children's hospital, but even if I didn't work at Dayton Children's, I'd still think this is a remarkable charity.  CMN supports 170 non-profit pediatric hospitals.  The best thing they do is ensure that money raised locally benefits the local pediatric hospital.  This organization is committed to bringing the best healthcare possible to children in the US, Canada and now parts of Europe.  No one wants to think of sick or injured children and with the state of pediatric healthcare reimbursements, these hospitals desperately need every bit of support they can get.

The Hole in the Wall Camps

Paul Newman founded the Hole in the Wall Camps to give children battling chronic and life threatening illnesses a normal summer camp experience.  To say these camps are magical is an understatement.  I have volunteered several times at Camp Boggy Creek in Florida and have visited the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Connecticut and the Victory Junction Gang Camp in North Carolina.  I will do anything I can to help support all of the others, including the Flying Horse Farms Camp that will open in Mount Gilead, Ohio in the near future.  These camps allow kids to soar in every way, all the while ensuring they receive state-of-the-art medical care at the same time.  Remarkable.

Donors Choose

Brilliant concept here and I still believe one of the most unique charitable organizations in existence today. Teachers list their needs, donors pick where they want to help. It's the best possible kind of donor-directed support. 

There are thousands of worthy charities out there.  What matters most is you finding what matters most to you.  I have my personal reasons for always supporting the Sigma Sigma Sigma Foundation  Tri Sigma has helped sculpt the person I am today.  But that's a more personal individual choice, like supporting a church, University or civic organization. The suggestions for this blog are more broad-based.   I'll keep listing organizations I believe are doing remarkable things. I'd like to hear from you...who do you recommend and why?