Before we get to the sites where you can "donate" without spending money, here's a way to shop for birthday, holiday, etc. presents and still help others.
The online gift shops at The
North Shore Animal League and The
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have interesting merchandise and purchases help to support the programs for their
programs. NSAL is based here in Long Island, but its work isn't limited to NY. For instance, NSAL took in animals displaced by Hurricane Katrina).
Ten Thousand Villages is an organization that has been
working since 1946 to pay fair prices to artisans for handicrafts from around the
world. For instance, you can buy embroidered pillows made by women in Calcutta, India, or or soap stone sculptures that help the Undugu Society of
Kenya's work with poor children.
Presents for Purpose says
"Shop in Style and Make a difference. It was created by two cancer survivors
and they donate 25 percent of profits to a charity you pick and the options include cancer
research, HIV/AIDS education and infant health, among others.
Note: Some of the links listed below simply take you to the organization's site. Others are "free click" sites in which sponsors pay a certain amount for each click the site gets per day, thereby helping the site to raise money.
AIDS
Nutrition Services Alliance (ANSA)
Network of volunteer organizations that
provide meals and visits to AIDS patients.
Alley
Animals
Volunteer organization that feeds and
rescues stray animals in Baltimore, Md., nurses them back to health and finds them
good homes.
America's
Second Harvest
A network of food banks that distribute
food donated by food growers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers.
American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR)
The
Animal Rescue Site
Sponsors pay for each click generated by
users. The site works to help some of the 27 million unwanted animals who
are turned into shelters each year in the U.S. Each click to this site provides a bowl of food for an animal at the world's largest pet adoption center, North Shore
Animal League America, or at one of the Fund for Animals' world renowned animal sanctuaries, including the Black Beauty Ranch in Texas and the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in California.
Bonded
Logic
This Arizona-based company recycles jeans and denim fabric donated to them and
turns it into safe, non-toxic insulation, much of which, right now, is then
donated to Habitat for Humanity to insulation the homes they build.
The
Breast Cancer Site
Sponsors pay for each click generated by
users. The site helps to offer free mammograms to underprivileged women nationwide,
women who otherwise would never be able to have access to early detection tests. The Breast Cancer Site was originally launched in October 2000. Proceeds benefit the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.
The
Child Health Site
Sponsors pay for each click generated by
users. More than 200,000 children die every week from preventable causes, and many millions more suffer from preventable disease,
curable blindness, landmines and other crippling accidents. Funds raised by The
Child Health Site go to its charity partners who use the money to distribute vitamin A,
which strengthens young immune systems and prevents as many as 400,000 cases of childhood blindness each
year; administer oral re-hydration formula to children with severe dehydration, a serious killer of children under five
worldwide; make a prosthesis (usually a foot or a leg) to enable child amputees to walk and lead active
lives; restore lost eyesight through simple surgeries that reverse blindness caused by cataracts and
trachoma; test pregnant mothers for HIV as a step toward preventing mother-to-child transmission
of the AIDS virus.
Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation
Doctors
Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
Delivers emergency aid to victims of
armed conflict, epidemics, and natural and man-made disasters, as well as those
lacking health care due to social or geographical isolation.
Donate
a Phone
Collects old but workable cellular phones and
gives them to victims of domestic violence so they can call for help in
emergency situations.
Dress
for Success
Empty your closet of business clothes
and help low-income women enter the workforce.
The
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
The foundation is the leading
worldwide, non-profit organization dedicated to identifying, funding and conducting pediatric research that will lead
to better treatments and prevention of HIV infection in infants and children, to
reduce and prevent HIV/AIDS transmission from mother to child and to accelerate the
discovery of new treatments for other serious and life-threatening pediatric diseases.
Helen
Keller Worldwide
This 88-year-old organization is one
of the oldest international, non-profit organizations devoted to fighting and
treating preventable blindness worldwide.
Hugs
for Homeless Animals
Organization of the "snuggle"
program. It also has an excellent resource list to find animal shelters and
rescue organizations all over the U.S. and around the world.
The
Hunger Site
Sponsors pay for each click generated by
users. The money raised purchases staple food that is distributed to those in need by
the site's charitable partners Mercy Corps and America's Second Harvest. All of
the money raised goes directly to the aid of hungry people in more than 74 countries, including those in
North America, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.
Little
Shelter Animal Rescue
An animal rescue organization based in
Huntington, NY.
Make-a-Wish
Grants the requests of children with
life-threatening illnesses.
Mercy
Corps
This not-for-profit group works
to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure,
productive, and just communities. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided more than $640 million in assistance to 74
countries
with more than 91 percent of the agency's resources allocated directly to programs that help those in need.
North Shore Animal League America
Founded in 1944, this non-profit humane organization
supported only by donations. The League strives to find the best home for each
animal, even if the pet is blind, deaf or otherwise disabled. Over the years,
the League has saved more than 800,000 lives through programs such as Pet
Adopt-a-thon, Tour For Life, Sponsor A Dog and the Animal Poison Hotline.
The League rescues animals from local animal control facilities and shelters and
prepare them for adoption, along with other homeless pets left in their care. The
League's adoption procedures include a pre-adoption interview, reference checks, and in-home follow-ups after the adoption. Special programs, such as Sponsor A Dog, Sponsor A Cat, and Help Me Heal
assist animals with special needs. The League operates an adoption center, veterinary hospital, emergency medical service, training center and other facilities,
all of which are open 365 days a year.
Operation
Smile
A private, not-for-profit, volunteer
organization providing reconstructive surgery and related health care to
children and young adults in developing countries and the United States.
Oprah's
Angel Network/Use Your Life Award
A charity that gives grants to those
helping others.
Pet
Peeves
A Long Island charity that helps abused and homeless animals.
Prosthetics
Outreach Foundation
A charity that works to restore mobility and independence to disadvantaged amputees worldwide by providing the best available practical solutions for prosthetic care and rehabilitation.
The use of landmines in Vietnam, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Angola and other countries
have created a growing population of amputees in the poorest parts of the world.
Race
for the Big Cats
Sponsors pay for each click generated by
users. The site works with the Wildlife Conservation Society to protect
endangered snow leopards, tigers and jaguars, with 100 percent of the money
raised going directly to conservation programs.
Race
for the Oceans
Sponsors pay for each click generated by
users. The site works with Oceana, a new non-profit, international advocacy
group working to protecting the world's oceans to sustain the circle of life.
Race
for the Primates
Sponsors pay for each click generated by
users. The site works with Jane Goodall Institute, which was founded in
1977, to use education, conservation and development, and wildlife research to make a difference for all living things.
Obviously, it also works to preserve endangered primate species.
Race
for the Rainforest
Sponsors pay for each click generated by
users.
The
Rainforest Site
Sponsors pay for each click generated by users. Money
raised goes to purchase and preserve rainforest land in Ecuador, Mexico, Peru,
Paraguay and other areas around the world. The site works with The Nature
Conservancy, The Rainforest
Conservation Fund, The World Parks
Endowment and The Friends of Calakmul
to carry out this work. In just its first year of operation, The Rainforest Site
raised enough money to preserve over 5,650 acres of endangered land, but
rainforests are still disappearing at an alarming rate.
Share
Our Strength
Works to end hunger in the U.S. and around the world.
Also raises money through the "Taste of the Nation" dinners.
Stop
the Hunger
Sponsors pay for each click generated by
users.
Sword
and Staff
Xena fans who donate time and money to
various charitable organizations.
Charities for Sept. 11 and its aftermath:
To avoid donation scams, go to: http://www.newyork.bbb.org/ or call 212-533-7500
To donate money:
--Salvation Army
1-(800) SAL-ARMY
--The United Way
The United Way of New York and the New York Community Trust have established a
fund to help the victims of the attacks and their families. The September
Eleventh Fund will provide immediate support to established emergency assistance
agencies. Anyone wishing to contribute may send their donations in care of
United Way, 2 Park Ave, New York, New York, 10016, or call: (212) 251-4035.
Donations are also being accepted on United Way of New York City's Web site: http://www.uwnyc.org.
--National Disaster Search Dog Foundation
This organization takes dogs from animal shelters and trains them to be
search-and-rescue dogs. The NDSDF provided many of the dogs being used in the
rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center. http://www.ndsdf.org
Hotlines:
Main New York City Numbers:
- NYC Emergency Information: 212-560-2730
- NYPD Emergency Information: 212-741-4626 or 866-856-4167