[public] Charities

[foreverdirt]

Happy new year, everyone! May your 2009 be filled with joy, love and robots.

One of my less silly new year's resolutions is to remember that it's better to light a candle than to curse not being Edison.

In that spirit, I would love it if people were to recommend their favourite charities.

Please note: This post is (currently) public.

(One

Comments

[manna]

Riverkids. They work with families at high risk of child trafficking in a community in Cambodia. It's a very small charity, as charities go, but the work they do is amazing, and they really need donors who can sign up for a monthly donation, to provide them with steady income.

[foreverdirt]

Oh, they look awesome -- thanks so much for pointing them out to me.

(I am left clutching at my heart a little. Damned world.)

[darwinian_woman]

Happy New Year! Was joyous to see you yesterday :D

Eeeee... "Jealous Torments"! Guess who's managed to get that song reinstated again, btw... :)

[foreverdirt]

I am fail at HTML. Let's try that again:

And a very happy new year to you, too! Lots of <3! (The Guardian tells me "<3" should be banned. To them I say: Guess who's managed to get that song reinstated again, btw... :)

You are fabulous!

[vitriol_]

Health Unlimited is my charity of choice; it's like Medecins Sans Frontieres but UK-based and with more of an emphasis on long-term aid (building hospitals, training nurses, etc, rather than curing diseases directly).

Mencap is another I support, helping provide lifetime care and support for the mentally handicapped. Working with them is simultaneously one of the most depressing and uplifting experiences I've had.

Heifer International isn't really one I can vouch for personally; I've never volunteered for them, and only found out about them from watching the West Wing. On the other hand, it's again pump-primer aid for developing nations (mostly buying things like sheep and chickens from farmers in developing areas to give to other people in similarly developing areas, supporting both the seller and the person being donated to). On the downside, donating to them does result in them flooding you with spam, both via Email and post. On the plus side, it's somehow much more satisfying to look through a list of animals to donate and pick

[foreverdirt]

Wow -- these look wonderful; well worth exploring further. Thanks so much.

I agree there's something very captivating about Heifer International. It sounds a lot like the same thing that's appealing about Kiva and similar microfinancing charities -- you really get to feel like you're doing something.

[st_lemur]

I've worked with Ty Hafan, a children's hospice on the South Wales coast, over the past few years.

There is, of course, also the Match It For Pratchett campaign of the Alzheimer's Research Trust.

[foreverdirt]

Thank you so much.

[apiphile]

I'm still hanging out and waiting to find an appropriate anti-landmine charity to hurl my promised £158 at post-NaNo, so if anyone suggests one could you tell me?

[snowballjane]

For anti-landmine campaigns, there's the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, of which the UK branch is Landmine Action. There's also Campaign Against the Arms Trade.

And as well as doing a lot of work with landmine victims, the Red Cross is involved in campaigning against landmines and cluster weapons.

I have some stuff on mine clearance organisations somewhere, but not to hand. Do you want more info?

[apiphile]

I'd very much appreciate some more, yes, especially on charities specifically aimed towards helping landmine victims and the families of landmine victims.

[snowballjane]

I did a bit of research after visiting Bosnia a while ago. A lot of the work helping landmine victims is done by the big NGOs, Unicef in particular, working with country-specific landmine charities. Handicap International also does a lot for landmine victims. IF I can remember any others I'll let you know.