Places one should volunteer or donate to? (worthwhile vanity)

[KantianBurke]

Seeing as its the start of the holiday season, I was interested in compiling a thread for fellow conservatives to utilize when donating their time or money for a good cause. There's the obvious examples of the Boy Scouts or the Salvation Army but if you know of a not so well known but deserving conservative charity that could use some help let me and others know. After the whole 9-11 Red Cross disgrace one can be forgiven for being leery of throwing money or time aorund.

[KantianBurke]

Though I don't have much cash or free time of my own, I'm still gonna try to help out. Knowing that my time and money will be doing some good (as opposed to being directed to helping a "chairty" that unbeknownst to others advocates "social justice" and other loony left causes) is something I'm gonna try to strive for. Thanks everyone for your help. Moderators if this thread gets pulled I understand.

[Texas Eagle]

You might consider the Young Republicans Foundation. They recently bought the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara and could use the money to help with upkeep.

[evolved_rage]

How about helping homeschoolers. There may be a homeschool network or resources in your area that could use periodic/infrequent lectures or demos from someone with your expertise, whatever it may be.

[petuniasevan]

"Toys for Tots", run by the United States Marines Corps Reserve.

http://www.toysfortots.org/2002/index.html

[freepersup]

This is a worthy endeavor. We- the conservative community, do not want, nor do we need, to give aid or comfort to the enemy.

There is an organization / website that ranks charities in how efficient they are with their donated funds.

For example, ranked first, the charity which spends 93 cents out of every dollar on the cause it helps, and 7 cents on administrative costs, versus, the worst ranked charity, which spends 30 cents out of every dollar on the cause it helps, and 70 cents on administrative costs. I would imagine some of the most cost effective charities are conservative, but this would not be a given.

[thegreatbeast]

Give serious consideration to the Shriners. In various places across the country they operate burn centers for children. We've all been burned in our homes- enough so that you know even a small burn is a bitch and a half. There is very little to do with the pain but dope the victim up. Recuperation and rehabilitation is lengthy and generally unsatisfactory. And the end point of treatment is usually an unhappy compromise. King Croesus would be hard pressed to pay for the treatment of one victim.
Now throw all that onto an infant who can't even communicate verbally. I've seen this. There is no better purpose one could put his resources to.

[AFPhys]

Regardless of religion, Catholic Charities is a hugely effective and efficient organization, as is Salvation Army, already mentioned. I know there are watchdog organizations which publish efficiency ratings for charitable organizations, but I was unable to come up with one.

[DumpsterDiver]

Regardless of religion, Catholic Charities is a hugely effective and efficient organization,

They also aid and abet a lot of illegal aliens here in Los Angeles so they don't/won't get any of my support.

Any extra money I have I donate to a local church that does a lot volunteer work and I know my money isn't being wasted. I also donate food to an animal rescue group that's local to my area.

[yankeedame]

If anyone out there likes to sew or knit (or have an excuse to shop!) Try Newborns in Need, out of Houston,Missouri It's website is: www.newbornsinneed.com

Oh,and they take $$ too [grin]

[wimpycat]

I've been donating to Christian Children's Fund for over 6 years now. The first boy I sponsored aged out of the program, and I'm sponsoring a second little boy in Ecuador now. I've found it quite rewarding. You really get letters from the kids, and when you send extra money for birthdays or Christmas, you get a receipt where the parents signed for the money and the kid sends you a thank-you letter telling you what he bought with the money. The kids will also send you little handmade gifts from time to time.

[error99]

Great idea for a thread.
I like to donate to LOCAL organizations.
I try to avoid washing funds through national organizations.
I like to donate to my LOCAL Boy scouts, my LOCAL Salvation Army, and my LOCAL church.

[error99]

and oh yes, i almost forgot to mentions my LOCAL "Toys For Tots"...

[Salo]

The Salvation Army.

[carpio]

Salvation Army always. And local Charities that are run by mostly volunteer efforts that actually spend the money to help real people in real need right here in our community.

Our favorite is Casa de Perigrinos which is run by Catholic sisters who operate a wonderful food bank.

[snippy_about_it]

I too am against Catholic Charities, they bring the Somalian refugees in and are real big on bringing these poor people here to live off welfare. I prefer the Salvation Army or your local food bank.

[airborne]

Go to www.boyscouts.com and it will help you to find a local Scout group to assist. BTW, the main page has a picture of President Bush with some Scouts in the Oval Office.

[kitkat]

A good thread.

Bumping to read later

[KantianBurke]

a big thank you bump to everyone!

[Straight Vermonter]

My wife volunteers at the local food shelf. One of the items they never have a holiday time is turkeys. A 10-12lb bird goes for between $5-8. I call the local food distributor order a week in adavnce and pick up a bunch. $100 makes a big impact on a lot of people's Christmas dinner.

[wardaddy]

I agree on the Shriner's burn centers.

I would also advise folks to look around at local needs. I give nearly all my charity or civic help locally. Nearly all my political help is state or national. Like most urban areas, local is a Dem domain hence no need to waste political money there..lol