<p>For those wishing to specifically address Sandy Hook, UConn has started a scholarship program for dependents and sibblings and survivors of Sandy Hook. More at this webpage:</p>
<p>[UConn</a> Establishes Scholarship Fund for Sandy Hook Survivors | NBC Connecticut](<a href=“UConn Establishes Scholarship Fund for Sandy Hook Survivors – NBC Connecticut”>UConn Establishes Scholarship Fund for Sandy Hook Survivors – NBC Connecticut)</p>
<p>Paws of Chicago
Salvation Army
Scott Mission - this one is devoted to helping homeless people in the city</p>
<p>Philip Hayden Foundation - a religious organization that started with helping Chinese orphan girls that now extended their work to helping special needs orphans of both sexes.</p>
<ul>
<li>Local library</li>
<li>Local Rape Crisis Center</li>
<li>Local Battered Women’s Shelter</li>
<li>Youth Sports Groups my kids played in (for scholarships for low income kids)</li>
<li>My colleges</li>
<li>Disease Research groups for diseases that affected our immediate family</li>
<li>Etc</li>
</ul>
<p>Just mailed the 2012 donations yesterday</p>
<p>Thank you, HImom, you beat me to it. The UConn Sandy Hook Scholarship Fund seems like an especially appropriate charity for this crew. :)</p>
<p>Here’s a great resource for anyone seeking a charity for a specific need, or wanting to check out a charity before donating: [Charity</a> Navigator - America’s Largest Charity Evaluator](<a href=“Page Not found | Charity Navigator”>http://www.charitynavigator.org/)</p>
<p>My two favorites:
*WorldVision
*Sacramento SPCA</p>
<p>We’ve been giving to these 3 the longest:
Doctors Without Borders
The Carter Center
Habitat for Humanity</p>
<p>Also:
CARE (added after the Boxing Day tsunami)
Feeding America (way too many hungry people in this country!)
ReSurge International (formerly Interplast)
UNICEF
Planned Parenthood
Colonial Williamsburg
local PBS station (save Big Bird! 
)</p>
<p>Added last year:
Matt Damon’s water charity, water.org
Room to Read</p>
<p>I am curious about something. Do most people make most of their yearly donations during December? Or do most people spread it out a bit, giving some every month or two throughout the year?</p>
<p>Good points made in this *NYtimes *article, about the efficacy of charity gifts.
[Putting</a> Charities to the Test - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/putting-charities-to-the-test/]Putting”>Putting Charities to the Test - The New York Times) </p>
<p>I tend to donate to organizations that have been evaluated either by charitynavigator.org, or some other such outside organization. </p>
<p>I have my kids each choose a different charity each year foir us to donate to in their names. I like them to make new choices each year so that it is a learning experience for them.</p>
<p>Mennonite Central Committee </p>
<p>and one of the best places to give, that so few people think of
</p>
<p>Yeah 3togo!</p>
<p>my favorites are local charities. I like the idea of giving local to benefit local, rather than giving to some national chain that (I suspect) spends most of the money on advertising and corruption rather than benefitting the poor.</p>
<p>I am going to second the vote for your local library. Your local library does so much for the community and in recent years library funding in many states have been cut due to the bad economy.</p>
<p>There are countless worthy charity organizations doing good work and needing additional financial support and volunteers. Writing a check or helping out others as a volunteer always makes one feel better too.</p>
<p>[Feeding</a> America: Hunger-Relief Charity | FeedingAmerica.org](<a href=“http://feedingamerica.org/]Feeding”>http://feedingamerica.org/)</p>
<p>In my pursuit of interesting and worthwhile charities, I found this one that may appeal to someone. It lets you pick a school and donate towards something they need. You can even select by town. I looked them up on charity navigator and they had a four star rating. So I thought I would put it out here in case anyone was interested.
[DonorsChoose.org:</a> Teachers ask. You choose.](<a href=“http://www.donorschoose.org/]DonorsChoose.org:”>http://www.donorschoose.org/)</p>