Playing Catch-Up

I went on vacation! (My laptop did not...)

So, I have a bit of catching-up to do today. In the interest of not boring you all to death, I'll try to keep this short.

First up we have GO campaign, an Organization, "dedicated to helping orphans and vulnerable children throughout the world build a better future."

Image courtesy of GO campaign (clearly)

I chose to support the Ethiopian School for Tigray with my $10 donation. After recently finishing Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea I firmly believe in the connection between education and the eradication of poverty and violence. According to GO campaign's site, "only 63.4% of school age children [are] enrolled in primary schools. Most schools lack proper sanitation, playgrounds are practically nonexistent, and supplies and materials are luxury items afforded to very few schools." My donation will go towards establishing a comprehensive educational program to benefit about 200 children in the Hintalo Wejirat District of Northern Ethiopia.

Next up we have Hannah's Socks.

This amazing Organization began because of the curiousity and compassion of a 4 year old girl:

Images courtesy of Hannah's Socks

It's not so much that her story is anything too special. But what it inspired her parent's to do is moving. I didn't know that socks and undergarments were the least donated (and most needed) items for most homeless shelters. (I always just assumed it was food.) My $5 donation will help Hannah reach her goal of donating 60,000 pairs of socks in 2009. She's pretty close - with 54,345 pairs donated to date.

And finally today we have free kibble where for the 10 seconds it takes to answer a trivia question, you can donate 10 pieces of kibble to animal shelters where it will be used to feed hungry dogs.

Having not grown up with pets (and with a somewhat irrational fear of most dogs) I didn't really understand the significance of this Organization. Until this weekend when animal shelters in San Francisco were all over the news. Apparently, Chihuahua's were 'trendy' pets in 2007 or so. However, since they are no longer all the rage (at least, not in California anyways) these dogs are now overcrowding animal shelters throughout the state. Virgin America airlines has graciously arranged to fly several of these pups to shelters on the East Coast (where, apparently Chihuahua's are still in high demand) as soon as the weather permits.

So there you have it, my charitable acts for the past few days. Be back later with a vacation recap and some gorgeous photos.