What NW charities are you involved with that you feel are noteworthy?

My son and family are currently involved in raising a yellow lab puppy for "GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND". We are responsible for basic training, socialization to the public, and the health and welfare for the dog. This is a very rewarding activity but it is gonna be hard to turn her back in when it is time for her to go through official training and then placed with her new partner. But it will be gratifying to know that we have give a visually impaired person a new walk on life and expanded their freedom! They have a local facility in Boring Oregon and can be found online at http://www.guidedogs.com if anyone is interested in becoming a volunteer puppy raiser!

Good Stuff

Have A Happy Holiday Everyone!!

Habitat for Humanity.

Local:

Northwest Pilot Project

NWPP provides housing and other services for seniors ages 55 and older who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless in Portland. Many NWPP clients have immediate needs in connection with their housing.

http://www.nwpilotproject.org/

Their administrative costs are TINY (4%), they are a great organization, and do much more than just housing.


National/International:

SEVA Foundation

Most of the world's 37 million blind people would be able see again if they had access to eye care services. We're working on it.
In the past year alone, Seva-supported programs served 500,000 people worldwide. About 25,000 children received care to prevent blindness. And 30,000 people had cataract surgery to restore their eyesight.

$50 covers surgery to restore a person's sight!

http://www.seva.org/

I also write checks to:

Dove Lewis
PETA
Juvenile Diabetes
Luekemia & Lymphoma
Oregon Humane Society
Habitat for Humanity (in Sisters OR)
And a few more...

Local charities I have sent contributions to this year include: Guide Dogs for the Blind, Oregon Humane Society, DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital, Mercy Corps, Northwest Medical Teams, Pregnancy Resource Centers, Portland Police Bureau Sunshine Division, The Salvation Army, Doernbecher Children's Hospital Foundation, St. Vincent de Paul, Oregon HEAT, Oregon Food Bank.

My family is big into the Juvenile Diabetes Association ... yes, for selfish reasons. Our youngest (who turned NINE today! w00t!) is diabetic.

I have never donated to Guide Dogs for the Blind myself, my mother does ... we also are part of a Golden Retriever rescue, where she adopts Golden Retrievers who were show dogs but can't or won't show for whatever reason (usually medical) instead of the dogs being euthanized.

I have done fundraising work with Northwest Medical Team and Habitat for Humanity as well, as well as local school functions.

I can't improve on Magic Eye's list except perhaps to add Birthright, Union Gospel Mission and the Blanchet House.

Herb

Union Gospel Mission spends waaaaaay too much on fundraising (25%) for my tastes. I think all those big daily ads in the O, and all those mailings I get would be much better spent on food and treatment.

WOW...lots of good stuff here!!!!!

We give to VOCA Camp (Victory Over Child Abuse) based out of Astoria. A boys and girls camp on different weekends in Sept. with fundraising during the year. I hope to take some of their training next year and be a trusted adult for the boys camp.

We also have given to Mecry Corp, our local church which gives the money to Habitat for Humanity. Oregon Community Warehouse. Peace Tree Vietnam (Seattle based), The Old Library Studio (for teenagers to learn about recording their own music), plus lots of time and money to our schools to raise funds for education and other resources.

Also on a somewhat similar note: If you're not already doing it check out www.freecycle.org. It's like the good ol' days of trading goods. Everything has to be free.

For women only there is www.PDXswap.com. These are clothing exchanges for different sizes and they meet almost every month. Clothing needs to be clean and in good condition. No junk. My wife has found some stellar stuff, plus I hear it’s a blast from what I am told. Check out the web site for more details. Like Freecycle.org it keeps things out of the landfills.