Charities

I've mentioned before the four big Dougintology charities. I keep the list short because when you get a huge list they all blend together and it becomes difficult to know who to give to.

My list includes:
* The Solar Electric Light Fund (http://self.org)
* Trees for the Future (http://treesftf.org/)

And for Douglas Adams:
* The Dian Fossey Gorilla Foundation (http://www.dianfossey.org/home/)
* Save the Rhino (http://www.savetherhino.org/)

But I've seen quite a few other worthwhile charities come up lately.

Awesome writer John Scalzi is helping a friend and fellow sci-fi writer, Vera Nazarian, save her home. Health problems, sick parents, legal problems, and (say it with me) a subprime loan are making it look like she may lose her home. So far they've raise a bit more than half of the $11,229.72 she needs.
More here.
John Scalzi is donating a short story. The story is free but if you like it you can contribute via Paypal. By contributing via Scalzi Subterranian Press will match your donation up to the first $1,000 donated for Scalzi's story.
You can see how to donate and read the story here.
You can see what others are doing to raise money here.
p.s. Between my writing of this yesterday morning and close of business yesterday Scalzi had raised $2,058.48 not including the matching $1,000 from Subterranian Press. The collective charities have ensured that she can keep the house. Additional money will help cover the $2800 sewer repair bill or the mounting medical bills of her parents. This Christmas you can be thankful that you're not her.

The child of a couple of astrophysicists at Oxford has leukemia. He's had 4 years of chemotherapy and a couple of bone marrow transplants. Now he's down to a new antibody treatment. To raise money his parents are selling prints taken from the Palomar All-Sky Survey done in the 1950s. You can pay through Paypal which makes the conversion from dollars to pounds.
You can order from here.


Techskeptic has created a list of athiest and secular charities. link