Charity

If you've been trying to decide whether or not to fulfill your child's holiday wish for a puppy, consider this: if you live in or near Pennsylvania, you can make your kid's wish come true and do a good yuletide deed in one fell -- and inexpensive -- swoop.

There's no place like home for the holidays. Which if you're Stephen King means celebrating the season by the rocky shores of coastal Maine. Makes one wonder what characters he's planning on having over for figgy pudding.

But while many celebrities are busy worrying about taxes and platinum flooring, King's embracing the spirit of giving and opening up his presumably large pocketbook to spending a bit of his fortune on others. A move experts say should make him very happy.

This just in from the Department of Why I am Not Suprised: Americans are giving less to charity this Christmas.

A recent poll from the Red Cross shows that 20 percent of Americans plan to reduce their charitable giving this year. Salvation Army centers and Toys for Tots drives across the country all report decreased giving of at least that much. Indeed, donations to the San Francisco Firefighters Toy Program are down a whopping 60 percent from last year, while demand is up almost 20 percent. "A lot of people who donated last year are now in lines to receive help," said Sally Casazza, the program's chair. "This is our worst year ever."

Frazzled parents. Check. Impossible to do list. Check. Not enough time or money to go around. Check and double check. Happy holidays. In spite of the season's non-stop soundtrack of peace and love, goodwill towards all, sometimes it's easy to overlook the spirit of the holidays and feel more humbug than ho-ho-ho.

So what is the true spirit of the season? The answers are as personal as the traditions we cherish. Whether we observe Hanukkah, Christmas or Kwanzaa it can be agreed that we are all celebrating a season of miracles, grace and giving. Amidst chaotic commercialization that preaches gimme, gimme, gimme, how do we teach children the importance of sharing, and help them understand sometimes it does feel better to give than to receive?

Metallica singer and guitarist James Hetfield may well be feeling charitable around the holidays. The Marin County Board of Supervisors just voted unanimously to accept Hetfield's donation of 330 acres overlooking California's Lucas Valley. The land is to be preserved as farmland.

Hetfield has previously donated more than 400 acres to the county for use as open space.

Last week's column on Kiva and charities proved popular. So this week we're going to continue the theme, starting with the U.S. Citizens' Association's Web site and its commercials on cable TV.

Once you see either, it won't take long to figure out where the association's politics lie. But regardless of political persuasion -- and this association proudly proclaims the Wall Street Journal, not what you'd call a pillar of the liberal media, rejected its print ads -- spend a few minutes on its site, using the tools we've talked about in this column.

We'll try to persuade you there are worthier places to spend your charity dollars, and raise some questions you should ask about any non-profit you plan to give your money or time.

The glass bowl filled to the rim with dollar bills didn't look like any old tip jar. Resting on the wood table behind which Mike Daisey had just performed his monologue "The Last Cargo Cult" at the Public Theater in New York, the bowl of money seemed to glow.

The green never looked so green. The paper never looked so crisp. It was beautiful, really, the way the bills rested on top of each other. For those of us who worry about paying the bills every day, Daisey's show is a refreshing, laughter-inducing eye opener about money.

One point we all need to hear now and then (especially as we think about end of year charity gifts and buying presents for family and friends) is that the dollar value of money doesn't always matter. This was the meaning of the bowl of money, at least for me.

Lisa MacColl went up to the teacher's desk and asked a question. In fact, she queried several teachers. "What do you like to receive from your students as Christmas gifts?"

The result was an article for Reader's Digest that should have parents everywhere breathing a sigh of relief.

MacColl's article lists nine ideas, many of which cost very little or even nothing at all. Some of my favorites:

Make something, like a unique personalized ornament, with your kids or bake up a batch of cookies with them. Pop the cookies into a dollar store cookie tin, add a bow and you're golden.

One elementary school teacher said she treasures dollar store gifts that have been selected by the student and given with pride. Hey! It really is the thought that counts!

MacColl offers no suggestions as to what those gifts might be, but you know I will. What about a set of three matching ornaments? I recently found colorful acrylic snowman ornaments in three different designs. Or how about the small white porcelain-look angel ornaments that come in a variety of styles? Each ornament is only a buck. You could also give a new desk or pocket agenda with a pen; $2 for the set. I've also seen some really nice wall calendars. Just a few thoughts.

Another really inexpensive idea from the article comes from a musician/teacher, whose student gave him a framed photograph of himself playing at a local jazz festival. Again, there are lots of nice frames at the dollar store and you can bet this teacher will keep this memento and remember the kid who gave it to him.

Perhaps the best gift of all is a simple "thank-you." A heart-felt note written by the child will be kept and re-read. I'm sure more of our teachers would appreciate knowing that they have made a difference, especially since the day-to-day running of a classroom can be downright tiring at times.

Following President Obama's announcement that he'll be deploying 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, it's time for the rest of us to do our part. In the past, Americans have helped out on the home front by planting gardens, rationing food and saving tin foil. In 2009, we're being asked to crack open a bottle of Zin.

ONEHOPE, a new winery based in Graton, Calif., promises to donate 50% of the profit from its California Zinfandel wine to the troops and their families through the Snowball Express organization. A black bottle with a gold memory ribbon logo on its label, the wine is priced under $20 and described as containing red berry and currant flavors, a touch of allspice and a smooth, crisp finish.

However, it is the purpose behind the product that sets it apart. In a statement on its website, ONEHOPE says the reason it chose to support the troops is because military families have always paid a "steep price". They write, "One in 75 American troops who have gone to war has never returned and more than 4,735 people have perished in Iraq...In many instances, children are left without moms and dads, some never even getting to know their fallen parents."

After a random survey of 1,000 online members, online cash-gift registry Lottay.com believe it has an idea of what shoppers will be searching for come holiday gift-giving time. And according to the survey, it ain't gift cards.

"A cow, a monkey, a hookah, and Satan," well, yeah, but definitely not gift cards.

Cribbing a quote from the Cheapskate column of the Wall Street Journal, Lottay espouses, "Somebody already invented that go-anywhere gift card. It's called cash."

Lottay says tens and twenties are the thing most people want to find stuffed in their stockings in 2009, but since it can be awkward to ask Santa for a crisp Ben Franklin or two, Lottay provides a clever solution.

You don't have to fumble for change or apologize for not carrying cash the next time you pass by that friendly Salvation Army guy outside your favorite store.

Just use plastic.

That iconic red kettle, which relies on kind cash and holiday spirit, is getting a makeover in 30 cities to ring in donations through debit and credit cards. The "plastic" kettles are a result of fewer shoppers carrying cash, according to MSNBC.

How exactly is BBBCertifiedGifts.com able to offer a $1,000 Walmart gift card for $79.95 -- with similar offers on other gift cards? The short answer: It can't .

The online micro-finance charity Web site Kiva rose to be a shining non-profit success story in the recession years. It marries the trendiness of social entrepreneurship with an almost perfect combination of online applications. If you haven't used the site before (and, full disclosure, I've been donating above-average amounts for about a year), try it.

It's hard not to be fascinated and compelled by the hundreds of people in mostly developing countries (U.S. candidates were added this year) telling their stories, asking for not much more of an investment in their business than we fat Americans spend on lunch at Subway. I've made loans to budding clothing sellers in Mongolia and Tajikistan; a struggling restaurateur in Cambodia; and a nascent women's' transportation cooperative in Pakistan. One borrower, a young man from Ukraine with a wife and child who wanted to expand his cab company, actually paid me back in full. I took the money and gave it to another entrepreneur. It's quite a feeling to personalize charity in this way. And from a non-profit perspective, it's a Holy Grail, a killer app, a nano-Nirvana: It makes the donor happy, and keeps dollars coming in.

Except I found out recently that's not how Kiva actually works. Not quite.

If you want your Christmas shopping dollars to go further and support a great cause, then the Pink Friday charity fundraiser is the answer.

Systemax Inc., whose companies include CompUSA, Tiger Direct, TigerDirect Canada and Circuit City, will be hosting the third annual Pink Friday on the day traditionally known as "Black Friday."

The consumer electronics and technology retailer expects Pink Friday to help raise more than $100,000 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world's largest breast cancer organization.

In 2008, Dollar Tree partnered with Operation Homefront and collected $5.8 million in toys that were distributed at U.S. military bases stateside in time for the holidays. That's a whole heap of Christmas cheer!

This year, Dollar Tree is hoping to repeat that success with the help of its customers. In fact, according to the Operation Homefront Web site, the goal this year is to collect $6 million in toys.

And why not? You don't have to spend a lot to make a kid happy and if everyone who could, donated a $5 or $10 toy, this goal could be met and then some.

The 2009 toy drive runs Nov. 15-Dec. 15. All you do is purchase a toy or care item and drop it off in a Toy Platoon collection box located in any of Dollar Tree's 3,700 stores nationwide. Operation Homefront will then collect and distribute these items to needy military families in your area.