End of Year Charitable Giving

So here's a plug for giving some tzedakah as an end of year charitable contribution. Do it. It makes you feel darn good and jeez, it's a mitzvah.

Forgive me for shamelessly promoting the causes I believe in. But sometimes you can get a good idea by hearing about how others do it.

Here's where I give (outside of my shul and my son's school). Lest you think I am a bazillionaire, some of these are pretty small donations!!

This list is in alphabetical order.

American Jewish World Service www.ajws.org
American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is an international development organization motivated by Judaism’s imperative to pursue justice. AJWS is dedicated to alleviating poverty, hunger and disease among the people of the developing world regardless of race, religion or nationality. Through grants to grassroots organizations, volunteer service, advocacy and education, AJWS fosters civil society, sustainable development and human rights for all people,
while promoting the values and responsibilities of global citizenship within the Jewish community.

Ansche Chesed's Shelter http://www.anschechesed.org/activities/shelter/index.htm
The men’s homeless shelter at Congregation Ansche Chesed (100th Street at West End Avenue) is open seven nights a week, 365 nights a year, thanks to the efforts of volunteers. The shelter serves 10 men every night.

City Harvest www.cityharvest.org
City Harvest, a non-profit organization founded in 1982, is the world's first and New York City's only food rescue program. Millions of pounds of good, edible food are thrown away each year by New York City food businesses. At the same time, more than one million people are hungry, including nearly 350,000 children and more than 140,000 senior citizens. City Harvest is the link between those who have so much and those who have too little.

Coalition for the Homeless http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/
Coalition for the Homeless is the nation's oldest advocacy and direct service organization helping homeless men, women, and children. We are dedicated to the principle that decent shelter, sufficient food, affordable housing, and the chance to work for a living wage are fundamental rights in a civilized society. Since our inception in 1981, the Coalition has worked through litigation, public education, and direct services to ensure that these goals are realized.

Dorot www.dorotusa.org
DOROT's mission is to enhance the lives of Jewish and other elderly in the Greater New York City Metropolitan area through a dynamic partnership of volunteers, professionals, and elders; to foster mutually beneficial interaction between the generations; and to provide education, guidance and leadership in developing volunteer-based programs for the elderly nationally and internationally.

Hazon www.hazon.org
Our vision is to create a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community -- as a step towards a healthier and more sustainable world for all. Our vision is of a renewed Jewish community: one that is rooted in Jewish tradition, engaged with the world around us, radically inclusive, passionate and creative. Our vision is of a community that fosters people's journeys, that engenders compassion among its members, and that recognizes that there are shivim panim l'torah - seventy ways to understand the Torah. Hazon engages in environmental education and education about food as the centerpieces of their vision.

Heifer www.heifer.org
Heifer envisions a world of communities living together in peace and equitably sharing the resources of a healthy planet. Heifer works with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth and their strategy is to “pass on the gift.” As people share their animals’ offspring with others – along with their knowledge, resources, and skills – an expanding network of hope, dignity, and self-reliance is created that reaches around the globe. This simple idea of giving families a source of food rather than short-term relief caught on and has continued for over 60 years. Today, millions of families in 128 countries have been given the gifts of self-reliance and hope.

Jews for Racial and Economic Justice www.jfrej.org
JFREJ engages Jews to pursue and win racial and economic justice in partnership with Jewish and allied people of color, low-income and immigrant communities in New York City.

Kehilat Hadar www.kehilathadar.org
Kehilat Hadar is an independent, egalitarian community committed to spirited traditional prayer, study and social action. We meet for Shabbat morning services on selected weeks, and offer holiday services and educational programs throughout the year.

MATAN: The Gift of Jewish Learning for Every Child www.matankids.org
MATAN is a multi-disciplinary team of Jewish educators, special educators, and mental health professionals committed to designing and implementing modifications that enable Jewish day schools and supplemental schools to serve all children regardless of ability.

The Neediest Cases Fund www.nycharities.org
The Neediest Cases Fund, administered by The New York Times Company Foundation, raises millions of dollars to help thousands of individuals and families in distress. The assistance is rendered by seven New York City social service agencies. The Times pays the Fund's expenses, so all contributions go directly to provide services and cash assistance to the poor.

The Susan Komen Foundation www.komennyc.org
SKF is a foundation started in memory of a woman just like you and me. A woman had a sister, Nancy Brinker, who promised she wouldn't stop till she found a cure. Twenty-five years ago that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure®, we have invested nearly $1 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

West Side Campaign against Hunger www.wscah.org
West Side Campaign Against Hunger provides food to 7,500 hungry households in New York City through a grocery-style food pantry. WSCAH alleviates hunger and in turn creates self reliance. It is the original grocery style model and provides education and training for other food pantries around the country.

WNYC New York's Public Radio Station www.wnyc.org
WNYC 93.9 FM and AM 820 are New York's flagship public radio stations, broadcasting the finest programs from National Public Radio and Public Radio International, as well as a wide range of award-winning local programming

The Ziv Fund www.ziv.org
Danny Siegel's Ziv Tzedakah Fund is a non-profit organization dedicated to the collection and distribution of funds to various little known Tzedakah projects. It provides money and support for individuals and programs that offer direct, significant, and immediate services with a minimum of overhead and bureaucracy. Ziv is also involved in bringing the educational message of Tzedakah to communities and Jewish schools throughout the United States, Canada and Israel and empowers ordinary people to become Mitzvah heroes.