Barbies and Pennies

One day I found an egg carton in our kitchen with two pennies in it and a sign that said, "mune 4 the orfns". At least I think that’s what how Camille spelled it {someone accidentally recycled it before I could take a picture}. Translation: Money for the orphans. Then there was a Barbie next to it with a sign taped to her: "We love you!"

Of course I hopped online to see how we could get this Barbie to a little girl who would love it. It seems that orphans in our country are pretty well taken care of through the foster system, so we looked to other countries for those orphans who could benefit the most from our contribution {which will be more than two pennies and a Barbie doll}. We decided we could sell that Barbie and other items we would normally donate to charity and send the money to the orphans in Africa.

I remembered hearing about an organization called Mothers Without Borders and with Camille's help decided that this would be the best way to help orphans. I always worry that monetary donations will be spent unwisely and go mostly toward overhead costs rather than to children. But not here! I have compared them with other organizations and Mothers Without Borders has the highest percentage of funds going to programs benefiting the children. If you are thinking about making a monetary donation to an organization, you can find out how your money will be spent by visiting Charity Navigator. This website tells you how charities spend their money {on programs vs. administrative costs and fundraising}, background on the charity, and lists charities with similar missions. Pretty handy!

So what about you? Do you have any causes that are close to your heart? How do you help your kids get into the giving spirit or how have they encouraged you?

Oh, and just for the record, I have no affiliation with Charity Navigator. I heard about them from another mom and have found their service to be helpful in my efforts to donate.