To Whom Would You Give?

[thestrangequark]

If you had a million dollars (or the equivalent in your local currency) to donate to any charity, to whom would you give it, and why?

As I sit here watching Victor Borge on channel 13, I feel affirmed in my own "if only" choice, PBS. I've been a lifelong PBS devotee. I remember watching Danger Mouse, Doctor Who, Paddington Bear, Mr. Rogers, and Cosmos as a child. Documentaries on Egypt, dinosaurs, outer space. Classical concerts, ballets, operas, Shakespeare. Nova. Charlie Rose. The Newshour with Jim Lehrer (the least biased and most informative newscast around). And of course Masterpiece Theatre -- here's to Masterpiece Theatre -- introducing young American girls to hot British actors in period costume since 1971! PBS has entertained and educated me all my life, and while there are innumerable worthwhile causes out there, I'd likely not know of half of them were it not for PBS. I think it is one of the most important institutions in the United States, and if I had a million dollars to donate, every cent would go to PBS.

So, where would your money go? It can't be to you or your friends and family. If you can't think of a specific fund or group, give a general answer (i.e. burn treatment, community gardens, local boys and girls club, etc.).

 

[Kira's Mom]

I'd donate it to the local homeless shelter/food bank in my area. They're getting desperate for funds. And the need is growing.

 

[Holdfast]

My old college/university, I think. Maybe my old school. But probably the college. All are institutions that deserve to keep on going and going and they need large ongoing amounts of money to do so while keeping quality high. They're already written into a couple of other financial instruments I have should anything happen to me.

 

[USS Triumphant]

I'd probably split it four ways: a quarter for the homeless shelters and food banks here, a quarter for the homeless shelters and food banks back in the Springfield, MO, area, a quarter for the same around New Orleans, and a quarter for NPR. But on that last one, I'd wait for a pledge drive, so I could get some tickets for "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" er sumtin.

 

[JAG]

St Jude's Childrens hospital

 

[mimic]

The CEOs at AIG.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

I'd give it to the RSPCA.

 

[cultcross]

Spinal injury research.

 

[Ruaidhri]

AT one point when I was doing a project looking for prospective clients at work I came across this organization:

http://www.bacausa.com/

I love the logo. The skull and crossbones really drives home the message.

But I would give to a few different charities. The Diabetes Association, an animal shelter.

 

[Mallory]

Half to my transplant center and half to my local hospital's foundation.

 

[An Officer]

Help the aged.

 

[SiorX]

The Rape Crisis Network and Domestic Abuse Shelters. Our government cut funding to our RCN, which was already running at a chronic defecit, last year, and donkey sanctuaries get vastly more support than shelters. I'd know the money was needed and it was doing good work.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I donate regularly to Save The Children, The Cousteau Society, The Planetary Society and The Southern Poverty Law Center, so I'd divide half among those; then I'd divide the other half among other worthy charities that support medical research, helping animals, aiding the homeless and so on. There are a lot of programs that need money....

 

[Hermiod]

The Dog's Trust.

 

[judge alba]

think i'd split it into two one being the wwf the other being the rspb

 

[cultcross]

Not that I'm denigrating at all the work that they do, but I find it quite amusing that nearly all the British posters have picked animal/bird charities.
We do love our animals - we had a royal society to protect animals about a century before we scraped together a merely national one for children.

 

[RoJoHen]

Habitat for Humanity.

I was the President of my local chapter in college. It's a great organization.

 

[Hermiod]

Not that I'm denigrating at all the work that they do, but I find it quite amusing that nearly all the British posters have picked animal/bird charities.
We do love our animals - we had a royal society to protect animals about a century before we scraped together a merely national one for children.

It's this simple for me - humans cause their own problems whereas a lot of the problems animals have are caused by humans. We would not need homes for mistreated and stray dogs if humans did not mistreat them.

 

[captcalhoun]

half to Stem Cell research and half to the Alzheimer's Research group that Sir Terry Pratchett gave a million bucks to.

 

[Australis]

Half to the Aust Leukaemia Foundation, with the proviso that they use it on research on how to help people with Leukaemia 68 and older. Right now, that's the cutoff point, and it's only palliative care after 68. But people are living longer, and can be quite healthy and mobile. My mother was doing well, until the Big L took her at 72, and if research like I suggest had been done, she might still be here, perhaps.

The other half to ChildFlight, a helicopter service that delivers children to high-end hospitals when they are newborn. One of my kids needed this when they were born. They do sterling work, and need a litttle more money.