My Year of Giving Dangerously has come to a close.  I have donated $50 to a different charity each month in 2012, with only one rule: humanitarian aid only.  Maybe next year I’ll donate to wildlife or nature conservation, but I figured to begin I’d donate to people so that they can continue to be around in the near future to spearhead these other charities for the Earth.  Makes sense, right?

(More than likely next year’s charity will be my wife, though.)

So here are all the charities I donated to this year and links to their sites:

Cancer for College – a charity devoted to funding college educations for young people affected by Cancer who’ve all but ruled out the idea of such luxury.

Tailored for Education – in many African nations, young students are required to wear a uniform to receive schooling at a crippling cost to the families, so many forego it entirely.  This charity sees that those children have their uniforms without their families having to mortgage their meals for them.

We Can Be Heroes – DC Publishing works with charities involved in supplying aid to the impoverished children in the Horn of Africa.

American Cancer Society – a society of Americans fighting cancer.

Habitat for Humanity – building homes for impoverished families and those affected by natural disasters.

American Red Cross – disaster and emergency medical relief.

It Gets Better – a movement meant to show LGBT youth that understanding will flourish and give them the courage to be themselves and welcome members of society.

Easter Seals – a charity that benefits paraplegic and the mobility-impaired.

Becky’s House – a shelter in San Diego for victims of domestic violence and their families.

Our Kids Read, Too! – My good friend’s son’s special education classroom in Suwanee, Georgia.

Make-a-Wish Foundation – a charity that grants the wishes of terminally ill children.  I’ve worked with them at my restaurant a few times when patients have come through town to visit the zoo or Sea World, and they do wonderful work.

Doctors Without Borders – dedicated physicians who travel to remote areas of the world where medical attention is both scarce and desperately needed.

Many of these charities have offices in your city, and when donating, you are given the option to choose where you would like your money to be utilized, either locally, nationally, or globally.  It’s pretty decent.

And now, for something completely different: