From T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s
SIX YEARS of Searchable Archives at http://www.TOURBUS.com !!

In my last post I mentioned that The Hunger Site had gone the way of break dance movies and Members Only jackets (remember those?) and suggested some other online charity sites you could visit instead. That post seems to have struck a chord. In fact, that post generated such a response that I decided to spend one more post talking about some great online charities recommended by your fellow riders.

As for my promised post about half.com, we'll just place that post in my "Giant Rat of Sumatra" file until Thursday. [And for those who don't understand the reference, Sherlock Holmes said of "Giant Rat of Sumatra" that it is "a story for which the world is not yet prepared." I have found that the "Giant Rat" excuse is WONDERFUL to use when you haven't finished a particular assignment or project.]

Fellow TOURBUS rider Karen writes: I just read your latest newsletter and thought your readers might be interested in this site if they are looking for a way to make donations without actually spending money. It helps the rainsforests, the pandas, breast cancer and, my favourite, the big cats. You might want to check it out and pass it on - I've been there almost daily clicking to help for well over a year. http://www.care2.com/

JR suggests a site within care2.com: Here is a site that I have used as part of my "Free Philanthropy Log on Protocol." The site is http://bigcats.care2.com/ and has links to the Rainforest Race, Panda Race and the Breast Cancer Race. It works as easily as the Hunger Site.

Elliot recommends another rainforest site: Here's a site I go to everyday... http://www.saverainforest.net/ "Click on the button above to save rainforest. There is NO cost to you. Sponsors pay to preserve the rainforest." Once a day you can go there and click. Every sponsor on the page, Will result in saving 5 square feet of our rainforest.

Patricia offers two sites: http://www.quickdonations.com/ and http://www.donationjunction.com/ These are my favorite donation sites. They include freedonation and others by category. including One Minute Donation

Barbara sent me an online greeting card telling me about http://www.webreleaf.com/ , a web site where you can go and click a button to help plant trees in US National Forests. It's completely free and it only takes a moment to help plant a tree In my last post we also talked about two sites that provide information about charities around the world. Max suggests a third site you should visit: I check out charities once in a while for my job, and I like to use GuideStar http://www.guidestar.org/ to get the dirt on charities. They have detailed financial reports, and basically a lot more information than the BBB on those that are questionable. (GuideStar obtains copies of 1099 filings with the IRS.)

Craig, an employee at General Motors, offers the following: You mentioned in this week's Tourbus that "charity begins at home, and justice begins next door." In that vein, you may be interested in the Webhands site: http://www.webhands.org/ .

This site was created by my employer, General Motors, and is an online directory of charitable organizations in communities all across the USA. It can be used to quickly search for charities that provide food, clothing, shelter, literacy classes, and services to reduce the "digital divide." It helps answer the question "How can I help in my own community?"
The Webhands site also includes a link to GM Global Aid, another site which allows one to make secure online donations to several US and international disaster relief organizations (e.g., American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, unicef, and the United Way).

And, finally, Howie writes: I don't know if you have run across Charity Focus http://www.charityfocus.org/ , but it is a resource for organizations that have limited resources to get help in setting up a web site. They are handling quite a few projects and can always use some more capable volunteers.

If this doesn't help you find a replacement for The Hunger Site, nothing will! :)