Charity Navigator

This is a great site to help people and charitable causes connect.


You can search by organization name or type of charity. They do the homework for you. They can tell you if the organization is using their funds wisely. It can be a little misleading in this economy. Hopefully most charities have some investment funds, that may well have tanked this year, so cut them some slack for that. You can find out if the CEO has a reasonable salery, and my personal favorite; how much they spend on fundraising.

You can give the charity your info, or be anonymous. You can keep all your tax record deductions in one place. You can pay with a credit card (I don't recommend that) or link your checking account to Pay Pal. I chose that way. That took a while...like several days for me, but I finally got it, and it will be easier next time. .

They say its better to not spread your donations too thin, but I have trouble saying no to all of them. Its silly. Its not like they are sitting by the mailbox, saying "Where is her annual $7.00 gift? Doesn't she care about us anymore? We could feed an animal for a week on that". Yet I guess that's how I feel. Anyway my point is it can be very easy to give to the cause of your choice. Any little bit you can spare would be appreciated. (possibly less so by mail than on line.) I received 90 requests so far in 2009! Sometimes I feel like they spent all of the little gift I gave them sending me mailings to ask me to send more. That's why I am switching to anonymous on line giving for a big hunk of the causes I support.

Check them out. You may be astonished at how many there are out there. Hey its the holidays, send a little to the animals or the environment, etc. It will mean more than some of the junk you buy people cause you think you have to get them something.

Fred

Let me tell you about Fred.

I think it was about Feb. 2008 a co-worker was looking for someone to take a turtle her brother had "surprised" her mom with. I take my animal responsibilities very seriously. Apparently they had it about 2 weeks, it was a turtle and not a tortoise. I think they are adorable, but as I started to research it (something they did not bother to do any of), and found out all the care requirements, I am thinking "no way". But I must rescue this poor turtle. If I could not keep it, I would find someone who could.

She shows up with the turtle...a red eared slider. Its in a dishpan of grass, with a big chunk of carrot and apple.

I stop at the pet store on the way home, get a light, a floating platform, some actual turtle pellets and a little booklet. I go home, see if the big aquarium someone had given me for a small mammal years ago would hold water. Just put a little in at first to see, but it was more than it had before. I call the turtle and tortoise group number, get a recording that they all all volunteers, and it may be a few days before they get back to me, so I decide to see how I do.

Well, luckily for vegetarian me, the older they get the less meat type stuff they need and the more veggies. That's a plus. But they are supposed to have a large expensive filter, and frequent tank cleanings, and a very specific temp. range, and a heater, and thermometer, etc, etc. Feeling pretty over whelmed by it all.
But darn if Fred was not just getting cuter and cuter, and was an amazingly good listener. He just seemed to hang on every word I said. I thought he was a male, he looked like a Fred, and to me looked like the pic of the male turtle.

Time goes on, get more and more attached....gradually get more and more stuff for him, and am apparently keeping him. Two expensive vet trips when he stops eating several months later, and develops some gross worm parasites I treat him for.

Back to doing well, eating good. But often acted like I was holding him prisoner and he wanted out. Do people take their water turtles out to play? I don't know. Its not like he is a gold fish. So once in a while I would take him out for a while.

Oh, and they need sunshine, so I had a little tub for him to go outside on nice days. A few times I would take him with me as I was gardening to play in the dirt. Is that dumb? I did not know. But I found out if I blinked he would quickly bury himself up to his tail, and I would have to search for him, so I did not take him out that often.

Ok, a year goes by. He seems to want out even more than usual. Cleaning his tank one day, I find egg shells! A couple days later she is so frantic to get out, I am afraid the heater is malfunctioning, so I grab her out, and soon after she lays an egg on the floor!!! Fredrika does not have the same ring to it. So she is still Fred, and I switch back and forth between he and she...bear with me.

A few weeks later, out gardening again, think it would be a great day for Fred to go play in the dirt...maybe lay some eggs, get that out of her system. Its early, I have plenty of time to crawl around on my hands and knees looking for her before it gets dark. That was March 15, 2009. I did not find her. I looked and looked and looked. I have an average size yard (she was in the back, and I didn't think she could get out front), but when she did not turn up out back, I started out front. Put up signs, talked to the neighbors, called the Humane society, etc. I was sure she would turn up, but as time went on, I eventually about gave up, and just hoped she did get out and was living ok with some one else.

I had never taken her tank fully apart, just a little of the stuff was removed. Could not bring my self to.

So yesterday I go out back to do some gardening, hear a rustle in the leaves. I figure its little birds, but NO! There is Fred walking across the back yard!! My eyes about popped out of my head. Where the heck had she been? How did she keep from drying out? They need to be in water to eat. Seems unlikely that she hibernated for 9 months, including the summer. Shocked and amazed. Its a Christmas miracle. She looks pretty good. Is not eating yet, I imagine she swallowed quite a bit of dirt, but hey, she survived that, she will be ok. I am sure now. Welcome home Fred.