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Give the Best Gift of the Holiday Season — No Bows, No Ribbons, No Pretty Paper Required

Although the holiday season has been commercialized to utmost degree, few can deny that it is still a time of wonder and magic. Somehow, through all the crazy holiday shopping and the stress of preparing holiday feasts, we snap out of our frenzy and take time to remember those less fortunate than us.

Who can explain the holiday spirit? It’s mysterious and warm, but most importantly it works. It brings out the best in people… even Ebenezer comes around and finds his warmer side. So this year if you’re looking to give the perfect gift to those who have nothing, NurseVillage can suggest a few charities that are holiday favorites.

The Salvation Army – And on every street corner you’ll hear… the bells of the Salvation Army. The start of the holiday season is when this incredible organization sets up their Red Kettle Fundraising. E ach year, thousands of Salvation Army Red Kettles serve as collection stations around the nation beginning the day after Thanksgiving, and continuing through Christmas Eve. Donations to the Red Kettles stay local, supporting programs in the communities in which they were received. Last year, $93 million was raised through kettles, and helped The Salvation Army provide assistance for almost 33 million people in need. In recent years, this event has been kicked off with the help of the Dallas Cowboys. Since 1997, artists such as Reba McEntire, Randy Travis, Clint Black, Jessica Simpson and Billy Gilman, Creed, LeAnn Rimes and Toby Keith have performed during half-time of the Dallas Cowboy’s Thanksgiving Day game. The star-studded show is designed to encourage Americans to support those in need by making donations to The Salvation Army Red Kettles. In 2004, Destiny’s Child will also join the list of prominent entertainers.

The Red Kettles are the most familiar side of The Salvation Army, but it’s just one way it helps to lift up those who need lifting. This is an organization that is still governed on the founding principle: “Soup, Soap and Salvation”, prescribed on the squalid streets of 19th-century London, by General William Booth. The belief is simple — you save best when you serve first, meeting the tangible and temporary needs at the surface as a credential to address the deeper issues of life. Through the work of The Salvation Army across today’s America, people are met at their point of need — given the temporary and offered the eternal.

To find out how you can donate to The Salvation Army and to read their fascinating history, click here.

Other ways you can give this holiday season: American Lung Association’s Christmas Seals Goodwill Industries International Habitat for Humanity International Amnesty International Starlight Children’s Foundation National Alliance to End Homelessness The Humane Society Child Welfare League of America March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation United Way of America

Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots – Whether you have children of your own or not, you know that the holiday season is an extra special time for them. As the visions of new dolls, train sets and video games, fill their little heads, the thought of a child receiving nothing at all sends most adults on a trip to the toy store. That exact idea is what lead to the founding of one of the biggest holiday charities — The Marine Corps Reserves Toys for Tots.

Back in 1947, Diane Hendricks had collected some toys and had knitted a red and white rag doll to give to some underprivileged children. She couldn't find anyone collecting toys, so she turned to her husband, Bill, for help. Hendricks, then a major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve at the Chavez Ravine station, suggested to his commanding officer that Marine Reservists initiate a toy drive. "He liked the idea," Hendricks (a retired Colonel) recalled, "and he said two words: 'Don't fail.' "

As you know, Hendricks did not fail. Last year, Toys for Tots volunteers in 50 states and Panama distributed more than 7 million toys to 3 million children. Collection barrels for the drive can be found at many corporate headquarters, churches, social and civic organizations, and shopping malls.

To find out more about drop-off sites for Toys for Tots, click here.

Make-A-Wish Foundation- The holidays are all about dreaming and wishing for something very extraordinary. This is why the Make-A-Wish Foundation seems even more inspirational during this time of year. At inception, the philosophy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation was to grant one wish to a child with a life threatening illness.

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In 1977, Customs Officer Tommy Austin began a relationship with Christopher James Greicius that would change the lives of many people forever. Christopher always dreamt of becoming a police officer. His dream meant more than anything to him, but even he couldn't have known that his wish would serve as the inspiration for the largest wish-granting organization in the world.

April 29, 1980, was Chris' special day – when his wish was granted. That morning a DPS helicopter picked up Chris and escorted him around the city of Phoenix, landing at the DPS. Three squad cars and a motorcycle ridden by Officer Frank Shankwitz welcomed their new friend. This 7-year-old bundle of energy immediately greeted Frank and told him how “neato” his motorcycle was; however, he passed on a ride, citing a lack of doors as his primary reason. Chris made such an impression on Frank that it lead him to think that if one boy's wish could be granted, maybe the same could be done for other children. At that moment, the idea of the Make-A-Wish Foundation® was born.

In 2000, 20 years after Chris donned his police uniform, the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted its 80,000th wish. To date, more than 127,000 wishes have been granted to children with life-threatening medical conditions.

To learn how you can help make a wish come true, click here.

Operation Christmas Child – This might not be the most well known charity, but the holiday spirit is very much a partof this organization.

Operation Christmas Child brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes and the Good News of God’s love. This program of Samaritan’s Purse provides an opportunity for people of all ages to be involved in a simple, hands-on missions project while focusing on the true meaning of Christmas. In 2003, they collected over 6.6 million shoe box gifts worldwide and distributed them to children in some 95 countries.

Operation Christmas Child began in the U.S. in 1993 with 28,000 shoe box gifts. Since then, the kids-helping-kids project has collected some 31 million shoe box gifts valued at more than $610 million, and hand-delivered them to needy children in some 120 countries, including:

• Children in Sudan suffering from the world’s longest running civil war (2003)
• Ugandan children devastated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic (2002)
• War orphans in Kosovo (1999), Bosnia and Croatia (1995-1996), and Rwanda (1994)
• Children in Honduras and Nicaragua left homeless by Hurricane Mitch (1998)

Well - known people contribute to an unknown charity:

• Every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan has packed an Operation Christmas Child shoe box gift.
• U2 Singer Bono and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist joined Operation Christmas Child in December 2002 to airlift 80,000 shoe box gifts to kids suffering the effects of HIV/AIDS in Uganda and war in Sudan.
• Operation Christmas Child is a project of international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, named the most efficiently run Christian charity in America by SmartMoney magazine (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003). Headed by Franklin Graham, Samaritan’s Purse is currently working in 100 countries providing relief and aid to victims of war, natural disaster, famine and disease.

Find out how your shoe box can make a difference, click here.

Volunteers of America – This organization bring two ways you can give during the holidays. The first one is the more recognizable Sidewalk Santas, which have been a familiar sight on city streets since 1900. The second is the Paper Bag Campaign, developed as a way to help feed the homeless.

Sidewalk Santa was founded in Los Angeles, CA, during the balmy winter of 1900. History records that the five original Sidewalk Santas were hauled off to jail and booked for creating a nuisance. A public outcry ensued and the Santas were released. They went on to raise some $800 for Christmas dinners for the poor, far exceeding their goal of $500. In short order, Sidewalk Santa began to appear across the country, arriving in New York City in 1902.

The Paper Bag Campaign puts your donations into shopping bags in the form of nutritious meals. Help Volunteers of America provide wholesome food for a homeless family, a homeless vet, or an elderly neighbor in crisis this holiday season. Without help, many peoples’ meals may consist of scraps from a dumpster. Others will simply go without food.

If you believe no one in America should be hungry, especially during this season of plenty and excess, help provide a simple meal that nourishes body and spirit. Restore a person's dignity through the gift of a nutritious meal this holiday season.

To help Volunteers of America feed the hungry and break the cycle of poverty, click here.

This year put your holiday spirit to good use. Make a donation to a worthy charity of your choice — it’s guaranteed to be the best gift you give this holiday season.