Celebrate the Holiday Spirit by Donating to Charity

The holidays are a time for giving and receiving, and one way you can help make someone's holiday a little brighter is by donating to a charity with your parents. Charities are organizations that help people all over the world. Some charities make sure people have enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear. Other charities help people fight sickness. And some charities support local people like police officers and firefighters.

No matter what you are interested in there is probably a charity that helps support something you think is important. With the help of your parents, do a search online to find some possibilities. Before you send any money, check with the Wise Giving Alliance, GuideStar or another program that verifies a charity will use your money for a good cause.

If you ask, a charity will send you information about how they help people and how they will use the money you send them. You want to make sure the charity will put your money to good use. Make sure you find a charity that you really like before you send them your money.

Ask your parents to help you make the donation. You don't want to send cash in the mail because it could get lost or stolen. Instead, see if your parents will write a check for you and then you can give your parents the cash.

Your donation doesn't have to be a big one. Charities will be happy to receive even a few dollars. So if you have a little bit of extra money left over from your allowance, think about donating some of it to charity and making someone's holidays a little bit happier.

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