Have you ever wondered where your donations and support goes?

The website, “GoodGoes.org” allows you to meet local health workers and the children they help to survive.

Each year, almost 9 million children in the developing world die of largely preventable and treatable illnesses before they reach the age of five – that equates to approximately 24,000 child deaths a day. However, every 4 seconds a child survives thanks to the basic health care provided by local health workers.

Save the Children and the Ad Council are working together to mobilize citizen action in the U.S. to help local health workers save more children worldwide.

This year The Today Show Lend a Hand program helped five great causes.  Al Roker went on the road to help organizations around the country:

• A Chance for Children Foundation, Los Angeles, California
• Portland Parks Foundation, Portland, Oregon
• Help4Galveston, Galveston, Texas
• Arkansas Rice Depot, Little Rock, Arkansas
• Community School of the Arts, Charlotte, North Carolina

On Day 3 the program helped people in my home state of Texas who were devastated by Hurricane Ike in October of last year. In fact this was the largest day of donations in the history of the Today Show’s Lend a Hand program: $540,652 in goods, services and financial gifts to Help4Galveston.

Donations came from Lowes, Ethan allen global, Home Depot, Energizer, John deere, JCPenney, Lutron Lighting Control, GE, Moen, Glidden, Crazy 8, LG, Scholastic, Swiffer, Sara Lee, Mr. Clean, Oral B, Office Depot, Weber Grills, Penske, and Pergo.

Here is the video of this great day of sharing:

Students at a Durham, North Carolina high school raised over $6,000 for the American Red Cross to help tsunami victims.

Instead of writing term papers or giving oral presentations, the students in teacher Brian McDonald’s civics class organized a teacher-student volleyball game, waited tables at Golden Corral restaurant and worked the concession stands during plays.

One of the great things about this effort was that it was organized within the classroom. The teacher made a purposeful effort to help students learn about volunteerism, social responsibility and compassion by creating thier own fundraising projects. Students showed much creativity in organizing a teacher-student volleyball game. What a great fundraising idea, to involve students, teachers and parents.

Read the full story on Herald-Sun.com

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World Vision is one of the charities that has responded immediately to help disaster victims in this tragedy:

This excert comes from a recent e-mail update from World Vision

“In the past 11 days, World Vision has been carrying out organized and orderly distributions of survival packets containing food, clothing, bottled water, medicines, sleeping mats and other essential household items from buckets to pots and pans. We have also been caring for children who are separated from their parents, perhaps orphaned by this disaster.”

For more information visit: World Vision Response Update

Many corporations and businesses are donating funds to aid in the tsunami relief efforts.

Gates: Foundation Gives $3M To Tsunami Victims; Topped By Pfizer’s $35M Donation

Corporations give to tsunami relief – From planes to pills, the world’s largest companies offer millions in cash, donations and services

One of the best ways businesses can help is to match employee contributions. Each gift made by an employee is matched dollar for dollar by the company.

Many companies already have a gift matching program in place. If you plan on making a donation to the relief efforts, check with your company first so that your donation can go even farther.

If you own or are in a leadership position of a business and would like to find out how your company can set up its own employee matching program, see the following article from onPhilanthropy:

Putting Your Employees in the Driver Seat: Matching Gifts and Grassroots Corporate Philanthropy

National governaments around the globe have pledged large sums toward relief efforts. So far the largest sum has been pledged by Australia — $810 million (USD).

Germany $674 million
Japan $500 million
United States $350 million

For more information:
Leaders Tour Tsunami Areas, Up Donations

The USA Freedom Corps has a very long list of humanitarian organizations that are assisting in the relief efforts for the Tsunami vicitms:

The USA Freedom Corps

According to a press release issued on December 28, 2004, The American Red Cross is responding to the large scale natural disaster in Asia. An earthquake erupted in the ocean off the west coast of Indonesia on December 26th, triggering tsunami waves that caused massive flooding and severe damage in 11 countries.

The statement issued by the Red Cross said, “Relief supplies, such as plastic sheeting, family size tents and hygiene kits, are ready for shipment to be distributed to people in the affected areas. These supplies are in a specifically designated area near the region so they can be mobilized quickly. It is estimated that nearly one million people living in the coastal areas have been affected.”

American Red Cross disaster relief personnel and volunteers will be deployed from the United States in the next few days, joining a team of British Red Cross responders in Sri Lanka, one of the hardest hit areas.

Financial donations to the International Response Fund can be made by calling 1-800-HELP-NOW or by visiting redcross.org.

For more information:

Aid Arrives As Asia Death Toll Tops 76,700 12/29/04

American Red Cross Responding To Southern Asia Disaster 12/28/04

About Donations of Goods for Areas Affected by the Recent Earthquake and Resulting Tsunamis 12/27/04