Let's Save the World! (and the Whales :)

Like Ruby, I'm pretty much a sucker for whatever charity someone is desperately trying to raise funds for in a given moment. I tend to veer toward animal and environmental charities naturally, but throw a video of a sick kid or homeless person in front of me, and I'll give you whatever I can.

My favorite charity of the moment is the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust - see the video below, featuring Edward Norton. It gets me every time. (and dude, he's never been hotter than in this video when he uses the phrase "terrestrial biodiversity" - because I'm nerdy like that)



I'm also a HUGE fan of Donors Choose, where you can select among a gillion different school projects for underfunded school programs. You just gotta click the link and check it out to really appreciate it. It rocks. Trust.

Last but not least, The Animal Rescue Site - which partners with The Hunger Site and several other "sites" featuring literacy, breast cancer research, rainforest conservation, and children's health. What's cool about these sites is that you don't have give any money - just clicking helps each cause. (So click every day!)  What's even cooler is that they have products you can buy which help fund each particular site's cause, or even just donate to random things like...

* Feed an orphaned baby elephant (click link for pics)

* Feed a Haitian student for a year

or

* Liberate girls from indentured servitude

The list is endless. And now I wish I was Richie Rich so I could give all my money away. Really, though, it doesn't always take cash to make a difference. Sometimes a smile or helping hand to someone having a bad day can make someone's life better. Like Ben Harper says, we can change the world with our Own Two Hands.