Helping Others Helps Me Be Happy

I like to help people. I feel good about myself when I know I can do something to help someone else.
Unfortunately, I do not always have the means to help others--either financially, emotionally, etc.

I am often surprised at how easy it can be to help people just by showing up. non-profits and charity organizations are developing clever ways to make it possible to show your support and to help others. Here are a few examples:

Search Engines
Some search engines work with advertising sponsors to give donations for each search.
At GoodSearch, Jikolp Search, and GoodTree websites, every search you make using their search engine will donate a penny to a particular cause of the day. You can also select another cause using another tool bar or, as with GoodTree, selecting images from the side of the page. You can also add your school or charity to their list. GoodSearch links with advertisers who help make the payments to charities possible.

Interactive Websites give Donations through NonProfits
I am really not sure if there is a word for this, but some sites have a flash image for you to click on. For each click, or a few clicks, they will make a donation.
Tamponification, a Seventh Generation initiative, will send a box of tampons to a women's shelter every time you select a state and click and drag an image of a heart into a house. I like to back click and do this over and over.

The Breast Cancer site's Pink Ribbon Challenge lets you fund mammograms for free, just by clicking on the pink button. There is a bit more involved here, after you click, they ask you to visit one of the sponsors who make the donations possible. You do not have to buy anything, just visit. Not as fun as Tamponification, but it works.

You can also help feed the hungry at the Hunger Site and support the Rainforest in a similar manner.

Recycling
Anytime you recycle you are doing something for others--for the future. You are preventing the creation of greenhouse gases, or at least minimizing the production of greenhouse gases by encouraging bottling manufacturers to use recycledmaterials instead of making new.
Be considerate in how you recycle and follow the guidelines of your local recycling collection agency.

You can also recycle your printer cartridge, cell phone, PDA and more! Check with the product manufacturer first to see if it has a program to recycle.


Shopping
If you are already planning on spending money on yourself, consider shopping somewhere that it will also help others. There are several companies and online businesses that agree to donate a percentage of each purchase to charities. Other companies support small farmers or entire towns by only buying from their workers. Be on the look out on the label to see if your coffee or chocolate support free trade.

I have seen a local restaurant make this offer on particular days, so be on the look out!
Giveline.com is one example of an online merchant who donates part of profits to charity. I have not used it personally, but I was thrilled to find it while researching online opportunities to help charity.

Here is a list from Alternet.org of chocolatiers that support free trade and do not do business with anyone who mistreats laborers.
Clif Bar
Cloud Nine
Dagoba Organic Chocolate
Denman Island Chocolate
Gardners Candies
Green and Black's
Kailua Candy Company
Koppers Chocolate
L.A. Burdick Chocolates
La Siembre
Montezuma's Chocolates
Newman's Own Organics
Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company
Rapunzel Pure Organics
The Endangered Species Chocolate Company