57 Charities For A Meaningful Last-Minute Christmas

You have two days left until Christmas, you have no hope of getting anything shipped in time and the thought of facing the mall fills you with more dread than Satan visiting you in the night. You’ve exhausted all possible ideas for your remaining friends and family and everything you’ve thought of just seems like meaningless space-wasters that in the grand scheme of not just their life but this Christmas, will be infinitely forgettable.

What can you do? How about instead of just giving, you give back. Give your loved ones something that can make a difference and have lasting effect on not only their lives, but others. Give the gift of charity. On the selfish side, you can make a donation in their name, print it out, and bam—shopping’s done. But you can also know that with the money you could have spent on yet-another-sweater, you could help change someone’s life or even the world. To help you out, we’ve compiled our favorite charities, and let us just say—we were thorough. We would be shocked if you couldn’t find at least one charity that moves you to give. We’ve even broken it down by type to make it easier.

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CHILDREN:

• K.I.D.S: Kids In Distressed Situations
• One Laptop per Child
• War Child
• ToysForTots
• UNICEF
• TransYouth Family Allies
• Girls For A Change
• Imagination Foundation
• The Care Bags Foundation
• Free The Children
• FUNDaFIELD
• Make A Wish Foundation
• St. Jude’s Children’s Research Foundation
• CASA

ANIMALS:

• The ASPCA
• The Humane Society of the United States
• Lab Rescue
• Bully Paws Pit Bull Patriots
• Save the Whales
• World Wildlife Fund
• YOUR LOCAL NO-KILL ANIMAL SHELTER
• Defenders of Wildlife

ENVIRONMENT:

• The Green Belt Movement
• Kids Saving the Rainforest

DISEASE:

• Elton John AIDS Foundation
• American Cancer Society
• LymeLight Foundation
• Samaritans
• Depression Alliance
• AIDS Healthcare Foundation
• Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation
• Hoops of Hope
• Fuck Cancer

RELIEF:

• Doctors Without Borders
• Red Cross
• Habitat for Humanity
• The American Legion
• Safeplace
• CARE
• Samaritan’s Purse

GLOBAL:

• Heifer International
• Oxfam
• UN Refugee Agency
• Grassroots International

SOLDIERS:

• Wounded Warrior Project
• K9’s for Warriors
• Help for Heroes
• Veterans of Foreign Wars

EDUCATION:

• The Atlanta Music Project
• Girlstart
• Reality Changers

POVERTY:

• Your Local Food Pantry
• Housing Works
• Ladybug Foundation
• Coat-A-Kid, Inc.
• Sheltering Books
• The Salvation Army
• HandUp

Did we miss any? Tweet us @litdarling and start giving!