Wonderful, wonderful idea ♥ Many thanks to The Sigil and Chadjenofsky.

<span class="bold">[url=http://www.joyrx.org/]Children's Cancer Association

The CCA gives support not only to the children who have been diagnosed with cancer, but also to their families. They provide anything they can in order to bring happiness to people who have very little to be joyful about.

From their website:

When seriously ill kids and their families need more than medicine, CCA is there with compassion and innovation creating moments of respite and hope, in the hospital and at home. Managed by a professional staff and powered by volunteers, CCA brings soothing music in a time of crisis, friendship in a time of loneliness, resources in a time of turmoil and vital support in the midst of life-threatening illness. We call it Joy Rx.

Joy Rx is a unique combination of and [url=http://www.joyrx.org/programs]programs that bring hope, possibility and a little magic to some of the most difficult days families will ever face.

These people have wonderful, caring hearts, providing anything from Chemo Pals for the seriously ill children to emotional support for their families.

More from the website:
CCA offers award-winning programs and resources to seriously ill children (from birth to 18), their families and the medical professionals who care for them. Every program and resource we offer is available to seriously ill children and families that live or seek treatment in Oregon and SW Washington and many of our resources are also available to children, families and medical professionals nationwide.

CCA Joy Rx Video

Lovely, simply lovely. I want to thank The Sigil for the initiative (and for you-know-why), chadjenofsky for his/her generous contribution and, of course, Sachys for his work.

While many charity organisation came to mind, my nomination ultimately goes to Save the Children.
It is a well known and highly respected and valued charity organisation, and its work is aimed at something we all should take care of, because a single child who suffers is a real tragedy for the whole mankind and even a threat for our future, since a suffering child will probably become a broken man.
StC has recently been particularly active in Syria (helping the war refugees) and in Nepal (after the devastating earthquake), but its initiatives range from Africa to Asia and South America and even to the (so called) wealthy countries: generally everywhere there is some children in need of assistance.

Here is an example of its work: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/refugee-crisis-child-refugees-draw-the-houses-they-hope-to-have-in-camp-on-the-greek-island-of-a6760941.html

What a fine idea. Thanks for doing this Sigil and Sachys. You folks are fine members of this community! It's a wonderful plan that has been put into action! :D

I would need to search to find one to enter here. Patience... :)

I wish to nominate the Ronald McDonald House Charities whose programs support the health and well-being of children.

Why? RMHC helps families by giving them a place to stay while their children are hospitalized and receiving treatment. Any organization that helps those that cannot help themselves - our children - gets an A in my book!

Here's a news article detailing one family receiving care.

More about RMHC from their website: I wish to thank the Sigil for their generosity and giving back to the community, to Sachys for hosting this wonderful event, and lastly, the other entrants for championing their charities!

As someone from the academe, I value education, so I would like to nominate this.

http://booksforthebarrios.org/

Books for the Barrios

The situation of education here is always in need of help, and so I think that giving to them will go a long way to help improve the situation here. Here is one story of their kind and generous acts. http://globalnation.inquirer.net/99368/books-for-the-barrios-shifts-to-rebuilding-schools-training-teachers

Thanks, great initiative.
My nomination goes to Medicins sans frontiers:
http://ilpiccolo.gelocal.it/trieste/cronaca/2015/11/25/news/medici-senza-frontiere-arrivati-i-container-1.12507292

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax-rNxsXpCE

Because those people really help people which have no ways to heal themself and even provide basic stuff like foods, wears etc.

They operate in countries really poor, usually forgotten by the "civilized" world.

This GA is a wonderful idea! I'm sure the prize will find a well-deserving cause.

It seems Finland has mostly just some crappy charities with bad sites, which I don't really trust or hold the same values.
Also donating to them seems hard and I don't know about taxes or nothing.

Edit: I'll see if I find some mental illness thing at some point and post it here.

Edit2: http://www.cartercenter.org/health/mental_health/index.html

The Carter Center.

I found that. You can point me if that is a decent place to throw other peoples money. =)

This is such a wonderful idea! Thank you so much for this!

Unfortunately I have noone to nominate right now. Guess it's time for some research.

Great idea, Sigil!

I am going to nominate a local food bank especially since my husband's employer will match the donation (and US Bank is also matching donations). Hunger is a huge issue in NM, where the poverty level is the second-worst in the US.

For those that don't know, this youtube video explains why so many Americans need assistance with food each week and it also mentions the Roadrunner Food Bank. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZvnLFXO4h4

http://www.koat.com/news/food-banks-struggling-ahead-of-thanksgiving/36611630

I have personally volunteered with the Roadrunner Foodbank, helping to sort cans. (donated food needs to be checked for freshness and then organized by type so that the food pantry shelves can be stocked). As to their services, I especially find the children's backpack program to be one of the best - food is put in backpacks for the kids to take home.

Anyway, I know you said not to put up the link to the site but aside from news stories, I couldn't find videos that help explain what this organization does - have a look or not, but this place feeds hungry people:
http://www.rrfb.org/hungry-people-in-nm/hunger-videos/

I am also including the link the bank that is matching $2 for every $1 given, in case anyone decides to donate directly.
http://www.feedingamerica.org/take-action/campaigns/boa/?utm_medium=partner&amp;utm_source=earned&amp;utm_term=gift&amp;utm_content=corporate&amp;utm_campaign=BOA_gam&amp;cm_mmc=EBZ-EnterpriseBrand-_-vanity-_-EB01VN005E_give-_-NA

Been reading all the great nominations over the last few days in this thread, and I'd like to make one of my own.

Cumbria has just been hit by really severe flooding, for the third time in ten years, and a whole lot of damage has been done over the last few days.

The Cumbria Community Foundation are raising money to help people affected by the floods and, having seen the devastation all over the local news and social media I think it's a very worthy cause. Particularly considering the time of year it is this will be a devastating blow for a lot of families in the area.

You can see a timeline of all the various flooding and damages caused, including numerous videos, on the BBC News website.

It may be bit more localised then a lot of the great nominations already put forward, but we were very lucky to escape where we are and as we're not in a position to give much our selves (though we're currently looking for somewhere to take our Pizza van and serve for free any of the affected people) I thought I'd put a nomination here instead.

Thanks for the great giveaway :)

I'm very happy to see this thread, and thanks to everyone involved.

Truth is, in a vacuum I would nominate Planned Parenthood (in general, but especially now) and Medicines Sans Frontiers, both of which are already represented here. I have long supported the World Wildlife Fund with teeny-tiny and occasional donations, despite spotty reviews on the magnitude of their operating expenses, and have a similar disposition toward the Red Cross. I like a lot of arts-based charities, and charities that reach into schools to provide children with chances to find excitement in education.

But I'm going to nominate the American Kidney Fund, for the simple reason that I had a kidney transplant this past January - so it's coming up on a year ago, next month - and I know first-hand how hard it is to cope with renal failure.

http://www.kidneyfund.org/

Apart from their leaflets and handouts, I had no direct contact with the AKF. Insurance and government programs covered the costs of my transplant almost completely; I don't even know what the costs were, because I never saw a bill (well over $60,000 is my understanding), though I racked up a lot of costs in dialysis - covered by insurance, but by shitty American insurance, so it cost me several thousand dollars a year, plus medication. But all through the process of being treated, I walked down paths that the Fund, and fellow-traveler organizations like the National Kidney Foundation, had made.

Hemodialysis is life-sustaining treatment for patients waiting for kidney transplants (which has wait lists running up to and over 7 years, if you do not have a personal donor - my brother gave me a kidney, so I was able to leave dialysis in under a year). In most cases it involves going to a clinic three times a week for three- or four-hour sessions, during which blood is removed from the body and cleaned (and water, generally between three and ten pounds per session, is removed from the blood, since dialysis patients quickly lose the ability to urinate). Treatment costs between $100,000 and $200,000 a year. It is covered by insurance, though there are thousands of dollars in co-pays under our absurd system, and also subsidized by the government. The Fund pays costs for many low-income dialysis patients who may not have insurance - not everyone on dialysis is able to work while they are being treated - and in 2014, they provided grants to 84,000 patients who needed dialysis. They also provide education, testing, and advocacy programs to those who may be at risk of renal failure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Kidney_Fund

I did not receive any assistance from the Fund, but it was a great relief knowing that they were there - because once you start dealing with a serious illness, the future gets very unpredictable. Had I lost my job, I would have lost my insurance with it, and in a flash I would have been one of the many people unable to pay for the treatments that kept me alive. That's when the Fund is most critical.

Already nominated I'm afraid - you'll have to choose a different charity (though the same cause is fine).

What do you think about that carter center? Is it crap?

I thought about recommending my own favorite charity, but it occurs to me that people donate to charity for different reasons that reflect different values: For some, its better to focus on their communities and help the people around them in a personal way. For others, its better to focus on the most needy of humanity, even if they live in distant faraway countries. And then there are those for whom the most important cause is humanity as a species, and donating to medical science, space exploration, and global risk research, even if the effects will only be seen in years, maybe decades to come. These are all valid perspectives, but they are very different approaches to charity.