Children's Charities

Kids in Need Top 10 Charities!

Most people are happy to help the less fortunate but with close to a million nonprofits in America, each with its own compelling cause, it can be hard to tell who deserves your contribution the most. Unfortunately, some children's charities that do incredible work never make it onto our radar screen because they simply don't have the manpower or the money to publicize their efforts. Here are ten such gems. You may never have heard of these organizations, but hopefully you'll be inspired to add them to your donation list.

Newborns in Need

Newborns in Need provides clothing and blankets for poor and premature babies. Last year, Newborns in Need volunteers distributed more than 350,000 pieces of clothing and baby gear to 2,000 hospitals, shelters, and families across the country. The organization is looking for donations of blankets, sleepers, gowns, all-in-ones, hats, booties, bottles, pacifiers, and disposable diapers. Contact: 417-967-9441 or www.newbornsinneed.org.

Share Our Strength

We've all seen the images on the television news: starving children in faraway places like the Congo, Ethiopia, and Liberia. But the fact is, kids in America are starving too. Close to 13 million children in our own country are at serious risk of being undernourished. Share Our Strength supports food banks and emergency-relief organizations, and works to address hunger's root causes. It teaches low-income families about nutrition and budgeting, helps enroll poor children in federal nutrition programs, and funds groups that teach job and life skills to impoverished families. One of its programs encourages people to donate one hour's wage to battle childhood hunger. Another initiative helps communities hold fund-raisers to benefit hungry kids. Contact: 800-969-4767 or www.strength.org.

KABOOM!

Safe playgrounds for everyone! Since 1995, Kaboom has teamed up with corporate partners to create 546 playgrounds in cities and towns across the country at an average cost of $55,000 each. It has also improved 1,500 existing playgrounds to make them safer. Contact: 202-659-0215 x225 or www.kaboom.org.

SOS Children's Villages

This charity provides homes for 52,000 orphaned or abandoned children in 131 countries, including the U.S. Recently, it expanded its operation in Africa, where the AIDS epidemic has left many kids without parents. Every SOS "village" consists of about ten group homes, each with six to eight children and two adults. The goal is to make each village feel like a community, and each home feel like a family. Contact: 888-767-4543 or www.sos-usa.org.

Reach Out and Read

Reach Out and Read is a unique literacy program that distributes books to needy children at each of their regular medical checkups. The organization, which trains doctors and nurses to educate parents about the value of reading, provides books to an estimated 1.7 million kids each year. It accepts donations of money and of gently used books, and it is currently seeking volunteers to staff doctors' waiting rooms, to help kids with reading. Contact: 617-629-8042 or www.reachoutandread.org.

Youth Law Center

Laws require that children's shelters provide abandoned kids with a safe and healthy environment, but some shelters fall short of even the minimal standards. When that happens, advocates from the Youth Law Center (YLC) are on the case. Recently, they discovered serious deficiencies at several California kids' shelters: They were overcrowded and staffed by untrained workers. YLC forced regulators to crack down, and as a result, the shelters were either improved or closed. The mission of the YLC is to make sure that the legal rights of children in the foster-care and criminal-justice systems are being upheld and that kids have easy access to the services they need. Contact: 415-543-3379, 202-637-0377, or www.youthlawcenter.com.

I Have a Dream Foundation

In 1981, businessman Gene Lang made an extraordinary vow to the sixth-grade class of P.S. 121 in Harlem, the same elementary school he'd attended 50 years earlier. He told the kids that if they finished high school, he would pay their college tuition. More than 90 percent of them graduated, and some 60 percent went on to college -- compliments of Mr. Lang. The program was so successful that it has been replicated in 64 cities around the U.S. Today, there are more than 180 I Have a Dream projects, pledging college educations to more than 13,500 students. Studies have shown that students in these programs are less likely to be in trouble with the law, better able to resist peer pressure, and more likely to attend college than their peers. Contact: 212-293-5480 or www.ihad.org.

Doctors of the World

Conflicts around the globe have ruined the lives of millions of families. The war in Kosovo led to the deterioration of the nation's health-care system, creating a dramatic rise in infant mortality rates. The economic collapse of the former Soviet Union resulted in the breakdown of families and a rise in cases of child abuse and neglect. Today, in the city of St. Petersburg alone, an estimated 50,000 kids live on the streets. In those countries and some 20 others around the globe, volunteers from Doctors of the World (DOW) are providing medical and humanitarian assistance. DOW's programs provide medication to combat epidemics, offer prenatal care for pregnant women and their babies, and fight to help protect children's rights. Contact: 888-817-4357 or www.doctorsoftheworld.org.

Project Linus
Every child needs a security blanket -- especially kids who are seriously ill or who've undergone some kind of trauma. Project Linus makes sure that these children have something to snuggle up with. Volunteers create homemade, washable blankets of all sizes and styles and distribute them to kids "in need of a big hug." Since 1995, Project Linus has given 673,000 blankets to children in countries around the world. If you want to contribute a homemade blanket, the organization offers patterns on its Website and provides links to local chapters. Blankets can be quilts, comforters, fleece throws, afghans, or receiving blankets, in child-friendly colors. Cash donations to help defray distribution costs are also welcome. Contact: 309-664-7814 or www.projectlinus.org.
Parents As Teachers
Kids don't come with an instruction manual, but Parents as Teachers provides the next best thing: Its staff regularly visits needy families at home, helping parents feel more confident about their caregiving skills, teaching them how to better interact with their children, and connecting them to community resources that serve families. It also provides screenings to identify developmental problems early. PAT believes that early interventions can help stave off child abuse and other problems. Contact: 314-432-4330 or www.patnc.org.