Presents/Presence
or, in lieu of gifts...
The matter of presents... Frankly, we just want you to be there. Really.
We've been fortunate enough to receive a number of things from the old
Laudadio homestead and we don’t really need anything else (although
we will always have room for anything you have made, sung, built, or created
in some way (and Nick is always on the lookout for a Digital PDP 8/e
microcomputer, if you have one lying around gathering dust, -ed.)).
However,
if you'd really like to give something, we'd love for you to make a donation
to one our favorite charities and if you decide to do so, please let us
know so we can thank you.
We have picked these charities in particular because we believe in what
they do and because they received the ranking of four stars at Charity
Navigator (something like a Consumer Reports for charities):
http://www.charitynavigator.org
The
Global Fund for Women
http://www.globalfundforwomen.org/
The Global Fund for Women, an international network of women and men committed
to a world of equality and social justice, advocates for and defends women's
human rights by making grants to support women's groups around the world.
We believe that women should have a full range of choices, and that women
themselves know best how to determine their needs and propose solutions
for lasting change.
(GFW is the only foundation in the U.S. that awards grants to women's
rights groups all over the world; it is the largest foundation in the
world with this mission.) (a Working Assets charity)
The
National Childhood Cancer Foundation
http://www.nccf.org/
The National Childhood Cancer Foundation is dedicated to reducing the
devastating impact of cancer on infants, children, adolescents and young
adults by supporting clinical and laboratory research on cancer causes,
treatments, and cures, and by education and advocacy for the needs of
children with cancer and their families.
Human
Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/
Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people
around the world. We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination,
to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in
wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. We investigate and expose
human rights violations and hold abusers accountable.
We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices
and respect international human rights law.
Center
for Community Change
http://www.communitychange.org/
We help organizations build their communities' capacity for self-help,
develop strong leaders, provide critical services, build homes, develop
businesses, give residents a say in their community's future and, perhaps
most important, give low income people a sense of hope. (a Working Assets
charity)
The
Sierra Club
http://www.sierraclub.org/
The Sierra Club's members are 700,000 of your friends and neighbors. Inspired
by nature, we work together to protect our communities and the planet.
The Club is America's oldest, largest and most influential grassroots
environmental organization.
The
Ohio Historical Society
http://www.ohiohistory.org/
The Ohio Historical Society is a nonprofit organization incorporated in
1885 "...to promote a knowledge of archaeology and history, especially
in Ohio." The society exists to interpret, preserve, collect, and
make available evidence of the past, and to provide leadership on furthering
knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the prehistory and history
of Ohio and of the broader cultural and natural environments of which
Ohio is a part.