Click to donate...

It's a new year!  Wooooooo!  Happy 2016!  We rang in the new year in Poland this year (tucked into bed in a hostel while people screamed and lit fireworks in the street in the below freezing temps).

I'm not overly sentimental about new years, though I do generally go through a similar thought process each time I buy a new calendar (Will this be the year I get back into the shape I was in in high school?  Will I become a vegetarian this year?  Am I finally going to pay off those college loans, and if so, how?).  This year is a bit different.  I have a week or so to decide if I'm going to leave Germany to go back home.  I have to sell my car.  For that matter, I've got to sell about half of what I own so I have less to move, so there's a whole host of small decisions leading up to a big one!

However, those are all of my issues!  If you happen to be looking for something good to do with your new year (and no, this isn't a sales pitch), I would like to share with you a number of ways that you can help make a difference in the world for free!  That's right!  Just visit these sites and click a few buttons to generate donations that help feed hungry people and animals, aid in autism research, offset cell phone usage and more!

I've been using Greater Good since college.  This site works in partnership with all sorts of charities (Veteran Homestead, International Fund for Animal Welfare and the University of Michigan Healthcare System to name a few).  They also have fair trade shops that correspond to each of their click sites.  I've purchased some jewelry from The Rainforest Site shop that I wear all the time (and I bought it about 8 years ago!).

Care2 is another site that I found in college and have been clicking on ever since.  To click, hover your mouse over the "Causes" tab and scroll down to "Click to Donate."  I like to click for each cause each day.  This site gives you what they call "butterfly credits" which you get for clicking, signing/starting petitions, and completing daily actions.  You can cash these credits out on things like planting trees, saving turtle hatchlings, and feeding hungry schoolchildren.

A third site that I've been using since college is FreeRice.  This site partners with the United Nations Food Programme in Rome and gives donators the ability to learn all sorts of cool stuff (vocabulary in multiple languages, world landmarks, practice math skills, and answer hunger questions) while giving back.  Just pick a subject and for each of your correct answers, they will donate 10 grains of rice to hungry people.  I like to try and donate at least 2,000 grains a day!  This site is great for the nights when you can't sleep and want to do something productive, but don't want to get out of bed.

A site that I've just recently found is called Care to Click.  This site is similar to the other click sites in that it supports a number of causes.  You can register with them to keep track of your clicks.  Sharing on Facebook and Tweeting the cause (part of their three "daily actions")  will generate even more donations towards their various causes.  

The final site that I've been clicking on is called Click to Give.   It's a lot like the other sites in that it partners with charities, clicks generate donations, and you can create an account to keep track of your progress.

Hopefully, this has inspired ya'll to spend about 5-10 minutes of your day clicking buttons to help the world!  If you're really into clicking to donate, HERE is a list of about 70 click to donate sites that you can use (it includes all of the sites I've already listed)!  Get clicking!