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This year for Christmas, my family has decided to forgo the usual gift giving and instead we are donating to charities the money we would have spent.

I did my "shopping" from the World Vision gift catalog. We have sponsored a little girl named Angela in the Dominican Republic since 2000. WV is a very reputable organization, as are many others, but we prefer it because most of the money goes to the actual projects; only 5% goes to administrative costs.

So, for this year for Christmas my Mom, stepdad, and Michelle are not getting a llama, and Claudia is not getting fast-growing and drought-resistant seeds. :) Maybe this year we'll be able to walk around the Christmas tree.

Anyway, after completing my donation, it requested that I pass along the following message to my friends. My faithful readers (all three of you) are the people I think would most be interested, so here it is...

Subject: I made a donation to World Vision and so can you!

It was easy to find the right donation opportunity with many options to choose from -- including child sponsorship, emergency aid for victims of the Hurricanes in the Gulf, the famine in West Africa, basic needs such as school supplies or winter clothing, and the Gift Catalog. It only takes a few minutes to make a difference in our world. I encourage you to go experience it for yourself today!

Simply click here to see what you can do to help a child or family in need.