Gaians giving back to charities

Which type of charity would you prefer to give to?

General (ie: Goodwill, United Way, YMCA, etc.)	6.7%	[ 3168 ]
Animals	28.5%	[ 13508 ]
Children & Youth	11.6%	[ 5514 ]
Cultural & Educational	4.4%	[ 2096 ]
Disaster Relief	7.1%	[ 3388 ]
Environment	11.9%	[ 5651 ]
Health & Disease	12.3%	[ 5817 ]
Hunger & Poverty	14.4%	[ 6824 ]
Service and Benevolence Clubs	0.5%	[ 254 ]
Other (leave a comment stating which others interest you)	2.6%	[ 1249 ]
Total Votes:			[ 47469 ]

[mikey101x]

I say it should go to poorer schools for new books and such

[The Gas Man Cometh]

I'm planning on getting a credit card soon, and if I can donate from Australia I would gladly give to the RSPCA. [Or SPCA in America.. the R stands for 'Royal' here in Australia ^_^ ]

[Pie]

I think this would be one of the best things Gaia's ever done. My personal preference would be environmental, followed closely by health and poverty - but no matter what the specific cause, I would be proud to support it!

[irrelavant]

While I see that the majority of people would rather help animals, I feel that we need to work on the problems we face as humans first. Hunger, lack of education, greed... ok so perhaps we can't fix that last one, but I feel that humanitarian efforts are far more important than trying to help animals. neutral

[Lalala the destroyer]

As far as charities go, every one is a worthy cause, so do not ask my opinion on the matter. I cannot decide.

As for items, I am thinking. Certain charity days involve you wearing around a certain item to show your support. A pin with a charity logo, for example.
Anyway, I woulds love it if Gaia started selling charity-awareness items around the time such charity awareness days were occurring, and donate some of the proceeds to charity. By wearing such symbols on your Gaia avatar, it would also generate more awareness for charities, and its just like in real life.

Just throwing that out there, if it hasn't been already.

[Bardic Inspiration]

I would love to see this thing come to fruition! Probably one of the best ideas that Gaia has come up with in a long time.

I would probably by the item as well. But it still should be well done and all too. Representing a charity shouldn't be done poorly.

Anyways, yes on this from me!

Edit: And right now educational things are most important as I know lots of people do struggle to get an education...and college among other things aren't getting any cheaper.

But the Environment and all the other ideas listed work so well too.

[Shangrii-La]

it kind of irks me that everybody said animals, because animal charities get the most money out of all charities already, there are lots of other charities that do good causes and really NEED money.

[D.Darko]

I don't want a flame war to erupt out of what type of charity is most worthwhile. >_< Don't take something that could give Gaia some pride and turn it into a war of what DESERVES money and what "doesn't"... All these things are great causes and in an ideal world we'd be able to fix it all.

If we can spend money on pixels to begin with, just for entertainment, ANYWHERE it goes is an improvement, no? Whether you want to help stop animal neglect, fight cancer, give kids an education... I've suggested Child's Play, but I'll support most good charities if it doesn't get picked.

Plz don't sour it up people. Plz. Just this once. .__.

[evilbeaver420]

Wonderful idea...I'll buy a shitload...

Also, personally I'd prefere the United Way; they have chapters across the US and do a lot of good for a range of causes...so it's a little more spread out.

As for more specific causes, I believe in them all, but I don't think it's fair to single any given one out...

[Lalala the destroyer]

At the time of posting...

Animals: 60 votes
Humans (every option that isn't animals): 193 votes
Other: 11 votes

Animals are not winning. Human affairs are just divided into more options.

[Snail Trailer]

Environment, educational and stopping domestic abuse are my top three. I also donate blood (when I can get my iron content up).

Next on my list though would be helping children, fighting world hunger and cancer/diseases.

P.S. I'm really glad you're doing this. Thanks so much for wanting to help others and not just yourself. <3

[Dark Chaotic Nightmare]

I think it's very important to donate to cancer research. I just watched the Stand Up 2 Cancer telethon on ABC (also on CBS and NBC), and it was a very moving perfomance. I'm sure many people here have had someone that has died or has been struck by cancer, and their lives that have surely been changed.

To find out more about this event go to https://www.standup2cancer.org/donate_splash.asp

[moresugarthanspice]

Sorry but I'd rather charities and Gaia not mix. Even if it was for cancer, and my husband was diagnosed in '06.

It just seems like it's going to be a big mess. If you don't support something, and it's the most common thing, you aren't going to be happy to see advertisements telling you to support it. And what if this falls through and fails? "But you didn't support ____!" "Gaia sucks because it's against ____!" "What the hell was Gaia thinking supporting ____?! I will NEVER buy from them again!!!!111!" "If Gaia supports _____ then why not _____?"

I mean it's a good idea. Nice idea. But it just doesn't seem like the two should mix at all. It might be for a good cause but between the users, who knows what kind of mess it'll make? And what if you pick a charity that's just not really into its causes? Or one that just takes money for themselves?

And besides, aren't you guys supposed to be in the red?

[The Last Cross]

I'd love this, to be able to give to our community outside of Gaia itself, I was hoping someday I could help people, kids, children, anyone, to get them a better quality in life.

[Boden Torgolf]

I'd love to give charity to some sort of music school for kids.

But regardless of what the charity goes to, I think it's an awesome idea.