Helping Hearts, Blog of Anne Sanders

Veteran’s Day is this weekend and you might be wondering what veterans want for Christmas this year. Hundreds of veteran’s charities will tell you, but the claims of fraud and fundraising overspending against some military charities has risen in the last few years. Before you donate to any, read this blog. You can and should check out charities that ask for your money. Charity Navigator and Charity Watch are watchdog organizations that rate charities on their transparency and spending habits. Charity Navigator is free while Charity Watch gives access to all its files for a yearly fee. Currently, Charity Navigator (CN) has a donor advisory on the Disabled Veterans National Foundation (DVNF). According to CN, “On May 23, 2012, CNN reported that Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Senator Richard Burr, the senior Republican on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee are investigating charges that the Disabled Veterans National Foundation has spent little ...

This month is a phenomenon in men’s health known as Movember . It’s all about sporting a Mo (mustache) and growing it to great lengths while you shun shaving for the month. At the end of the month, you can show your Mo at a Mo Party. In the meantime, you can share why you are growing your facial hair and why else? To support men’s health.   The Movember site has tons of information about men’s health, prostate cancer and testicular cancer as well as health resources for men. While growing your Mo, you can also raise money to support research on cancers that affect men such as prostate cancer.   The funds go to programs run by Movember and its partners, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVE STRONG , the Lance Armstrong Foundation. You can create an online page to which people can contribute for your Mo growth. Movember offers prizes for the teams with the best Mo page, the team and individual that raises the most money and also has random prizes for those that rais...