DonorsChoose.org & CharityWater.org: Better Holiday Giving - Shelly Palmer

This is the season of giving, and I just finished shooting the Shelly Palmer Digital Living Hi-Tech Holiday Gift Guide for Fox Television. It's going to air on December 16^th at 10:30pm ET on Fox 5 here in NY. Check your local listings. I cover all kinds of interesting hi-tech gifts from computers to smartphone to connected television sets – but I believe that some of the best gifts we can give this holiday season are to people in need. There are thousands of worthy causes and I'm sure you have your favorites. This year, I have three organizations that I'd like you to consider:

DonorsChoose.org is a unique website with a remarkable mission – they envision a nation where children in every community have the tools and experiences needed for an excellent education. It started back in 2000 when Charles Best, a social studies teacher, sensed that many people would like to help distressed public schools, but were frustrated by a lack of influence over their donations. He created DonorsChoose.org so that individuals could connect directly with classrooms in need.

I love this website. You can search it for projects that are meaningful to you and then rejoice in the knowledge that you have helped enhance a child's education.

When my father passed away in 2008, we started the Lon T. Palmer Music Education Fund in his honor. Early in his career, my dad was a public school music teacher in the inner city. He believed that music was a powerful engine for tolerance and a fundamental language with unifying qualities. So, to help focus his students, he created a drumline. It's amazing how a pair of drums sticks, a practice pad and a little direction can change lives. I wanted to see if we could expand our giving outside of the New York City public school system – sure enough, a quick search on donorschoose.org delivered a whole bunch of music teachers who shared my late father's vision. Try it for yourself, the site is awesome and the results are outstanding.

Another favorite is charitywater.org – I've had the pleasure of hearing its founder, Scott Harrison, speak on several occasions. His story is unique and inspirational; you should take a moment to learn about him. Interestingly, the charity he founded uses technology to deliver in ways that are extremely emotionally satisfying.

Why water? Almost a billion people live without clean drinking water. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause more deaths each year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable to this -- their small bodies can't handle the intense dehydration from diarrheal diseases.

In developing countries, women and children usually collect the water for their families. They walk miles each day to the nearest source, which is unprotected and likely to make them sick. Time spent walking keeps them from attending school, working or taking care of their families.

But clean water changes everything.

Safe drinking water alone can reduce water-related deaths by 21%. Water projects built near home can restore hours to someone's day. Instead of walking for water, adults can use this time to work and children can use it to get an education. Families with enough clean water to drink, bathe, clean and grow their own food can become self-sufficient households, less affected by external conflict, famine or inadequate government services.

Please visit chartiywater.org and consider making a donation.

Last, but certainly as important to me as anything else I'm involved with, is the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Department of Pediatrics.

As many of you know, my granddaughter, Emma, was diagnosed with Cancer in March of this year. We are extremely fortunate to have received the care and support from an amazing team of Doctors, Nurses and Specialists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to help us get through an extraordinarily difficult time. I am happy to report that Emma is 6 months Cancer FREE and counting!

This is a great time to support all of the children and families that are fighting Cancer, many of whom will be receiving treatment throughout the holidays. The Department of Pediatrics at MSKCC has created a "WISH LIST" that I wanted to pass along. I hope all of you have a happy and healthy holiday season.

The following is written by MSKCC:

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Department of Pediatrics Wish List

Thank you for your interest in donating to Pediatrics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Your gifts will go a long way towards brightening the hospital stays for our pediatric patients.

· Ranging in size from toddler to 16 years old

Shelly Palmer is the host of NBC Universal‘s Live Digital with Shelly Palmer, a weekly half-hour television show about living and working in a digital world. He is Fox 5 New York‘s On-air Tech Expert (WNYW-TV) and the host of Fox Television’s monthly show Shelly Palmer Digital Living.  He also hosts United Stations Radio Network‘s, MediaBytes, a daily syndicated radio report that features insightful commentary and a unique insiders take on the biggest stories in technology, media, and entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group, LLC an industry-leading advisory and business development firm and the President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, NY (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy® Awards). Palmer is the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV 2nd Edition (York House Press, 2008) the seminal book about the technological, economic, and sociological forces that are changing everything and the upcoming, Overcoming The Digital Divide: How to use Social Media and Digital Tools to Reinvent Yourself and Your Career (York House Press, 2011) For more information, visitshellypalmer.com

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