Making a personal difference

Simply visit The Hunger Site each day and click on the "Give Free Food" button to help make a difference to world hunger. A simple action, but each click is translated into donations of staple foods to those who desperately need it. The donated staple food is paid for by the site's sponsors, and then distributed by America's Second Harvest and Mercy Corps. Launched in June 1999, The Hunger Site is owned and operated by Tim Kunin and Greg Hesterberg, co-owners of CharityUSA.com, who also operate the following sites:

www.therainforestsite.com - The Rainforest Site (preserve endangered land)

www.thebreastcancersite.com - The Breast Cancer Site (fund free mammograms)

www.thechildhealthsite.com - The Child Health Site (fund healthcare for children)

www.theliteracysite.com - The Literacy Site (fund books for kids)

www.theanimalrescuesite.com - The Animal Rescue Site (fund food for animals)

Each site works with the same principle; 'clicks' are translated into donations by the site sponsors. There in no obligation to respond to the sponsor's advertisements. NB Whilst the Hunger Site and the Rainforest Site benefit the denoted causes on an international level, as the sites are American, the additional sites (supporting mammograms, healthcare for children, books and food for animals) benefit causes in the USA).

"The search engine that helps charity," everyclick.com was launched in June 2005 as a fundraising tool with the express purpose of enabling users to generate money for their chosen favourite charity. Every month everyclick donates 50% of its gross revenue to the charities listed on the website, translating searches directly into revenue for listed charities. Any registered charity can sign up to benefit from Everyclick.com; there is no charge to either user or beneficiary. Users of the search engine can choose their favourite charity from those registered, and surf the internet with the knowledge that every time they use Everylick.com they will be generating money towards a charitable cause. For full details of how funds raised from Everyclick.com are distributed, how to become a supporter or how to register your charity as a beneficiary, see the website.

Offering customers an extensive range of 'unusual' gifts, the Oxfam Unwrapped scheme enables you to give a gift which will make a real difference to those who really need it. Choose from goats, camels, planting trees or a stake in a mango plantation, to training a teacher or midwife, Oxfam Unwrapped gifts give you the chance to choose how your donation is spent and to give an original gift!

Similar to the Oxfam Unwrapped scheme, the charity 'Send a Cow' offers the chance to give gifts which can provide practical help to African families trapped by poverty. Send a Cow supports poor farmers in sub-Saharan Africa through the provision of livestock, training and support, enabling them to earn a living and work their way out of poverty. Buy all manner of farm animals, ranging from rabbits or fish, to oxen, and give a meaningful gift.

Dedicated to fighting poverty through trade, Traidcraft is the UK's leading fair trade organisation, campaigning for fairer trade legislation and seeking to raise the profile of fairly traded goods. Learn more about 'fair trade' by visiting the Traidcraft website, which also provides full information on the work and guiding principles of Traidcraft, in addition to an online Traidcraft shop and advice on how to get involved in the growing fair trade movement.

Meaningful travel:

There is an increasing demand for travel projects which incorporate a considerable amount of voluntary work on projects based in disadvantaged communities around the world in less-developed countries. Projects often involve a building element, such as laying water pipes or building classrooms, but could also be teaching English or working with children in an orphanage. Although such projects require a considerable financial and time commitment from the traveller, they offer numerous many rewards, and provide the opportunity to combine travel and voluntary work, and the chance to live within the community they are seeking to support. Great emphasis is placed on community development and making a positive difference to the community:

www.vso.org.uk/

http://www.raleighinternational.org/uk/

http://www.i-to-i.com/

In particular, i-to-I projects focus largely on teaching English abroad; benefit from TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) training, and then put this skill to the test. Conservation, building and community development projects are also offered.

The following link for do-it.org (a national database of volunteering opportunities in the UK) has a comprehensive list of organisations which provide organised travel opportunities for students and young people:

http://www.do-it.org.uk/wanttovolunteer/volunteeringoverseas/youthandstudents