In times of great tragedy, it is heartwarming to see so many people come together to assist in the Haiti recovery efforts. However, what is absolutely disheartening is donating to charities where the victims don’t receive any of these benefits.  If you’re looking to help Haiti and unsure how best to help, Cool Mom Picks has put together this helpful list.

Image courtesy of Cool Mom Picks

The Center for the Pacific Asian Family (CPAF) has made it to the final round of the Chase Community Giving Contest to win $1,000,000 and they need your help! Check out their powerful video & facebook page here to see how much the $1,000,000 would benefit them in funding a multi-lingual call center to support emergency domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers.  With one woman beaten every 15 seconds in our country, it is so important that women and children have the resources available to seek a better and safer life.  Voting begins tonight!

Birth of a first child.

Death of a spouse.

Single fatherhood.

A virtual & physical community coming together.

In a nutshell, this is the story of Matt Logelin and his adorable daughter, Madeline, as they journey through life without wife/mother, Liz, who passed away 27 hours after she gave birth.  Matt keeps a pretty regular blog and it is sad, yet hopeful, and sometimes heart-wrenching, but always refreshing because he isn’t afraid to speak what’s on his mind and in his heart.

Recently, Matt created “The Liz Logelin Foundation – For the Love of Liz” to help others who have lost a spouse/parent, as they struggle to move forward.  His “$7 on the 7th” Campaign is an easy, affordable way to help…simply donate $7 on the 7th of every month.  For more information, click below.

Growing up, one of my best memories was storytime at school or the local library.  Then it was going to the bookstore with my mom and picking up the latest book in my favorite children’s book series (Baby Sitters Club books were a fav!).  Now, although life is a little more hectic, I still have a love affair with reading…whether it’s mindless “chick-lit” romances or a thought-provoking novel.  (Secretly, I still peruse the children’s book sections of my local bookstore and have been known to read my favorite children’s books over and over again!)  Unfortunately, there are so many children who don’t have these opportunities to develop a life-long love of reading…until now.

Reading to Kids is a grassroots organization in the Los Angeles area dedicated to inspiring underserved children with a love of reading, thereby enriching their lives and opportunities for future success.  They meet the second Saturday of every month from 9:00am to 12:00pm at 8 different elementary schools near downtown Los Angeles for an educational and fun experience with storytime and arts & crafts.  And if you’re not able to join them, they can always use monetary donations and supplies.  Click below for more information and to sign up to volunteer!  They are still looking for volunteers for the Feb. 14, 2009 event!

With some saying this may be one of the most important elections we will ever experience, we’re sure your kids have many questions about the candidates and how the election process works.  We have to admit…even though we’re adults, we don’t know exactly how the electoral college process works or what the candidates stand for on issues such as education and the economy.  Thank goodness for Scholastic Books who have put together a kid-friendly “Election 2008″ website with election blogs, educational election games and campaign news from kid reporters.

Click on the button below to get to Scholastic’s Campaign Headquarters!