Bill and Melinda Gates Select Four Charities for Giving Tuesday

SEATTLE, Nov. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Bill and Melinda Gates are supporting Giving Tuesday, a national day of giving on Dec. 3. As part of that movement, the Gates' are highlighting four of the organizations they personally support, in an effort to help others who want to donate to effective charities this holiday giving season. 

Now in its second year, Giving Tuesday is a movement to add a national day of giving to the holiday calendar following Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Giving Tuesday is an opportunity for the giving community to come together to support worthy causes and to encourage giving. During Giving Tuesday in 2012, online giving increased by nearly 50 percent from the previous year according to some measures, and more than 50 million people worldwide spread the word about Giving Tuesday.

Bill and Melinda Gates' top four causes to donate to this Giving Tuesday include these:

• DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Public school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project requests on the DonorsChoose site, and visitors can give any amount to the project that is most inspiring to them.
• Heifer International empowers families to turn hunger and poverty into hope and prosperity by helping bring sustainable agriculture and commerce to areas that need it most. The animals provide partners with both food and reliable income, as agricultural products such as milk, eggs and honey can be traded or sold at market.
• Save the Children gives kids in the United States and around the world what every child deserves: a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm, especially when disaster strikes. When disaster strikes, Save the Children advocates and achieves lasting change for millions of children. They save children's lives.
• World Vision is dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision works on every level to achieve the goal of child well-being — from international activism to checking in on children face-to-face.

"No matter who you support, and how much you give, it's a great way to help create a better world," said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

As the holiday shopping season begins, individuals are encouraged to contribute what they can to these worthy causes — or any other charitable organizations — to make a positive impact. You can read more about why Bill and Melinda participate in Giving Tuesday here. 

SOURCE bgC3