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Charities Instead

For those of you who want to avoid the consumerism of the holiday season, asking your friends and loved ones to donate to a charity or nonprofit organization in your name is a win-win situation for everyone. Here’s a short list that the AsianWeek staffers would love you readers to donate to:

Donaldina Cameron House

Cameron House is a mission of the Presbyterian Church in San Francisco’s Chinatown, serving urban youth, adults and families through leadership development, counseling, peer group counseling, group support, crisis intervention, education and advocacy. Find out more about their programs at www.cameronhouse.org and send donations to 920 Sacramento St., San Francisco, CA 94108.

Maitri

Maitri is a free, confidential, nonprofit organization based in the Bay Area, that helps South Asian women facing domestic violence, emotional abuse or family conflict. They provide everything from peer support and referrals to legal help, emergency shelters and counselors. Find out more about Maitri at www.maitri.org, and send donations to Maitri, P.O. Box 60111, Sunnyvale, CA 94086.

Locus 1640 Post

This fledgling arts space is run by an all-volunteer staff with the goal of “promoting Asian Pacific American consciousness and community through the arts ... as a venue showcasing the music, theatre, performing, literary, and visual arts of the pan-Asian Pacific American community.” Help support local APA artists and performers and give to Locus at 1640 Post Street San Francisco, CA 94115 and check out their website for upcoming events: www.locusarts.org.

Larkin Street Youth Services

Larkin Street Youth Services has 18 years of mission-driven experience responding to the unique needs of homeless and runaway youth on the streets of San Francisco. Their services comprise 18 distinct programs operating from 10 sites across San Francisco. At the heart of Larkin Street Youth Services is their firm commitment to helping youth move beyond street life, which has fueled a comprehensive continuum of services for youth between the ages of 12-23 and stands as a nationally recognized model of inÃovative and effective care for homeless and runaway youth. Your donation will help kids get off the street for good. Go to their direct donor link on their website at www.larkinstreetyouth.org.

Neela’s special request: Morgan William McDuffie Memorial Fund for Safe Schools

Last year on March 3, my friend Suzi Andrew was walking home from a party with her fiancé Morgan in their college town of Lewiston, Maine. He was stabbed to death while trying to stop local youth from brutally attacking two of his younger lacrosse teammates. Morgan was in his senior year at Bates College and just two months away from completing his degree in economics.

After this tragedy, Suzi was determined to make something positive happen and is working with the Red Cross to develop the Morgan William McDuffie Youth Violence Prevention Program, which will be an accompaniment to the existing Safe School initiative. The goal of the program is to reach out to elementary, middle and high school children by devising an educational curriculum about youth violence prevention. In order to implement the program by 2004, the Red Cross needs to raise $ 1 million.

As Suzi wrote in a letter introducing the program: “If this program is able to save others’ lives, and to save even one other person from the terrible pain of loss, it will be well worth the effort.”

Donate to Morgan William McDuffie Fund for Safe Schools, American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington D.C. 20013.