SmileTrain

When I first started my own business, I made it a point to send thank-you gifts to my customers– normally, that meant some kind of holiday gift basket sent to the project editor of each book I did. It was a good thought, but it had some problems. First, most people have enough holiday junk to eat; second, lots of people can’t eat the treats due to dietary or religious restrictions. Third, it’s a transient gift. Even with those limits, though, it definitely helped build my relationships with my customers, which is very important in the computer publishing industry– your brand determines whether you get great title opportunities or junky ones.
So, year before last I switched over and made donations to The Heifer Project in my clients’ names instead. This was well received, and I liked it that our gifts were accomplishing something positive . A number of clients said to me that they appreciated the gesture much more than they would have appreciated Yet Another Gift Basket.
This year, 3sharp wanted to do something similar (spurred on by Microsoft’s draconian no-gifts-to-employees policy), so we made a donation to SmileTrain, a charity that provides medical training and services to help repair cleft palates. Their web site puts it simply:

The greatest tragedy is that all of these children are suffering not because they were born with a cleft, but because they were born poor. Too poor to pay for a simple cure that has been around for decades. Helping these children is the mission of The Smile Train. We help provide free cleft surgery and related treatment for children who would otherwise never receive it.

It’s a great cause, and I’m thankful that we are able to contribute. If you’re looking for a good holiday cause, I encourage you to consider making a donation. 100% of donations go toward providing surgeries; their overhead expenses are paid for by their supporting sponsors. (n.b. Computer Associates, perhaps the most evil software company in the world [well, besides Oracle– ed], is a sponsor– proof that even the bad guys can do some good in the world.)