Gaming Means Giving

With the holidays peeking just over the horizon, we know that a new wave of toys and electronics will be making its way into our cozy (in other words, small) house. So for a few weekends in December, we hold a few Purge & Donate parties. One of our most cluttered areas? The video game shelf. With a 5-year-old boy who loves his Wii, Playstation and DS – and a mom who maintains a pretty solid list of titles herself – the media shelves can start to sag.

Check out Donate Games, a nonprofit that takes your game trade-ins and offers a place where you can buy, too. The OC-based organization raises funds for so-called "orphan diseases" – a class of rare, debilitating (usually genetic) and often fatal diseases that strike a small portion of the population. For these diseases, which most people have never heard of, there are no cross-country run/walks or telethons. Founder Jim Carol, the father of a son who survived an orphan disease, started this organization to help  this underserved group.

The donation process is easy and painless. Just pop your games into an envelope, download and print out a shipping label and send it off. Then do some shopping to find cool new titles to fill those spaces in the shelves. And feel good knowing that you can be Guitar Hero on more than one level.

Step Up for Dress Up

Gosh, I love it when America's youth steps up and does something really cool.

Woodland Hills-based teens Megan and Phoebe Stoeckel just launched an amazing new nonprofit called Operation Dress Up!. They started the organization to collect gently used clothing throughout the school year and find a way to get it to homeless children enrolled in LAUSD schools.

How great is that?

The girls are holding their very first clothing drive from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 6, at Menchie's Frozen Yogurt (at the Fallbrook Mall, 6731 ½ Fallbrook Avenue in West Hills). Take some stuff to donate, and you'll receive a coupon for a free 10-oz. frozen yogurt. It's a delicious way that you and the kids can do something for children in need.

The clothing collected from this drive will be delivered to Beyond Shelter, an organization that provides aide to L.A.'s homeless families.

Teens Save the Planet!

Teens, these are tough times. You are inheriting a planet with problems, the likes of which no other generation has seen. The good news is that you're an active, involved and motivated group. You see what lies ahead and are poised to take action. And sometimes all you need are two strong hands and the means to dive in and start cleaning, organizing and saving the world so that it's a great place to live and, ultimately, start raising your own families (far, far into the future!).

Kids ready to roll up their sleeves should consult Becky Bones, a teen-focused environmental clothing brand that offers grants, internships and other resources for young greenies. Teens and schools can apply for grants through the Becky Bones site, which also offers an "eco-portal" to access information, socialize, get conservation tips and share their own success stories.

Becky Bones, in addition to its cool shoes and clothing, donates 25% of its profits to these grassroots green projects. Want to organize a community tree planting? Beach cleanup? Awareness campaign? Check out the site for funds and information, and you might be on your way.

Mend a Heart!

Now that all we have left of Valentine's Day are empty chocolate boxes and slightly fuller hips (me, anyway), here's a way to do something good for the heart.

In honor of National Mend a Broken Heart Month, you can help children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned. When a child is in need, the My Stuff Bags Foundation swoops in with a special bag filled with both necessary items (such as toothbrushes and other toiletries) and  goodies (like stuffed animals and games) to help brighten an otherwise tragic moment in a child's young life.

My Stuff Bags is a Southern California-based charity that helps children all over the U.S. who have endured unspeakable harms. Visit the site to donate $10, which creates one bag. It'll not only mend a heart but make yours grow just a bit.