Why we prefer this option
We've been very lucky in life; there aren't many things we actually need, and we're very conscious that there are many people in much more need than us. Because of this, we think the best gift guests can give us is to donate on our account to a charitable organisation whose mission we support. That way, we can share our good fortune and the happiness of our wedding.
How to donate
We have set up a charity registry with the I Do Foundation. The easiest way to donate is to go to the charity registry page we've set up with them, and either select one organisation or to share out your donation between all of them.
The charities
We've selected several different charities, so hopefully everyone can find one whose mission is of interest to them. You can read a short blurb about each one on our I Do Foundation charity list page, and some are pretty well known national or international organisations. There are a few we'd like to say a bit more about, because they're either local groups or of more personal interest to us.
CCFA: Funding colitis research
This one is more selfishly oriented than the others: Eldan suffers from ulcerative colitis—a chronic illness for which there is no cure yet—and the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America is a major sponsor of research into cures and better maintenance treatments.
Millionair Club: Finding work for homeless people
The Millionair Club is our neighbour in Belltown, and their mission is to help homeless people get back on their feet by giving them jobs. It functions as a no-fee agency for day labour and longer-term work, as well as giving members essential basics like meals and a place to wash. The services it provides are important help for unlucky people who are caught in the vicious cycle of needing a job to get accommodation, and needing an address to get a job.
826 Seattle: Teaching children and teenagers to write well
826 Seattle is an organisation that supports the school system by offering mentoring, tutoring and workshops to children from ages 6 to 18. Like the Millionair Club, this group is important because it helps people escape a catch-22: these days it's almost impossible to get a good job without a degree, but it's also impossible to get into a good university without a certain level of writing skill. Groups like 826 give a chance to kids who are intelligent but haven't had the good fortune of being able to go to a good school.