Re: you *can* donate money (Score 1)

This is a good question, and the answer is: you *can* donate money. The Paypal link and address for donations by check are right in the middle of http://www.childsplaycharity.org/. In this case there is no benefit to cutting out the middle man (Child's Play), because we don't take out any money from the donation pool. Donate a dollar to CP, and we'll give that dollar to a hospital. So why not just send the dollar directly to the hospital? Because we use the cash donations to balance out the toy donations. Say the hospital in New Orleans has gotten plenty of toy donations, but the hospital in Liverpool has gotten few. We'll use the cash pool to even things out. The other benefit is that donating through Child's Play enables us to track total donations. This is important because one of the reasons Child's Play works is because donors, hospitals, and the media see evidence that it works: the yearly donation totals. A $10 check sent to Child's Play is counted; a $10 check to a hospital is not. Both result in a hospital getting $10. So might as well help out the drive, and send the check to CP. All that said, if you'd rather mail a check directly to the hospital of your choice PLEASE DO SO. The whole point is helping out sick kids.