My new favorite TV show (in addition to The Mentalist) is 4REAL hosted by Sol Guy. Guy takes celebrities around the world to connect with young leaders who are creating change in their communities. The most recent episode featured Eva Mendes, and Liz Evans, the Executive Director and Founder of the Portland Hotel Society in Vancouver.

I don't usually like to post about corporate campaigns, but I liked the idea of this one, so I'll bend the rules. Quaker Snack Bars has created Birthday Party with a Purpose Kits in partnership with Kids Care Clubs. Kids Care Clubs are a program of the HandsOn Network whose mission is to, "develop compassion and to inspire a spirit of volunteering in elementary and middle school age youth."

If you have a do-good Dad like mine, it can be a challenge to find a Father's Day gift he'll truly enjoy. Here are a few ideas:

According to a recent AP report, 300,000 people in Kenya were forced to leave their homes, and over 800 people were killed during this past month's post-election violence.

In a time when fundraising widgets, Causes on Facebook and other forms of web-based giving are rising in popularity, it's important to not forget the power of people connecting face-to-face.

Big corporations may put out big press releases whenever they give any cause a dime, but how much do they actually give?

According to the CCNMoney.com article, Splurges Will Be Scarce This Holiday Season: "Americans will spend an average of $923.36 on holiday gifts, which includes $106.67 on me-too purchases, which are the impulse buys that people make for themselves while they're shopping for gifts. This is up a moderate 3.7 percent from last year, according to NRF's 2007 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey."