CLICK & DOUBLE CLICK: DONATE TO HUNGER FREE ON INTERNET

You can help feed a hungry person -- from your computer terminal. You can aid a victim of Hurricane Floyd from the comfort of your own home.

It's easy thanks to the Internet.

One of the neatest sites I've seen in the past few weeks is the Hunger Site. It allows you to give food via an advertiser. It doesn't cost you a dime, and you can donate up to half cup of food once each day. The most common food staples donated are rice, wheat and maize.

www.thehungersite.com

The statistics are pretty grim. Every 3.6 seconds someone dies from hunger, according to this site. That's 24,000 people every day. Three-fourths of those who die are under age 5.

The site began in June and has been gaining steam each day. The food is distributed through the United Nations World Food Program with projects in 80 countries.

The Hunger Site is a nonprofit agency, and 100 percent of the donations go directly to fight hunger. It quit charging sponsors a fee in August.

To fight hunger closer to home, you might check out the Second Harvest Web site. It bills itself as the largest hunger charitable relief organization in the United States.

www.secondharvest.org/index2.htm

Second Harvest is mobilizing assistance to victims of Hurricane Floyd. It will send food and supplies to mobile sites and shelters in the affected communities.

You can send a donation online, via your credit card. It is a secured site, which is evidenced by a security message and the fact a locked padlock will appear on the bottom gray bar. Don't give out your credit card on the Internet unless you are sure it is a secure site.

The Second Harvest is a network of 188 regional food banks that serve all 50 state and Puerto Rico. It distributes more than 1 billion pounds of donated food and grocery product annually.

It ranks sixth among national charities, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. First and second on the list? The Salvation Army followed by the American Red Cross. We'll visit their national Web sites next.

www.salvationarmy.org

This site provides insight into the far-reaching programs of the Salvation Army. You can take a closer look at programs in more than 100 different countries off the main page. You can also find out about their efforts in Kosovo and Turkey, or read the hip e-zine "Toaster" from the main page.

You can find out more about the organization and its history. You can learn more about its programs such as the family tracing service. Established in 1885, it helps people locate relatives who, for whatever reason, have become out of touch. The average length of time a relative has been out of touch is 16 years. But they reunited a brother and sister after 81 years.

The Salvation Army is spiritually based, and you can find advice for life in the Gospel section. There are also several discussion forums on the site as well as a photography gallery of programs worldwide.

www.redcross.org

This site provides the latest disaster relief news and phone numbers. Red Cross relief efforts are currently focusing on the fallout from Hurricane Floyd and help to victims of violence in East Timor.

You can find out more about Red Cross services or even take a tour of their virtual museum. You can click on one of the six eras from pre-1900 to present or choose an automated tour guide.

Feeling generous? You can give online to the Disaster Relief Fund, which helps disaster victims across the nation; the International Relief Fund that aids those affected by international crises; or you can give to your local chapter to help area people in need.

You can also find out more about donating your time, blood, tissue or organs online. With your zip code, you can hook up with your local chapter.

www.unitedway.org

The Area Wide United Way does much for this community. But it is part of a larger organization that is helping people across the country.

Last year, the United Way of America raised a record $3.58 billion. Most of this money was plowed back into local communities. But United Way also helps with national and worldwide disasters as well. You can also click off to the Healing Fund, established by the United Way to help the local community recover from the Columbine shootings last spring.

You can read the financial reports of the United Way of America online, and it links you to the more than 1,400 community-based chapters nationwide. You can also go directly to the chapter that serves Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City at

rosecity.net/unitedway

You can see the progress of the $750,000 campaign under way and learn more about the local agencies served. There's a calendar, guestbook, fact sheet and more.

Want to learn more about charitable giving nationwide? Then make a stop at Guidestar, the Web's clearinghouse for information on nonprofit agencies. Here you can find information on the activities and finances of more than 650,000 different nonprofit groups.

www.guidestar.org

You can search for your favorite nonprofit or read the latest philanthropic news.

A search for Cape Girardeau turned up 32 charitable causes from schools, churches and others. You can read their program and financial information online. Groups can register free of charge and can update their information.

Another good supersite for information on charities is the National Charities Information Bureau. This group has been promoting informed giving for more than 80 years.

www.ncib.org

America's nonprofit sector is strong -- more than 1 million organizations, according to NCIB President William Massey. He has some insightful observations about accountability and giving as we approach the next millennium -- especially in the wake of changing government aid.

You can get a free giving report online, and make sure you read the "Tips for Givers" section. It's very helpful. They also offer a quick reference guide for 400 of the larger charities.

What's your favorite charitable site on the Internet? E-mail me at click@semissourian.com

See you in Cyberspace.

~Joni Adams is managing editor of the Southeast Missourian.