WHICH CHARITY
Should I Donate To?
At the peak of the holiday season, many Americans find themselves overcome by a spirit of generosity and goodwill. Many people go beyond finding the perfect gift for friends and family and give their time or money to a charitable organization, seeking to make the holidays a little better for those worse off than themselves.
During the holiday season, the foundation of your beautifully presented holiday dinner is the table linens, especially when they have been professionally cleaned and expertly pressed. You take great care to make your meal a stunning success, and the last thing you want to worry about is an awful stain on your holiday table cloth. At Janet Davis Cleaners, we know how busy the holiday season can be, and how something as small as a stain can throw off your dinner preparations. That’s why we offer the highest-quality table linen and napkin cleaning in the area. Food and drink can leave behind tough stains, and dirt and grime can make a brand-new tablecloth look old and weathered. With our expert stain removal, we will do our best to ensure that your tablecloths are returned to you looking as new as the day you bought them. If your linens are heavily soiled, we will not hesitate to soak them in our special solution before a giving them a thorough spin in our commercial washing machines. We also offer a whitening service for white table linens. If you opt for this service, we will add a non-bleach cleaner to the solution to restore the shine to your fabric and give your linens a fresh look. This service is non- aggressive, meaning it will never damage your linens. If your whites don’t shine like they used to, ask us about this service! After your linens have been cleaned, they are hand-finished. Some cleaners machine-finish their linens, but Janet Davis Cleaners believes in offering only the best services possible. So we individually hand-finish each tablecloth and napkin in our care. In addition, we place the finished linens on cylinder-based hangers to ensure your tablecloth is returned looking neat and pressed, without unwanted creases. Also, be sure to take advantage of our free pickup and delivery service! This is a busy time of year, and we are happy to make dry cleaning as easy and convenient for you as possible. If your table linens need a thorough cleaning before your holiday dinner, call Janet Davis Cleaners at (248) 543-0340 to sign up for our pickup and delivery service. ARE YOUR LINENS HOLIDAY DINNER READY?
But with thousands upon thousands of charities to choose from, how we do ensure our dollars are truly going to the best possible cause?
It may seem obvious, but it’s best not to hand your credit card info to an anonymous organization soliciting your aid. The IRS has little regulatory power over most charitable organizations since they don’t typically pay taxes. As a result, it’s all too easy to be defrauded.
“Never give a gift where you didn’t initiate the communication,” advises Tim Meisenheimer, a certified financial planner. Calls can be a red flag, as charities who employ telemarketers are much less likely to receive the entirety of your donation. If you’re donating online, he also advises you to check that there’s a “https” at the beginning of the URL, which indicates a secure connection.
But the best way to avoid shady scammers is to research the charity before you hand over your cash. One helpful resource is CharityNavigator.org, a charity-screening website where you can scrutinize a charity’s rating, spending habits, category, and much more. When examining a charity, they look for all kinds of red flags, such as if they spend more than one-third of their budget on administrative costs or if they aren’t forthcoming about their operations and expenditures. If you’re unsure of where to donate, check out their list of “Charities With Perfect Scores.” If you want to provide humanitarian aid, Direct Relief (DirectRelief. org) is a well-known charity, and it has a perfect rating of 100 on Charity Navigator. They provide medical treatment in resource-poor communities. If you’re more inclined to protect the environment, check out The Conservation Fund (ConservationFund.org), which seeks to preserve natural resources while fostering economic development in America. Education-minded donors should look up Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO-usa.org), another organization with a perfect 100 from Charity Navigator. They strive to provide robust education for underserved communities. There are thousands of excellent charities to donate to, and many of them are probably right in your backyard.
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