You know the season is upon us when the charity commercials displace the ED and herpes spots on TV, and everywhere you look there's Santa ringing his bell beside a Salvation Army bucket - some looking more jolly than others.

All joking aside, we push away from the Thanksgiving table bloated with turkey and have only a few short weeks to prepare for the next feast, not always mindful of our blessings compared to others.

One important way you can help is to donate to foreign aid charities. Here are just a few of the worthy causes we want to highlight.

Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Aid
Red Cross is probably best known in this category. According to their website, approximately 91¢ of every dollar donated is used for the programs they support, and you can designate where your money should be used (e.g. disaster relief, international aid, etc.) You can choose to support your national branch or select the International Red Cross/Red Crescent. Other comparable agencies include UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).

Impoverished Children
There are many charities to choose from if you want to help a third-world child this year. World Vision puts 87¢ of every dollar toward its programs; you can support a child for $30/month or a whole family for $40/month. Christian Children's Fund uses 81¢ per dollar on its programs, and the monthly cost to support a child is only $24.

Do your homework when deciding between several agencies, because the programs are not necessarily the same and will focus on different ways to help (e.g. providing food and clothing vs. digging a well and providing agricultural materials). Many charities also offer the option of making a one-time donation, if you're not sure you will be able to afford a regular monthly contribution.

Sending a special gift
One year, my family decided to pass on gifts and instead spend that money on Operation Christmas Child. This charity asks you to assemble shoe box-sized holiday packages (OCC boxes are available at certain locations and sponsors as well) filled with toiletries, candy, toys, and/or clothes for a girl or boy within a certain age range (2-4, 5-9, 10-14) that will be distributed to children all over the world during the holidays. This is a really fun activity to do with your children or nieces and nephews, but the deadline for dropping off your boxes is November 19th so you need to act quickly. Check the website for a drop-off location in your area.

There are many other local, national, and international charities that provide gifts to disadvantaged kids, and too many to list here. Also, some of the organizations mentioned above have similar programs under their umbrella.

Supporting charity is important to most of us. This year, we want to challenge you to add one more charitable act to the ones you were already planning to support this season. For more ideas on where you can make a difference, check back here soon. Our next installment is entitled "Make a Difference at Home".

Heck, at least these donations are tax-deductible. Take that, Charity-of-Myself-ers! ;)

Editor's note: Many of the charities we've noted here are faith-based organizations. No offense or prejudice is intended toward faiths or charities omitted here, there are simply too many to list and these are the charities the writer is most familiar with at the time of this posting. Which charity will you support this time? We're interested in your stories; please add them in the comments to this post!