I remember back when I was a kid I used to sit at the kitchen table and watch my dad write checks for this and that… Undoubtedly, every so often one of those checks would be made out to NOAH as a donation to help the organization and all the great work that it does for the albinism community.

Those were the days that were BL (Before Lori) and not too long after NOAH’s founding (of course, we celebrate NOAH’s 25th birthday this month), and the check would have to make its way to NOAH’s post office box in Philadelphia…and from there to the organization’s treasurer, who would then deposit the check in the bank. That process, despite the best efforts of our then-all volunteer organization, could take a bit of time.

What’s the point of this little trip down my memory lane? Well… How far we have advanced in that relatively short period of time! It’s now easier than ever to give to NOAH and have your donations put to work immediately for the albinism community (theoretically…within a matter of seconds).

We’ve recently introduced a few new ways to give that I wanted to tell you about.

Newest of all is the ability to donate via Google Checkout. It’s an online system brought to you by the same folks that created one of the world’s foremost Web search engines (and a host of other applications). You can easily use Google Checkout to donate via Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express (Hey…think of it this way… You can help out NOAH AND get some frequent flier miles while you are at it!).

If you are one of those people who thinks Google is taking over the world and would like to donate online in another way, we have a handy dandy secure form on which you can use your Visa or MasterCard.

If you are hesitant about giving online, but still want to help NOAH and get those frequent flier miles, we offer a printable credit card donation form that you can mail or fax back to NOAH.

And of course, you can still write NOAH a check and mail it in!

Keep in mind that there are all sorts of creative ways you can give to NOAH besides using a check or credit card! You can arrange to have a donation deducted from your checking account electronically. You can donate your car…with the resale value becoming your donation. You can donate stock. And, you can donate when shopping online at a wide variety of stores by using iGive.

All this information and more is available in the Contributions section of NOAH’s website.

And as always, your contributions to NOAH are fully IRS tax deductible…

So really…with so many easy ways to do it, there’s no reason NOT to help out NOAH. Think of what the organisation has done for you, and help it do that and more for others in the future.

 -Brendan Cosgrove

AOC Committee Chair