Rebuild after katrina

Fifty students are traveling to New Orleans to help rebuild after Katrina.

One thing I love about IndieGoGo: it's a great place to browse for campaigns that support causes I care about. And sometimes causes I wasn't aware of to begin with, but learn about and then, of course, can't help but want to support.

There are so many campaigns on IndieGoGo aimed at helping others, rebuilding things, and raising awareness, that it's difficult to pick just a few to profile in a blog post. But here are a few of my favorite campaigns aiming to help a community this holiday season.

Students to help Gulf Coast

(See photo above). Fifty students are traveling to New Orleans for Habitat for Humanity to continue the rebuilding effort following the hurricane. (Yes, it's still going on — all the more reason to give to these young peeps who continue to work hard to get the city of New Orelans back on its feet.)

Himalayas

Footpath in the Himalayas

I will give these adorable children whatever they desire. You had me at "photo of cute kids in red shirts." But if you're not sold yet: a group of Canadian family doctors who have adopted a group of small villages in Samthar Valley, West Bengal, India, is raising money to convert a dirt footpath into a main road so these kids have an easier time getting to school during the monsoon season.

Fixing the roof

Fixing the Roof

If you've ever been thankful for having a roof over your head, check out this project: Abdikadir is a Somalian refugee who has been living in the UN High Commission for Refugees camp at Ifo in Kenya for 20 years. He came to the camp as a young teenager when his parents (both journalists) were murdered in Mogadishu.

He is raising money on IndieGoGo to help fix the roof of his shack at the refugee camp so his family can help make it through the rainy season. Any leftover moneys Abdikadir will use to help repair the homes of others in the refugee camp.

Community center in haiti

Haiti: We Are Rebuilding

FAD (Fonds D'Actions Pour le Développement) is a registered non-profit in Haiti and a collective of over 50 Haitian university students, professionals, and artists. They are raising funds on IndieGoGo to open a community center to continue the work they've already started with a program of social education, life skills, and creative activities for the children of Cite Soleil and Bas Delmas, some of the poorest neighborhoods in Haiti.

The center would be a place where youth can come together in a supportive community to learn arts, business, and social skills, create, share their talents, and become leaders in their own communities. FAD already has the plan and the volunteers. Now they need the funds.

Inspired? Browse other Community and Cause campaigns to get behind this giving season.