My son has adopted shelter dogs, so I know he will appreciate a donation in his honor to the Search Dog Foundation, an organization that provides an important tool for to assist humans when natural disasters strike. We support the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation because we know that many dog owners across the country qualify their own animals as search and rescue dogs as well as companion canines. The more search dogs that are trained, the better off we are.

My son has a trip to Japan planned for April or May. He is well-trained in engineering and science and so is not worried about the dangers of radiation, but is concerned that his return might be impacted by rolling blackouts or some unexpected development that might affect his return.

His birthday is on St. George's Day, so he has a good patron saint. In thinking of a birthday present, we turned to a charity that would have a presence in Japan at this time of need. Judging from the plans already in place, a donation to Architecture for Humanity is a marvelous choice for a gift.

My whole family is well-traveled, and we loved to visit architecturally significant buildings in the cities where we have lived in England and the United States, east coast, west coast, and third coast. As I currently live in the Chicago area, the green building campaigns are going great guns here, and the Chicago Architectural Foundation offers tours and lectures on the subject.

With the destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami being almost incomprehensible, finding a group so well qualified to assist the suffering residents, and already with contact in place in Japan, turns out to be a good find on Charity Navigator.