After all the gifts are unwrapped, decorations boxed up, and holiday music wound down, what are we left with? In these tough economic times, millions of charities are left feeling the squeeze with an incredibly challenging year ahead.

Yahoo! launched Cyber Giving Week three years ago to encourage people to donate to their favorite causes during the last week of December -– when people typically scramble to get their tax deductions before the end of the year. Since then, we’ve helped raise millions of dollars for good causes because Yahoo! users like you stepped up to the challenge. And this year, more than ever, your generosity is vital to helping our communities’ most needy.

In that spirit, we’re promoting Cyber Giving Week all over Yahoo! this week.

For those who need an extra dose of inspiration, check out a tag cloud of this year’s most popular causes that link back to our Do Good Flickr group. Or upload and tag your own photos to raise awareness about issues you’re passionate about. Whether it’s a photo of a favorite charity in action, a portrait from the developing world, or a picture of some piece of nature you want to preserve, these images will motivate others to make a difference, too.

For the fourth year in a row, we’ve partnered with Network for Good to make it easy for you to donate to your favorite charity. So as the holiday season winds down, I hope you will keep the giving spirit alive by supporting a cause you care about. I, for one, will be making a donation to my local food bank. It’s simple, really — make a donation, upload and tag inspirational photos on Flickr, and tell your friends and family to do the same.

Connie Chan
Associate Manager, Yahoo! For Good

With gas prices soaring to new heights every day, who can afford to drive? At Yahoo!, we are lucky to have a Commute Alternatives program that allows us get out of our cars, save money on gas, and fight global warming all at the same time. So to help folks outside of Yahoo! take public transportation, we asked Yahoo! employees to give away 100 commuter checks to encourage their friends and family to go green.

As part of Yahoo! for Good’s Purple Acts of Kindness program, a monthly initiative that surprises and delights our local community with random acts of generosity, we reached out to Yahoos all over the country to invite them to share a story about someone they know who could put a $50 commuter check to good use. In just a matter of hours, we gave away commuter checks to 100 deserving individuals. Here are just a few of their inspiring stories:

• “I’d like to get commuter checks for my girlfriend. She commutes every day from San Jose to Oakland on the Capitol Corridor train. She wakes up at 5am every morning to catch the limited schedule. She doesn’t get home till 7:30. She could take the easy way out & drive everyday to save time, but she really wants to help the environment by taking another car off the road.”
• “My girlfriend currently commutes back and forth from Fremont to Oakland. She is a single Mom who is a nurse for the Children’s Hospital in Oakland. She has to be at work at 5:00 to 3:30.I know she could use the pass to save on both money and sleep. =)”
• “I’d like to give my dad a commuter check because at age 58, he has taken up riding Caltrain and his bike to and from work (3 mile bike ride to the station, Caltrain from Hillsdale to San Jose, and then an 8 mile bike ride to his office).”

To find out how you can deal with high gas prices and help the environment at the same time, check out these tips on Yahoo! Green.

Connie Chan
Associate Manager, Yahoo! for Good

Photo from richardmasoner