Give Guide

[December 10th, 2003] This week's newspaper contains our final gifts for those you love. Below are ideas on how to help some others:

Benefit Albums

Benefit CDs are an iffy proposition. The cause might be good, but the music can be ear-achingly bad. Such is not the case with a couple of recent benefit CDs from area artists. Both Mary Kadderly's Lucky Me and Kevin Moyer's Live from Nowhere Near You are works that give aural as well as philanthropic pleasure. Kadderly's album glows with grooved-out light jazz and benefits the Oregon Children's Foundation SMART program , which matches adult volunteers with public-school kids who need someone to read to them each week. Moyer's compilation, put together with the help of Wieden & Kennedy, mixes blues, pop and rock songs by professional musicians with street recordings of some talented street musicians. Proceeds from his album sales go to OutsideIn , benefiting some of the homeless youth who helped create the album. (For more information, go to www.marykadderly.com or www.nowherenearhere.com.)

Growing Gardens

Plant some seeds of hope this winter, with Growing Gardens, a group that helps low-income families , apartment complexes and schools create their own vegetable beds. Dig in by contributing to the nonprofit Gifts That Grow program, which provides recipients with everything from seeds to garden tools.

(2003 NE 42nd Ave., #3, 284-8420, www.growing-gardens.org.)

Wallace Medical Concern

With clinics in Old Town and Rockwood, the Wallace Medical Concern helps the working poor, particularly Latino immigrants . Over the past five years, WW readers have donated more than $14,000 and countless hours to WMC. Don't let up this year, when clients' needs are greater than ever. Contact executive director Kathy Hammock at 274-1277, walmeded@teleport.com, or Wallace Medical Concern, P.O. Box 6972, Portland, OR 97228.

Girls Rock Institute

The folks who founded Portland's Rock-'n'-Roll Camp for Girls have kicked off the even more ambitious Girls Rock Institute, a year-round, after-school program dedicated to helping girls develop leadership skills while learning to write songs and play instruments. The nonprofit can always use money, but the institute is also seeking help to build a library of CDs, musical instruments and sheet music.

(8900 "A" NE Vancouver Way, 445-4991, www.girlsrockcamp.org.)

Sisters of the Road Cafe

This nonprofit restaurant in Old Town isn't just another soup line; it's a lesson in personal responsibility: diners must either pay $1.25 or work for their grub. Send a few bucks the cafe's way and, until the end of this year, every dollar will be matched with 50 cents from a number of businesses and private individuals. Mail your checks to 133 NW 6th Ave., Portland, OR 97209, or donate via the Sisters' website at www.sisters-oftheroadcafe.org.

Camp Starlight

Portland's Camp Starlight is a great way to keep helping kids with AIDS , offering freedom--and support--to youngsters who have to worry about watching their own health. You can help by donating camp supplies, or by volunteering time or cold, hard cash.

(1608 SE Ankeny St., 238-4420.)