Keeping within the Holiday spirit, Google is doing something a little more significant than helping track the path of Santa Claus. They’re offering a number of iGoogle themes for causes in an effort to spread awareness and raise donations.
They’re clearly taking it seriously because there is a link to them right from the front page of the search engine, and usually there is not a whole lot of change going on there aside from the occasional doodle.
In all, there are 25 different themes for causes. A post from the Official Google Blog says:
Our partners in iGoogle Themes for Causes span a variety of areas including the environment, international development, education, health, civil rights, and disaster relief. They include organizations like Heifer International, Oxfam America, Ashoka, Doctors without Borders, Save the Children, charity:water, and Conservation International — just to name a few. We’re honored to help these organizations increase their reach by making their themes available to the millions of iGoogle users around the world who care about the great work they’re doing.
The intent of these themes is to raise awareness as well as donations. Each theme has a “Donate” link that appears in the upper right-hand corner to make your holiday donations easier. We also encourage you to share your favorite Theme for a Cause with your family and friends.
I’m a little surprised to see that they’re not calling for feedback suggesting more causes, but just because I don’t see it doesn’t mean they’re not open to others. I’m sure that if there is a cause that you feel passionate about, but is not included, you could comment on their blog post, and it would at least be seen, and who knows, maybe accepted.
