A quick note about wedding gifts

Your continuing friendship and/or presence at our wedding more than suffice as a wedding gift.  Really.  If you feel some impulse to do something more, please consider a donation on our behalf to one of the charities we suggest below.  There is an "internet" related mechanism you can use to expedite the process:
http://www.idofoundation.org/cgi-bin/viewdonations.cgi?OccasionID=39912

Although you'll see there is a small processing fee of 8% through the website, it allows us to track the donations in order to thank you for your generosity. 100% of the donation goes to the charity you choose (so if you want to donate $50, your total charge is $54 - $50 to the charity and $4 to process). 

Alternately, feel free to make a donation directly (which bypasses the fees) to one of the following charities (or one of your choosing) -- and please let us know so we can thank you properly for your generosity!

People for Puget Sound (www.pugetsound.org)

Our goals include shoreline habitat protection and restoration, pollution prevention, and putting our region's economy and environment on a sustainable course. We accomplish these goals through public education and involvement programs, policy analysis and advocacy, and partnerships with a wide range of organizations, agencies and businesses.

• Anne regularly volunteers for People for Puget Sound and Nels occasionally dresses up like a geoduck clam in support of this important cause.
• People for Puget Sound does a huge amount of work to prevent oil spills in Puget Sound.  As the Gulf disaster shows, an event like this here in Puget Sound could be devastating.  Please support them either now or in the future!

Paws Chicago (www.pawschicago.org)

PAWS Chicago, the largest No Kill humane organization in the Midwest, is leading the way in transforming animal welfare. Since PAWS Chicago''s founding, the number of homeless pets killed in the city has been reduced by more than half, from a staggering 42,561 dogs and cats euthanized in 1997. Much of this reduction is attributed to PAWS Chicago''s solutions-based commitment to solving the pet overpopulation problem in the Chicagoland area. 

• Beasley, our beloved and high-maintenance cat, met and adopted us at Paws Chicago!

The following organizations are helping fight diseases that profoundly influence all of our lives:

American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org)

Alzheimer's Foundation of America (www.alzfdn.org)

American Heart Association (www.americanheart.org)

American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org)

Thanks for being great friends & family - we look forward to seeing everyone in June!