Fostering Giving In Children

My children don't like to share with each other, but they have a huge capacity to give to strangers in need. They raised nearly $200 for Hurricane Katrina relief, donated their allowance to the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, and recently participated in a biathlon to raise money for a nearly bankrupt animal rescue center.

This giving trait is something I'd like to foster. There are so many ways to give and an overwhelming number of organizations locally, nationally and internationally that need help, so choosing what to do and who to help has become a challenge.

Here's some ideas we have come up with so far:

1) Each of my kids has chosen an "angel" from the Angel tree for Christmas.
2) My son would like to have a bake sale while my daughter would like to make her "hurricane" pins that she sold during their hurricane relief fundraiser. We need to choose a charity to represent and find a place that will allows us to have a table.
3) Volunteer. We live in a rural community so I'm not sure what places would allow a 9 and 12 year old to help out. I'm going to call one of our community organizations to see if it has any ideas.

I'm curious to know how other families encourage giving in their children and what kinds of things their children do that help make a difference in the world.