I want to model giving back for my children. I have done this with my work for Help a Mother Out, a group that gets diapers to needy families. I do it with my volunteering at their school, and we do it together when we prepare donations of our gently used goods to local charities, and non-perishable food for the food bank.

But giving the children the power to choose what charity they want to help? I’ve never come across an opportunity as easy as Charity Checks.

With Charity Checks, you donate money, and you get blank checks that total the amount of your donation. Then you give the blank checks to people as gifts. In turn, they fill out the recipient – any registered 503(c) charitible organization in the US – and send it in.

That means if you donate $50 and ask for two $25 checks, you can give one to each child (if you have two children, like I do) and they can choose what charity gets the money. So if you have a child who loves to conserve and recycle, he can choose a environmental charity. If you have one who cares deeply about animals, he can choose a shelter. If one of your children cares about babies, she can pick Help a Mother Out!

People purchase Charity Checks as business gifts for employees or clients. Instead of the “A Donation to ____ Has Been Made in Your Name” message, why not send a Charity Check and have the recipient pick the group of their choice?

You can order Charity Checks online, and they take PayPal! If you buy Charity Checks on Giving Tuesday (December 2), you aren’t just getting your holiday shopping done- you’re part of a movement to give back.