Now is the time when many folks open their hearts and their wallets to help others. At MSI, I am proud to say that we do this all year. This year alone we have worked on gathering and donating old cell phones for the Central Ohio Choices program, made donations to the One Laptop Per Child organization, donated our services to a group of non-profits and charities working to make the world a better place and performed various other functions. I am so very proud to lead a team of individuals who are fully committed to the goals of many of these organizations and who routinely work to improve the lives of others, the environment and our future.

Information security and technology aside, I wanted to take a few moments and give links to some very deserving organizations in my book. Of course, there are a ton of organizations out there, many are very very dedicated and do wonderful work. Organizations like the Red Cross/Red Crescent and so many others are deserving of your support year round, but here is a quick list of special organizations I hope you will support this year and in the future.

(RED) – This organization is fighting desperately to overcome the tragedy of HIV/AIDS. You can help by buying products with their logo, which will donate an amount of the sale to the cause.

Heifer – They provide animals and other micro-farming capabilities to emerging nations. Their tradition of passing new born animals back into the program is one of the greatest ideas ever!

Of course, One Laptop Per Child, who is taking measures to educate the youth of the world. Their “give one, get one” program is simply amazing. Try this, give one to the program and take the get one to a local school or pre-school and donate it too. Or, choose a neighbor or someone with children who could benefit from the technology. It is a great way to help.

Then there is Charity:Water , who is fighting to bring clean, safe drinking water to the world. Believe me, we will all need this in the future. The world could be a very different place in the future.

There are tons more I wish I could cover: dog shelters, Animal Rights Aruba, various anti-poverty and disease research groups, etc. The nice thing about charity today is that there are so many ways to give and so many organizations to support that everyone can find the right one to fit their own moral, religious and social compass. Just picking one is the first step. Hopefully, this quick list will get you started, or at least thinking about it.

We will now resume our regularly scheduled security banter. Thanks for reading, not just today, but all year long and everyone at MSI wishes you and yours a safe, peaceful and wonderful holiday season!