The images from Haiti have been horrifying. Americans have an amazing tradition of helping others in need and coming to the rescue during tragic events. Since I don’t know much about Haiti, I’ve been confused about what organizations to trust. After 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, I just don’t trust the Red Cross. I’d much rather support a faith-based organization with an established network on the ground.

There are so many nonprofits out there, who is legit? The White House directed everyone to the Red Cross, but again, I don’t trust them. Nor do I trust the Clinton Foundation. The Smoking Gun also questions the Wyclef Jean Foundation and their partner, Yele Haiti Foundation (of Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie fame). If you want to help with a financial contribution, please check out GuideStar first. GuideStar tracks nonprofit financial data and has guidelines for giving to Haitian relief programs.

I’ve worked for a number of nonprofits, and volunteered for even more. The problem with large nonprofits is the administrative costs. Salaries and equipment are expensive. The rule of thumb for the nonprofit world is to keep admin costs to under 10% of the budget. Some foundations require 6% in order to win grants. Having worked in fundraising, it’s hard to keep admin costs that low.

The other option is to donate to smaller nonprofits that are typically staffed by missionaries. I was struck by a Fox News interview with the Joy of Hope orphanage. Tabitha Hale also did an interview with the director.

What about the UN? Remember that the World Food Programme, UNICEF and the UN Foundation are all part of the United Nations. The World Food Programme has a long track record of corruption. This past summer, Save the Children UK released a study on child abuse among aid workers, and one of the countries cited was Haiti. A majority of the abusers came from UN programs. Please do not give money to UN programs!

InterAction has a listing of member organizations with outreach to Haiti. The Huffington Post also put together a Twitter list of NGO’s helping out.

Baptist Haiti Mission is also asking for donations, and a friend of mine did some work for the Haiti Foundation Against Poverty web site.

World Vision, Compassion International, and Samaritan’s Purse are also respected faith-based organizations working in international aid.

Before you click on the donate button, please do a little research. If something seems off, donate to someone else. Trust your instincts. You want your dollars to go directly to the people as much as possible. Please be responsible with your giving.

FYI: There’s also a Haiti e-mail forward going around that Snopes has already debunked.

UPDATE: Two friends on Facebook directed to me to Convoy of Hope, which is where NCC will donate, and Heartline Ministries, which works with Haitian women.

Apparently, I dove into the Christmas spirit, because I’ve been obsessed with all things Christmas. Today, I even bought a miniature Christmas tree to put on my desk at work. Eh, it was only .59 at AC Moore.

Yesterday, I took a Christmas tour of Mount Vernon, home of George and Martha Washington, with the Junior League of Northern Virginia. This was the first time that I saw the George Washington museum and new visitor’s center. I ate lunch with other League members at the restaurant and got the recipe for peanut-chestnut soup, which was perfect for a cold, snowy day. What impressed me the most was the gingerbread house that nearly perfectly resembled the manor house.

This is the side that faces the Potomac River.

This is the front entrance side.

The gingerbread house was designed by Roland Mesnier, former pastry chef at the White House. He is incredible. All of his past designs were always so whimsical. I couldn’t help but compare it to the 2009 White House gingerbread house, which just wasn’t that exhilarating.

While this is mostly a political blog, I do love the domestic arts. Christmas is my favorite time of year, and decorating for Christmas is an art form. Yesterday, I decorated both of the Christmas trees in my apartment, a giant 7.5′ tree, which looked much smaller in Target than in my apartment, and a 4′ silver tree covered with my collection of vintage Shiny Brites.

Anyway, this is to premise my questions on this year’s White House Christmas decorations, which are the pinnacle of Christmas regalia.

I looked at a number of sites showcasing this year’s decorations. I don’t know. It’s not bad, but it’s not great. Something is just off. This isn’t to slam the Obamas because I disagree with nearly every policy they support or sometimes dislike the First Lady’s wardrobe. I just love Christmas and look forward to seeing the White House decorated each year. For the record, I also disliked a few years of the Bush Administrations’ decorations, particularly 2006 when I got to tour the White House at Christmas.

The theme this year is “Reflect, Rejoice, Renew,” which is perfectly fine. Vague themes are harder to decorate around since they have no parameters. My favorite year to date was in 2001 when Laura Bush chose “Home for the Holidays” and had an abundance of flocked trees, icicles and “snow.”

Overall, the decorations are just ok. I think that might be my problem. There’s no “wow!” factor. It’s Christmas at the White House for goodness sake. Decorations should be magical or over-the-top. This year is ok, but it’s not anything special. They look like decorations that could be seen in my mom’s living room or any random issue of a holiday decorating magazine. There’s nothing original.

My biggest issue is the tree in the Blue Room. Something is just off. I think that it’s the  proportions. The gold bows simply overpower the tree, and you don’t notice that it’s covered with unique ornaments. I think it would look better if the ornaments were oversized to match the giant ribbon. When you have a huge tree, decorations need to be big as well.

Compared to up close:

I do like the cranberry mantle decorations in the Red Room. I’m a fan of using fruit and natural decorations

And I love the red topiaries in the Green Room.

There you have it. It’s ok and everything matches, but it looks like Michelle hired an upscale florist found in every American city. It’s not what I would expect with the resources of the East Wing staff who spend months working on Christmas plans. The White House should look more impressive than any random house in upscale suburbia, which is most evident in this slideshow. Pinecone wreaths in the East Hall?