Spring Breaks are in full force with one spring vacation week already done in the county where I live and another which started this week in the two counties that surround me. Living near the beach, I’ve seen an uptick in traffic, too. 

My Facebook page is full of posts from other places, people having fun and taking a break from everyday schedules.  So, I debated what I could write about that would keep people’s attention when so many other things are competing with me—fun, vacations and rest time.

Despite all those things that people are doing, I’m sure people are still on their computers, phones and tablets but instead of just surfing the web, I figured they’re probably doing specific searches—for restaurants, attractions and other things to do.  They’re planning vacations and doing lots of searching to finish it.

So, while people are doing all that searching, they could be helping schools and other charitable organizations.  That’s right, there are two search engines that are philanthropic.  You can use them to make the same searches you would on Google, Yahoo, Bing or Wikipedia, only at the same time, funds are being donated to nonprofits.

I heard about Goodsearch first and later found out about SearchKindly.  GoodSearch is a Yahoo-based search engine that has lots of other opportunities to support charities, too, like GoodShop, GoodDining and GoodToolbar.  They’re all like they sound, programs through shopping, dining and using a toolbar to earn money for charities and schools.

You select the charity you support when you sign up.  My son goes to a private Christian school so I support it at GoodSearch.  There are only 25 supporters of the school so we’ve raised less than one hundred bucks so far.

More well known, national charities like the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which is a top earner, has raised almost $45,000.  You can even apply to get the GoodSearch application to put on your own site so people who visit it and search will be contributing to your charity.

SearchKindly is a lot simpler site. It has three ads showing side by side under the search engine, which you can use for Google, Yahoo, Bing or Wikipedia. SearchKindly gets money (about a third of a cent) just for you going to its site to view the ads.

You can also make SearchKindly your homepage to earn three dollars a month. SearchKindly gives donations to a variety of charities but you don’t get to choose which one gets the funds you raise.  It's raised over $13,000 so far. 

So, whether you’re at home surfing the web or traveling this spring, remember that for all of your searches you can get the same information and send a little money to charity. It’s a free and easy way to make a difference in your daily life.