Companies That Care

The more than 350 service dogs that Milk-Bone has supported since 1997 have transformed their owners' lives. The company works with Canine Assistants to train dogs to handle everyday needs for the disabled. At free two-week camps, Canine Assistants staffers match dogs with new owners like Chase and Connor Wilson, 7-year-old twins who have cerebral palsy. "My guys are so proud of all the things they can do with the dogs' help," says their mom, Lisa Panish, of Largo, Florida. (Chase and his buddy Oakley are shown above.) Milk-Bone covers every dog's $12,500 training cost and also pays for lifetime feeding and vet care.

More than 15 million American children are left unsupervised when the school day ends, giving them ample opportunity to get into trouble. To help kids find safe activities, JCPenney has given $80 million over the past decade to after-school programs offered by the YMCA, 4-H, and others nationwide. The company's generosity has kept some groups afloat in the bad economy: It recently contributed $250,000 to a New York City-based Boys & Girls Club facing devastating budget cuts. "That donation protected hundreds of at-risk kids," says Carol Simon, the club's executive director.

Yahoo's 600 million users have the power to make a major difference when they rally around a cause. Shortly after Haiti was devastated by an earthquake in January 2010, users donated $1.5 million to relief efforts via the site's "How to Help" links. And last April, after Yahoo featured a story about a woman who was paddle-boarding to raise money for breast cancer, Web surfers were inspired to contribute $92,000 to the cause.

Originally published in Ladies' Home Journal, October 2010.