Mary's place sounds like a commendable organization and if so, Amazon's sponsorship is also commendable. I made sure to say so. My questions were honest - I rea

Mary's place sounds like a commendable organization and if so, Amazon's sponsorship is also commendable. I made sure to say so. My questions were honest - I really don't know if Mary's place serves single men (though it sounds like no?) and I really don't know how Amazon's charitable contributions are proportioned. Where we spend our charitable contributions is indicative of our values (both as individuals and as a society). Some charities are criticized for being too "feel-good" or being inefficient with donor money for emotional heart strings. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/heartwarming-causes-are-nice-but-lets-give-to-charity-with-our-heads/2013/12/19/43469ae0-6731-11e3-a0b9-249bbb34602c_story.html?utm_term=.cc218e82cf05 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/heartwarming-causes-... OTOH, this argument taken to it's logical conclusion says we should only ever donate to the Gates foundation and it's ilk. I find it interesting that Amazon is receiving such positive press for making a donation to an organization that is deliberately aimed at a subset of an issue. I've never seen an article about a corporate charitable donation of this small dollar value on hacker news before - not that the value is so small, but most charity news that breaks the media bubble is so high (e.g. billionaires pledging to donate half their wealth). The make a wish foundation existence says something about our values. So does this donation sitting on the front page. Some people love the make a wish foundation and say it reflects positively on our empathy and compassion. Others murmur about warm fuzzies vs the greater good. I don't think this ethical question should be invalid or offensive in the context of politically charged issues.