One of the best things about donating to a charity is the feeling that you get from being able to help somebody else who is in real need to do better in life. But the other best thing about donating your hard earned money to a charitable cause is that you can get a tax deduction for doing this nice thing. So you can both help someone who deserves it (instead of throwing your money down the rat hole of welfare) and help your own situation at the same time. Everybody gets to win!
Of course, there are some requirements when you deduct for what you contribute. For one thing, there are going to be limits, both legal and implied. If you work a job and donate all of it, for instance, you are pretty much begging for an audit. Most people do note contribute more than 10% of their income to charities (and that includes the stalwart religious types who tithe regularly), so if you do it raises red flags as far as having the look of being shady.
Also, every time you intend to deduct a significant sum (and only your accountant can tell you for sure how much that is), make sure that you get a receipt for it. As great as it is to try to deduct all that you have donated to the little kettles, this is just not feasible because they are not equipped to provide suitable receipts for what you donate to them.