Here's some uplifting news for the holiday season. A new study finds that in 2011 Americans were the most generous people in the world. The U.S. rose from fifth place on the "World Giving Index" in 2010 to number one this year. Ireland placed second, followed by Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain. What tipped the scale in the U.S.'s favor this year was not just monetary donations, but volunteer work and kindness to strangers.

Tough guys, fast cars — you may tell your children to stay away from such a crowd, but there are actually numerous car clubs that defy that stereotype. Dr. Brenda Gross-Nixon, aka "The Church Lady," is part of the Lady Ryderz, who along many other clubs hold fundraisers in Brooklyn to better the community. This past weekend, Circuit Family Police and Clergy held a fundraiser to raise $25,000 for a gun buy-back program.

CBS "60 Minutes" is not widely broadcast inside Afghanistan or Pakistan, but you wouldn't know it from the reactions from a story over the weekend. In a take down of the  famous book, "Three Cups of Tea," CBS disputed the veracity of Greg Mortenson's his charity work. CBS also took issue with the finances of his work in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The BBC's Bilal Sawary reports from Kabul.

It’s the season of giving, when we’re all told that it’s better to give than receive. But if so, why don’t we all give to charities? And what would motivate us to give more? These are questions that Stephanie Brown explores. Brown, an Associate Professor of Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics at Stony Brook University, has developed theories on why people give, and why they don’t.

Later today, a philanthropic collaborative called Living Cities will announce $80 million in grants, loans and investments that it will split among five cities: Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Newark, and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Considering the size of major American city budgets, an average of $15 million isn't actually a ton of money, considering some of the systemic problems facing each of those cities. Living Cities hopes to use the cash as seed money, aiming to to stimulate self-sustaining urban renewal projects that will help each area for years to come.  

So has Living Cities found a way to get the most ameliorative bang for their philanthropic buck?

Julianne Moore is one of the most accomplished actors of our day. She’s appeared in dozens of critically acclaimed films—including "The Hours," "Boogie Nights," "A Single Man," and "The Kids are All Right." She’s been nominated for four Oscars. She’s won a Golden Globe.

More than 30 billionaires have agreed to donate at least half their fortunes to charity; the list was made public yesterday. The Giving Pledge Campaign is the brainchild of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffet. It now has pledges from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, media mogul Ted Turner, filmmaker George Lucas, and dozens more. Forbes Magazine is estimating at least $150 billion could be donated. Wall Street and finance reporter for The New York Times, Louise Story, has the details of this new venture by some of the country's richest people.

The number of orphans in Haiti is expected to double after last week's earthquake; there's rising debate over the best way to help these children.

Kids often feel scared and powerless when a disaster – like the Haiti earthquake – hits. But there are constructive ways to talk with them about traumatic world events, and to channel their anxieties into positive outcomes.

We're entering the season for charitable giving around the country. But are the rising needs outweighing the charity? We check in with Susan Bond, who works in the trenches at the Samaritan Love Food Pantry in Kokomo, Indiana; as well as Melissa Berman, president and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, about the broader picture on charitable giving. (Berman mentions the government's public service site, Serve.gov.)

In 22 cities around the country, Shriners' Hospitals for Children provide top-of-the-line care to anyone under the age of 18 for absolutely free—they accept no government funding or insurance payments. But the organization's endowment has been devastated by the economic crisis, and the membership is voting in early July on a proposal to close six hospitals. Parents of patients at the threatened hospitals are signing petitions and holding fundraisers to try and save the hospitals. Bob Houden, spokesperson for the Shriners Hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, which could be closed, and Laura Marinucci, the parent of a Shriners patient who founded Save our Shriners, join The Takeaway to talk about this potential latest casualty of the recession.

One of the five pillars of Islam, “zakat,” is the giving of a small percentage of one’s income to a Muslim charity. President Obama, in his Cairo speech, said that he is "committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat." The practice of zakat came under scrutiny under the Bush administration, when seven charities were closed down and jailed leaders accused of helping fund terrorist organizations abroad. Many Muslims fear that if they give to a religious group, they may be accused of funneling money to terrorists. What steps are needed to make it easier for Muslims to practice this important part of their religion?

The Takeaway talks with Jennifer Turner, the Human Rights Researcher at the ACLU. She’s been interviewing Muslim donors and charities the past year for the ACLU and has talked to many in the Muslim community. Also joining the show is Asra Nomani, she is a Professor of Journalism at Georgetown University and author of "Standing Alone: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam," and she's here to talk about her struggles with giving to Muslim charities as part of her zakat.

Wrapped up as we are in our current recession, it’s hard for many of us to think about giving to charity. But Professor Peter Singer says that it is our ethical duty to give to charity even, maybe especially, now. He joins us in studio to talk about his latest book, The Life You Can Save.

Watch Peter Singer discuss the country's foreign aid spending.