The charity sector saw a number of unexpected boons in 2012.
Forty-seven percent of unemployed people committed to giving during the holidays. Wealthy people said they plan to increase or maintain their giving levels. A 70-year-old celebrated hitting septuagenarian status by skydiving 70 times for charity.
For causes, 2012 proved to be the year of the risk-taker, as do-gooders around the world -- with some of the biggest cajones we’ve ever seen -- used their fearlessness to inspire others to donate money and goods to people in need.
Click through the slideshow below to read some of the most goosebumps-inducing charity stories of the year that may just inspire you to take your giving from the computer screen to the scene of a jaw-dropping adventure.
