Let’s chase away the winter doldrums with a bit of good news. Tanger Outlet Center in Tilton, NH, has tallied up donations from its 2011 PinkStyle campaign and has made a whopping $46,790.87 donation to LRGHealthcare in support of its breast cancer treatments.

“It takes all of us working together with a common focus and determination to beat this terrible disease,” stated Steven B. Tanger, President and Chief Executive Officer for Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. “I am proud of our Tanger Team members in Tilton for their continued hard work in fighting breast cancer and I thank our shoppers for supporting Tanger’s mission to find a cure.”

Not only did Tanger Tilton raise funds for LRGHealthcare, it also donated $8,430 to Tanger’s national donation to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation to support their mission to find a cure.

The funds the center raised came from its TangerStyle Pink Cards and Powerful Pink Card (the former offered discounts at many retailers, while the latter offered deeper discounts and a chance to win fabulous prizes ranging from a spa vacation to a new pink iPad). Funds were also gathered at the Annual Fit For Families 5K Run/Walk, with over 450 individuals and nearly 40 businesses participating.

We can’t overstate the importance of knowing a good thing when you see it. It’s where new ideas come from, and how great things can come together from humble beginnings.

The folks at Centrepoint, a nonprofit supporting homeless youth, certainly knew how to spot something good. They saw a video of Luminites busking at Leicester Square, a video that had a certain viral appeal.

It was a perfect fit for Centrepoint, looking for a way to boost its charity appeal over the holidays. The nonprofit hopes to raise £300,000 for homeless young people, and finding this group seemed just perfect. The members of Luminites are young, creative and very talented, and not far beyond the dangers of poverty — one member was once homeless, and a few of them busked to support themselves before their time in the band.

So Centrepoint approached the band to record a single for the holidays, and a video to go with it. The video is below, and the single is available on iTunes. The money raised through the sales of the single will go towards the fundraising goal.

So far the single, a cover of Streets of London, has been very well received. Here’s hoping it gets the attention it deserves. That would mean a happy Christmas for so many.

It’s a great time of year for giving, but shoppers have probably run through their spare change by the time they make it through your doors. So make it easy for them to give, following in the footsteps of Madison Marquette.

The developer is letting its Foursquare fans do a little extra good for the cost of a simple check-in. With Check-In For Charity, the center is giving back, at the tune of $1 to Toys for Tots for each holiday Foursquare check-in.

This isn’t Madison Marquette’s first time on the check-in reward track — in April, the center gave away some great prizes, including a $1000 gift card and a trip to New York City. But it is a particularly selfless reward, giving cash-strapped shoppers a chance to do a little something for strangers on the cheap.

“Foursquare’s been wildly successful in helping retailers attract and repay loyal customers,” said Kurt Ivey, senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications at Madison Marquette. “This holiday promotion is a way of encouraging more discussion about our shopping centers while supporting a generous cause.”

Halloween is gone and past, and the spookiness is but a memory. But echoes of good, on the other hand, go on and on.

Janss Marketplace spent Halloween terrifying shoppers with its Reign of Terror haunted house. It regularly ranks as one of the top 10 haunted houses in the U.S. with creepy destinations like The Asylum and Blood Manor. They rank from Victorian-spooky to too-scary-for-children.

While terrifying folks is a good cause on its own, Janss Marketplace went one (much) better. With admission to the Reign of Terror, it raised $15,000 in just ten days. They recently presented a check for that money to the Conejo Recreation and Park District (CRPD) in a ceremony held at the shopping center.

“The District appreciates the generosity of this donation to the Thousand Oaks Teen Center and Young Artists Ensemble,” said Karen Lindsey, Administrator, Recreation and Community Services. “This donation will go a long way in helping us provide recreation and cultural services to the youths of our community.”

Youth homelessness is a huge issue. It effects thousands of young people in North America, many of whom are LGBT or otherwise marginalized. And as young people take to the streets, they become invisible to many, who are willing to turn a blind eye.

Virgin Mobile is asking everyone to Do Whatever It Takes to bring attention to these kids and get them the help they need. The campaign challenges people to create take online pledges promising to do, well just about anything. Then they can collect pledges toward Virgin Unite’s RE*Generation initiative, which helps provide crucial services and resources to create bigger futures for homeless and at-risk youth.

When participants hit their fundraising goal, it’s time to follow through and do whatever it takes. It’s a little like Kickstarter for atrociously bad ideas — there are people taking pledges for eating or drinking enough awful things to make themselves sick, people who are willing to break all manner of social norms and people who are taking Lent-style pledges to abstain from all manner of things. But it’s all in good fun, and all in the name of raising money for people who really need it.

“I’m so grateful to be in a position to help the homeless youth population,” said Michael Buckley of the “What the Buck?!” show, one of the celebrities who is taking part. “I know that kids are kicked out of their homes, often for being gay, and this weighs on my mind every day. I hope people will donate to see me will learn as many gymnastics tricks as possible and nail them! NAIL THEM!!! Or fall on my face. Either way it will make a great video!”