Donating FF Miles?

Since it's gotten hard if not impossible to use one's FF miles,
would donating those miles in the airline's programs be
a viable alternative to cash for charities?

Many people are trying to cash in their US Dividend Miles
on Star Alliance carriers (United, Air Canada, Lufthansa).
One friend is flying from Chicago to Boston via Toronto
on AC for a medical conference in a couple of weeks. A
stampede is under way from the Dividend Miles program.
That was the only thing that he could find to fit his plans
for 2005, so far (one week into the new year ...).

He's looking at donating the rest of his Divident Miles,
and I got e-mail solicitations from United, Contental,
AC and America West on their FF programs. Is it legit
or am I just tossing away the mileage? Airlines have
trillions of FF miles owed to their members and this
looks like a scam to unburden themselves. )-;

Otherwise, the idea of donating miles to fly relief workers
is pretty appealing when one is unable to use them, that
donation is the equivalent of cash ($100 per 10000 miles).

By the way, if Red Cross workers fly over on a US FF
and US goes under, are they stranded or will some Star
Alliance partner bring them home?

gld