For all of those who questioned why President Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize, (me included) there's a bright side.

Several very worthwhile charities will benefit from the $1.4 million award that comes with the prize, including six groups that help kids get to college, Haitian relief efforts and the place where soldiers killed overseas are returned to.

Even Obama was stunned that he won the prize. It is normally awarded for those who have accomplished a great feat. The committee, however, gave Obama the prize for "changing the tenor of international politics and for pursuing goals Obama says will require worldwide effort, such as nuclear disarmament and reversing global warming," the AP writes.

A lot of America's goodwill and standing in the international community had been squandered by former President George W. Bush, when Obama took office. We invaded Iraq under completely false pretenses and refused to cooperate with the rest of the world on global warming. Our president, with his many gaffes, was not taken seriously around the world. Even the election that put Bush in office was questioned.

Obama was able to change that. He's articulate, thoughtful, knowledgeable and has traveled and lived outside of this country. He is able to explain his decisions and is an impassioned speaker. However, at the time of the award, many thought that was the extent of Obama's appeal.He had yet to move any major legislation or accomplish any of the lofty goals he spoke about during the campaign. Reports of people fainting during campaign events fed premature fears that this president would be a great orator and nothing more. There was a hint of racism lurking underneath those sentiments with some pushing the idea that he was an overrated politician whom the public loved solely because he was the first African American to break America's ultimate glass ceiling.

Since then, Obama has showed some resolve, albeit not mistake-free, in fighting for health care reform at his own political peril, appointing the first Latina to the Supreme Court and taking his time to make a decision about sending more troops to Afghanistan. He has represented this country well around the globe.

The groups that will receive the money represent some of the things that Obama believes are important, such as the power of education. Receiving $125,000 apiece will be: College Summit, a national nonprofit that works with elementary and middle school students to boost college enrollment rates; the Posse Foundation, which gives full college scholarships to public school students who might be overlooked by traditional scholarship programs; United Negro College Fund; the Hispanic Scholarship Fund; the Appalachian Leadership and Education Foundation; and the American Indian College Fund.

The Central Asia Institute, a group that educates girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan, will also receive $100,000.

The gift to Haitian rebuilding efforts and the $100,000 to "AfriCare, which funds HIV/AIDS programs, public health programs, water resource development and agriculture in 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa" are indicitive of Obama's desire to help those in need. It's the appeal he has been making for health care reform in this country.

The $250,000 for Fisher House, which provides housing for families with loved ones at Veterans Administration hospitals," shows that Obama takes his role as commander-in-chief seriously. He refused to be rushed in to making the decision to send more troops in to harms way.

"These organizations do extraordinary work in the United States and abroad helping students, veterans and countless others in need," Obama said in a statement. "I'm proud to support their work."

So, whatever you think of Obama's Nobel Prize, it's hard to argue with how the money is being put to use.