FarmVille: Save the Children in time for Valentine's Day

While charity may not be the first thing you think of in association with the Valentine's Day holiday, Zynga has launched a new campaign in FarmVille with Save the Children. This event deals with giving "the gift of reading" to kids this Valentine's Day, and you can donate at one of three levels to receive a permit for a different crop.

For just $3, you'll receive a 7-day permit to plant Red Roses. When planted you'll gain 4 XP per square, and can harvest them for 220 coins after 16 hours. The crop can, of course, be mastered so if you're a fan of mastery signs keep this one in mind.

At the $10 level, you'll earn a 14-day permit to plant Valentine Cards. Each square planted is worth 4 XP and can be harvested after 16 hours for 210 coins per square.

Finally, if you donate $20 in one transaction, you'll receive a 14-day permit to plant Heart Candy. This crop is worth 3 XP per square planted, and can be harvested after 12 hours. You'll receive 200 coins per square harvested.

Unlike previous charity events in FarmVille, this one will only see 70% of the purchase price being donated directly to Save the Children, while the other 30% will go to Facebook (since Facebook apparently declined to waive its cut of each transaction).

The Red Rose crop will be available for the next 18 days, while the other two permits can be purchased for the next 25 days each. If you're a mastery sign collector, you'll need to purchase each crop individually, making your donation even larger, but remember that you're making the lives of kids better in the process. That's worth a few Farm Cash, right?