Think Pink: Gifts that Benefit Breast Cancer Research

I think most of us know and love a breast cancer survivor.  Wouldn't something pink bring a smile to their face on Christmas morning?  You can shop for pink gifts that support breast cancer research on amazon here.  Check out even more gifts here.

Wouldn't it be fun to mix up those Christmas cookies in one of these babies??

Blogging for Fishes Cookbook

Don't you love to see a community come together to help a family in need?  And it might be even better when a cooking community comes together because then good food comes out in the bargain.  I first heard of this cause when perusing my favorite food blog, Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  About 40 food bloggers came together and put a cook book together to benefit the Fish family.  They have two sweet daughters who have an immune deficiency disease and have been in and out of the hospital for years.

The cookbook comes as an efile or a bound book, and you can order it here.

You can eat right, 

and DO right 

at the same time.

Oxfam

 I recently heard a story of a girl who bought a pig because she thought it would be fun to walk it down the street on a leash.  Turns out her Charlotte's Web inspired dream turned into a nightmare.  The pig was messy, ate a ton, and grew so fast, that the dainty little pig evaporated before the girl's eyes.  She never took her pig for a walk on a leash, and found a new home as soon as possible. Moral of the story? If you are going to buy a pig, buy it from Oxfam.

This pig won't mess up your yard, eat you out of house and home, or try to climb in your bed at night, because it will go to a family in a third world country that will use it to better their lives.  To quote Oxfam's mission,
"We are an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. We are part of Oxfam International, a confederation of 17 Oxfams working in more than 90 countries. Together with individuals and local groups in these countries, we save lives, help people overcome poverty, and fight for social justice."
You can give lots of other interesting items too like a goat, building tools, honey bees or a vegetable garden. You could fight poverty and give someone a reason to smile.

Gift Baskets by Do Good Everyday 365

If you are planning to send someone a gift basket, order it from Do Good Everyday 365, and a meal will be donated to someone in need through the Buffalo City Mission. 
Here are a sample of the baskets,

A Gift of Get Well Sunshine Basket

A Gift of Grace

A Grand World Of Thanks Gourmet Gift Basket

A Merry Christmas Greeting Gift Basket

The hosting website posts gift ideas that makes an impact each day, so check it out for even more ideas!

Ornaments 4 Charity

Do you like Legos? Do you like Christmas trees?  Do you think the world would be a better place if those two loves were combined? Then Ornaments for Charity is here for you!

What I love best about Ornaments for Charity is that is a family project. The Carlson Family spends their holiday season building ornaments with legos, tracking and mailing orders, and providing a lot of love and care for local projects.  This year they are supporting two domestic violence shelters in their area.

They have 28 designs as well as 2 "build it yourself" kits.  A few of the designs are already sold out, so don't delay...

 

Fun huh? Head on over to their website and get inspired. Maybe your family has a project they could get behind too! 

Tis Best: Give a Better World

If you'd like to give a meaningful gift that allows the recipient to personalize their giving experience, take a look at Tis Best Gift Cards.  It works like this:

• You purchase a card on the Tis Best website.
• The recipient redeems the card by choosing up to 3 charities to donate their gift amount to. 

The choice of charities is like a buffet of goodwill!  Here's a glimpse at the options:

The gift cards come in really bright, fun designs and would make an awesome gift for bosses, teachers, or someone you just don't know WHAT to get!

Print Aid NYC

Print Aid NYC is a coalition of New York City-based artists that have come together to help raise money to rebuild NYC and surrounding areas after Hurricane Sandy's devastation. These illustrators and graphic designers are mega-talented and have donated their time and designs for this great cause. The prints are original, limited edition prints inspired by the theme light. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Mayor's Fund for Hurricane Relief.

Each poster is $30. Want to see a sample?  

 Do you heart New York? Here is a great way to show it!

 
 

Better World Books

One of my favorite gift giving memories was the year I gave my husband a box set of The Lord of the Rings for Christmas. When he opened the gift he started laughing so hard tears started welling up in his eyes. You see he already owned the set.  In fact, I had taken it off his shelf and wrapped it up nicely with a bow just for him.  It was especially funny because he knew my family's tale about my brother Justin who around the age 9 or 10,  thought he could outsmart Christmas by simply wrapping books snatched from our shelves, and giving them to all his siblings. Funny, but no one liked their gifts that year. It does make a pretty good story to retell and laugh about after all these years though.

Now giving your loved ones their own used books is not a idea I recommend, but giving a used book from Better World Books is something I definitely recommend! Here are some of the reasons that Better World Books stands out from other booksellers:

 

When you buy a book, they donate a book.

You get free Shipping on every book.

A portion of the sales go towards literacy programs such as Room to Read and Books for Africa.

To use a phrase they've coined for themselves, they are "the bookstore with a soul."  Their business model is simple: seek out unwanted books for donation, and resell those books to reduce waste and promote literacy. 
Books can go from this,

To this,

It's a neat model.  You can read more and see a few videos about the book cycle here. 

I'm sold. I'm off to go pick out some books for my kids. We give books to them every year on Black Pete Day.  Can't wait to see some more faces like these from last year... 

Books are magic.

Bajalia

If you are shopping for a woman, Bagalia is great site to check out.  Their tag-line is "Changing the World by Shopping the World." That sounds like something we can all get behind, right ladies?  Bagalia is dedicated to alleviating poverty and fighting the exploitation of artisans through the marketing and sale of hand crafted items. Here is some of their ware:
 

Don't they have simply beautiful items? You can also shop for goods that directly support the causes of trafficking, AIDS, environment, transformation or the disabled.  Each artisan is pictured on the website, so although our countries are worlds apart, you can see the face of the artisan as if you are walking up to their booth in the market. Click on over and send some love to their booth today.  
 

Kiva: Microcredit Giftcard

Let me introduce you to KIVA, although perhaps you've already become acquainted as micro-lending is a rapidly growing industry.  Kiva is a website that brings together lenders and borrower's from around the world.  The loan applicants are typically from third world countries, looking for capital to fund their small businesses.  Giving to Kiva is not a donation to help the poor, it is a loan that the business owner you selected to receive funds will pay you back overtime.  As the money rolls back into your account, you can choose to re-lend or cash out.  It's really quite a brilliant system.  Here you can see a few examples of the loan applicants:

The KIVA gift card makes a fun gift because it's so much more than "so and so made a donation in your honor." (Human Fund anyone??) Given the gift card, the recipient gets involved in the lending process.  He or she gets to browse loans, select the applicant, and watch as the loan gets repaid. If they like the experience they can keep re-lending the money and your gift goes on forever. If it turns out that lending money to entrepreneurs in Peru isn't their thing, they could cash out and go buy a sweater. Either way, I think a Kiva card is a great way to go! 

Special Note:  If any of my friends join KIVA, I can get a loan bonus which I will happily pass on to you in the form of a Kiva Card.  Leave me a note in the comment section before you join and I'll email you the "official invite" so we can score the $25 start up money.