At the beginning of this month I shared with you a series of Holiday Gift Guides for all the special people in your life! Here's One, Two and Three!
And while I love spoiling people rotten and finding the perfect present for everyone in my life, it's also important around this time of year to think about those less fortunate than we are.
As Charles Dickens says in A Christmas Carol (and I paraphrase) "Christmas is the one time of year when men and women freely open up their closed up hearts and do awesome things for other people."
So, in the spirit of Christmas, Here is a gift guide to help you think about different ways to give presents while also helping mankind.
(Some of these are pretty groovy - Literally 10 have made my giving-list!)
WAYS TO GIFT
1. TOMS
Want to give an actual gift but still do some good? You can never go wrong with TOMS, awesome shoes that give a pair to someone in need for every pair you purchase. With tons of colors, prints and styles, there's something for everyone on your list (and they now make sunglasses too!)
Founded by super hunk (and super human) Hugh Jackman, Laughing Man sells coffee, tea, chocolate and accessories to help entrepreneurs around the world. All of the revenue goes toward entrepreneurial education and community development. Yum yum yum. (I'm talking about the coffee AND Hugh.)
Give a family the gift of changing their lives. This charity group works towards ending hunger and poverty all over the world. Give a donation in a loved one's name, and you'll learn exactly where your money went - financing the purchase of a cow to change the finances of a family, or to a harvest basket to feed a family of four. There are gifts to promote women's empowerment, help impoverished people build their own businesses, support sustainable farming and more.
Get everything from tote and messenger bags to jewelry to shoes & apparel and more from this non-profit group working to bring a permanent end to the Lord's Resistance Army and Joseph Kony in Africa. The organization employs victims of war and mothers affected by the LRA to create items for its Mend line of bags and totes, providing them with an ethical workplace, education and counseling.
Each Tote bag in this year's collection has the name of the woman who made it sewn inside.
This amazing (delicious) lotion by Lush made with Fair Trade organic cocoa butter is good for the skin and the soul. Minus the taxes, 100% of the proceeds from this product go to a variety of over 350 charity organizations around the world that support environmental conservation, animal welfare and human rights!
6. FlameStower
Give this gift to the nature-lover in your life! This amazing new invention (created by my good friend's brother!!) is a portable USB charger that sources energy from an open flame! No matter where you go, or what time of day it is, you can remain connected while still staying off the grid. And the bonus is that this group is working with companies in Africa and India to supply families with power on their devices even when there is no electricity. (Watch the video of how it works! It's crazy-cool!)
7. LSTN Reclaimed Wood Headphones
Not only are these headphones made from reclaimed wood, BUT proceeds go to the Starky Hearing Foundation which helps others hear music for the first time!
8. 31 Bits Jewelry
This Company, founded by 5 young women, aims to use fashion and design to empower people to rise above poverty. They work with beneficiaries in Uganda to create fashionable, quality products, and through this they earn an income enabling them to provide for their families. They also care for them holistically through counseling, health education, finance training, and business mentorships. Everything they do is funded through product sales, so every time you make a 31 bits purchase, you have a direct impact on women’s lives in Uganda.
9. Denik Notebooks
This company produces notebooks with artwork on the cover from artists of every kind all over the world. From High School Students to Professionals, Sketches to Photography, there are a ton of different kind of covers! AND 1$ from every (12$) notebook goes towards building schools through the Mali Rising and 5% of the sale goes directly to the artist.
This awesome company improves your water drinking experience with new water bottle technology AND what they do for the world. The purchase of a Miir Water Bottle provides one person in the developing world with clean drinking water for one YEAR!
11. ONEHOPE Reserve Blanc de Blancs
Like the idea of helping provide water for those who need it, but want something more festive than a water bottle? Pop the bubbles with this Sonoma Coast Reserve. HALF the profits of this sparkling wine go to help provide clean water where it's needed!
12. A Giving Key Necklace
The Giving Key group works to employ those transitioning out of homelessness to make jewelry out of repurposed keys that get sold and shared around the world. Each key is unique and carries a message like HOPE, STRENGTH, DREAM or COURAGE. When the wearer of the key encounters someone else who needs the message on the key, they give it away and pay it forward. Neat, huh?
13. Silver Lake Candle
This Fair Trade Candle is made by Raven + Lily, a company that currently helps employ marginalized women in Ethiopia, India, Cambodia and the US at fair trade wages to give them access to a safe job, sustainable income, healthcare, education, and a chance to break the cycle of poverty for themselves and families. Every product from Raven + Lily is handmade, fair trade and eco-friendly. The USA Collection currently features hand-poured soy candles, infused with incredible scents of the woodsy outdoors or tropical fruits, empowering formerly homeless women in Los Angeles.
14. West Elm Mugs
These fun designed mugs each correspond with a different charity organization including St. Jude, Teach for America, Oceana, Doctors Without Borders, and many more. Pick out your favorite mug for your favorite charity, and West Elm will donate 50% of the purchase price! Sip your coffee knowing you did something good.
OTHER WAYS TO HELP:
Done with your shopping but still want to contribute to those in need? Here's some ideas of specific ways you can help make the world a better place.
Done with your shopping but still want to contribute to those in need? Here's some ideas of specific ways you can help make the world a better place.
- Glamour's 31 Days of Giving
Every year, Glamour magazine does this special that I LOVE! 31 different ways to fill your holiday season with giving. Check it out and look into the loads of different ways they offer to help!
- Donate to Umoja Women's Village
From their site: "Umoja is a women-only village, founded with the mission to improve the livelihood of its members and the Samburu community through education and poverty alleviation." Help women in this village overcome obstacles and lead to a better life. A $10 donation funds a woman’s visit to the medical clinic, while $60 fills up the water tank in the village!
- Toys for Tots
Help a child believe in the magic of Christmas by giving them a christmas present. The goal of Toys for Tots is to provide less fortunate children with Christmas presents. By collecting, wrapping and distributing gifts to children in need, TFT tries to play an active role in "our nation's most valuable resource: our children" and give them a message of hope that will "assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens."
- Wounded Warrior Project
The WWP is a program that hopes to aid and empower wounded service members. By making a donation, you help the group provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members while raising awareness end enlist the public's aid for these needs. Their mission is to "foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation's history."
- American Red Cross
The American Red Cross is overflowing with ways to donate to help people. 25$ can provide TWENTY-FIVE kids across the world a vaccination. 15$ can provide an entire day's worth of emergency shelter for a disaster victim. Look at their Gift Guide to give the gift of aid as well. (And remember, they always need Blood Donations! - I'm looking at you, O Negatives!)
- Family-To-Family
Family to Family is a non-profit national hunger and poverty relief organization that helps some of our country's poorest areas. They are "dedicated to connecting, one-to-one, families with enough to share to impoverished American families with profoundly less." Some sponsors take on the responsibility of weekly shopping trips, while others opt for food drives or monthly donations. They also have programs devoted to mentorship and literacy!
OTHER SOURCES:
- Always think about local Food Banks and Toy Drives near you! Food and toys are always incredibly important around the holidays!
- Help give aid or donations to Homeless Shelters in your area by checking out information at The National Coalition for The Homeless
- Need a little more guidance? Charity Navigator helps you figure out the way to donate and help out that works best for you. Here is their Holiday Giving Guide
**And for more tips, you can check out my post from last year: How To Do Good that has a ton of different ideas for both financial and hands-on help you can give!**
What are you doing to give back this holiday season?
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