‘Tis the Season to Give
This week I wanted to feature a number of great organizations you can be a part of during this “season of giving”. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it’s just a sampling of some that are special to me! While Christmas presents are wonderful to receive and fun to give, how often is everything you give or receive a necessity? This holiday season replace some of those gifts with things that can last a lifetime, whether it’s books for an underprivileged school, supplying water for a family overseas, granting a wish to a sick child, or beyond. Check out the list below for some simple ways you can give back this holiday season…
1) Macy’s Believe benefiting Make-A-Wish Foundation
This one is absolutely free and fun for the whole family! Children can help grant wishes by writing letters telling why they believe in Santa Claus. Letters can be dropped off stamped and addressed to “Santa At The North Pole” in the official R.H. Macy Santa Mail letterboxes at the Believe Station at any Macy’s store. For each letter that is received, Macy’s will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Go here to find out more: http://wish.org/help/macy_s_believe
2) Make-A-Wish Foundation
Beyond what you can do by having the children in your life drop a line to Santa (as mentioned above), there are other ways to help out Make-A-Wish Foundation this holiday season. I’ve personally had the opportunity to help support Make-A-Wish Foundation through my sorority, Chi Omega, during college. It’s a group that’s near to my heart, and I hope as you read along it becomes near to yours as well! Make-A-Wish Foundation offers the opportunity for children with life-threatening medical conditions to be granted one wish of their choice. The foundation funds the wish from start to finish, paying for all expenses involved for the child and their immediate family. The wishes range from going to Disney World, to traveling across the world, to meeting a celebrity, and more! This holiday season you can support Make-A-Wish Foundation by donating money or frequent flier miles, sending a holiday card, purchasing from one of their sponsors that gives a percentage of their proceeds back, or you can even adopt-a-wish, which funds the entire cost a child’s wish. The opportunities are abounding to help out this amazing organization! You can find out more by going to their “Season of Wishes” website at: http://wish.org/help/season_of_wishes
3) CharityBuzz.com
This website collaborates with celebrities by putting on “innovative auctions” to raise money for a charities all over the globe! Some items currently up for bid are: spend a day on set with Hugh Jackman, a walk-on role with the hit CBS comedy series “How I Met Your Mother”, one of Goldie Hawn’s Oscar-worn dresses, attendance to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, A “Giant” weekend with Emeril Lagasse and the Manning Family, plenty of sports memorabilia, and much, much more! Take a look at all of the wonderful things up for bid at: http://www.charitybuzz.com/
4) Charity Choice Gift Cards
For many people, you want to give a gift in someone’s name to a charity, but you’re not sure what cause they would want to support. With Charity Choice Gift Cards, you give the recipient the opportunity to choose where your donation goes! It’s the best gift-card around this season! :) Check out everything they have to offer by going to: http://www.charitygiftcertificates.org/
5) St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s Thanks and Giving Campaign
As their slogan says “give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and give to those who are not”. At St. Jude, no child is denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay. They cover the cost of everything for their patients and a family member, and they are the only pediatric cancer center where families never pay for treatment that is not covered by insurance. Through their Thanks and Giving Campaign you can give a gift in honor or memory of a friend or loved one, you can give gifts that benefit the hospital (such as a St. Jude umbrella or wagon), or you can create your own fundraising page where you invite your friends to donate and give treatment to a child in need. See everything you can do for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at: http://www.tg.stjude.org/
6) First Book
First Book provides books to children in need addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy - the access to books. This organization serves children in need across the United States and Canada that are in preschools and after-school programs, mentoring and tutoring programs, shelters and day care centers, and beyond. You can give money to First Book, buy sponsored products that give a portion of their proceeds to the organizations, send in old books that can be resold to get money for First Book to purchase new books, or you can even start fundraiser! Learn more about what you can do to help by going to: http://www.firstbook.org/
7) World Vision
World Vision is “a Christian humanitarian charity organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice”. This holiday season you can look through their gift catalog to find something special to give, or you can even sponsor a child overseas through monthly donations to provide for his/her family year-long. I’ve sponsored a little girl in Ethiopia for a year and a half now, and it has been so rewarding! I frequently get letters from her and updates from her school about how she is doing. It has really brought to life the needs of others! If you don’t want to make a year long commitment, World Vision’s gift catalog has a number of things you can still purchase for someone to support their cause. Here are just a few of the many possibilities: you can give a goat to a family, which nourishes them by providing healthy milk, cheese, and yogurt and provides them the opportunity to sell the goat’s offspring and extra dairy products at local markets; you can help provide a water well, which provides clean water to a village; you can give an education to a child; or you can give medical care, counseling, and nutritious food to a girl who has been sexually exploited. To see all that you can help provide this holiday season, go to World Vision’s Giving Center at: http://donate.worldvision.org/OA_HTML/xxwv2ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10390
This holiday help enrich the lives of others around you as you give to those you love!
Happy holidays and even happier giving!
(Photo Courtesy of: www.marthastewart.com)
