Holiday Charitable Giving Ideas
It’s that time of year again when we start to think about giving to those in need. I came across the following charities that I think are pretty cool. Below, please find some little known charities that offer great ideas for the holidays, whether you’re giving to your friend who is an avid surfer, your mother who survived breast cancer, or your business partner who keeps bees in his backyard – there is truly a charity that will speak to every person on your list.
Save the Bees!
I wrote about this great company in a previous post; it featured their “Buy a Bottle – Save a Bee”campaign, an initiative established to help local beekeepers maintain and build new beehives in an effort to fight against Colony Collapse Disorder.Honeydrop is now thrilled to launch their holiday gifting charity initiative to help save the bees by gathering donations to benefit Honeybee Research at UC Davis. Since 2006, the honeybee population has been diminishing at an alarming rate, with nearly 30% of honeybees lost each year to a spectrum of causes, widely known as CCD.
Want to do your part to save the bees? Visit http://www.honeydrop.com/savethebees to donate. The first 100 people to donate $100 or more will receive a limited edition Honeydrop gift tote full of Honeydrop products and gear, an official “Save the Bees” certificate, and gifts from Honeydrop’s local beekeeping partners. 100% percent of this monetary gift (less PayPal fees) will be donated to UC Davis to support honeybee research.
Flowers for Good
Organic Bouquet, the largest online provider of eco-friendly and organic floral gifts, hosts a Flower’s for Good page, where the purchase of each bouquet donates a percentage of the price to that bouquet’s coinciding charity. Consumers have over 50 charities to choose from, from Amnesty International to Green America and the Breast Cancer Fund, providing a gift that will keep giving long after the flowers are gone.
Organic Bouquet flowers are organically grown and have been certified by third-party agencies, such as USDA, Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance. They are also a carbon neutral company, partnered with ClimateFund.org in a carbon offset program supporting re-forestation projects in Guatemala. http://www.organicbouquet.com
Heifer International
Choose a meaningful gift to give a loved one and help children and families around the world receive training and donations in the form of cows, llamas, water buffalo and more that will help them become self-reliant. For example, just $30 will provide a hungry family with a starter flock chicks, which can lead to thousands of eggs each year – plenty to eat, share or sell. When you make a donation to Heifer, you can choose to have your free Honor Cards sent directly to your friends and family with a personalized message just for them. http://www.heifer.org
Project Linus
As Charles Schulz’s Linus character from the PEANUTS® comic strip was comforted by his blanket, Project Linus strives to do the same and more for children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need. Since launching in late 1995, Project Linus has distributed blankets to over 4million hospitals across the U.S., providing these children with a sense of security, warmth, and comfort during a difficult time.
Heal the Bay
A gift to Heal the Bay is the perfect way to show someone how important they are while at the same time making a significant difference in the Southern California coastal waters and watersheds, keeping them safe, healthy and clean. Through their website, Heal the Bay will send notification of your dedication gift along with your personal note to the person of your choosing.
Best of Kisco 