Try this at home: Gifts that Give Back

With all the craziness that is about to ensue on Black Friday, it’s important to remember the spirit of Thanksgiving and give thanks for all the small blessings in our lives. With this in mind, I thought about all the people Christmas shopping on Friday and wanted to put together a list of great gifts and buying ideas for your holiday gifting that will also benefit charities as well!

Because Charity is the New Black Friday.

Gifts for the Fashionably Conscious:

Rachel Roy, an up-and-coming Indian/Dutch-American designer, is selling a $20 tote to support flood relief in Pakistan. 100% proceeds go to UNICEF. You can read about it here and pre-order it here.  “Kindness is always fashionable.”

TOMS Shoes was founded on a simple premise: With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One. Using the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good is what we’re all about. The TOMS mission transforms our customers into benefactors, which allows us to grow a truly sustainable business rather than depending on fundraising for support. Browse the TOMS Catalog here.

Thorn Clothing Fashion sewing hope and battling illness by helping provide clean water to those in need. Every item provides clean water for a person for an entire year. Code word: BOGO gets you a FREE tee with purchase. Check out Thorn’s catalog here.

Gifting through the Gift Shop:

Many of your favorite charities may already have shops online, check them out for additional apparel and other great gifts that help support the organization. Some of my favorites include Charity:Water, To Write Love On Her Arms, Jane Goodall Institute, St. Jude Children’s Home, OneNOLA, War Child, F Cancer, WWF. Find yours or your loved ones and get them a great gift and give back at the same time.

Gifts for your Socially Conscious:

Holstee: is dedicated to eco-friendly design with a conscience. They hold every design accountable for the impact it has for on all people, our planet and the product’s quality. 10% of all Holstee revenue is used to empower entrepreneurs in the developing world through micro lending. To browse their eco-friendly catalog, click here.

Global Exchange is an international human rights organization dedicated to promoting environmental, political and social justice. Their stores generate income for thousands of artisans and their families in over 40 countries through fair trade. The Sunshine Hammock for $48 looks very welcoming, browse their store here.

Gifts for your Everyday Philanthropist:

Groupon Kiva Deal: Save $10 on a $25 Microloan Gift or Credit to Help Global Entrepreneurs through Kiva.org. Only 7 days left to get this deal, but this is a great way to give your little philanthropist a way to keep on giving. Kiva empowers the distribution of microloans to highly motivated, low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world and beyond, cultivating a universal community of humans connected through lending. Learn more about the Groupon deal here.

Heifer International: Give a gift of giving and help children and their families around the world receive training and animal gifts that help them become self-reliant and help eliminate poverty and hunger. You can view the whole catalog of Heifer International gifts here.

Gifts you can eat:

Dancing Deer Baking Co: Traditional and homey. Includes a Dark Chocolate Sweet Home Project House Cookie, Deep Dark Gingerbread Cake and 18 Molasses Clove Cookies - our favorites! These cookies and cake are scratch baked and artfully packaged in a gift box. 35% of the price goes directly to help homeless mothers and their children fund educations, find jobs and move into homes of their own. Pick up yours here.

Aspire Coffeeworks: Each order helps create new jobs for people with disabilities at Aspire CoffeeWorks. This work includes grinding and packing freshly roasted coffee, as well as preparing gift baskets and orders for shipping. Aspire CoffeeWork’s staff work right alongside Metropolis Coffee’s team at our roasting facility, on the North Side of Chicago. Pick up a pound of inspiration here.

Shop online and Give back to charity at the same time:

iGive.com: SELECT your favorite cause (or add a new one). Register with iGive and SHOP at brand name online stores through the iGive Mall. A portion of each purchase is donated to your cause. SAVE money with exclusive coupons/free shipping deals. Plus, when you shop within 45 days of registering they’ll donate an extra $5 to your cause! For more information or to Select, Shop, Give, and Save, visit: iGive.com

Shop For Good:  Offers conscientious consumers a way to support their favorite charity/non-profit every time they shop online at no additional cost. With over 600 retail partners to choose from, ShopForGood.net donates a portion of the net sale of purchases to the user’s charity of choice. For more information, go to: ShopForGood.net

GoodShop: One more shop and give site. Every time you click over to one of the partner merchants from the GoodShop site and then make a purchase, your charity or school earns money. The more you shop, the more they make! 100% of the donation displayed on GoodShop goes to your designated nonprofit or school. For more information, go to: goodsearch.com

If you have other ideas, please share them in the comments section below.

Day 138: City of Joy

Today’s give comes from a fellow tumblr friend, Caitlin (who runs The Cool Project), she recommended a wonderful project called the City of Joy, which is a village built in the Congo for victims of sexual violence. These victims are at times no longer welcome in their own villages because they are considered “ruined” women and that is just so wrong. This is a truly important project to help these women build normal lives again. The City of Joy Gift Registry is also a cool way to designate your donation, you can choose your level of commitment and what items you would like to provide. Check it out: https://secure.vday.org/cityofjoy

A goal of the STOP RAPING OUR GREATEST RESOURCE: Power To The Women And Girls Of The DRC campaign is to provide necessary resources and support for women to rebuild and transform their lives. A centerpiece of the campaign is to support community reintegration for survivors of rape, specifically those who face extreme challenges in returning home due to community rejection and trauma. V-Day and UNICEF in partnership with Panzi Foundation are currently building a special facility for the survivors of sexual violence.

Conceived, created and developed by the women on the ground, the City of Joy in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo will support women survivors of sexual violence to heal and provide them with opportunities to develop their leadership through innovative programming. Through its groundbreaking model, the City of Joy will provide up to 180 women a year with an opportunity to benefit from: group therapy; storytelling; dance; theater; self-defense; comprehensive sexuality education (covering HIV/AIDS, family planning); ecology and horticulture; and economic empowerment.

The City of Joy will provide women a place to heal emotionally as they rebuild their lives, turn their pain to power, and return back into their communities to lead.

Amount Donated: $5 (for towels)

To support City of Joy, please visit: https://secure.vday.org/cityofjoy

Day 58: UNICEF

Because I believe every child should have the necessary items to preventable curable diseases and have a chance at living a full and healthy life, I am supporting UNICEF to help end the preventable deaths in the US.

Working in over 150 countries, UNICEF provides children with health care, clean water, nutrition, education, protection, emergency relief, and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF’s work through fundraising, advocacy, and education in the United States. Despite extraordinary progress, 24,000 children still die each day from preventable causes. Their mission is to do whatever it takes to make that number zero by giving children the essentials for a safe and healthy childhood.

Join UNICEF’s fight for child survival:

There are many ways to join UNICEF and save kids’ lives—here are a few to consider:

Sign up for email updates to stay on top of the issues affecting the world’s children.

Tell your legislators that you want them to address children’s needs.

Volunteer to take action on behalf of the world’s children through education, advocacy and fundraising initiatives.

Join the Monthly Pledge Program to help us deliver services and minimize expenses.

Amount Donated: $5
To Support UNICEF, please visit: http://www.unicefusa.org/about