Charitable Gift Giving

No To China is not a charitable site per se, but it does represent a cause that I consider to be one of the most important facing our world today. Over the last 20 years, the People’s Republic of China has all but taken as the world’s leader in manufacturing. Everything from your cell phone […]

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My favorite animal is the panda. I could sit for hours at the National Zoo or the San Diego Zoo and watch one of those chubby critters sit, break, and chew on bamboo stalks and leaves (and I have). And so when I saw this sock brand’s logo, it got my attention. One thing you […]

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I had to do a double-take on this Etsy product called “Cat Coffee”–for a moment I thought it was talking about cat poop coffee, something I’ve heard about for a while but never quite dared to try (even if I could afford it). But no, these are just regular roasted coffee beans for sale that […]

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Emma Dalby operates a store on Etsy called DollBeeDesigns. She offers cute and remarkably affordable bracelets for sale. The designs are invariably adorable; in recent years she’s offered bracelets with charms shaped like acorns, stars, lightning bolts, dinosaurs, horseshoes, snowflakes, tiny feet, and many more to suit just about any occasion. As adorable the charms […]

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There are lots of places you can find gifts that promote awareness for common diseases and ailments like cancer and heart disease. In fact, for some cases fundraising through gift giving has become an industry in itself. I’ve spent a lot of time over the years highlighting those kinds of products, and of course I’ll […]

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I’ve been seeing Dilly Dally candles all over Etsy and Amazon. The first thing they got right is the names of their candles. Here’s a sampling of what they have on Amazon. Amber Noir Apples & Maple Bourbon Autumn in New England Black Raspberry Vanilla Black Currant Absinthe Black Sea Cinnamon Stick Citrus Basil Clean […]

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Most states are starting to ban plastic shopping bags at grocery stores. One of the unintended consequences of that is that now dog owners around the country have to go and buy expensive Hefty or Glad bags to take care of their best friend’s business, resulting in even more plastic being sent to landfills from […]

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Many ex-presidents have crossed the rubicon from being pilloried or ridiculed in the media to being respected elder statesmen. Richard Nixon managed to rehabilitate his image by the end of his life to be recognized as a foreign policy thought leader. Jimmy Carter left office ignominiously but is recognized today for his humble charity work. […]

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All too often, a child will lose a beloved grandparent at far too early an age. Too often, adults–sometimes stricken with grief themselves–are unable to explain to their children why they’ll never see the person they loved again, at least not on this side of heaven. This is a book written by Tracy Harding and illustrated […]

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If you’re a parent, you’ve probably noticed that stuffed animals aren’t as special to your child these days as they were to you when you were their age. When we were kids, our parents could maybe afford one or two stuffed animals that we’d cherish throughout our childhood. But as manufacturing has gotten cheap, it […]

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