Charitable Gift Giving

We surf the Web to find good products that help out a great cause.

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Free 20-page 8×8" photo book from Shutterfly with your $1 donation to cancer research

July 12th, 2012 · Cancer

free shutterfly bookSeems like everyone’s getting into the “deals” act. Now it’s not just sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, but Wheel of Fortune of all people. Seems that for a while now, Wheel of Fortune has been promoting these daily Wheel of Fortune Deals on their show for a little while now.

This particular deal is a fantastic one. You can get a free customized 20-page 8×8″ photo book with a hard photo cover from Shutterfly for free. Well, almost free…you make a $1 donation to cancer research. Oddly, they don’t give the name of the cancer charity other than to say that your dollar will go to “help fund medical research and educational programs that support the fight against cancer”. But still, Wheel of Fortune is of course a legitimate organization, so you can be sure your dollar will be going where it should.

The photo book is a $29.99 value. After you donate your #1 you’ll get a promotion voucher that can be redeemed from now until 9/16/12 (when the promotional value of the offer will expire). Shipping and taxes are extra, and there are a bunch of limitations on the type of book you can get. Still this is one of those deals where you can do some good and get something great out of it while you’re at it. These books make great gifts and are great ways to commemorate special events or trips.

 

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2012 Olympics Clothing – Support Team USA

July 9th, 2012 · Uncategorized


Shop TEAM USA 2012 Summer Olympics Gear at Fanatics!Two years ago in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, there was one knit hat that Team USA wore during the Opening Ceremonies that became one of the most popular posts on this blog. People were scrambling to get that darned hat, but Ralph Lauren decided that they were only going to make so many.

So my advice two years later? If you see the athletes walking in the Opening Ceremonies with some cool fashions, jump on it right away 🙂

You can find official Team USA gear at Macys
icon or at Fanatics, who are powering this year’s Team USA store. The licensing fees paid to Team USA will help support our athletes, but of course the best way to give is to contribute directly.

Should be a good Olympics! More in a few weeks!

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This July 4, support the troops with this fantastic deal from LivingSocial

June 29th, 2012 · Veterans and Military

For the next week, if you click over to LivingSocial’s National Deals page, you’ll see a wonderful offer where you can pay $25 to LivingSocial, and they’ll turn that into a $50 donation to the USO to purchase care packages for troops stationed far away to remove them of home and to let them know that we’re thinking about them and grateful to them for preserving the freedom we’ll be celebrating next week on Independence Day.

The care packages contain goodies like snacks, toiletries, phone cards, and other great items that will keep our troops connected. As of this writing, over 23,000 people have purchased this already, but of course there’s a lot more to go to cover as many of our troops as possible.

Oh, one more thing–as thanks for your generosity, the USO will send YOU a T-Shirt as well. So in one fell swoop, you can turn $25 into $50 towards a care package, PLUS get a great T-Shirt to further help spread the message to support our troops.

This deal lasts only 8 more days from this writing, so head on over to LivingSocial now!

Another option for giving to the troops is a great site called Pizza4Patriots. This outfit, founded by retired Master Sergeant Mark Evans, had a great idea of sending pizza to troops stationed overseas to literally give them a taste of home. This year, they have a goal of sending 30,000 pizza to feed virtually every service member stationed in Afghanistan for July 4, 2012. Give a generous donation today!

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Gifts from India that help Indian Artisans and Children

June 25th, 2012 · Children's Charities, Developing Areas, Fair Trade

I had the pleasure of hearing from Linda at Sitara Collections (Sitara is the Sanskrit word for “Star” or “Morning Star”). Sitara is a remarkable site that sells jewelry, leather goods, accessories, Ayurvedic beauty supplies, and other gifts directly from India.

Seems that everywhere you go, you see low-quality, mass-produced imitation jewelry in department stores. Sitara bucks that trend and offers hand-crafted jewelry created by exceptional local artisans in India. For example, here is a stunning Amethyst necklace, one of their more popular items.

amethyst necklace from india

Surf through their earrings, necklaces, rings, and bracelets and you’ll find all kinds of amazing jewelry. What’s more amazing is that these aren’t mass-produced pieces made using the cheapest materials and the cheapest labor to flood the market. To the contrary, as Sitara puts it they’re the work of local artisans, who are paid fairly, and who combine their traditional craftsmanship with a modern sensibility. Most of the jewelry pieces are made from .925 sterling silver and include precious and semi-precious stones.

I had the pleasure of taking a closer look at some of their leather goods. This one is called the Bird on a Twig Journal.

cruelty-free leather journals

The cover on this is really more beautiful in real life than this picture or even the picture on their Web site. The scene is of a bird on a twig against a deep red background with pistachio green and burnt orange. If you’re looking for a very special book to keep a journal in, this is a great one.

What’s more, this book is also produced under fair trade principles by an artisan cooperative in Rajasthan, India. The paper in the book are made by recycling scraps of waste textile, meaning that no trees were destroyed to make the book. And yet the paper is beautifully textured, even more so than journals costing a lot more and not nearly as eco-friendly.

blank journal

Here’s a close-up.

paper texture of sitara journal

Something else that’s nice about the leather cover of this journal is that it’s “cruelty free”. This means that instead of an animal being slaughtered for its leather, the leather used here was taken from an animal who passed away from natural causes. Good for animals, good for trees, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a “friendlier” journal.

And as if that weren’t enough, one remarkable thing that Sitara Collections does is donate a portion of net proceeds to underprivileged Indian children. Among other things, these kids are given the opportunity to learn English. So far, 75 children have benefited from this program, and hopefully there will be more to come!

Sitara was kind enough to send me these beautiful-looking passport holders, also produced with cruelty-free leather. They’re the perfect size and weight to hold your passport.

leather passport covers

If you’ve read this far, here’s your chance to win one of these beautiful passport covers for yourself. Just “like” us on Facebook by clicking the button on the right-hand of this screen, and then leave a comment on this post telling us which item on the Sitara Web site you like the most. If we get more than two responses, I’ll choose two random winners to receive these beautiful passport covers (valued at more than $15 each).

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The Red Grey Line Sightsightseeing Buses in New York go Pink

June 21st, 2012 · Breast Cancer, Uncategorized

I work in New York City, and one ubiquitous sight I see when walking to and from work are tour buses. They come in all shapes and sizes. But the one tour bus that has always stood out has been the bright red Grey Line double-decker bus. They’ve actually been providing tours of New York City since 1926, so they’re an institution in themselves.

I admit, I always feel a little like an animal in a zoo when I see one of these tour buses pass by. Just for kicks, from time to time I’ll deliberately make silly faces to try to ruin the pictures of the tourists snapping pictures of me. Of course, when they go home and look at the pictures, it probably just reinforces their notion of a typical New Yorker. Still, like the monkeys in the Zoo, we New Yorkers don’t mind it when people stare at us, point at us, and take pictures of us. As long as we can get fed our daily fill of falafel and shawarmas, shish-kebobs, and dirty water dogs from the street vendors, we don’t go ape and bother the tourists in the buses.

I’ve actually never taken a tour of New York on a Grey Line bus before, but from the faces of the tourists staring down from on high, they seem to really love it, especially on a beautiful day. And from someone who’s taken subways, bikes, cars, public buses, and every other mode of transportation through the city, I really can’t picture a better way to view it than towering over everyone. If you’re coming to New York City, I’d definitely say it’s worth it to sign up.

Here’s something to make it even sweeter. A few days ago Gray Line and The Breast Cancer Foundation officially launched their pink color buses (during the ceremony Gray Line also made a generous $10,000 donation).

pink bus around manhattan

They did so at a big celebration that included Miss USA, Olivia Culpo.

miss usa on grey line new york bus

It’s a 1.5 hour tour that takes you by the best tourist sights in New York: downtown where you can view the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero, and midtown where you can see the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, and Times Square (where you’ll have the best chance of snapping a picture of me).

Unlike their standard red buses, this isn’t a “hop on, hop off” tour, so for the 1.5 hours it’s like your own private tour without any distractions. And best thing about it, $1 of every adult ticket goes to the Breast Cancer Foundation. Given that they give rides to thousands and thousands of people each year, this is a great way to help.

You can purchase tickets here, and they’re good for one year from the date of purchase, meaning that if your plans change you’ll still be able to use the tickets at another date. There aren’t many better ways to see the City. Just remember not to feed the animals 🙂

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Biodegradable Dog Poop Bags that Fight Puppy Mills

June 17th, 2012 · Amazon, Animal Causes

Here’s a deal worth making a stink about (sorry).

Available on Amazon are 700 Poop Bag Shop (TM) Biodegradable Dog Waste Bags for $19.99 by a company appropriately called “Poop Bag Shop”. That’s enough to last for almost a whole year. No more scrounging around for plastic garbage bags.

The bags come in blue or black colors in 35 rolls. If you buy something at Amazon for another $5.01 you also get free super saver shipping. They also come with a free dispenser shaped like a bone.

While I never heard of the company “Poop Bag Shop” nor their parent company (strangely named “Luxury Collections”), reviews of this product are great. They are biodegradable, meaning that while traditional plastic bags may take years and years to degrade into the soil, these bags will disappear in a lot less time. And yet users have reported them to be durable, unlike other biodegradable dog poo bags that start their biodegrading in your hands!

One thing I appreciate about these bags is that the product description mentions that a portion of sales will go to fight puppy mills. I wrote to the company to ask for more details about what material they use, as well as more details about how exactly they support charity. Here was their response, which seemed legitimate if not exactly grammatically correct.


Hi,

Thank you for contacting us. We donate 10% of our profit to the ASPCA to fight puppy mill. Puppy mill is a serious problem. Please share this horrible information with your readers.

Here are some links for reference:

Our bags are made of material: Biodegradable (EPI / d2w)

Thank you very much,

Sincerely,
Mary

Bottom line, it seems like a lot of Amazon reviewers are very happy with this company’s product. I’d say it’s definitely worth trying out, especially if you’re using less-than-friendly bags for picking up after your dog right now, and especially if you’re in one of those states that have banned plastic bags from grocery stores (or if you just prefer to use a eco-friendly reusable shopping bag)

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Best Humor Book of 2011 by the Dog Writer's Association of America

June 13th, 2012 · Animal Causes

Show Dog Sings the Blues was named the best humor book of 2011 by the Dog Writer’s Assocation of America. It’s the story of a pampered Australian Shepherd show dog who is switched with a cowdog and has to work on a ranch for the day. What makes this book especially intriguing is that it’s told from the point of view of the dog!

It’s an extremely low priced book ($2.99 for the Kindle edition), and a portion of all proceeds will be donated to the national Australian Shepherd rescue association at AussieRescue.org

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Frequent Walking Miles, Frequent Running Miles, and Frequent Biker Miles with an iPhone and Android App!

June 6th, 2012 · AIDS, Autism, Conservation, World Hunger

I admit, I’m a frequent flyer mile junkie. I am a member of every hotel, airline, rental car and restaurant program out there. I will go out of my way to book a flight on a carrier I know is giving me miles, even if it’s a few dollars more than one. I guess I love the thrill of earning points.

Today (June 6) is National Running Day and a company called Charity Miles has a free app for iPhone and Android that, yes, lets you earn “miles” for running, biking, or even walking! Whatever you earn turns into a donation for a great charity. It’s a brilliant idea that taps into that part of us all who need to exercise but need instant gratification rather than waiting for an elusive “endorphin rush” or enjoying “better health” in weeks and months ahead.

Here’s how the app works. You start the app up and then pick a charity. Currently, here are the charities that are part of the app: Achilles
International (www.achillesinternational.org); Autism Speaks (www.autismspeaks.org); Feeding America (www.feedingamerica.org); The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (www.theglobalfund.org); Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org); The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (www.michaeljfox.org; The Nature Conservancy (www.nature.org); Pencils of Promise (www.pencilsofpromise.org); and The United Nations World Food Programme (www.wfp.org).

Then, you just run, walk, or bike. That’s it. For every mile you run or walk you earn 25 cents. For every mile you bike, you earn 10 cents. All of the miles of all the people using this app will be pooled together, and Charity Miles, LLC, will fund the donations up to $1,000,000. They’re also seeking out corporate sponsors who’ll be able to pony up money in case the total donations go over that amount.

Thanks to the World Food Programme who informed me about this app. They are in the midst of an increasingly dire hunger crisis in the Sahel region of West Africa, where we are working to avert life-threatening famine for some 10 million people. Kenyan marathon legend, NY City Marathon winner and World Food Programme Ambassador Against Hunger, Paul Tergat, says about the app “I think this Charity Miles app is a great idea. Runners like me can help end hunger with the World Food Programme. I grew up with school lunches from WFP- they changed my life. Let’s do the same for more children!”

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Eco-Friendly T-Shirts Made from Plastic Bottles from A Lot to Say, Inc.

May 29th, 2012 · Conservation

Disclosure: We participate in the eBay Partner Network (EPN) meaning we may earn a commission when users click on links to eBay and make purchases. 

How would you like to wear a T-shirt that’s made entirely of plastic bottles? And no, I’m not talking about this happy fellow’s outfit…

plastic bottle costume

No, this is an actual eco-friendly T-shirt from a great organization called A Lot To Say, Inc.  It’s a great on-line store that sells everything from T-shirts to pillowcases to swimwear to umbrellas to yoga mats to baby blankets to bags to pet accessories to bikinis to tote bags to even canvas artwork. So what’s special about this company? Actually, two things. The first is that every one of their products is made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. That’s right, not 5% or 10%, but 100%.

The first question that came to my head was, wouldn’t it be really uncomfortable to wear a T-shirt made of plastic? I recently had the opportunity to try out one of these T-Shirts.

The T-shirt itself came packed simply yet elegantly in tissue paper, which looked classy but was itself recycled.

recycled bottle t-shirt package

To my surprise, when I took the shirt out it felt really soft. Admittedly, when I heard that the shirt was going to be made of all plastic bottles, I assumed it’d at least be a little stiff and plastic.

t-shirt made from recycled bottles
I handed the shirt to Lisa, and her eyes lit up and she exclaimed “oooh! soft!”

When it came time to try the shirt on, I was blown away. The T-shirt is not only soft, it’s actually softer, lighter, and silkier than any cotton T-shirt I have.

The slogan on this particular shirt says:

Peace is where it’s at. Peace in the world means peace in our community. Peace in our community means peace in our home. Peace in our home means peace in our heart. And peace in our heart accounts for 50% of the reason we live longer. Peace out.

The imprinting is really interesting. Unlike other T-shirts, there’s not a caked layer of dye; instead, the words seem smoothly and seamlessly printed on the threads themselves (see below for details of the process by which they do this, which ends up saving a lot of fresh water).

I wouldn’t have believed that this shirt was made of plastic bottles, but surely enough the label reiterated it.

plastic bottles

How do they do it? Their technology actually allows them to turn plastic bottles (yes, the same ones that we throw into the recycle bin) into an amazing variety of synthetic fabrics. from fabrics soft enough to make a baby blanket to fabrics durable enough to make a dog leash (it gives a new meaning to the phrase PET bottles :)). I’d say it’s similar to other synthetic fibers like polyester, spandex, rayon, etc.

How environmentally friendly is it? They say that just one T-shirt will prevent 60 used plastic bottles from going to landfills. What’s more, because they imprint their T-shirts with a “No Water Dye” method, over 700 gallons of fresh water are saved. I did a double-take when I read this statistic, but it’s true–one traditional cotton T-shirt takes over 700 gallons of fresh water to dye.

The apparel is as stylish as it is eco-friendly. They come imprinted with inspirational messages such as…

Dream it, believe it, do it. Plant a secret garden, start your own business, paint in pastels, hop a flight to Fiji, be a truer friend. Fact is, we spend over 6 years of our life dreaming. So close your eyes. Say yes, I can. And start living the dream. 

or informative “green” messages such as

Love the planet, lose the plastic. Only 3% of plastic is being recycled. The rest winds up buried in landfills and can take between 200 to 400 years to degrade. 

I had a chuckle when I saw how appropriate their messages are to their products. Their pillowcases come with the “dream” message, their yoga mats come with a “breathe” message, their pet accessories come with a “fetch” message, and their iPad case comes with a “surf” message. The designs are unique and serve as both a great reflection of your values as well as a great conversation starter.

As if that weren’t “good” enough, all of their products are made in the USA. With all of the big clothing companies rush to countries with less-than-ethical governments, overlooking their many human rights atrocities just for the cheap labor, it’s refreshing to see one company keeping jobs here. While the prices on ALottoSay.com are a bit higher than what you might find at your local Walmart, the old adage of “you get what you pay for” applies here. Because the items are produced with such high quality and 100% toxin-free, they’ll last up to 6 times longer than items mass-produced by cheap labor overseas.

And if that weren’t “good” enough, A Lot To Say donates a generous amount of proceeds to a number of worthy charities, including The International Green Energy Council, Global Green, Stand Up To Cancer, Animal Rescue Foundation, and Heal the Bay.

I used to always wonder after recycling plastic bottles where those bottles end up going, and wonder what is made from recycled plastic bottles? A Lot of Say has a lot to say about that. And the answer is, just about anything.

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An Amazing Little Pet Dinosaur

May 26th, 2012 · Amazon, Conservation

pet dinosaurThat little guy you see to your left is Senario Little Inu. He’s an amazing little electronic dinosaur that weighs about 2 pounds and is about the size of a little dog (16 inches x 5.5 inches x 6.5 inches).

The dinosaur does everything a pet should do. He makes noises, blinks, moves, cries, sleeps, eabts, plays, and drinks. You can pet him on his head, nose, mouth, chin, back, and body and he’ll display real emotions, from being happy to sad to frisky to sleepy. He drinks from his plastic coconut water shell and eats from his plastic taro root (both included). The only thing he doesn’t do is poop, which I’m sure most parents will not see as a negative.

The movement is quite realistic–he can walk forward and backwards and move his head and neck. He’s soft, so he’s plenty huggable (and will respond accordingly).

A portion of the proceeds from all Little Inu products are donated to help fund and support the preservation of the land and heritage of Kuaui, Hawaii the island paradise that inspired his creation.

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