Charitable Gift Giving

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

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A Card Deck to Help Someone Get In Touch with Their Feelings and Thoughts

February 15th, 2022 · Barnes and Noble

One of the long-lasting unintended effects of the pandemic and its lockdowns is a rise in mental illness. For everyone that the lockdown “saved” from contracting the COVID-19 virus, one wonders how many more people paid a price in terms of increases in thoughts of suicide and hopelessness, an increase in drug use, and an overall increase in troubles and despair caused by social isolation.

This Card Deck is not just beautiful to look at, it contains insights for people to get in touch with their feelings and most importantly, understand that what they’re feeling may not be a good reflection of reality. The cards are split into 5 sections, with 10 cards each: Let’s Talk, Mood Boost, Real talk, Get Grounded, and In Community. They help intercept the downward spiral of unhealthy thoughts that can come about in isolation with positive and practical advice or encouragement.

A portion of the proceeds supports a cohort of girls at Prismatic, a movement to inspire hope in the next generation.

It’s available at Barnes & Noble and on Bando’s own site.

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Heart-shaped puzzles that support Every Mother Counts

February 4th, 2022 · Women

These are beautiful heart-shaped jigsaw puzzles that you can customize with any photo, whether it’s a photo of a mother with her baby, a family photo, or even a cherished drawing from your child. All you need to do is provide Minted with a copy of the photo you wish to turn into the puzzle, and they’ll send you the puzzle pieces in a beautiful hinged box in a muslin drawstring pouch.

You can choose the puzzle pieces to come in different sizes depending on who in your family will be doing the puzzle. For toddlers, you can have 12 big pieces. For young children, you can have the puzzle come in 60 pieces. Or for a puzzle the whole family can work on together you can have it come in 252 pieces.

Profits from the sale of this puzzle go to help Every Mother Counts, the charity founded by Christy Turlington in 2010 following the release of her documentary No Woman No Cry, which brought attention to the hundreds and thousands of women around the world who were dying in childbirth because they lacked access to basic maternity care that we take for granted.

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Salami Bouquets

January 28th, 2022 · Poverty

For Valentine’s Day this year, instead of giving the same old flower bouquet, why not shake it up a little with this amazing salami bouquet.

Created by Olympia Provisions, this unique gift puts together an assortment of three or six salami sausages, wrapped together in butcher’s paper and a bright red bow and packaged in a sturdy red box perfect for gift giving.

The salami’s aren’t your Oscar Mayer variety. They’re high quality salamis from France, Spain, and Italy (for the three-sausage bouquet) and from Italy, France, Spain, and Greece (for the six-salami bouquet). And the nice thing about salami is that assuming you don’t wolf it down right away, it’s shelf-stable and will last for a long, long time…much longer than those boring old flowers.

Every purchase goes to help the All For Farmers Coalition, an organization started by Tillamook and American Farmland Trust which helps farmers in need and which works to secure our food supply for generations to come.

(And yes, you should also probably send some flowers as well…if you want to avoid ending up like the salami yourself).

[Edit: Since this post was written it’s unclear whether a portion of proceeds is still donated from this product. However, Olympia Provisions continues to donate to nonprofits in the Portland Oregon metropolitan area regularly.

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Hand-crafted bouquets by mail that helps the New York Botanical Garden

January 25th, 2022 · Conservation

New York City is probably best known for its skyscrapers, traffic jams, sidewalks covered with litter, and subway tunnels populated by rats. But something that people don’t realize is that the five boroughs of Manhattan are some of the world’s most impressive botanical gardens. They’re literally an oasis that a urbanite weary of the hustle and bustle of the city can escape to.

Every botanical garden in NYC has a distinct personality, reflecting the borough it’s in. The Queens Botanical Garden is smaller and cozier. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is my personal favorite with its cherry tree groves, rose gardens, and Japanese tea garden. But the biggest and most famous botanical garden in New York is in the Bronx–the New York Botanical Garden. It covers the most space and has the most impressive displays, from its annual orchid show the the jaw-dropping winter train show.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that all of these garden aren’t just for show. They’re doing serious research and work in plant conservation and science.

Not everyone has $840 to pay for a present, but if you do–and if you’re shopping for someone who loves beauty and the natural world and who perhaps lives in a space that would benefit from displaying beautiful flowers every month–this is one of the most amazing presents you can give. It’s a subscription to a monthly hand-crafted bouquet from BloomsyBox.

While you can buy bouquets from companies like ProFlowers, 1-800-Flowers, and FTD, I honestly wouldn’t trust any of them with something like a monthly subscription product. Especially around times like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day the quality from these companies goes down as they literally scrape the bottom of the barrel to find flowers to sell.

Bloomsybox has a different approach. Every month they reserve flowers in a subscription box that’s unique and stunningly beautiful. This NYBG Subscription product is one of their finest. Each month they’ll send a hand-crafted bouquet in a box, along with a special-edition collectable postcard with an illustration from NYBG’s library. A percentage of every purchase goes to help the NYBG.

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Friendship Bracelets that help Women’s and Children’s Causes

January 21st, 2022 · Children's Charities, Women

These friendship braces were #7 on Oprah’s list of gifts that give back to charity. They’re friendship bracelets that come in a wide range of colors and styles, all beautiful without being too ostentatious, sort of like a good friendship.

It comes in one of seven styles, each with a unique medallion accent, braided cord, and tassels. You can choose from a number of different colors and styles to reflect your unique friendship from a bold black glass to a delicate pink quartz to elegant mother of pearl white to a classic crystal, a multicolored stone to symbolize a multifaceted friendship.

20% of the proceeds from every purchase goes to help woman and youth charities.

Edit: While these particular models are no longer available, Kendra Scott continues to practice philanthropy and continuously produces and sells designs that give back to charity.

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BOBS shoes that help Shelter Dogs and Cats

January 18th, 2022 · Animal Causes

BOBS shoes from Skechers are among the most comfortable shoes you’ll come across. This slip-on clog is a good example–it’s lined with faux-fur (polyester fleece) to keep your feet warm and cozy, and the insole is made from Skechers memory foam for good comfort and support.

This is one of many shoes in the Bobs for Dogs line. From now until December 31, 2022 25 cents of any BOBS shoe, clothing, and accessory that’s specially marked will go to help dogs, cats, and other pets in America’s shelters.

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Key Necklace that Helps People Transitioning Out of Homelessness

January 14th, 2022 · Poverty

The Giving Keys is company based on an amazing idea. Here’s how it works.

First, you purchase a beautiful piece of jewelry from them. As you can probably tell by their name their signature design is a charm shaped like a key. They have keys in the classic familiar shapes you’ve used all your life for your front door, your garage door, your cabinets, your office. They also have classic shapes like crosses or pendants.

On each piece they’ll imprint a word, like BELIEVE, CREATE, DREAM, FAITH, FEARLESS, HOPE, INSPIRE, LET GO, LOVE, STRENGTH or any custom word you’d like.

The idea is to buy a key with “your word”. If you’re in a dark period of your life, maybe your word will be “FAITH” or “HOPE”. If you’ve gone through a bad breakup, maybe that word is “LET GO”. If you’re going through a time of bad health, the word might be “STRENGTH”. And so on.

When I was going through tough times emotionally my sister turned me on to Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). In a nutshell, CBT is all about recognizing that certain ways of thinking are faulty or unhealthy and certain patterns of learned behavior can result in a downward spiral. Part of the work that a patient and a therapist do is to recognize those patterns and stop them before they grow out of control.

What I love about these necklaces is that they can serve as a constant reminder to you to break out of those patterns. If you’re feeling hopeless, or fearful, or faithless, or devoid of love, just glance down at the word around your neck and remember that yes, there is hope, there is nothing to fear, there is someone watching over you, and your life is more filled with love than you realize–love you’re getting and love you can give.

A necklace cannot “cure” you, of course. But it can be part of a healthy reminder to keep perspective, and once you’ve persevered, to pass that perspective to others.

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T-Shirts with Famous Book Covers

January 7th, 2022 · Literacy

Since 2010, Out of Print has had a mission to spread the joy of reading by featuring classic and popular book covers and putting them on clothes, accessories, and office accessories.

If you love to read, you need to visit their Amazon store or their Web site. You’ll find old classics like the iconic Great Gatsby cover by Francis Cugat.

Or newer classics like Mo Willems’s Elephant and Piggie.

Out of Print Women's Classic Children's Book-Themed Scoop Neck Tee T-Shirt

Each T-Shirt helps fund literacy programs and book donations to communities in need around the world. To date, they’ve donated over 5 million books and supported countless literary initiatives in communities that need them the most. Literacy can transform a local neighborhood across town or across the world, and you can do your part by buying some of these products and more importantly, donating directly to them.

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Baby Socks that Help Charity

December 30th, 2021 · Children's Charities, Poverty

If there’s one gift that every parent of a newborn needs, it’s baby socks. Thin ones, thick ones, ones with rubber things on the soles, long ones, short ones, cute ones, colorful ones, and more. It’s a gift that is both practical while letting you express how much you care. Your gift recipient will think fondly of you every time they slip the socks onto their baby.

You could go to your local Carter’s, pay 25 cents for a pair of socks, and throw them in an old shoebox. But that sentiment would be worth about as much as you paid for the socks.

Or you could buy socks from Sticky Be Socks. They have a wide selection of socks of many styles and colors, all packaged beautifully in an attractive presentation box that makes a perfect gift for a baby shower or newborn baby.

As the name implies, each pair of socks is no-slip, which is perfect especially as baby grows older and starts to crawl, walk, or run on your hardwood or linoleum floors. The little rubbery grips help keep the little one stable and the socks themselves are made of the highest quality materials.

The company was founded by Nancy Giftos, a Pilates and yoga instructor. Her company develops socks not just for babies, but for grown-ups too (yes, we can slip and fall too).

What I love about the baby socks is that for every pair sold, a pair is also donated to Baby2Baby, a non-profit organization that provides children living in poverty with diapers, clothing, and basic necessities. To date, they have donated over 200 million items to families in need.

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The reBoard Cutting Board

December 19th, 2021 · Poverty, World Hunger

The reBoard is an example of a simple idea that just gives, and gives, and gives some more.

The product, made by Material Kitchen, is a colorful, BPA-free cutting board. But this is no ordinary cutting board. The design is beautiful and simple and comes in one of six stylish colors–not the gaudy color you see in your local Target or Walmart, but subdued and modern colors that show off your sense of style. The cutting surface is strong and has received rave reviews from Bon Appetit, USA Today, Epicurious, and many more.

It’s made of a combination of 75% recycled plastic and 25% renewable sugarcane, so instead of buying something from a factory around the world churning out endless runs of plastic that will be destined for landfills, you’ll be buying something that’s both sustainable and much high quality.

Here’s the coolest thing. As if saving the planet weren’t enough, a portion of your purchase price will go to help Heart of Dinner, a New York City-based charity that was started during the pandemic to help elderly, low-income Asian Americans combat hunger and isolation; and Drive Change, another New York City-based charity that helps young people who were formerly incarcerated to get a new chance on life by introducing them to culinary jobs.

Buy one at Material Kitchen.

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