Charitable Gift Giving

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

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Lend a Hand Free Sheet Music

August 6th, 2010 · Musicnotes.com

Download Lend a Hand for FreeWhile most of the attention of the past few months hsa been on the Gulf Oil Spill, there hasn’t been a lot of attention paid to the flooding in Tennessee that happened in May, killing over 30 people, causing over $1 billion in damages, destroying countless lives and livelihoods, and becoming one of the most expensive natural disasters in US history.

Country music star and producer John Rich, partnering with MusicNotes.com, is giving Free Sheet Music for the song “Lend a Hand”. The download is completely free, and MusicNotes will contribute $1 for every download to the Nashville Red Cross to help continuing efforts to bring order back to the region and people’s lives. In addition, this page has links where you can make your own donation.

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Nature Christmas Cards 2010 from the National Wildlife Federation

August 3rd, 2010 · Conservation

October 2010 Update:
The National Wildlife Federation is offering the following special if you order 2010 Christmas Cards from now until October 15:

Don’t Let $5 Off + Free Shipping Pass You By. Shop Now! Expires Oct.15!

If you missed out on the previous special for these beautiful holiday cards, jump on this one. Christmas is coming sooner than you think!

Oh the weather outside is frightful. Well, okay, at the time of this writing it’s 90 degrees and humid, so it’s frightful, but not quite like in the song.

But if you’re responsible for corporate purchases for your company, it’s not too early to start planning for your fourth quarter spending, which of course means Christmas cards.
Or, if you’re someone making a personal purchase for you and your family who doesn’t want to put off until tomorrow (or the last week of December) what you can do today, read on.

The National Wildlife Federation has just opened up its site to sell Christmas Cards for 2010. When we featured their 2009 cards last year it was a big hit, but of course this year brings special significance due to the Gulf Oil spill. The National Wildlife Federation is one of the leading charities helping clean up the aftermath of the environmental disaster.

The cards, of course, have some of the most beautiful  nature photography and illustrations you’ll find anywhere and come in a classy foil-lined envelope. And of course, proceeds will help their ongoing efforts to save wildlife.
Here are my personal favorite designs:
  1. The Peeking Cub Card is a cute card with a polar bear cub peeking out from under the  security of momma polar bear.
  2. I admit, I’m a sucker for a beautiful winter scene, and Heaven on Earth card is one of the most beautiful peaceful winter paintings I’ve seen.
  3. Plant a Tree Cards are three gifts in one. You can give the card, an pewter ornament that you can hang on the tree, and a real tree will be planted in your recipients’ honor to help wildlife and prevent soil erosion.
  4. Snowy River Card is another beautiful scene of snow on a river on a winter day.  This is one of the National Wildlife Federation’s  “zero waste cards”, meaning that after the recipient enjoys it, instead of throwing it out they can send it in a prepaid, stamped envelope to be used immediately in another product’s manufacturing.
  5. The Red Bridge Card is another beautiful winter scene.
  6. Festive Grove Card is yet another beautiful winter scene (I told you I was a sucker for great scenery). A snow-covered line of trees is covered in red and gold embossed foil ornaments.
If you’re an individual , save $7 if you order before August 31!Given that a lot of these cards run out due to high demand, think about ordering them early and beating the rush.
The National Wildlife Federation offers special rates and personalization options for corporate purchases. In 2010, there’s no better way to thank and impress a client or employee this year of all years.

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Justin Bieber Flowers

July 30th, 2010 · 1-800-Flowers.com, Developing Areas

Justin Beiber FlowersAt every Justin Bieber concert, Justin gives a bouquet of flowers to one screaming, fainting, hyperventilating, and/or in-shock fan.  If the Justin fan in your life isn’t able to make it to one of his concerts, and/or isn’t one of the lucky ones to be chosen for flowers, never fear. You can re-create the feeling when you buy these Justin Bieber Flowers for the lucky young lady in your life.

The flowers are a beautiful variety of red roses with deep red streaks and swirls. They come with a CD of Justin Bieber’s album, and a scarf with a replica autograph.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Pencils of Promise, a nonprofit organization that is partnering to re-build schools in Haiti.

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Jon Stewart in New York – Night of Too Many Stars

July 27th, 2010 · Autism

John stewart concertOn October 2, 2010, Jon Stewart, Lewis Black, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais, Joel McHale, John Oliver, Chris Rock, Sarah Silverman, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and many, many more will be appearing live at the Beacon Theater in New York City, in a show sponsored by Comedy Central called, aptly enough, the Night of Too Many Stars.

If you happen to have an American Express card, you can purchase tickets starting Thursday, July 29 at 10AM. You’ll have exclusive access to buy tickets until Sunday, August 1 at 10PM, before tickets go on sale to the public Monday morning. This will most definitely sell out, so get the tickets while you can!

The proceeds of the event will benefit autism education and support for families with autism who need quality services and help.

If you’re especially generous, you can get VIP Tickets for $500 and $1,250 which includes attendance at the Post-Show Party (to obtain these tickets, email nightoftoomanystars@eventassociatesinc.com).

Should be a fun evening for a great cause!

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Mortgage Apple Cakes

July 24th, 2010 · Bake Me a Wish

iconWe’ve talked before about Bake Me a Wish, the New York bakery that ships its fresh cakes overnight and donates a portion of its proceeds to needy causes.

The iconMortgage Cake is a moist apple cake that’s topped with rich butter cream and cream cheese frosting. The recipe is by Angela Logan, a New Jersey woman who baked and sold apple cakes locally to collect enough to make mortgage payments to save her home in 2009.

Since then, Ms. Logan’s home has been paid off, and her story and her delicious cakes received national attention. Today, Bake Me a Wish continues to sell the cakes, where proceeds will go to help others who are in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure by supporting GreenPath Debt Solutions, a nationwide non-profit consumer credit counseling service.
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Support for Animals Affected by the Gulf Oil Spill

July 21st, 2010 · Conservation

It’s great news that it looks like BP has finally capped the oil spill. But it’ll be years before we know the full measure of the damage that the last few months of constant gushing oil has done to the environment and the wildlife in the Gulf Coast area. And human nature being what it is, pretty soon everyone will forget about it. Don’t think so? Remember how everyone vowed that they would never forget the Nashville Floods? Or the Earthquake in Haiti? Or Hurricane Katrina? Or September 11, 2001? Certainly those who lives were torn apart by these events never forgot, but sadly for too many of us, out of sight means out of mind.

Seeing pictures of oil-soaked animals may tug at our heartstrings, but there are much more serious ramifications to those pictures than our emotional response. It will be years before we understand the full impact that this disaster has had on the ecosystem and wildlife. And when the newspapers and cable news stations stop showing us the pictures and go on to the next celebrity scandal of the day, there will be a handful of organization working tirelessly day and night to try to bring the devastated region back to some sense of normalcy.
gulf oil spill reliefThe Pelican Pins and Recycled Pelican Night Light pictured above are great ways to always remember the devastated Gulf region. The Pelican Pins are handmade in New Orleans. The exquisite design includes Louisiana’s state bird, the pelican, carved of nickel, with a miniature brass fish and a bronze wing that’s made up of Louisiana’s Fleur-de-Lis. Proceeds to will go to help the National Wildlife Federation and The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, and just as importantly, your wearing it can help keep it in the forefront of peoples’ minds.

The nightlight was designed by husband and wife team Vawn and Mike Gray; 10% of proceeds will benefit Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research.

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The Best Dog Gifts at Fun Time Dog Shop

July 18th, 2010 · Animal Causes

best gifts for your dogWhile shopping for a doggie present for my sister’s dog Opie, I looked far and wide but couldn’t find anything better than the same boring and stale dog treats that have been probably sitting on the shelves of supermarkets and drug stores for months and are made with who-knows-what. Opie’s a good boy, and deserves a lot better.

Thanks to Jena for writing in and telling me about a really special, brand new online shop for modern pets (and people) called the Fun Time Dog Shop!

The shop is full of high quality doggie treats (Your dog can enjoy such delicacies as Salmon Sushi Rolls or the cutest doggie biscuits you’ve ever seen).

There are also amazingly interactive toys & accessories, such as a dog brick puzzle which looks like a lot of fun for both you and your dog (and if you have friends with dogs, why not make things interesting by running some dog competitions :)).

But the truly special part is Sarah, the owner, is donating all profits from the shop to non-profit dog rescue groups to help some of the over 6 million dogs who are homeless and placed in shelters or with rescue groups each year.

These are some of the best and highest quality items dog items I’ve seen anywhere. Doesn’t your best friend deserve it? 🙂

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Write a Review for Shopping.Com, Give to Charity

July 12th, 2010 · Cancer

Zoe from Shopping.com wrote in to talk about a promotion they’re running for the month of July.

Hi! I’m writing to you about a Shopping.com promotion for the month of July, in which the site will donate a dollar to cancer research for every product review people leave on the site. While Shopping.com normally pays reviewers directly, this is a great way to provide people with the opportunity to affect change from their own living rooms, writing about products they already know and love (or know and hate!). Throughout the month Shopping.com hopes to help people raise donations while writing their passions, speaking up in a corporate setting, and above all getting their voices heard.

Here’s the link to the online promotion description: http://www.shopping.com/sc/charity_promo

Looks like a great way to use a little of your time to help a great cause! Thanks to Zoe for the tip.

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Red Barbie to benefit the American Heart Association

July 9th, 2010 · Amazon, American Heart Association, Heart Disease

As part of the “Go Red for Women” campaign, Mattel released this red Barbie Go Red for Women doll which benefits the American Heart Association. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the Pink Barbie we highlighted a few years ago that benefited breast cancer causes.

As much attention is breast cancer gets, most people may not realize that heart disease remains the #1 cause of of women worldwide. The American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women program is aimed to bring awareness of this killer to women worldwide. For more information or to donate directly, visit http://www.goredforwomen.org/.

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Winnie the Pooh items at Kohl Cares

July 6th, 2010 · Children's Charities, Kohls

Winnie the Pooh stuffed animalKohl Cares is the philanthropic arm of Kohl’s department stores. We’ve featured them in the past–they sell very high quality merchandise at very low prices, where proceeds go to benefit a number of great charitable causes, from kids health and education to environmental causes to womens’ health.

They have a new line of Winnie the Pooh items at Kohl Cares which are not only adorable and super high quality, they’re also only $5 each. So for the price of a footlong sub, you can have a top quality, cherished toy or a high quality book with the adventures of Winnie the Pooh and his pals.

Items include Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore, as well as a number of high quality hardcover Winnie the Pooh books and even a cookbook with kid-friendly recipes. These Kohl’s Cares items are known to sell out fast, so get them while you can!

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