Charitable Gift Giving

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

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Dee’s Paradise flower bouquet from 1-800-Flowers, as seen on Undercover Boss

April 11th, 2010 · 1-800-Flowers.com

7/17/21 update:

1-800-Flowers has discontinued Dee’s Bouquet. If you’re looking for an arrangement with a similar vibe, their Floral Embrace or Tropical Sunrise are pretty good choices. But of course proceeds of those don’t go to charity.

If you are interested in a bouquet where proceeds go to a really good cause, check out their Good Day Bouquet. 20% of proceeds goes to Smile Farms. This is a charity that their founder and their CEO, Jim and Chris McCann, started to help give developmentally disadvantaged adults a chance at employment opportunities. I used to work for Jim and Chris and they’re good people. Definitely consider buying this bouquet, or donating directly to this great cause.

11/16/2013 update:

Episodes of the 1-800-Flowers Undercover Boss episode from 2010 are still being broadcast, and it looks like they’ve redesigned Dee’s Bouquet for a third time. In my opinion, this third design is the best. Unlike past versions of Dee’s Bouquet, which something tells me were probably just previous designs that they decided to rename in time to make the TV show, this one was clearly designed from the ground up and really seems to capture Dee’s personality as it looked on the TV show.

7/6/2012 update:

If you recently saw the rebroadcast of Undercover Boss, since the show was originally broadcast they’ve redesigned Dee’s Paradise to become Dee’s Tropical Paradise. It’s a beautiful arrangement with roses, ginger, anthurium, Birds of Paradise, Ti leaf, palm leaf, and myrtle.

For the record, the producers of the show painted Chris’s brother Jim in somewhat of an unpleasant light, probably because they thought it made for better TV. I happen to know Jim, and he is genuinely one of the kindest, funniest, and most brilliant men I know. He’s someone who loves his family tremendously and who treats his employees fairly and with a smile. Long story short, never believe everything you see on TV 🙂

Original Post: 

dee's paradise flowersThe season finale of Undercover Boss was yet another great episode in a great series. I actually wonder how much longer this series can go on, because there’s no way the “cover” to explain camera crews (“we’re filming a documentary on entry-level jobs”) will hold up. I guess they’ll just have to film in places that don’t get CBS 🙂

Tonight’s episode featured Chris McCann of 1-800-Flowers, and a floral designer in Boston named Dee, who reminded him of the lesson that success in the florist industry isn’t counted by numbers of flowers you sell, but by how great a relationship you have with your customers.

At the conclusion of the show, Chris reported to Dee that a flower arrangement, Dee’s Paradise
icon, has been named after her. In addition, a portion of proceeds from sales of this arrangement will go to a scholarship fund for budding (no pun intended) florists and flower designers at the non-profit organization American Institute of Floral Designers. The bouquet is available on 1-800-Flowers now.

It was a heartwarming way to end a great season for a great new show. Congrats to CBS and 1-800-Flowers for a very entertaining evening!

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Original Textbook Used in the early United States – The New England Primer

April 7th, 2010 · Amazon

From the 1700s to the early 1900s,  the New England Primer was the textbook used in all schools around the United States. It’s the textbook that many of our founding fathers learned how to read from.

This is a great reproduction of this book. It looks and reads exactly as it did in 1777.

WallBuilders is a neat 501(c)(3) organization which has an astounding library of many first edition books from the nation’s founders. There is no place where you can get a more accurate reproduction of the original Declaration of Independence or the original Constitution and Bill of Rights, not to mention reprints of many historical books. In a world where modern historians seem to have a penchant of rewriting history to suit their contemporary audience, it’s neat to go back to the original sources and learn what life was really like.

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Soap that raises money for landmine removal and support

April 4th, 2010 · Developing Areas, Uncommon Goods

After years of being devastated by war, hidden and unexploded land mines continue to be a danger in Cambodia, continuing to harm innocent men, women and children.

These unique soaps were designed to bring awareness to this continuing scourge, as well as to raise money for landmine removal and help for survivors. For each soap sold, $2 is donated to The Cambodia Landmine Museum, which houses a school and an orphanage for up to 30 at-risk children.

The goal is cleverly in the shape of a landmine; the metaphor is that as the soap disappears, so do the landmines. The soap is available in Rosemary Mint or Coconut, is made from all-natural ingredients and is never tested on animals. Landmine Soap is available at Uncommon Goods.

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Diamond bracelet that supports education in Africa

April 1st, 2010 · Developing Areas, Macys

This is a simple but elegant bracelet that features a 1/6 carat round-cut diamond bracelet that features a 1/6 carat round-cut diamond that’s set in 14k gold over sterling silver. The entire setting is placed on a beautiful leather strap.

Proceeds from this bracelet, designed by Rachel Bilson, goes to help educate and empower people in Africa, specifically the Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF), which is a non-profit organization that promotes education in Africa.

The bracelet is available exclusively at Macys.

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Lifelock and Norton 360 Bundle from the Celebrity Apprentice

March 29th, 2010 · Developing Areas

On last night’s Celebrity Apprentice, the women’s team, project managed by Olympic gold medal swimmer Summer Sanders, won the evening. As the victor, her charity, Right to Play (http://www.righttoplay.com/) got a $20,000 donation, as well as up to an additional donation from people who purchase the LifeLock and Norton 360 bundle at the promotional price of $79.99 ($10 of the purchase price will be donated, up to 2500 orders for a maximum of up to an additional $25,000). Right to Play is a great charity which uses sports to help children in developing nations.

They flashed the instructions on the screen very quickly, but to take advantage of this offer, just go to Lifelock.com and use promo code SUMMER.

Yesterday was also the day Darryl Strawberry walked away from the Celebrity Apprentice. His charity was the Darryl Strawberry Foundation which helps kids with autism. While he raised no money for them on the show, it’s still very much a worthy cause. A donation can be made at http://www.darrylstrawberry.com/ds/.

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Great Lodges of the National Parks Book

March 26th, 2010 · Amazon


Great Lodges of the National Parks is the companion book to the PBS Television Series of the same name (which aired in 2002).

Filled with the same great photography of the TV series, it provides an in-depth look at some of the nicest lodges in our National Parks, from Old Faithful Inn to Crater Lake Lodge. You’ll see images of the interior and exterior of the lodges themselves, as well as wildlife and vistas.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book go toward the rehabilitation of these magnificent buildings.

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Pink fleece blanket from giggle

March 23rd, 2010 · Breast Cancer, giggle

From the good folks at giggle, this pink fleece blanket is at the same time great looking, friendly to the environment, cuddly soft, and helps a great cause.

Perfect for girls, it’s a beautiful and stylish contemporary design, light pink with a single bold pink dot in the middle.

Something else special about this blanket is that the 100% polyester fleece is made from recycled soda pop bottles, providing a safe Oeko-Tex compliant and formaldehyde-free blanket that’s amazingly soft and is also machine washable.

10% of proceeds from this product will be donated to the Young Survival Coalition, the premier international organization dedicated to critical issues unique to young women and breast cancer

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Philosophy Shower Gel, Shampoo, Bubble Bath that supports the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation

March 20th, 2010 · Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, Nordstrom

icon
iconphilosophy inner graceicon is an amazingly refreshing shower gel which can also be used as a shampoo or a bubble bath. It has a lightly scented smell and produces luxurious silky bubbles.

As with many products from philosophy, it’s a well produced product whose feel and the smell can turn your shower into a calm and tranquil experience.

The product is dedicated to Dana Reeve, the amazing woman who stood by actor Christopher Reeve through his paralysis and his untimely death, and then herself succumbed to lung cancer at the young age of 44.

The poem on the front of the bottle pays tribute to her.

 

She has a face of light
and is the calm within the depth of any storm
gentle stranger, earth angel
without ego or expectation
only dreams and hopes for those she loves
and she loves many…
but many more love and adore her
when our hope is lost, it is her smile,
her indifference to all fear and chaos
that opens each of us to the greatest love of all.
her love and legacy teaches us only
what we should give, not what we can take.
her inner grace is our light in the dark,
her flame is eternal

dana reeve
1961-2006

100% of philosophy’s profit from this product will go to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.

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Lancome Lip Gloss and Nail Polish and Lip Gloss that help hospitalized children

March 17th, 2010 · Children's Charities, Nordstrom

iconThe Lollipop Theater Network is a neat nonprofit organization that brings first-run movies to hospitalized children around the country.

This set of cosmetics from Lancome is dubbed the “Lollipop Gift Set”. It consists of full sizes of Lancome’s “Color Fever Gloss” for lips and “Le Vernis Nail Laquer” for nails, both in matching colors. You can choose from three shades:  Mademoiselle Grape, Bon Bon Strawberry, and Ma Cherie Cherry (which I’m guessing is purple, red, and pink).

A percentage of proceeds form each gift will go to the Lollipop Theater Network.
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Have Lips Like Lady Gaga!

March 14th, 2010 · AIDS, Nordstrom

iconThis MAC Viva Glam VII lipstick at Nordstrom was released only a few weeks ago and has already gotten some rave reviews on their site.

Cosmetic company MAC worked with Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper, having them design their own lipsticks. Lady Gaga’s is a “bubble gum pink”, while Cyndi Lauper’s (also available on the site) is a “coral red”. Their demi-sheer with a slick, wet look finish, making lips look soft, smooth, and moist.

The lipsticks are one-of-a-kind designs, with the familiar sleek MAC logo on the outside, and a stylized signature from the artists on the inside.

100% of the selling price of Viva Glam lipstick will be donated to the MAC AIDS Fund, which supports men, women, and children devastated by AIDS.

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