All proceeds from the purchase of the adorable and soft Sammy Bear go to the Jewelers For Charity, which goes to charities that benefit critically ill children, including the Make a Wish foundation, CASA, Elizabeth Glasner Foundation, and the St. Judes Childrens Research Hospital.
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Well, if your relationship doesn’t call for elephant poo, and it doesn’t call for green roses, here’s something else you can try: One Dozen Red Roses. 12 red roses, of course, is the quintessential way to say “I love you” to that special lady in your life for Valentine’s Day.
These red roses are organically grown and VeraFlora certified, meaning they’re grown under sustainable conditions (the land is preserved and the ecosystem is protected), fair labor practices (workers are paid a fair wage and their communities are benefitted), and they are of a high quality, shipped in eco-friendly packaging.
Aside from the benefits of organic flowers, these particular roses also donate 10% to the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, founded by Rosa Parks herself in 1987 with the aim of motivating and directing youth to reach their highest potential.
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If you want to give something different, but your relationship is not quite at the point where you feel comfortable enough to give poo, here’s another unique way to say “I love you”. If you’ve given red or pink roses for the last few years and feeling like doing something unique this year, you can “go green”–literally! The Green Roses
here are sold by Organic Bouquet. Shop their “Flowers for Good” section for a huge selection of flowers (including green roses) that benefit a great cause.
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Want a really special gift for that really special someone for Valentine’s Day? Uncommon Goods is selling these beautiful paper roses made out of elephant dung.
What was that?
That’s right. These Elephant Poo Roses are made out of elephant dung. It’s from a company called, appropriately enough, The Great Elephant Poo Paper Company.
You’re either laughing or looking confusedly at your monitor right now, but read on and it’ll start to make more sense.
Elephant dung is one of the best sources of papermaking, because it’s filled with short-to-medium grained fibrous material, from things the elephants eat such as grasses, bamboo and fruit. The processing of the waste material into fine paper is a careful process which results in paper which is COMPLETELY sanitary and completely odor-free. In fact, the company’s slogan is “We take the ‘OO’ out of poo”.
Aside from ending up with very stylish paper, there are other great benefits of this. It creates jobs and opportunity in developing areas such as Thailand, it is about the most eco-friendly recycling there is, and part of the proceeds of each gift is contributed to elephant welfare and conservation programs.
It’s not a gift for everyone, but for the lucky lady who cares about the world, there are few gifts that give more.
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In 2008, one of the hottest gift giving trends has been charitable gift cards. Typically how these work is that you give an actual plastic card (or an ecard) to someone, and they can log into a Web site to redeem it. But instead of redeeming it for themselves like a regular gift card, they can designate a charity to give the donation to.
What’s nice about charity gift cards is that it puts control into your recipient’s hands. Giving someone a note saying “A donation has been made in your name to such-and-such” can seem so passive and almost impersonal. On the other hand, by giving them a charity gift card, you can give them not only the gift of the donation amount, but also the gift of letting them be the ones to give the donation.
Of course, since these have become popular, there have been dozens and dozens of “charitable gift card companies” around. While there are bound to be many profit-seekers hoping to take advantage of this trend, here’s a guide to the gift card organizations you can trust.
Each of the organization are 501(c)(3) organzations, meaning they are not-for-profit organizations (whose status must be stringently reviewed by the federal government).
All offer either plastic cards or eCards to be sent, and all allow cards to be redeemed on their Web sites.
Charity Gift Certificates.Org is one of the oldest charity gift cards out there, this Web site is operated by the Special Kids Fund, so any proceeds that do not go towards actual costs go directly to help kids with special needs.
The GiftBack Card is run by the same good folks who run the site GiftBack.Com (a site where you can send traditional gifts, and 10% will go to the charity of your choice). When you purchase one of their through their site, 10% will go to a charity you choose, and the stored value of the card will go to a charity of your recipient’s choice. The card itself is made with a corn based material and soy-based innks that are environmentally friendly and completely biodegradable, unlike traditional plastic cards.
Tisbest.Org is a site that allows you to choose from a variety of different designs representing different causes (animals, art, humanitarian) or occasions.In addition, you can upload your own image to be imprinted on the gift card, a great solution for business and organizations.
JustGive.Org has The GiveNow card, again able to be send via email or as a gift certificate through postal mail. JustGive has an impressive database of over 1.7 million charities which your recipient can use to choose to give to any charity imaginable.
The Good Card is a product of Network for Good, a non-profit organization that was founded in 2001 by Cisco, Yahoo!, and AOL. The card is aJust some things to keep in mind when giving Charity Gift Cards:
| Card Name | Web site | Card Designs | Create your Own? | eCards? | Charities to Choose From | Expiration Date | Administrative Fee | Based in |
| Charity Choice | charitygiftcertificates.org | 3 | No | Yes | over 100 | none | 10% of sales + $5 per card | Lakewood, NJ |
| GiftBack Card | giftbackcard.com (additional 10% donation to a charity of the sender’s choice through giftback.com) | 1 | No | Yes | over 1 million | none | $5 per card | Centerport, NY |
| Good Card | networkforgood.org charitynavigator.org sixdegrees.org | 1 | No | Yes | over 1 million | 12 months | $5 per card | Bethesda, MD |
| The GiveNow Card | justgive.org | 1 | No | Yes | over 1 million | none | 3% of sales + $5 per card | San Francisco, CA |
| Tis Best | tisbest.org | 48 | Yes | Yes | over 200 | 12 months | 3% of sales + $3.95 per card | Seattle, WA |
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The Proceeds from sales of this CD goes to benefit MusiCares, which helps musicians who are struggling with financial, personal, or medical challenges, and The Grammy Foundation, an organization devoted to cultivating the awareness, appreciation and advancement of the impact of music on American culture through music education programs, scholarships and grants.
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If you ever visited the great redwood forests in Northern California, you can’t help but lift your head and stare in awe. The great redwoods have outlived kings and empires, having grown continuously lived for hundreds or even up to two or three thousand years. It’s a wonderful, humbling experience to look at these wonderful pieces of God’s creation tower above the earth.
And yet, while 3000 years of the elements have not budged these beautiful trees, in only 150 years, man has managed to destroy most of the redwood forest. Of the original forest that once spanned 2 million acres of California’s Sierra Nevada, only 5% remain, a result of real estate development and incessant logging
The Save the Redwoods League was formed 90 years ago and continues to defend against the total destruction of the redwood forests. The organization purchases forests and landscapes at fair-market prices, and donates them back to state and federal agencies to protect the areas as parks. They restore logged forests to their majestic state by planting new seedlings using expert scientific means, restoring not just the trees but the wildlife and ecosystems that were harmed. They promote education of children and future generations into the importance of conservation. And they continue to do research and development into helping redwoods survive.
How can you help? For each gift of $50, one more seedling will be planted, one which will grow for the next 2000 years. You can designate someone to honor with your donation, and a beautiful commemorative card will be sent to the person you honor or their family.
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Some people are easy to shop for, but what do you get for the person who really does have everything?
CharityBuzz.Com is a fantastic auction site that has a huge number of one-of-a-kind items donated by A-list celebrities and luxury brands. All proceeds from all of the auctions goes to help a worthy cause, either large well-established charities or charities which celebrities themselves have created.
As of the time I’m writing this post, some of the more intriguing auctions include:
And there are hundreds more, changing all the time.
Proceeds from every auction goes to help a great cause. The price tags are high, but then again, if you know someone who’s a fan of these celebrities, you’ll give them a thrill of a lifetime, as well as help a fantastic cause.
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This T-shirt features the Tide bull’s eye on the front and “Loads of Hope” on the back. The “Loads of Hope” cause is a neat one–in devastated areas such as the areas affected by hurricane Katrina and the Southern California wildfires, Proctor and Gamble sets up mobile laundry stations where people can do laundry for free. Having clean clothes and bedsheets is something we all take for granted, but it’s one of the little ways that Tide brings hope to areas that are devastated.
This vintage T-shirt comes in one of four colors and is made of soft cotton. It’s a limited edition that shows not just your sense of style, but that you care–all profits from sales of this shirt will go towards rebuilding efforts for families affected by the Southern California Wildfires and Hurricane Katrina.
You can buy a Tide T-Shirt here.
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There is an interesting set of 37 entrees, desserts, salads, appetizers and even cocktails, each written in English, French, and Italian, and features stories and recipes from everyone from Prince Albert II of Monaco to Tommy Hilfiger to Sir Roger Moore to the late Luciano Pavarotti.
A significant portion of the proceeds from every sale of In the Kitchen with the Stars goes to Mission Enfance. Mission Enfance is an humanitarian organization based in Monaco that has for over a decade provided assistance to children who are in distress and suffering throughout the world.
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