Charitable X-mas Gifts

Charitable X-mas Gifts (Full Version)

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BbwCanaDomme -> Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/2/2008 8:51:46 PM)
So, this year I've decided that none of my friends or family actually need anything for Christmas. I've been obssessviely trying to find the right gifts for months, and then it just kind of hit me. No one I know needs crap. There are people in the world who do need crap. I should probably give those people crap instead. So my friends and family are all getting animals purchased on their behalf!!! As a vegetarian I felt bad about the prospect of buying animals who would be used just for meat, so everyone is getting either birds, bees, a water buffalo, or a llama or sheep. I'm getting them from Heifer.org, does anyone have any other similar charities they donate to?

moonvine -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/2/2008 10:24:58 PM)
I run a 501(c)(3) cat rescue. We have plans to someday expand to be able to rescue other species, and to purchase land on which to construct a no-kill sanctuary. Since if we can't meet expenses it comes out of my pocket, one could say I donate to it often. However, since I haven't had a job since April we have had to severely cut back on the amount of cats we can rescue so that I can make sure we are all taken care of. If anyone wants to see our webpage and our beautiful rescued kitties, it is at http://www.rescuties.org

calamitysandra -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/2/2008 11:42:58 PM)
I go through Heifer as well. Also, I buy gifts for children in a local orphanage.

GreedyTop -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/2/2008 11:51:46 PM)
omg, Moon.. I just checked the page.... I wish I could adopt them ALL!! (and once my transmission is taken care of, I plan to make a donation.....)

Vendaval -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 12:38:43 AM)
One year I convinced the people at the office to all contribute for a Secret Santa person listed with the Salvation Army. We purchased warm winter clothing for a single mother.

celticlord2112 -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 1:13:23 AM)
quote: does anyone have any other similar charities they donate to? Every so often, the local homeless shelter gets a load of blankets delivered.

RainydayNE -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 2:08:56 AM)
there was a church in my hometown that was involved with heifer.org it's a pretty good project, really and sending notjustmeat animals is a great idea, i think you get more return from them when you do something besides just eating them =p now that i live somewhere that actually HAS a homeless shelter, i've wanted to go down there and volunteer, or make blankets or something. i'm a chicken and a whiner and a bit financially strapped at the mo' so i've never done it. but i will!

RainydayNE -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 2:11:21 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: moonvine I run a 501(c)(3) cat rescue. We have plans to someday expand to be able to rescue other species, and to purchase land on which to construct a no-kill sanctuary. Since if we can't meet expenses it comes out of my pocket, one could say I donate to it often. However, since I haven't had a job since April we have had to severely cut back on the amount of cats we can rescue so that I can make sure we are all taken care of. If anyone wants to see our webpage and our beautiful rescued kitties, it is at http://www.rescuties.org eeeeep they're all so cute :D le sigh

barelynangel -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 5:10:04 AM)
While i think your idea is a good one, be careful your "gift" isn't some agenda you will be forcing on people. I have donated things in names of people in the past but i have done so to THEIR projects, charities etc, not my own. If you are planning on gifting these to people in their name, as i said, it would be more of a gift if it was to their projects and not your own ideas because of what you like or don't like or do such as being a veg. If someone is a veg, this would probabably be a great gift, but to someone who is not, you may actually insult them or make them feel bad when they sit down to Christmas dinner with meat etc. This should be thought of in the same way you by gifts --- its for others -- so you buy gifts in what they would like, enjoy etc, not what you want for Christmas etc. It would probably please the heck out of people if you donate to things THEY like donating to or believe in or help out or if you don't know, perhaps something in the local community where they live like schools where their kids go or a community center in their area or library etc. I would also think that if you feel your family doesn't need things but others do, i am confused why you would donate to an organization who doesn't help people since you admit people need things more than your family does. This gift seems more for you than it does for others who you are buying for in their names. For example, my favorite charity is St. Jude's Hospital, if someone was making a donation in my name to something it would mean the world to me if it was to this organization in ANY way, be it money, time volunteering, sending all the kids christmas cards or presents etc. Also Toys for Tots is a huge one for me at Christmas time -- going in and choosing toys you think kids would love would mean a lot to me if you were doing this in my name. Also, i am big at adopting families at Christmas and the Angel Trees. Doing this also would mean the world to me. Choosing to buy an animal for me so no one eats it or rescue an animal -- eh, its a nice thought but i don't believe as you do so the idea while nice would be more for you than it would for me as i am not really an animal person but more of a people person. Also, for those who have kids, a GREAT gift for many families would be to start a college fund or open a good interest bearing account for for their kids especially lil ones and that way you can put money in it every year. College costs as much as a good car every year, so this would also be something to consider for people. My parents started this for all the grand kids and i know there are actual college funds where you can only use it for college etc or they get it at a certain age if they don't and they are non-taxable if you use it for school or something like that and depending when you start it, believe me lol from what my neice's mom states it was a blessing to have when she went to school. If this makes sense, angel

alianora -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 5:21:52 AM)
I generally do not give gifts to friends or family; I instead make a donation in their name to a charity that I know they endorse. My father, since he was adopted as a child; every year gets a donation in his name to Boys Town; my mother, to the local animal shelter. Most of my friends all support some sort of homeless charities; so in addition to volunteering at local shelters, I also donate gift cards to the shelter for either clothing, blankets, or food. My parents and friends often do the same for me in return. One good thing about the donations is that the charity often sends a Christmas card of thanks to the person whose name the donation was made in.

bluepanda -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 7:00:08 AM)
For anyone in search of a meaningful way to share their good fortune this holiday season (or any other season, for that matter), I urge you to check out http://www.kiva.org/. quote: Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. The people you see on Kiva's site are real individuals in need of funding - not marketing material. When you browse entrepreneurs' profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need. Through Kiva, you can make loans of 25, 50, 100, or however many dollars you like to people all over the world who are struggling to lift themselves out of poverty by building small businesses. If their business venture succeeds, your money is paid back within a year (without interest), and you can either keep it or loan it out again to another budding enterpreneur. If you want to make the gift in the name of a friend or family member, you can actually start a community "team" (which is actually a philanthropic fund) and add the names of those people to the roster of your team. There are several thousand such teams on Kiva, many of them focused on specific goals and values. Since you can choose who you loan your money to, you can ensure that it's being used to promote causes that reflect your own values. There are teams such as "Animal Lovers", "Women Empowering Women", "Kiva Friends: Single Parent Loans", and "Kiva Friends: Agricultural Loans." Other teams reflect a more regional or local focus, such as "Vermont - Jeezum Crow!" and "Punahou School". And of course there are teams like "Beer Goggles Never Lie", "Flying Spaghetti Monster", and "Atheists, Agnostics, Skeptics, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists, and the Non-Religious", which focus their efforts on... well... I'm not exactly sure. But whatever. The point is, no matter what you or the people on behalf of whom you're donating believe in, there's an opportunity for you there to help people out. If the business fails, well, you're out 25 or 50 bucks or whatever, but what the hell? You were looking for a way to make a charitable gift anyway, right? They made an honest effort to better their lives, you tried to help, it was worth the risk. If you just keep re-loaning the money over and over again, your gift just keeps on giving for as many years as you care to keep it going, and you can kick in another 25 bucks or whatever each holiday season if you like. Definitely a worthy cause, IMO.

Irishknight -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 7:04:26 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: celticlord2112 quote: does anyone have any other similar charities they donate to? Every so often, the local homeless shelter gets a load of blankets delivered. Just like the government did for the native tribes. Just kidding. Its a good thing. I take a week off from swerving to hit pedestrians and homeless people with my car each year. Is that the same thing as charity?

kittinSol -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 7:11:14 AM)
Those kinds of endeavours are so much more constructive than throwing money into charities: thank you for the link, panda.

Irishknight -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 7:17:32 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: kittinSol Those kinds of endeavours are so much more constructive than throwing money into charities: thank you for the link, panda. Whew.... for a minute, I thought you meant swerving to hit pedestrians. I was joking after all.

bluepanda -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 7:21:05 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: kittinSol Those kinds of endeavours are so much more constructive than throwing money into charities: thank you for the link, panda. You're very welcome. You know, when I posted that, there were two people I was especially hoping would see it, because I knew it would connect with them. You were one of those people. I'm really glad you popped in this morning and stumbled across it.

kittinSol -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 7:26:27 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Irishknight Whew.... for a minute, I thought you meant swerving to hit pedestrians. I was joking after all. Tu n'es pas le nombril du monde [8D] .

Irishknight -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 7:39:00 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: kittinSol quote: ORIGINAL: Irishknight Whew.... for a minute, I thought you meant swerving to hit pedestrians. I was joking after all. Tu n'es pas le nombril du monde [8D] . NO FAIR!!!!! I only learn the cuss words in other languages and I haven't gotten to French yet.

bluepanda -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 7:41:37 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Irishknight quote: ORIGINAL: kittinSol quote: ORIGINAL: Irishknight Whew.... for a minute, I thought you meant swerving to hit pedestrians. I was joking after all. Tu n'es pas le nombril du monde [8D] . NO FAIR!!!!! I only learn the cuss words in other languages and I haven't gotten to French yet. My ex-wife was born in Venezuela. If you ever feel that you don't know enough scathing insults in Spanish, let me know. I'm sure i can still remember a number of them.

calamitysandra -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 7:45:18 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: barelynangel Choosing to buy an animal for me so no one eats it or rescue an animal -- eh, its a nice thought but i don't believe as you do so the idea while nice would be more for you than it would for me as i am not really an animal person but more of a people person. I understand completely, and think you are right, in that the person receiving the gift should be taken into account when choosing the charity. But I wanted to clear up a little misunderstanding. Heifer is not a charity to which you donate to "rescue" animals from being consumed. They buy animals for families to help improve their nutritional and economic situation.

Irishknight -> RE: Charitable X-mas Gifts (12/3/2008 7:46:17 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: bluepanda quote: ORIGINAL: Irishknight quote: ORIGINAL: kittinSol quote: ORIGINAL: Irishknight Whew.... for a minute, I thought you meant swerving to hit pedestrians. I was joking after all. Tu n'es pas le nombril du monde [8D] . NO FAIR!!!!! I only learn the cuss words in other languages and I haven't gotten to French yet. My ex-wife was born in Venezuela. If you ever feel that you don't know enough scathing insults in Spanish, let me know. I'm sure i can still remember a number of them. Thanks, Bluepanda. THAT is always helpful in my job maintaining the "rude American tourist" image.

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