Posts Tagged ‘gifts’

Respect the Bird This Holiday Season

November 21, 2011

This week marks the beginning of the traditional holiday shopping season, starting with “Black Friday” the day after Thanksgiving. This year, Black Friday is spilling over onto Thanksgiving, with more stores open at midnight and some even opening for Black Friday on Thanksgiving night!

One Target employee, aggravated with his family day of thanks cut short, started a petition on Change.org to pressure Target (and presumably other big national chains) to allow employees to truly have a day off:

“A midnight opening robs the hourly and in-store salary workers of time off with their families on Thanksgiving Day.  By opening the doors at midnight, Target is requiring team members to be in the store by 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. A full holiday with family is not just for the elite of this nation — all Americans should be able to break bread with loved ones and get a good night’s rest on Thanksgiving!

“Join me in calling for Target retail stores to push back their original opening time of 5am on Black Friday.”

One of the signers of the petition, Deborah Schwartz of Hoboken, NJ, gives her reasoning for adding her name:

I’m so tired of turning on the news the Monday after Black Friday and having to hear about how much money the big retailers did or didn’t make. As if that’s the point of our year-end holidays. I’m tired of Christmas being promoted BEFORE Halloween. I’m sick and tired of these attempts to brainwash us into thinking Christmas is about how much money we spend. Every American has the right to spend Thanksgiving with their families…

When using my Allrecipes.com app on my smartphone, I ran across another grassroots effort to keep Thanksgiving as a non-commercial holiday called “Respect the Bird”:

Respect the Bird supporters have a mission. They are determined to ruffle feathers as much as possible and restore Thanksgiving to its rightful place as a meaningful, respected American holiday, not one that’s merely a one-day delicious afterthought between Halloween and Christmas. Tapping into its original roots—thankfulness, a celebration of friendships, family, and gifts from the earth—Respect the Bird supporters want to create a Thanksgiving experience extending beyond meal planning. It is, after all, one of the treasured holidays that’s not about spending.

“I hope it sets a precedence that the holiday be celebrated by sharing thanks and good food with friends and family, not Black Friday shopping!” – Doug Matthews, Allrecipes.com Community Member and Leader of the Respect the Bird movement

If you would like to take the pledge to Respect the Bird, head over to the blog or like them on Facebook.

If you’re tired of the commercialization of the holidays, here are a few alternatives.

  1. Wait until Small Business Saturday. I’ve written before about the movement to support small, local businesses. By paying perhaps a little more for aspirin at a local pharmacy instead of a national chain, you leave more money in the community where you live, in the form of wages, sales tax and the community involvement that many small businesses engage in. As an extension of this effort, this year the Saturday after Thanksgiving has been designated as “Small Business Saturday.” You can find out more here, or take the pledge to Shop Small or find retailers in your zip code here.  ”If millions of Americans shop small, it will be huge.”
  2. Give a Charitable Gift Certificate. A new survey from the Red Cross shows that 79% of respondents agreed that “they would rather have a charitable donation in their honor than get a gift they won’t use.” So you make the donation but let them pick the recipient. JustGive is an online web site that allows you to purchase charity gift certificates. you pick the amount and receive a ncie card to present to the recient. they go online and pick which charity they would like to receive the money. On Cyber Monday (Nov. 28th), JustGive is waiving their usual fees and the service is free. Great alternative to stocking stuffers and dust collectors.
  3. Join or Form a “Cash Mob.” Take Small Business Saturday right through the end of the year. On NPR this weekend I heard a story about a “cash mob” and was absolutely intrigued. According to this press release,”Cash mob plans to gather on specific days at 6:00 at a predetermined location and target a store in the area.  It must be locally owned, have products for both men and women and have parking.  The store must be civic minded.  Armed with at least $20 each, the “mob” will make purchases at the assigned location in a show of support for their neighborhood businesses.” What? Awesome. I’m thinking of organizing a cash mob in Mount Prospect, IL, where I live. How fun would it be to do your holiday shopping–especially the “hostess gifts, teacher gifts, people who bought you something and you need something to give them back gifts”–through this whimsical approach. Facebook seems perfect to organize this…

What other ideas do you have that are an alternative to commercial holiday celebrations? How do you keep your priorities straight during the frenzied consumer free-for-all that is December? Do share.

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Posted in Gift of Giving, Giving Money, Giving Things, Giving Time, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Happy Generosity Day!

February 14, 2011

Don’t feel bad if you bought a Hallmark card today. You’ve been conditioned your whole life to think of Valentine’s Day as a day to buy things in order to express your affection.

But maybe you’re starting to catch on to the false kind of love that is packaged and commodified by corporations. So let’s “reboot” Valentine’s Day as Generosity Day. I’ll let my friend Sasha Dichter, originator of this idea, explain:

“This Monday, Valentine’s Day, is going to be rebooted as Generosity Day: one day of sharing love with everyone, of being generous to everyone, to see how it feels and to practice saying “Yes.” Let’s make the day about love, action and human connection–because we can do better than smarmy greeting cards, overpriced roses, and stressed-out couples trying to create romantic meals on the fly.”

Sasha’s entire post, including suggestions for how to be generous today, can be found here.

And because love don’t cost a thing, I particularly urge you to be generous with your attention. Notice what’s going on around you, and give someone a genuine complement or words of encouragement. Really listen to the people who want to talk about their day without thinking about what you’re going to say next. If you’re in a conversation where you disagree with the other person, really try to understand where they are coming from and why they believe the things they do.

The sweet irony, of course, is that the more we are generous in giving of ourselves to others, the more we benefit and learn and grow as a human being.

And if you, like Sasha, want to extend this experiment because you like the way it feels, I encourage you to join the 29-Day Giving Challenge, where you will give a gift every day for 29 days. If you’re feeling down about life or love, moving outside of yourself by focusing on all the ways you can help others is guaranteed to lift your spirits.

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Posted in Giving Money, Giving Things, Giving Time | 1 Comment »

Every Kid Wants a Dad

June 17, 2010

An email that touched me this Father’s Day.

Sharon,

Every kid wants a Dad who’s there. Not every kid has one.

Every kid wants a Dad who can support his family. Not every kid has one.

Every kid wants a Dad who can come through in emergencies.

Not every kid has one.

And on one day of the year, that’s painfully clear for the families on SmallCanBeBig.

Honor Dads the world over with a small donation to help them out.

This donation will do what Dads do. Bring a family back from the brink of hopelessness.

Donate

Happy Father’s Day.

Cheers,

The Team at SmallCanBeBig.org
SmallCanBeBig.org

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Posted in Gift of Giving, Giving Money, Raising Money | Leave a Comment »

GiveList and lists, lists, lists

December 5, 2008

The cyberworld is aflutter with folks talking about resources for charitably-inclined gift givers this holiday season.

The GiveList

The GiveList was created two days ago by nonprofit bloggers Alison Fine and Marnee Webb.  “The GiveList is a resource of ways to support communities and causes this holiday season that don’t necessarily require writing a check.  We all know it’s rough out there this year, but that also means that the needs of people and communities are also greater than every.  There are a lot of ways that a creative do-gooder can continue to help heal the world.”

In fabulous cyber-speed, it’s taken off quickly and folks are adding their ideas and suggestions.  Check it out for many great suggestions on how to be charitable when money is tight.

Youth Service America

Youth Service America just added a post on 10 Ways to Serve Your Community This Holiday Season. This list is aimed at young people, which is great because adults aren’t the only ones who give gifts this time of year. I especially love the suggestion to help your teachers clean up the classroom before leaving for winter break.  Being married to a teacher and otherwise related to about 5 more, I think this effort to help teachers get home to their families would be especially appreciated.  More than a holiday mug or another candle, anyway.  Bonus: it’s free, of course, to give your time.

Have Fun • Do Good

Ten Lists of Holiday Gifts that Give Back.  If you can’t find the perfect gift after browsing the lists that Britt Bravo has collected, you should just give the person cash.  Seriously, there’s a lot of great resources here already and I’m sure people will keep adding other lists in the comments section.

A Word About Cause Marketing

This holiday season you are sure to run into plenty of products from companies who promise to give some proceeds of the sale to charity.  Although I don’t discount cause marketing as an effective way to raise awareness about problems and the people working to address them (see earlier post and comments on Product(RED)),  I’m more inclined to favor products that were produced by or reflect the experiences of the people in need of assistance: providing direct income and jobs to help those people help themselves like Rwandan Path to Peace Baskets or Zhena’s Gypsy Tea .  I think it’s nice that LUSH donates some proceeds to charity but I think it’s better that LUSH uses ethical sourcing for their glorious beauty products and minimizes packaging using recycled materials wherever possible.

You don’t have to make the same decision to favor social enterprise over cause marketing, I just ask that you be conscious of the difference.

Want more?

For more ideas on charitable gifts this holiday season, check out my earlier posts on Charitable Gifts for Mom, Charitable Gifts for Dad and Charity Gift Certificates.

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Posted in Gift of Giving | 5 Comments »

National Day of Listening

November 26, 2008

You know you get misty-eyed every time you hear someone’s story on the NPR series StoryCorps.  Mothers being interviewed by their sons, husbands by their wives, grandparents by their grandchildren. You can tell, listening in during the morning commute, that for many of the participants, the experience of sitting down with someone they feel so close to, someone they think they know so well, is still revealing. 

We think we know our grandparents, but really we only know them as grandparents.  We never knew them as young people, as college students, as young lovers, as mothers and fathers (and trust me, my mom was a far different mother than she is grandmother). And for the most part, we never ask.  We never think about how they became the person they are today.  It’s like we assume they sprang fully-formed, blemishes and beauty intact, from their mother’s womb. I’ve even noticed mothers, who know darn well exactly how you started out in life, tend to forget that you continue to evolve after you move out from under their ever-watchful eye.  So even if you’re 30, many assume you are the same 18-year-old they sent off to college.

StoryCorps is setting aside the day after Thanksgiving, which itself is the day your family probably repeats all the same familiar things you always do together, as a day to discover some of the things about your family that are unfamiliar to you. They’re calling it the National Day of Listening and they want you to become the interviewer.

“This Thanksgiving, StoryCorps asks you to start a new holiday tradition-set aside one hour on Friday, November 28th, to record a conversation with someone important to you. You can interview anyone you choose: an older relative, a friend, a teacher, or a familiar face from the neighborhood.”

StoryCorps has developed a Do-It-Yourself Guide to making a recording. You can download it from their stie.

In addition to preserving your family history, I think interviewing earlier generations is one of those things that helps preserve a sense of family identity and family values.  Many advisors recommend it for philanthropic families, so that future generations can understand the “donor intent” behind the establishment of a philanthropic foundation.  But even if you don’t have a formal charitable giving vehicle, capturing your family history for future generations can help give a sense of legacy, of shared values and of a strong family core.  

Gift Idea:  In lieu of a store-bought gift this year, what if you recorded an interview with your parents or grandparents on tape or on video (use your computer?) and gave it to all of your siblings?  I wish I had something like that to remember my grandparents by…

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Posted in Lifestyle | Leave a Comment »

Grace

June 3, 2008

I’ve written previously about the 29-Day Giving Challenge, which I’m currently participating in. 

Sunday at Stew Leonard’s (grocery store) I ran into my first gift “rejection.”  My little family had a receipt for over $100 from the store, and you can use it to get a free ice cream out front.  I tried to give it to another woman who was standing in line for ice cream, holding a toddler on her hip.  She was so uncomfortable and suspicious of me.  

I don’t think she’s alone in having this reaction.  Too many charities are sending us “free” return address labels, trying to guilt us into donating.  I work for a company that administers private foundations and we handle their mail.  We recently got about two dozen appeals from a veteran’s charity, unsolicited, that included an actual $1 bill.  The attached letter said ”you can keep it but we really hope you’ll send us money instead.” 

If I walk into a store, and someone asks “Can I help you?” my immediate reaction is “no, thanks” because I’m worried that accepting their help will obligate me to buy something. 

Through all of these “gifts with strings” we’ve become bad at accepting things, not just from marketers but from each other.  And while I have participated in the 29-Day Giving Challenge, I’ve realized that when my gifts are offered, it’s with a great sense of hope and a desire to help and no expectation of receiving anything in return. Having that woman reject my receipt/ice cream actually hurt my feelings, if you can believe that. 

So I’m resolving to try to accept the gifts of others with grace (including their offers to help).  Realizing how offering a gift is like offering yourself, accepting a gift is like accepting the person who offered it. 

The next time a friend offers to babysit my kids for an afternoon, I’m going to take them up on it.  And the next time the guy in the wine shop asks if he can help, I’m going to admit that I like sweet, fruity white wine and see if he can come up with something new. 

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Posted in Lifestyle | 1 Comment »

Philanthropic Mother’s Day Gifts

May 3, 2008

See my earlier post on Charity Gift Certificates for a few ideas (my sisters and I are doing a Kiva gift certificate for our mom). You may also want to check out my post on Father’s Day Gifts for inspiration on honoring the people who guided you to be such a fantastic human being.

And how about these other philanthropically-minded gifts for mom:

Zhena’s Gypsy Tea

Zhena’s Gypsy tea. Zhena is a woman I heard about through a mutual friend.  She started her business to help pay for medical care for her newborn son.  Here’s what her web site says about her Fair Trade, organic supply chain practices:

“Through our Fair Trade activism, we give the women in our tea fields guaranteed maternity leave, health care and childcare- all of the things I needed when I had my own baby. I realize now how much of a difference I can make as a business owner with an understanding of human need and that I can change a small part of the world and improve people’s lives. I am so grateful to have this opportunity.”

I’ve never had the tea but it sounds amazing: Mango Ginger White Iced Tea, Brazilian Berry, Gypsy King Chai, just to name a few. Honor mothers everywhere by supporting Fair Trade businesses that provide them with  decent working conditions.

“Shop the Cause”

A whole site dedicated to fair trade products that are produced by others in other countries.  If you believe in Fair Trade but your mom doesn’t drink tea, you can find a whole range of great Mom gifts here, including jewelry and decorative stuff, made by and benefiting other mothers.

GoodGifts

Treehugger also directed me to Good Gifts, at www.goodgiftsshop.org.  It features some wacky gift options like “Get a Brain cell”  to help fund Alzheimer’s research. “Adopt a Vegetable” for a year is difficult to even understand, but I think it allows an organization called Kew’s Millenium Seed Bank to find and preserve a rare vegetable type.

But there are also some more compelling gifts, like clearing minefields, sponsoring midwives, buying books for blind children and Teaching a Mother to Read.  The item descriptions list the name of the charity that will actually deliver these services, Good Gifts is simply the middleman.

Like many other charitable gift sites, you can announce your gift to the recipient with a paper card, an e-card or, uniquely, they’ll send you a “cracker” that your recipient can pull open to reveal the gift information.  From the use of the word ”cracker,” you maybe guessed: the site is clearly from England, and lists price in pounds sterling.  I assume your credit card would allow you to charge your gift and just convert the charge to the correct number of dollars, but if you want to know how much you’re spending, you can google “British pounds to US dollars” and get the exact conversion rate, or (since it’s almost two pounds for every dollar) just double the price listed to get a close approximation of how many dollars you would be spending.

TerraPass

Buy mom a Terrapass to offset the carbon emissions of chauffeuring everyone around all year.  Go to www.terrapass.com and enter your car details.  It will tell you how big your carbon footprint is and how much you would need to purchase in carbon offsets to counteract the effects of your driving and be “carbon neutral.”

According to the web site, “When you buy a carbon offset from TerraPass, your money supports clean energy and other projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

As an example, my 2003 Chevy Trailblazer, driven 12,000 miles per year, creates almost 14,000 lbs of CO2.  It would cost $69.30 to support enough projects that will prevent 14,000 of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere, and by preventing those emissions I am able to ”offset” the emissions from my car.

When you buy an offest, you also get a TerraPass window decal, so the world will know how cool your mom is and you have something to actually put inside her Mother’s Day card.  You can also buy carbon offsets for Grandma’s air travel to see the little darlings.

Dining out?

If you happen to be in Washington D.C., DC Central Kitchen is a nonprofit ”social enterprise” that would make Mom proud.  According to it’s web site, “Since its inception, DC Central Kitchen has used the kitchen as a central location to recover unused food, prepare and deliver meals to partner social service agencies, train and employ homeless men and women for the food service industry, and intellectually engage volunteers.”

In April, I know they had a partner restaurant that would donate 10% of its profits to DC Central Kitchen.  I haven’t seen a new restaurant partner for May, but I’ll keep checking and update this post when I do.

I was also thinking I would love to give you a list of resources for finding a restaurant that donates prepared but unused food (day old bread, baked potatoes left at the end of the day, etc.) to food banks, through what are called “food rescue programs.”  But I can’t find anywhere that lists these restaurants.  Maybe because they change frequently, depending on their excess on any given day? If anyone knows how to find these partners, or why I can’t find them, please let me know.

Charity:Water

Check out this post which describes the $5 charity:water bracelets being sold through a partnership with Saks.  I like this idea better than buying actual bottles of water that benefit charity, because we know bottled water has some unpleasant environmental side effects.

Treehugger.com

TreeHugger.com ideas. This site has great ideas for how to find all kinds of gifts that are meaningful, not commercial.  Perfect for your mom.  Something I had never considered: according to Treehugger, high-quality, durable items are more environmentally friendly because they last longer and don’t need to be replaced.

Update for 2009:

I’m updating this post for 2009 with new ideas and organizations that have come up.

TOMS Shoes

TOMS was started by a guy who saw a bunch of barefoot kids and decided to do something about it. His company makes shoes that are eco-friendly (and in some cases vegan) and for every pair that you buy, they donate a pair to kids who need them. And kids in developing countries need shoes to walk for water, avoid infection from foot sores, and to be admitted to school. A pair of shoes can have a profound impact on the course of their lives. A young life threatened by disease and illiteracy can turn to to one marked by greater health and productivity.  So you can buy your Mom a pair of their shoes and TOMS takes a pair to a kid who needs it. Simple, eh?

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Posted in Gift of Giving, Giving Things | 17 Comments »

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