12.15.2011

A Very Socially Conscious Christmas

Some of you may have already finished your Christmas shopping (good for you!). But if not, I have a few ideas of where to get gifts and give back at the same time:




isanctuary is selling jewelry in support of stopping human trafficking. This is how it works: women who used to be in the human trafficking system are now given jobs with this nonprofit, and given their freedom from the chains that once bound them. I bought a pretty bracelet for my sister through their site, and it came with a note about the wonderful woman who made it (it actually made me tear up). The jewelry is well-made (I can vouch for that). So head on over and check out goods for a good cause!


ONE.org


Ahhh...ONE. I will always be fond of this charity because it prompted Adam Levine to point at me from the stage at a Maroon 5 Concert (I cherish that day!). While ONE gets a lot of attention, it's still a great cause to support as its focus is to stop the AIDS epidemic in Africa. So why not buy a grocery bag from them and give it as a present to your green-friendly friend?

Volunteer!



I have a major soft spot for the homeless. We give so many frivolous gifts to one another (which can be fun), why not also give a gift to someone who needs it? It's so easy to organize your own group to go out and feed the homeless...it's as simple as making a big batch of spaghetti! If you are not comfortable with feeding the homeless, you can even donate to such charities as Everyone Deserves A Roof. There is NO feeling like giving to someone who TRULY needs it.


After buying/giving said gifts, eat some cookies and give yourself a pat on the back for making Santa's Good List...you deserve it!

9 comments:

  1. Ha, you make me feel bad for running away from the charity mugger (chugger) guys this afternoon. Might have to check some stuff out for one of my sisters... although I think her degree in Human Rights kind of burnt her out with the whole thing!

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  2. This is great, you have definitely captured the true meaning of Christmas in this post. I tend to forget about all of the people in need at this time of year, I'll really have to make more of an effort.

    Have a great Christmas!

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  3. what a great idea! the thought of giving and giving back is genius. i don't know why more people don't do this, especially since it embodies the spirit of christmas.

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  4. good ideas! my sis in law who served in africa would like the bag i think!

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  5. A friend of mine has close ties with iSanctuary and held a gift event at her house a few weeks back for peeps to buy Christmas presents. At our Sneaky Santa gift exchange last night, I think all the girls got something from there. Props for this blog and promoting these types of gifts!!!

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  6. This will sound SO patronizing, so apologies in advance. But I marvel at how much more socially conscious and oriented your generation is than mine. The Boomers were the most selfish punks and brats of all time, so the comparison is a bit skewed. But today's twentysomethings seem to take it as a given that they should do some sort of community service (BEFORE getting nailed in possession), and take community concerns into account in their daily lifestyle (e.g. buy local, buy non-sweatshop goods). They raise money for charities, they volunteer in record numbers. My generation just did blow and cheated on our spouses. I think you set an excellent example of what I just described. Good show!

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  7. haha, doesn't seem too patronizing :)

    Thanks Chris!

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  8. And this...

    "My generation just did blow and cheated on our spouses."

    ...cracked me up!!!!

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  9. This is an amazing.post. I'm totally getting bracelets from isanctuary and telling everyone about.it. thanks for.this.

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