roozt

I love socially responsible shopping. If you are going to go shopping, why not buy products that are good for the world or give back in some way? Even if sometimes the products cost a little more than super-cheap bargain brands, you are making a positive impact with your purchase and, to my mind, that is worth a little extra. Roozt is an awesome website that makes being a conscious and responsible consumer fun and easy.

At Roozt, every purchase makes a diffference. All featured brands are fashion-forward companies that are making a positive impact in their community, environment, with their employees, or with humanity as a whole. They hand select only the best, most trendsetting brands that give back so you can enjoy a streamlined shopping experience while saving time and money. You can shop by category - Men's, Women's, Accessories, Pets, etc. - or you can shop by Impact. Click on the interactive world map and it will show you brands that affect a particular area of the world.


There is also a very simple, easy, and free way you can make a difference right now, without even buying a thing. For each member that joins Roozt, they will provide one meal to an American in need through Feeding America. Today, on Giving Tuesday, they are doubling their impact by giving back for twice: join the website (IT'S FREE!) and they will donate two meals to Americans in need. One Member. Two Meals.

Happy Responsible Holiday Shopping, y'all!

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happy thanksgiving!

It's that time of year again, friends! As you prepare to eat yourself silly and strategize your Black Friday shopping, also start thinking about ways you can give back this holiday season. We are going to try to post an easy way that you can make the world a better place every day between now and Christmas, so check back often!

In the meantime, eat, drink, and be very very merry. Happy Thanksgiving!

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*UPDATED* hurricane sandy

What a mess! What a mess, I tell you. New York City and the tri-state area got rocked earlier this week. As residents of New York City, we at goodiegoodie are amazed and awed at the outpouring of support from our own community and beyond with all of the offers of money, donations, and, most poignantly, people wanting to volunteer. It's a testament to who we can be as a city and a country if we stand up for one another. There are SO many ways you can help the people on the East Coast get back up on their feet - either by getting out and giving a hand or from the comfort of your desk or living room.

Occupy Sandy Relief
Occupy Sandy is a community-based, coordinated relief effort to help distribute resources & volunteers to help neighborhoods and people affected by Hurricane Sandy. They are a coalition of people & organizations who are dedicated to implementing aid and establishing hubs for neighborhood resource distribution. Members of this coalition are from Occupy Wall Street, 350.org, recovers.org and interoccupy.net.
"Like" Occupy Sandy Relief on Facebook and follow on Twitter @OccupySandy for regular updates.

Staten Island Recovers
This is a recovery organizing site for Staten Island in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The site allows people to offer/request assistance, and is coordinated by the folks at Occupy NYC and community organizations on the ground.
* Staten Island was one of the hardest hit areas in NYC. 19 23 of the 40 casualties from New York City were in Staten Island. Hundreds of people are now homeless and aid is having difficulty reaching the people in this outer borough.

NYC Service
Everybody has something to offer. Use your time, passion, skills and willingness to help all New Yorkers in need following Hurricane Sandy. Find out how to donate to the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City or how to volunteer in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

The New Jersey Community Food Bank

The New Jersey Community Food Bank, which fights hunger and poverty by distributing food and groceries, is seeking donations as they respond to Hurricane Sandy. You can donate directly through the website or text “FEEDNJ” to 80888 to donate $10.

ASPCA

The ASPCA will assist and rescue the thousands of animals affected by Hurricane Sandy.

*****
It's not just the East Coast of the United States that got rocked by Sandy. Let us not forget the people who were affected when she began her trek northward in places like Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba. Here is what you can do to help the hurricane-ravaged people outside our borders.

International Rescue Committee in Haiti
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the IRC is providing emergency assistance to thousands of  homeless earthquake survivors who endured the storm in deluged camps.

Heifer International's Disaster Rehabilitation FundHeifer International created its Disaster Rehabilitation Fund—a pool of money that can be accessed by country offices affected by disasters that exceed their ability to cope. The fund provides resources for an appropriate initial response to the disaster, but more important, to begin planning for the longer-term recovery that reflects Heifer’s model.

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hetrick-martin institute

A wonderful friend and non-profit colleague, Sue, works with an important organization helping LGBTQ youth in New York City and recommended them to be featured on goodiegoodie. The epidemic of bullying and abuse, and also the empowerment of LGBTQ youth are issues we care deeply about, so today we are happy to tell you about The Hetrick-Martin Institute.

In 1979, life partners and educators on gay and lesbian issues, Dr. Emery Hetrick, a psychiatrist, and Dr. Damien Martin, a professor at New York University, heard a heartbreaking story about a homeless 15-year-old boy who had been beaten and thrown out of his emergency shelter because he was gay. The two doctors were so moved by his story that they created what is now known as The Hetrick-Martin Institute.

The Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk High School, provides young LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning) people the safety and skills they need to reach their full potential. Hetrick-Martin is the oldest and largest organization dedicated to serving at-risk LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) youth ages 12 to 24 who are typically under-served by schools, communities, and often (sadly) their families. In addition to hosting Harvey Milk High School, they also provide after school programs, supportive services, internship opportunities for HMI Youth Members, advocacy, and education.

You can make a tax-deductible donation to HMI to help them keep their programs free for the youth that they serve. You can also help by donating gently-used clothing, shoes, and accessories to The Hetrick-Martin pantry to help those youth that come to HMI needing the basics — food, shelter, and clothing.

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news: "Charity Bar In Houston Will Give All Earnings To Nonprofits"

Cheers to this: A soon-to-be-opened Houston bar will donate 100 percent of its proceeds to a different local cause each month, handpicked by the patrons themselves. We'll drink to that! Read more:

Charity Bar In Houston Will Give All Earnings To Nonprofits

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charity miles

Want to make a donation to charity without spending a dime? How would you like to raise money for an important cause while spending time outdoors/getting into shape/going about your everyday activities? Then download Charity Miles and get moving!

Charity Miles is an iPhone/Android app that empowers you to earn corporate sponsorships for charity by walking, running, or biking. Right now, all sponsorships come from Charity Miles, LLC (up to $1 million), but once the app catches on and gets more users and corporate sponsors, your walk/run/bike activity might be sponsored by a company like Gatorade or Reebok. Look at you, you professional sponsored athlete! As you walk, run, or bike, the app tracks your distance and you earn money for your charity. Bikers earn 10¢ per mile, walkers and runners earn 25¢ per mile, all up to the initial $1 million sponsorship pool.

Here's how it works: Download the app and log in with your Facebook account (yes, you have to do this to use the app). Swipe to choose your charity - you can choose to support the same one every time, or choose a different one each time! Press Start and get moving. The app uses GPS to track your activity in distance, time, or impact for your chosen charity. Currently, the featured charities you can choose to support are: Achilles International, Autism Speaks, Feeding America, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, & Malaria, Habitat for Humanity, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Pencils of Promise, and World Food Programme.

When you've finished your activity, click Stop. (You can also pause your activity if you take a break and then Resume once you get moving again.) If you're finished, click Finish and accept the sponsorship. As I mentioned, for now, all sponsorships are from Charity Miles. The app will then you give the opportunity to post about your walk on Facebook and Twitter. We've been using Charity Miles for a couple of weeks now and we always post about our walks. (In fact, we received a surprise thank you from Charity Miles after posting on Twitter by receiving a free t-shirt!) All of your activity is saved in the app. They also send you an email with a summary and map of your activity, and the donation you generated. The wonderful feeling you get from getting exercise AND doing good makes it doubly worth it.

Join the movement, invite your friends, spread the word, and GET MOVING! Because changing the world is a team sport!

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one hope wine

TGIF! It's almost happy hour and...the weekend! Why not enjoy a glass of wine or 8 (responsibly, of course) and do some good for the world at the same time?

ONEHOPE Wine donates 50% of its profits to partner charities benefiting a variety of causes. Founded in 2007 by eight friends on a mission to help a friend battling cancer, ONEHOPE Wine has raised over $750,000 for a range of charitable organizations. They combine the belief that hope is all about making the world better, giving people an easy way to make a difference, and that wine is a living, breathing commodity that has always helped bring people together in common purpose. Plus, wine is awesome. We're in love.

Each bottle sold helps support a designated charity ($3 - 4 per bottle):

Fight Against Autism
Fight Against Breast Cancer
Fight Against AIDS
Supporting Our Planet
Supporting Our Troops
Supporting Children's Hospitals
ONEHOPE Many Causes
Medal of Honor Foundation

But that's not all. ONEHOPE goes even further and also lets you choose where to put an additional donation with each bottle purchased (another $2 - 4). Choose from:

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

It’s All About the Kids Foundation 

RainCatcher

Snowball Express

UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

Wholesome Wave

Wounded Warrior Project

Keep a Child Alive 

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

Prostate Cancer Foundation

Room to Read

ACT Today! 

American Forest Foundation

charity: water 

National Breast Cancer Foundation

World Food Programme

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation

ASPCA

City of Hope

ONEHOPE Foundation

They have every varietal of California wine you could want, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel, and even Sparkling. Buy by the bottle, case, or purchase a gift set. These wines make fantastic gifts for just about any occasion. Just think: you'll be giving back and also spreading the word about a wonderful company dedicated to doing great things. Planning a wedding? Give back to others on your big day and make your wedding a ONEHOPE wedding! You can find ONEHOPE Wine for sale in restaurants and stores right now in 18 states and online.

We at goodiegoodie are great friends with wine, and we have tried several varietals of ONEHOPE. We are pleased to report that we have enjoyed every bottle we've tried so far and promise to continue testing them all for you. You're welcome.

One last thing: if you're a real wine connoisseur, sign up for the ONEHOPE Wine Club or Craft1933 from ONEHOPE Wine. Craft1933 is a members-only experience connecting discerning wine consumers with access to a curated selection of hand-crafted, premium wines. Members receive up to 60% off wines that also support great causes with every purchase. Cheers!

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falling whistles

By now, we've probably all heard about Joseph Kony and the movement to Stop Kony in Central Africa. Awareness of the atrocities that are silently taking place is vitally important for saving and repairing lives, but that awareness should not stop with Kony. He is not the only one terrorizing people on the African continent right now. Thousands of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are fleeing fighting headed by Bosco 'the Terminator' Ntaganda, another warlord wanted by the International Criminal Court for recruiting child soldiers.

An organization working to save and repair lives destroyed by Bosco in Congo is Falling Whistles. Just a few weeks ago, Falling Whistles posted on their Facebook page that they'd received word that Bosco and his troops killed 2 boys, and raped 12 girls being rehabilitated in a Falling Whistles-funded center for war-affected youth. A few days ago, they learned that 6 more of their kids were abducted by rebel militias. Falling Whistles pledges that they "won’t rest until they are safe."

These kids are not faceless, they are not nameless. Over the last two years, Falling Whistles and their supporters have helped invested in these kids' recovery. Although they are half a world away from many of us, we can do something to help these kids. We must do something to help. Falling Whistles asks you to:

Share it. Speak it. End this.

That is easy and it is free. People need to know about Bosco and his victims. Like the Kony campaign, we can spread the word on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, blogs, etc. that there are other generals in Africa terrorizing people and survivors who need support.

I am a whistleblower for peace.

There is another way you can get involved with Falling Whistles and help spread the word: Be a whistleblower for peace. Buy a whistle and wear it over your heart. Learn the story and about the campaign so that one someone asks you about the whistle, you can tell the story of these children and enlist other whistleblowers. You can also make a tax-deductible donation to Falling Whistles.

Why whistles? Falling Whistles began after a group of travelers in the Congo learned about very young children - too little to hold a gun - being sent to the front lines to warn the troops behind them of pending attacks. These young children became the front line of war armed with only whistles. Go to the website and watch their heartbreaking video and read the full story.

Falling Whistles is currently working alongside Congolese community leaders to rehabilitate 267 war-affected children in northeast Congo. This program is entirely funded from sales of whistles. Three years after they began, Falling Whistles' coalition for peace in Congo includes 50,000 whistleblowers, 200 retailers, 77 organizations, 35 Congressmen and 16 Senators. Add your voice, buy a whistle, and be a whistleblower for peace.

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cross-cultural solutions

This is something new for us here at goodiegoodie. In honor of National Volunteer Week we thought we would expand our horizons. After all, that is sort of what international volunteering is all about. Staring this week, we're going to post about some organizations that give back through volunteering!

Four years ago today, I embarked on what was to be a life changing trip. I spent a week in the Central Valley of Costa Rica volunteering at a school for extremely impoverished kids. I went alone and I can admit now that I was totally scared. One week later, I came back with some amazing friends and a completely new attitude and purpose in life. My trip and volunteer program was organized by the international volunteering organization Cross-Cultural Solutions.

Cross-Cultural Solutions' mission is to operate volunteer programs around the world in partnership with sustainable community initiatives, bringing people together to work side-by-side while sharing perspectives and fostering cultural understanding. The CCS approach to volunteer work is effective because they defer to the needs and goals of the communities they serve and connect volunteers with the expertise of local leaders. These aren't a bunch of do-gooders rushing in to tell people how to live their lives - these are caring people helping to fulfill a community's needs.

CCS is an international not-for-profit organization with no political or religious affiliations. They have volunteer placements in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America that range in length from one week to twelve weeks. They have trips for students and teens, adults, individuals, families, seniors, and even people with disabilities. You have to pay for your volunteer program, but they provide everything from ground transportation, accommodations, all meals, volunteer placements including financial contributions to the participating programs, even some excursions. And if you're really concerned about the program expense, it's tax deductible.

Be more than a typical tourist on your next vacation. Visit somewhere amazing and make a difference at the same time!

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adopt a book

We want to tell you about a couple of awesome kids who are making a difference in the world. Meet Alex and Hannah, eight-year old twins from Cincinnati. They love to read, and when they learned that an entire school of kids had no books, they decided to do something about it. With the help of their mother, Alex and Hannah started Adopt A Book, a 501(c)(3) that provides new and gently used books to children.

Adopt A Book collects new and gently used books and donates them to organizations and charities that support disadvantaged kids in the Cincinnati area. These little do-gooders have already collected thousands of books and donated to several organizations and schools since December 2011.

If you'd like to donate some books to this great little organization, send them an email or contact them via Facebook to make arrangements. And by the way, we looove stories about little goodiegoodies. If you know about kids that are doing cool things and working to make the world a better place, be sure to let us know!

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kicking horse coffee

Good morning! Have you had your coffee yet? We have...and it's good. And it's good for the world, too! In fact, we love this coffee so much, we get a monthly shipment of Kicking Horse Coffee.

Kicking Horse's mission is to stimulate the planet with the ultimate wake-up call. That'll come in handy on a Monday morning.

All Kicking Horse coffee is 100% certified fair trade and 100% certified organic. Organic coffee is better for the environment, better for everyone’s health, and provides a better standard of living for the farmer. Kicking Horse is committed to sustainability, and they strive to make positive social and environmental impacts on the planet. They're also heavily involved in their community, both locally and throughout British Columbia. They support nature groups, local food banks, festivals, and a bunch of other charitable and sports related events in their community.

Now, a word about the coffee. My favorite so far is the Three Sisters blend - medium, warm, and nutty. Deeelicious. They have 16 other different blends of 100% fair trade organic coffee. Shop online and use their handy charts to choose your favorite flavor from Light (Bold) to Dark (Extreme Bold) and choose from different taste profiles based on aroma, acidity, body, and flavour. Kicking Horse also sells tea, chocolate, and mugs & stuff. You can shop for everything on their website, and some products are also available in stores and at online retailers like Amazon.

Kicking Horse Coffee is a great way to kick off your week and do something good for the world!

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we give books

We love to read. Lurve. We think reading is absolutely essential not only for a good education, but for a great imagination. Books teach, but they also transport and transform. This awesome organization has combined two of our favorite things - books and giving.

We Give Books is a new digital initiative that enables anyone with internet access to put books in the hands of children who don't have them, simply by reading online. Read a book. Give a book. Here's how it works:

On the We Give Books website, choose the charity you want to support. These are great non-profit organizations serving young people across the globe. This month, for example, you can donate books to Read for Central America, Todos a Leer, Room to Read, and Out of the Blocks.

Then choose the books you want to read from the growing library of great children's books. All of the books available for online reading are children's picture books appropriate for children through age ten. There is a mix of fiction and nonfiction, a range of authors, and an equal balance between read-alouds and books for independent readers. They add new books every month, and have special seasonal offerings.

For each book you read online, We Give Books will donate a book to the literacy group you chose. You can also change the organization you want to support with each book, if you want. What a great tool for reading with your kids and for teaching them about charity at the same time!

The more you read, the more they give. It's that easy!

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welcome to goodiegoodie!

We are so excited to officially re-launch "allison's favorite give-ings" as...

Our mission remains the same...to make it easy to do good. We will suggest charities that we love, and we'll guide you to make ethical shopping choices. Our ultimate goal is to get you to make one donation in lieu of a gift or to buy one socially responsible product for someone in your life. Hopefully when you see how easy it is and the good that you can do, giving and shopping ethically will become a habit and, eventually, a passion. We're gonna' change what it means to be a goodiegoodie!

We also value discussion and suggestions, so if you have a charity or a brand that you love and want us to feature on goodiegoodie, we'd love to hear from you. There are a frillion ways to contact us, so go for it. And while you are at it, follow us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates and share share share! Thank you! You're gorgeous! We love you!

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moral eyes

I learned about today's featured company from the fabulous website, Shop With Meaning. In the spirit of full disclosure I will tell you that I am the Social Media Manager for the aforementioned fabulous site. If you like my blog I promise that you will love Shop With Meaning site, too. But today, we are focusing on an awesome one for one eyewear company called Moral Eyes.

Moral Eyes believes that everyone has the right to see clearly. They sell awesome reading glasses and sunglasses, and for every pair that they sell they donate a pair of new reading glasses to someone in need. To do this, they've partnered with New Eyes for the Needy, a non-profit organization that collects and distributes glasses to those less fortunate. Now you get to look adorable, see better, and also transform lives. Win win win.

A little more about New Eyes for the Needy. They are a non-profit organization that has brought improved vision and hope for a better future to more than 7 million people in the US and around the world. If you don't need glasses but want to help improve the vision of a person in need, you can make a direct donation.

You can also help by recycling your old glasses! Between my husband and I, we must have a village's worth of old glasses taking up valuable drawer space. We should donate our old eyeglasses (in good condition) to New Eyes and they will send them to medical missions and international charitable organizations for distribution to the poor in developing nations. You can ship your old glasses directly to New Eyes, or, if you're in the NYC area, drop them off at one of their Recycling Collection Locations.

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one world flowers

Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Again. If you know someone that would just love to get some flowers on this most useless and auspicious occasion, please send Fair Trade flowers. One World Flowers offers Fair Trade Certified™ flowers that contribute to the social and economic development of communities around the world. The Fair Trade Certified™ label on each of their bouquets is a guarantee that your purchase will help put nutritious food on people's tables, send their children to school, and help them to invest in community development.

I heart One World Flowers because they actually strive to educate consumers about Fair Trade practices and raise awareness of human rights violations that happen every day in the global supply chain. One World Flowers doesn't just want to sell flowers; they want to make a world of difference. What's more, select bouquets also generate a donation with your purchase. For example, 10% of the purchase price of the Helping Haiti coral rose bouquet will be donated to Samaritan's Purse relief efforts and sustainable development projects in Haiti. Now that's sweet.

Pssst - Use coupon code "FairTrade5" for $5 off fair trade Certified Roses! Happy Valentine's Day!

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world book night (update: Registration Deadline Extended!)

Allison is off shining her spotlight on other areas of the world of philanthropy this week, which means it's time for a guest post from her husband. And not a moment too soon, either, since this particular post comes with a fast-approaching deadline. Let's get to it, shall we?

The Hooban household is a household of devoted readers. And while we are ordinarily perfectly happy to engage in that devotion purely as consumers, every now and then an opportunity comes along to give something back to the world of letters. Allison has previously highlighted the work of 826 National (she's even spent some time volunteering for them). Today's feature is World Book Night, a coordinated effort to find non-readers and light readers and get them hooked on books, too.

The idea is simple enough. Sign up before February 1, then the volunteers will assemble on April 23 to donate 20 copies of a book to a location in their neighborhood or hometown. Why April 23? It just happens to be the anniversary of the birth and death of one Mr. William Shakespeare, who I am told was a reasonably important literary figure in his day. (And here's a fun fact for you: April 23 also happens to be the birthday of the fictional lead character of my long-awaited, forthcoming first novel.)

The effort is being run by the entire publishing industry, from publishers and booksellers to libraries, printers, and authors. By way of full disclosure, my employer happens to be one of those publishers, and I'm certainly proud to be involved on their behalf. If you're interested in joining up, too, register as a volunteer at www.worldbooknight.org before February 1 (tomorrow)February 6. Hurry up! Those books aren't going to read themselves, after all...

UPDATE (1/31): The fine folks in charge of World Book Night have decided to keep registration open until February 6 in the US. This train is being held in the station, but only briefly. Get on board!

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one laptop per child

A few years ago, I volunteered at a school in Costa Rica for extremely impoverished kids. They'd been working for years at the school to build a computer lab in the hopes that computers would teach the students valuable skills and motivate them by showing them that there exists an entirely different world outside of their shantytown. Through technology and education, they hoped to give these kids a chance. The school in Costa Rica has computers now, I am very happy to report. But millions of children around the world still do not have access to computers or quality education.

You can help put laptops directly into the hands of children around the world by doing something a lot of you may already do every day - buy groceries. Purchase specially-marked packages of Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Roll-Ups, and Gushers and enter the URL code from the box on the Win One Give One website. For every 100 UPC codes entered, Betty Crocker® will donate an XO laptop™from One Laptop Per Child to a child in Africa (up to 1,725 laptops). Apparently, you will also be entered to win a laptop, too...so that's cool.

If, like me, you don't eat Fruit Roll-Ups regularly anymore, I urge you to go and check out One Laptop Per Child and find one of the many other ways you can help. OLPC's mission is to create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning. Most of the more than one billion children in the emerging world don’t have access to adequate education. When children have access to this type of tool they get engaged in their own education. They learn, share, create, and collaborate. They become connected to each other, to the world and to a brighter future.

OLPC's cool little XO laptop is designed and built especially for children in developing countries. It’s about the size of a small textbook, has built-in wireless, and a unique screen that is readable under direct sunlight for children who go to school outdoors. It’s extremely durable, brilliantly functional, energy-efficient, and fun for the kids. Almost everywhere kids have XO laptops, school attendance increases dramatically as the children begin to open their minds and explore their own potential.

You can give a laptop to a child in the developing world with a donation of $199. You can also donate any other amount you wish and when you donate in someone's name, they will receive a card honoring the donation.

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cystic fibrosis lifestyle foundation

My sister-in-law told me about this fantastic organization that is run by a high school friend of hers. He and one of his brothers have cystic fibrosis and he is, according to my sister-in-law, "living life to the fullest knowing any day could be his last." Cystic fibrosis is a disease passed down through families that causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the lungs, digestive tract, and other areas of the body. It is a life-threatening disorder and one of the most common chronic lung diseases in children and young adults. The Cystic Fibrosis Lifestyle Foundation helps provide opportunities to people living with cystic fibrosis.

CFLF helps by giving people living with CF access to healthy and active lifestyles through recreation. They provide people living with CF with $500 Recreation Grants to pay for activities that will help improve their lifestyle. Each Recreation Grant also comes with the opportunity for guidance and support through mentorship or peer support. CFLF also help by educating people with CF on the critical psychological, social, and emotional connections between their lifestyle and their health.

You can help CFLF support people living with cystic fibrosis by making a tax-deductible donation. They also hold fundraising events like cycling challenges and you can find out what they've got coming up this year by signing up for the email list on their website.

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the nature conservancy

Here's another way to give someone a very cool gift while saving the planet this holiday season. Chances are very good that you've probably heard of The Nature Conservancy. The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. Their vision is to leave a sustainable world for future generations.

You can make a good, old fashioned donation to The Nature Conservancy to help support their conservation projects all around the world. Or, you can shop the Nature Conservancy Marketplace and pick a specific conservation project to support in your name or on behalf of someone else. Protect sea turtles for $25 (and get a cute stuffed turtle as a special gift) or adopt an acre in Costa Rica for $50 (sadly, this one does not come with a free trip to Costa Rica). You can also shop the Marketplace for clothing, jewelry, ornaments, water bottles, books, DVDs, etc. and 10% of sales will go toward the Nature Conservancy. Not sure whether your mother-in-law would appreciate a donation to rhinos on her behalf? Get her a gift certificate to The Nature Conservancy Marketplace instead and let her choose for herself!

You can also join The Nature Conservancy's Plant a Billion Trees campaign. The Conservancy is working with local partners to bring the Atlantic Forest of Brazil - one of the world's biggest and most endangered tropical forests - back by reforesting 1 million acres of land. They are close to their goal of planting 1 billion trees by 2015 (they're at 9,953,810 trees right now!). One dollar plants one tree. You can also give a gift of trees by planting trees on someone's behalf.

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CARE

I read this news story a few months ago and cried. My heart absolutely breaks for the people suffering in East Africa. (Uplifting way to kick off a post, eh?) Earlier this year, the United Nations declared famine in six regions in the Horn of Africa. More than 13 million people are in urgent need of lifesaving humanitarian assistance. Women and children in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have been particularly hit hard and humanitarian agencies like CARE are working around the clock to respond to the crises and save lives.

CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. They have been rapidly scaling up their response in the Horn of Africa,  and their emergency interventions have already directly reached over a million people across the region. CARE is working alongside partners to provide food, water, health, education, protection, livelihoods, and prevention of gender-based violence in the Dadaab refugee camps.

CARE not only feeds the hungry, they also help tackle underlying causes of poverty so that people can become self-sufficient. Recognizing that women and children suffer disproportionately from poverty, CARE places special emphasis on working with women to create permanent social change. CARE also provides people in need assistance with water/sanitation/hygiene, food, education, gender-based violence, psychosocial support, and psychological counseling. In 2010, CARE worked in 87 countries around the world, supporting 905 poverty-fighting projects to reach more than 82 million people, over half of whom are women. You can learn more about what they do or search their project database.

If you make one donation this year, consider supporting a humanitarian organization like CARE. They are literally saving lives every day. Make a general donation to CARE between now and December 31 and your donation will automatically be doubled. Over 90% of funds go to help people directly through CARE programs. Make a donation for someone else and send them a CARE holiday e-card.

You can also donate by building and sending a CARE Package. This is actually really cool. You drag and drop customized gifts of empowerment into a virtual CAREpackage that will go to help poor girls and women access the resources they need to lift themselves out of poverty. Or, you can send a care package to someone else and let them choose the items they want to donate. You can also invite your friends, family, and colleagues to add items to your group CAREpackage. $12 can add a lifesaving mosquito net. $60 can provide one family with Unimix, an enriched corn and bean flour to fight malnutrition, for a month.

There are other ways you can help. Donate your cell phone through the CollectiveGood program. It’s designed to capture idle mobile phones in North America and redeploy them, solving an environmental problem, raising funds for CARE, and bridging the digital divide. Send your used mobile phone(s) with the extra batteries, charging unit, automobile power plug, case, etc. All phones will be recycled or disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner and you will receive an acknowledgement letter from CARE for your donation.

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