Looking for a gift that lasts beyond Christmas morning – not at the landfill, but in someone’s heart?
- www.makeitrightnola.org – Support this effort, launched by Brad Pitt and some of America’s most
accomplished environmental architects, to build 150 eco-homes in New
Orleans’ Katrina-devastated 9th ward. Your contributions can buy faucet
aerators ($5), low VOC paint ($25/gallon), tankless water heaters,
ceiling fans, linoleum floors, landscaping, and more. Want to help
“Santa” furnish the entire house? You can - for a mere $150,000.
- www.heifer.org – Remember the old lesson, about teaching a person to fish? Heifer
International teaches people in developing countries to farm and raise
llamas, too, all in an effort to help them become more self-supporting.
You can get in on the action, by giving a deserving family a flock of
ducks, a trio of rabbits, sheep for wool, and much more.
- www.earthshare.org – When you protect the environment, you protect people, and vice versa.
On behalf of family or friends, donate to an environmental group that
is doing work you wish you could, but perhaps don’t have the time or
expertise for. You can find a listing of the nation’s top conservation
and preservation organizations at EarthShare.org.
- www.americanforests.org - Trees restore damaged forest ecosystems, give us cleaner air and
clearer water, build life in our communities and provide animals with
homes and nourishment. American Forests will plant trees in the name of
the people on your holiday gift list. For $1 per tree (15-tree minimum),
the non-profit organization will send your gift recipient a
personalized certificate. You can choose to plant trees on the
hurricane-damaged areas of the Gulf coast, in wildfire-burned areas of
California, or to protect the Mexican habitat of the Monarch butterfly.
- www.dagobachocolate.com – What would a holiday list be without a little chocolate, even though this organic treat is guaranteed not to last much past Christmas morning? And no matter how fast you eat it, it actually does endure, since every time you buy cocoa products grown, like Dagoba, without the use of pesticides you protect the planet and help cocoa farmers live a more sustainable life. You can opt for pint-sized bars perfect for stocking stuffers or a sampler box of milk, dark and flavored bars for the Dagoba devotee. You might even leave Santa some organic chocolate with his milk in place of a couple of cookies.
Looking for more worthwhile charities? Want to make it easy to support your favorite cause? Check here.
How about free but still meaningful gifts?
Need gift wrapping? It's in the bag...
Enjoy, and happy holidays!
For more information, get your own copy of Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World. Sign up for our free newsletter tips at www.biggreenpurse.com.
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