Tis' the Season!

How is your holiday shopping going? Mine is pretty on track, but for the first time in years I wasn't able to stock up very many gifts during the year (when you find something perfect for someone on your list, there's a great sale, or you're somewhere you can't buy it further down the road) so I'm having to do a lot of my shopping/ crafting/ baking etc. this month. This month being December. HOW IS IT ALREADY DECEMBER?! A's birthday is also this month so I'm having to pull a little double duty. I'm really making an effort this year to be getting more gifts where the proceeds go to charity, or gifts that are the actual donation to the charity. I've long been a fan of Heifer International where you can do your part to end poverty and hunger across the world. Here is their mission:

"To work with communities to end hunger and poverty and care for the earth.

By giving families a hand-up, not just a hand-out, we empower them to turn lives of hunger and poverty into self-reliance and hope.

With gifts of livestock and training, we help families improve their nutrition and generate income in sustainable ways. We refer to the animals as "living loans" because in exchange for their livestock and training, families agree to give one of its animal's offspring to another family in need. It's called Passing on the Gift – a cornerstone of our mission that creates an ever-expanding network of hope and peace."

There are so many worthy causes that deserve your donation, and in fact I plan to do another post about some of the other charities we're donating to/ purchasing "gifts" from this year. Another great thing about Heifer is that you can also do shares on animals, where you pitch in towards a full animal purchase, meaning you're still doing something amazing, but you can do it on a budget as well. I do have to say that I love to watch someone's face when they discover that I've given them a goat (or chick, water buffalo, sheep, camel, and more!) for their gift!