Puppy Mills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=K3vyK75-r3g

This is a very sad video, but it has a happy ending. And it's a very important issue. Please watch it (you may cry because I did) Consider donating to this cause for the holiday season!

Help The Animals.

Billions of dollars are spent each year on our pets. Since we love our animals so much, let's help the ones that don't have homes. The Humane Society of the United States helps so many animals every year, but they need our help to fund their programs. 

Why not give a gift from the Humane Society and donate to the cause at the same time?

http://store.humanesociety.org/ 

Go to this link and check out all the great gifts for pet lovers!

Krochet Kids.

Today's gift that gives back is geared toward helping impoverished people throughout the world by teaching communities how to make products with a hook and yarn technique. Every hat is signed by the person who made it!

www.krochetkids.org

There are other great items for purchase on this website. Go check it out :)

Support The Locals.

For those of you who do not know, tomorrow, November 24th, is Small business saturday!! This is recognized throughout the U.S. So PLEASE, go out and support your favorite locally owned small businesses by dining or shopping or whatever!

This is definitely a good cause and it's extremely important to keep our economy going in a positive direction. Show your support!

I will be Christmas shopping at my favorite small businesses tomorrow :)

www.smallbusinesssaturday.com

Hurricane Sandy.

I have posted this link all over my social networks, but I figured I would post it again on here because it is such a great cause, and it's amazing that a group of students at Yale created this!

www.shirtsforsandy.com

The shirts are nicely designed and the profits go toward Americares and their efforts to help Sandy's victims. This would be a nice gift for anybody this holiday season!

Help Cure Diabetes.

One more website that I have had in my bookmarks for quite a while...



www.rachelscbd.com


Rachel thought of a creative way to help raise money for Diabetes when she was only 12 years old, right after she was diagnosed. Her jewelry-making is amazing and she has beautiful products on this website. Check it out :)

A Great Cause Nearby.

Since I am in the Western Mass area, I love to know that there are such great causes nearby. I got an e-mail from a former classmate of mine, who told me all about a cause she is involved in and I wanted to share it with you all.

www.girlsrockboston.org


"Girls Rock Campaign Boston empowers girls to believe in themselves by providing a supportive community that fosters self-expression, confidence, and collaboration through musical education and performance."

This organization does a great thing. If you are a musician or know any other musicians with any kind of instruments or musical equipment (they have a list on the site) this would be a great way to send christmas gifts to these girls. They use music as power, and we can all appreciate that. 

A Personal Cause.

www.takestepsjewelry.com


This is a great website that I found quite a while ago. It helps to support a variety of diseases, including crohn's disease and colitis, which of course, is a personal cause. After having colitis for almost six years now, I look for any reason to raise money to help find a cure.

There are pendants on this website known as "cure hearts." The proceeds go to research efforts to help cure these diseases. Go on and take a look!

Freedom For People.

www.freesetglobal.com


Here is another site I stumbled upon today. This one has a mission to help free women who are trapped in Kolkata's sex trade. They never chose that life. Please help them.

There are plenty of items on this website that would make excellent gifts. They advertise bags, t-shirts, bracelets, etc. Check it out!

Your Gift To Africa.

www.sameskyshop.com


This link will take you to a website filled with beautiful jewelry. Take a look and order a gift for a friend or family member. The proceeds go to HIV-positive women in Africa who are living in poverty. These women made this jewelry themselves and are struggling, as artisans, to rebuild their lives with the profits from this beautiful jewelry.

Just an idea :)

Transforming Materialism

Yesterday, I was talking with a friend of mine about how materialistic humans are. How we are the only species that take more than we actually need. How did this greedy nature come about? How do we encourage others to give more than they take?  I hope that people realize their need for material things and try to minimize that need. I know this need and I am guilty of it. I wish I wasn't. Anyway, this conversation led me to thinking that we can turn this incessant need for material goods into helping others, simultaneously. More and more charities are taking advantage of this human necessity to have things, and they market that to people in hopes of helping their good causes.

If humans must have materials, can we at least make it worth someone else's while?


www.toms.com


This website gives a pair of new shoes to a child in need every time one pair of shoes is purchased. Since Christmas is just around the corner, (which some retail stores have been saying since August), why not purchase one pair of shoes that gives a gift to a needy child, as well? Really, why not?

Just an idea.