Just a few practical ideas for giving this Christmas, some are gifts for people you know, others are gifts to the Kingdom of God. There are upteen more you can find with the helpful tool of google (Tom’s Shoes, Charity:Water, etc), but these are the ones that jumped out at me today:
* World Vision Gift Guide – This is a great gift guide! There are over 60 gifts that will cost you less than $50 for impoverished families and communities around the world. $35 will provide nearly $500 worth of clothing. Or join forces with friends and families to buy a small healthy flock of sheep which will provide nutrition and a constant source of income for years to come for multiple families for only $500.
* Moju Shirts – (ht: Aaron). For your t-shirt wearing friends, hook them up with a Moju T-Shirt. Yes, it’s pricey as far as a t-shirt is concerned, but for 25$ you will feed an Orphan in Africa for a full month.
* The Greater Good Store – A large variety of gifts for almost everyone on your list helping a large number of charities (funds distributed by GreaterGood.org), focusing on Hunger/Poverty, Children’s Health, Women’s Health, Child Literacy, the Environment, and Animal Rescue. I could personally look past the last two, but hey, whatever moves your feet. And the prices are pretty decent to boot!
* Gifts that Give More – Also from GreaterGood.org, these gifts are similar to World Vision’s gift guide (feed a family for a month, provide health care, etc), but offers a wider variety of charities to help (see previous suggestion). They even offer several options for helping those on our own turf. You can actually find these item’s at the Greater Good Store, but this link puts all of these type gifts in one place.
* (for you Local guys) KLTY Christmas Wish – I rarely listen to KLTY throughout the year; the music is pretty decent it’s just not my thing. But during Christmas it’s always on in our car because of this program. If you’re in the Dallas area, go check them out at one of their remotes this holiday season… I’d almost guarantee that you will find someone in your own backyard that you can help even if you don’t feel like you have much to offer. And if not, you can still donate to the overall good of the community.
And as always, validate your faith against what the organization is about to determine your best course of action.