Gifts That Give Back

This holiday season it is important to remember how lucky most of us are in our daily lives. 

Thankfully, J + I don't really need for anything. Sadly, that is not the case for all other people or animals. Try donating a gift or your time to charities this season (and always), because not only will you help out our world greatly, but your heart + soul will be rewarded. 

Below are some charities. initiatives* that are doing amazing things to help better our world:

1. Adopt A Gray Wolf - Wolves suffer not only from habitat loss, but they also endure revenge killings for attacks on wild stock.Your donation supports WWF's conservation efforts worldwide. You'll be helping fund scientific investigations, habitat preservation, and other programs to preserve many of the most endangered animals on Earth. 

2. Krochet Kids - Empowering the women of Northern Uganda and Peru with the assets, skills, and knowledge to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. The women make handmade crochet hats, scarves, stockings, etc. to improve their lives and communities. 

3. Farm Sanctuary - Help support Farm Sanctuary's efforts to end farm animal abuse through investigative, legislative and legal actions, public awareness and humane education projects and direct rescue and shelter of farm animals. Adopt an animal or go to one of their sanctuaries to take a vegan cooking class!

4. Water Partners - Provide a safe water supply for the more than 1 billion people in developing countries who wouldn’t have it otherwise. For every $1 spent on clean water and sanitation, another $8 in costs relating to unsafe water are avoided.

5. Soles4Souls - Collects new shoes to give relief to the victims of abject suffering and collects used shoes to support micro-business efforts to eradicate poverty. Soles4Souls has delivered over 19 million pairs of shoes in over 125 countries both for crisis relief and to support micro-enterprise projects (and in turn, kept more shoes out of the landfills).

*Before you donate to a charity, ensure that it is a group that deserves your gift and will spend it properly. Large charities should spend 80%+ of what they raise on their cause (not paychecks or overhead).

"Recognizing our shared humanity and our biological nature as beings whose happiness is dependent on others, we learn to open our hearts, and in so doing we gain a sense of purpose and a sense of connection with those around us" - Dalai Lama

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