Happy Thanksgiving!

The poor turkies.
:)

Before the Christmas Rush Really Begins...

Christmas shopping is upon us. And now for the question that retailers ask you every year: 'What do you get the person who has everything?' This is ussually answered by an ad for some piece of complicated technology invented for the annual 'High-Tech Useless Gadget' award given out after Christmas. My answer is slightly different: 'Nothing!' Well... not exactly nothing, but certainly something of greater value than an electic banana peeler. This year instead of trying to find 'just the right thing' for your parents, siblings, partner, friends, college room mate, co-workers, bus driver, and that great-aunt thrice removed who must be at least 150, try one of the following for a gift with global impact*:

• Start with the annual Christmas card list. (Do you even remember half of the people that you pop that yearly mail to?) Charity Christmas cards are for sale everywhere in London. I don't places to find them in the US, but they're available online. More than that box of 500 from Wal*Mart for $4.99, but you can mail in good conscience knowing that the extra money is going to help the greater community, not the Fortune 500.
  Sites to lick your stamps on:
  Heartfelt Charity Cards => this site lets you select the charity!
  http://www.charitycards.com/holiday-cards-site-map.asp
  Justgive.org => multiple charities to select cards from
  http://www.justgive.org/html/ways/holidaycards.html
  
• Give the gifts of bees for your honey, or a lamb instead of sweaters and socks. How about a llama for your mama? What better gift for a tree-hugger than a tree! At Heifer International you can contribute to the development of a community by giving the gift of livestock. You can also register as a way of having people give to you.
  http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.204586/k.A0BB/
  Meaningful_Gifts__Heifer_ International_Online_Gift_Catalog.htm
  
• Buy gifts from greatergood.com where 100% of the profits go to charity, up to 30% a charity of your choice.
  http://www.greatergood.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/GreaterGood
  
• The Fair Trade Federation offers a number of online catalogs to choose items from.
  http://www.fairtradefederation.com/memol.html
  
• The perfect gift for the feminist on your list can be found at Shop for Change.
  http://www.fundforward.org/uswomenwithoutborders/
  shopforchange.php
  
• Need something divine for a choco-holic?
  http://www.divinechocolate.com/ (UK)
  http://www.agreatergift.org/ProductClass.aspx?
  DeptID=231497&ClassID=232659 (USA)
  
• Looking to find decorations and gifts? Try A Greater Gift.
  http://www.agreatergift.org/Default.aspx
  
• If you're a 'good' Lutheran, unlike me, you can't through a day, or at least a church service, without a cup of coffee. So check out Lutheran World Relief for information on trade justice and products (yes, that includes coffee).
  http://www.lwr.org/

These are just a few places to look online. There are tons more out there, just do an internet search to find what you're looking for. Happy shopping.

*I do not have permission from these organizations to be 'advertising.' This is a 'word of mouth' thing. Further, I have only visited these sites to get a broad idea of what they offer and the charities they support, not details of their philanthropy. I leave this task to you.

Yo-Yo Ma

Flipping through BBC Music at the library while waiting for a computer, the cover story on Yo-Yo Ma includes this quote from the supreme cellist:
'Today nobody grows up listening to only one kind of music. Keeping your learning curve steep is essential to being alive. These days we have the possibility to research and understand all sorts of things in a way that has not been available before. I feel most alive when I can turn that information into knowledge and then into a passionate moment when I perform.'

I think the 'Keeping your learning curve steep is essential to being alive' part is relevant to what this year of service is about for myself and fellow volunteers. Where Ma mentions the possibilities for research and understanding that have previously not been available, I am reminded of the many people who told me while I was fundraising that they wished similar opportunities had been available when they were my age (actually, most of them said 'when I was young'). Which now reminds me of another quote, but I don't remember who said it. It said something to the effect of: 'If there weren't birthdays, how old would you be?'

And that's it for my sudden inspiration. Peace.