Top Ten Unusual Ways to Give
You want to give to charity, but your pockets aren't as full as your heart is. Luckily, giving money isn't the only option. Put away your checkbook and instead, get a haircut, knit a blanket, or get a new pair glasses.
1. What Wood You Do? Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were the most intense of the 2005 Hurricane Season. The KatRita Wood Project was founded to help displaced people rebuild their property and restart their lives. The organization commissions chainsaw artists to create art and furniture from salvaged trees that fell during the storms. The pieces are then sold or auctioned off, and the proceeds go to hurricane victims. How You Can Help: KWR needs able-bodied volunteers to assist in moving and hauling fallen trees or in selling finished pieces and contacting corporate sponsors. Artistic types can volunteer for KWR as wood and chainsaw workers to create the items that will be sold. Or you can support KatRita by purchasing a finished piece.
2. Don't Have a Cow Sheep; honeybees, or a heifer might seem like unusual gifts, but for the people around the world who receive them through Heifer International, they can be life-savers. Animals donated through Heifer help the recipients become self-reliant, and the recipients learn to share the offspring and their agricultural training with other families in need. All recipients are trained in animal management using Heifer's strictly enforced Animal Welfare Guidelines. How You Can Help: Honor a loved one by donating an animal of your choice--from a heifer to a llama to a flock of geese.
How You Can Help: Browse the Donors Choose website for a project that appeals to you, or choose the Quick Donation option and let the organization place your gift.
How You Can Help: There are several ways to give. Go for that new, short haircut you've been eyeing, then send your 10-inch (minimum) ponytail or braid to Locks of Love. For those who prefer to twist their wallets instead of their strands, Locks of Love also accepts financial donations. The options don't stop there. There are also several volunteer opportunities with the organizaton.
You want to give to charity, but your pockets aren't as full as your heart is. Luckily, giving money isn't the only option. Put away your checkbook and instead, get a haircut, knit a blanket, or get a new pair glasses.
1. What Wood You Do? Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were the most intense of the 2005 Hurricane Season. The KatRita Wood Project was founded to help displaced people rebuild their property and restart their lives. The organization commissions chainsaw artists to create art and furniture from salvaged trees that fell during the storms. The pieces are then sold or auctioned off, and the proceeds go to hurricane victims. How You Can Help: KWR needs able-bodied volunteers to assist in moving and hauling fallen trees or in selling finished pieces and contacting corporate sponsors. Artistic types can volunteer for KWR as wood and chainsaw workers to create the items that will be sold. Or you can support KatRita by purchasing a finished piece.
2. Don't Have a Cow Sheep; honeybees, or a heifer might seem like unusual gifts, but for the people around the world who receive them through Heifer International, they can be life-savers. Animals donated through Heifer help the recipients become self-reliant, and the recipients learn to share the offspring and their agricultural training with other families in need. All recipients are trained in animal management using Heifer's strictly enforced Animal Welfare Guidelines. How You Can Help: Honor a loved one by donating an animal of your choice--from a heifer to a llama to a flock of geese.
3. The Choice Is Yours Public; Schools are often under-funded and can't afford to equip teachers with the tools necessary for unique lessons and experiments. That's where Donors Choose steps in--the organization hooks up teachers with great ideas and donors interested in supporting children's education. Teachers post project proposals and other needs on the Donors Choose website, where donors can sign up to give students anything from calculators to classrooms carpeting to rocks and fossils for geology lessons.
How You Can Help: Browse the Donors Choose website for a project that appeals to you, or choose the Quick Donation option and let the organization place your gift.
4. Take a Short Cut Straight; curly, wavy, frizzy--you name it, they want it. Locks of Love accepts ponytail donations and uses them to create hairpieces for disadvantaged children suffering from medical hair loss.
How You Can Help: There are several ways to give. Go for that new, short haircut you've been eyeing, then send your 10-inch (minimum) ponytail or braid to Locks of Love. For those who prefer to twist their wallets instead of their strands, Locks of Love also accepts financial donations. The options don't stop there. There are also several volunteer opportunities with the organizaton.
5. Calling All Bookworms; One new charity is encouraging you to clear your bookshelves instead of your pockets. Operation Bare Your Bookshelf, an arm of Christian Resources International, encourages Christians to donate excess bibles and Christian books for distribution to chaplains, pastors, and Christians working on overseas missions. Those donating books are able to make direct contact with the recipients of their packages to exchange letters and prayers.
How You Can Help: Donate bibles and books here. Many other organizations and religious groups sponsor book donation programs as well. The National Yiddish Book Center, for example, accepts donations of Jewish books for its vast collection and library in Amherst, Mass. And Books for Soldiers distributes books to military stationed overseas.
6. A Blanket Statement Linus; the Peanuts comic strip character, gained iconic status by carrying around a blanket. His namesake, Project Linus, seeks to provide the security and comfort that Linus found in his blanket to other children in need. Volunteers across the country create handmade blankets, which are then distribtued to children experiencing terminal illnesses or other trauma.
How You Can Help: Project Linus needs volunteers, otherwise known as "blanketeers" to knit, quilt, crochet, or sew blankets. If you've never made a blanket before, the site provides easy to follow patterns and instructions.
7. A Sight for Sore Eyes; The Gift of Sight provides free vision care and eyewear to underprivileged individuals in the U.S. and the developing world. Sponsored by Give the Gift of Sight Foundation and Luxottica Group, the organization runs vision clinics throughout the world, sponsors "Vision Vans" that provide eye exams to children, and helps recycle millions of pairs of used eyeglasses.
How You Can Help: Gift of Sight hopes to help seven million people by 2008. You can assist in three ways: drop off your used eyewear at companies like LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, and Sunglass Hut; give a personal or corporate financial donation; or partipate in e-fundraising. Need an incentive? The Gift of Sight pledges to give a special gift to anyone who raises more than $1,000.
How You Can Help: Gift of Sight hopes to help seven million people by 2008. You can assist in three ways: drop off your used eyewear at companies like LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, and Sunglass Hut; give a personal or corporate financial donation; or partipate in e-fundraising. Need an incentive? The Gift of Sight pledges to give a special gift to anyone who raises more than $1,000.
8. Bear Essentials; Teddy bears
are warm, fuzzy, and the perfect companion for a baby, young child, or even an adult. Give the gift of "cuddle" and donate a bear to someone in need of love and caring. Founded in 1969, Good Bears of the World was created to provide comfort to people that have suffered great loss. Since then they have given bears to the victims of floods, hurricanes, domestic violence and more catastrophic events such as the Oklahoma City bombing and the events of September 11th.
are warm, fuzzy, and the perfect companion for a baby, young child, or even an adult. Give the gift of "cuddle" and donate a bear to someone in need of love and caring. Founded in 1969, Good Bears of the World was created to provide comfort to people that have suffered great loss. Since then they have given bears to the victims of floods, hurricanes, domestic violence and more catastrophic events such as the Oklahoma City bombing and the events of September 11th.9. Ready to Wear; Instead of letting a used wedding dress hang untouched in the closet or in an attic, recent brides can donate their gowns to the Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation's Brides Against Breast Cancer program. The gowns are sold at a "nationwide tour of gowns" sale and the money raised goes to both women and men diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. The foundation has also expanded its efforts to include a Grooms Against Breast Cancer program in conjunction with a popular tuxedo rental chain.
How You Can Help: Preparing to walk down the aisle? Attend one of the Brides Against Breast Cancer sales in a city near you. Already wed? Donate your gown for use in the "nationwide tour of gowns." Making Memories is currently promoting an emergency appeal for dresses or donations after more than $3 million worth of dresses was stolen while en route to a sales event in Los Angeles.
10. Computer Rx; Computer Troubleshooters is the charity that charities themselves depend on. The organization, with locations throughout the country, provides discounted or donated services like web site design, Internet security, and spyware/spam protection to qualified non-profits. Each participating Computer Troubleshooters location reserves a set number of service hours each month for charitable work.
How they can help you: Computer Troubleshooter's services make it easier for charitable organizations to give back to others. If you work for or run a qualified non-profit or charity, contact the Computer Troubleshooter nearest you. The website can connect you to other organizations, like Tech Soup and the Cristina Foundation, that provide tech support to charities.
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