National present opening day arrives four short days from now, and as with most other years, I’d put a decent bet down that many of you still need presents for people in your life. If you’re facing difficulty finding that perfect gift, or you have a bit of money still to spend on yourself, below lists (because you know how much I love them!) 5 ideas that I believe can bring serious holiday and year round cheer to you and your loved ones.
First up:
(the links below take you straight to their donations page)
Kiva –the gift that keeps giving — give your friends $28 bucks -yes, 28. $25 so they can make a loan, and $3 so they can contribute to the operational costs Kiva needs to survive, and you will be giving a gift (if invested well) with endless returns. I’m nearing 1.5 years loaning to people on the other side of the world with Kiva, and I’ve already been fully reimbursed for my first loan and I’m on to my second. Kiva lays out a time line for recouping your loan, and as soon as you have it back, you can loan it to someone else! If you’re skeptical, you can watch this video and learn more.
Farnam Street– Odd blog name, great content. Outside of TED, Farnam Street is the most interesting and intelligent blog I’ve found with such a huge range of content that’s out there. Check it out & I think you’ll agree (& subscribe). http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/
Kickstarter– I don’t mean the organization its self, I mean the thousands of projects listed on Kickstarter. The link will take you to their discover page where you can find a project that you or a friend would enjoy being a part of, and in return, you can get the incentives sent to you or your loved one, that really make you feel like ya dun’ good.
Wikipedia– Do you know that Wikipedia solely lives on donations? That’s why you never see those super annoying ads while you search for the title of that famous head-cutting-off-painting Caravaggio’s daughter did so you can win the bet with your friend. …We all know it’s an amazing resource. Give the gift of knowledge and feel good about it.
If none of the above get you excited, go to your search engine of choice and type in: “Local charity”. Your computer, able to ready your mind, will put up the most popular charity in your area. It should only take a few clicks from there to get to their donations page. Make a cool card or fun email with information about the charity & let them get excited as they now feel invested in your community as well.
Let me know below where you love donating or volunteering & Happy Holidays!
Abba Charice 