If you find yourself, a week before Christmas, wondering what happened to your Christmas spirit, giving a present that feeds your own soul and does the world a service is a great antidote to gift fatigue. So save the gas, forget the mall, and click your mouse. Another benefit? You'll have nothing to ship or schlep, a definite plus when many of the airlines are now imposing luggage charges!
There are a zillion heartfelt gifts you can order via your computer. Here are a few particularly worth giving.
- The Heifer Project [1] buys animals for needy developing world families to help them sustain themselves. Donate online (starting at $20) in someone else's name, and you can even send an E-gift card.
- A subscription [2] to Mother Jones [3], which features some of the smartest, most thorough journalism around, is only $10. It's an exciting time in American politics, and this is a great way to share the stories behind the headlines.
- Help a nonprofit plant a tree in someone's name. TreePeople [4] in Los Angeles has been planting and caring for trees for 25 years. Tree dedications start at $25 and a gift card will be sent in your name. Or donate a tree to be planted by indigenous peoples (with the help of Swiss-based Aquaverde [5]) in the Amazon for about $13. We're all breathing the same air on this planet, so it doesn't really matter where the tree gets planted — we all benefit.
- Finally a gift that's designed to be regifted! Offered by a California-based nonprofit called Charity Checks [6], a Giving Certificate allows the recipient to select the nonprofit organization that will receive his or her donation. Giving Certificates will send an actual Charity Check for a specific denomination (starting at $25) with a blank payee line. The recipient fills in the nonprofit he or she cares about, and the check is cashed by the charity.