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This year, use your holiday dollars to do more than just make friends and family smile.  Make your holiday dollars matter more by purchasing gifts that give back.  There are a wide range of opportunities this year to spend your money in ways that make a real difference; here are a handful of ideas to get you going.

1.     Gardener’s Gift Basket from Heifer International

A great gift for the gardener in your life, the Gardener’s Gift Basket available from Heifer International allows you to donate money to provide a poverty stricken family with a basket that includes tree seedlings, rabbits, chickens, and a bee hive and training on how to care for the plants and animals.  This gift provides one family with the means to feed themselves a healthy diet and an income stream from selling off any excess crops, eggs, or honey.   A donation of $170 will purchase an entire basket and a donation of $20 will purchase a share that is combined with other donations.   For more information on the Gardener’s Gift Basket, click here.

Heifer International is a charitable organization committed to ending hunger and poverty around the world by providing people with the life-sustaining products they need to feed their families and begin down the path out of poverty.  Click here for more information about Heifer International.

2.     Help Start a Farmer’s Market from OxFam America

This is a great gift for anyone in your life who loves shopping at the local farmer’s market, who grows their own food, or who is committed to locally sourced food.  This $25 donation helps OxFam fund projects that create new farmer’s markets in rural areas of Latin America.  Opening farmer’s markets in these areas helps farmers in these areas eliminate the middle man and sell their crops at a fair price.  Each donation comes with a card that can be provided to the recipient to acknowledge the gift made in their name.  For more information on how you can Help Start a Farmer’s Market, click here.

OxFam America is a global organization dedicated to developing long term solutions to poverty and hunger and to enact social change.  Learn more at oxfamamerica.org.

3.     Emergency Food for Children from the International Red Cross Rescue Gifts

This makes a great gift for anyone in your life as it goes to help support the efforts of the International Red Cross (IRC) in helping people who are impacted by war and natural disaster.  Between the civil war in Syria and typhoon Haiyan, there are more than 10 million people who have been displaced, made homeless, or become refugees this year which means the need for this help is greater than ever. For a $68 donation, the IRC can provide a month’s supply of emergency food packets that will feed 50 starving children.  What better gift can you give this holiday season than the gift of life to a child?   For more information on this gift, click here.

The International Red Cross’s Rescue Gift program provides an easy way for people to donate to relief efforts and other programs by giving gifts that make a difference.  For more information, visit their website.