Tag Archives: Heart of Haiti

Dec10

Social Good Gifts 2015

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Social Good Gifts 2015

PicMonkey Collage9Each year during this frenzied shopping season I aim to find a few social good gift options to share that not only please the recipient, but that are gifts that give back in some way. I know I’m not the only one who appreciates the meaning behind a gift as much as the gift itself. Here are some ideas, and links to others that all have great stories behind them. Let’s spread goodness, hope and cheer this holiday season!

Social Good Gifts
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My friend Nicole keeps an incredible list of gifts that give back on her blog ThirdEyeMom.com and this year she added and introduced me to Bloom & Give. I immediately bought one of their beautiful block printed tote bags that helps to send a girl to school in India. Their designs and quality are as beautiful as the mission.

 

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I love the whole concept of the 100 Good Deeds bracelets and the idea of gifting them, especially to my children, as an inspiration to do more for others. It’s a great story and it goes like this:

Mary Fisher—artist, author, advocate—spent a decade partnering with vulnerable
women in Africa, designing jewelry made by the women to earn a dignified livelihood.

She had just released her memoir, Messenger, a story of discovering joy in service, when she met Thomas Morgan, filmmaker and father, who created the 100 Good Deeds game with his family. Read More – from 100GoodDeeds.org

 

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Last year I had Heart of Haiti gifts on my list of Gifts That Give Back 2014 and through learning about that program, run by Macy’s, I also learned about the Path to Peace Rwanda Baskets program. I had the honor of attending the 10 year celebration for the Path to Peace Rwanda baskets this fall at Macy’s Herald Square in New York City. It is the longest running “trade not aid” program of its kind, and that night we heard first hand about the transformations that have taken place over the past decade within the communities of the basket weavers working on this project. Both programs are helping to revive communities that had suffered the trauma of natural disaster and conflict.

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The most adorable knitwear for babies by Misha and Puff also happens to help women to support their families in Peru. The knitting center in Peru provides meals and day care for the knitters, and the pieces are all made from hand dyed natural fibers of soft baby alpaca. Adorbs!

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Life is full of joy and sadness, and we can all relate to its highs and lows. I hope that lokai will remind you to stay balanced and centered along your journey.
-Steven Izen, Founder of lokai

My daughter and all of her friends are loving the Lokai bracelets, and I’ve noticed them on the wrists of some celebrities as well. Said to contain mud from the Dead Sea in the black bead, and water from Mt. Everest in the white, the symbolism is to remind us to stay balanced. For the month of December when you purchase the red  Lokai Bracelet $1.00 will be donated to benefit Save The Children.

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Mindful Giving in a book. Simple Giving is a beautiful book is full of inspiring stories of ways to give back every day. It’s lovely to think that by giving this book you are not only helping one person through your purchase, but providing tools to continue the cycle of giving back.

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Photo Credit: Heidi Reed

Still looking? Did you know that everything you purchase online by shopping through Amazon Smile is an opportunity to give? Just pull up the AmazonSmile page and choose the charity where you would like your donations to go. Continue to log in with your own account information and a portion of the purchase price of each eligible item will go to the organization of your choice.  Through my Amazon Smile account I choose to support Edesia, a non-profit based right here in Rhode Island that produces nutrient rich ready to use therapeutic foods to treat and prevent malnutrition for the most vulnerable children in the world.

You can also check out the fabulous items that give back featured in past lists :

10 Mindful Gifts To Give, Mindful Gift Guide for the Foodie, or Mindful Giving Guide 

Wishing Peace and love to all this holiday season!

Dec11

Gifts That Give Back Guide 2014, Creating Change Through Economic Opportunity

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Gifts That Give Back Guide 2014, Creating Change Through Economic Opportunity

In October I attended the ONE Girls & Women AYA Summit at the Google Headquarters in DC. One of the many powerful panels we heard from was entitled Change Through Economic Opportunity, and both major fashion companies and small start-ups weighed in on how they are impacting the lives of women through economic empowerment.  There are so many fantastic places to purchase gifts holiday season, but why not use the power of your wallet to also help to lift a woman out of poverty when you purchase them. I feel like this makes the giving even sweeter. Not only will the recipient love what they get, but you both will know it had a positive impact on someone else’s life somewhere in this world. To me it feels like giving twice. Here are my top picks this year to use my purchasing power for social good from the AYA Summit panelists and beyond.

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Vase from the Heart of Haiti line

 

Gorgeous clutch from the Kate Spade On Purpose line

Gorgeous clutch from the Kate Spade On Purpose line

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Macy’s sells a line of goods called Heart of Haiti, designed to enrich and improve the lives of the artisans that create beautiful goods. Established after the massive earthquake in 2010, Heart of Haiti was created as a sustainable way to help repair Haiti’s fragile economy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I’ve been a huge fan of Kate Spade since she began so I was thrilled when I met Sydney Price and heard her speak about the Kate Spade On Purpose line at the AYA Summit panel on Change Through Economic Opportunity.   Each piece in this collection is handcrafted in Rwanda creating sustainable economic opportunities for women and reshaping their community.

 

Screen Shot 2014-12-11 at 9.54.08 AMScreen Shot 2014-12-11 at 11.00.42 AMI also met Jane Mosbacher Morris at the AYA Summit where she participated in the panel on Change Through Economic Opportunity. I love her story from policy to retail and was thrilled to have the opportunity to interview her a few days ago and get more insight into her path to founding To The Market. To The Market is a marketplace for survivor made goods, whether it is from war, disaster, or abuse, To The Market provides a market for the beautiful handcrafted goods that give women survivors a chance to support themselves and their families.

fashionable copyScreen Shot 2014-12-11 at 11.03.40 AMI had the pleasure of visiting the FashionABLE factory in Ethiopia this past summer and have been writing about and wearing the gorgeous scarves made in Ethiopia for years. That made it such a thrill to finally meet founder Barrett Ward at the AYA Summit this past fall where he participated on the Change Through Economic Opportunity panel as well. They are now expanding operations to include products made in Kenya and a beautiful line of leather products, all while providing social service programs of health care, education in a trade, and assistance with child care for their artisans to help them build better lives for themselves and their families.

Photo by Heidi Reed

Photo by Heidi Reed

Screen Shot 2014-12-11 at 11.05.10 AMFor the person who has everything that you still want to let know you are thinking of them, there are many non profits where you can gift a gift in a loved ones name.  Often the non-profit will send them a certificate or note saying that you did so. This year I am supporting the non-profit Edesia, based in Rhode Island, that provides nutritional supplements for prevention and treatment of malnutrition in children. Edesia products are specifically created to treat babies and children during the critical first five years of life. If they do not get proper nutrition within those first five years, and most critically the first thousand days of life, they may be stunted and never reach their full potential. If you make a donation on the Edesia website in the notes section and list name of the person in whose name the donation is being made and their address, Edesia will send them a post card letting them know.

Screen Shot 2014-12-11 at 11.38.48 AMScreen Shot 2014-12-11 at 11.27.50 AMOh, and how can I forget wine!? One Hope Wine where 1/2 of the proceeds goes to educating girls, which we know is key to global development. When a girl is educated she will tend to get married later, have fewer children, and contribute economically to her family.

 For more ideas on gifts that give back check out my past gift guides from 2012 (That includes Heifer International), 2013 and for foodies !