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Giving Back Gift Guide

Christmas is such a wonderful time to give, and so we are excited to share with you a gift guide that is full of inspirational ideas on how to give back while you give. These are fun giving ideas, that will not only provide you with a gift for someone, but you will be blessing someone else in the process of purchasing that gift. We know there are many great giving back gift ideas, so be sure to leave a comment below with your favorite ideas too!

Today is #GivingTuesday, so what better day to share our giving back gift guide! With all the focus on shopping for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we wanted to pause for a minute, and consider ways to give back. Giving Tuesday is a day to reflect on ways you can give back within your community and globally.

A great resource to be aware of this time of the year is a site called Charity Navigator. Unfortunately, there are some that commit fraud in the guise of charity. Charity Navigator will allow you to look up charitable organizations and find out if they are legit, and what their ratings are. You can also use their advanced search option to find charities in your community that you can give through or volunteer at!

Here are some gifting ideas to consider for giving back.

Gifts for Kids that Give Back:

I love buying my kids gifts that give back, mostly because, well….they give back but I also think it provides such a great opportunity to have discussions with your kids about being generous and how others peoples lives can be impacted when you are generous. I find with my kids that these gifts provide so much more meaning and its a great opportunity to connect as a family when these conversations open up rather than just rushing from gift to gift.

Stocking Stuffer Ideas from Gifts for a Cause 

How cute are these small animals. They could be perfect Stocking Stuffers, and there are multiple options to buy.

How This Gift Gives Back: Using fair trade practices, Gifts With a CauseExternal Link helps entrepreneurs create high-quality, value-priced products for the global market. Families thrive with fair wages, safe working conditions, and a sustainable income. You become part of this journey of hope with the purchase of high-quality, authentic artisan goods you’ll love to wear, talk about, and give as gifts.

Kohls Cares Toys (Plush and Books)

These plush toys and corresponding books have been one of my go-to gifts for years now. They are just $5 ea, and include many popular characters that kids love!

How These Gifts Give Back: 100% of the net proceeds of Kohls Care items are donated to kids health and education initiatives.

Everything Happy – Plush Toys and Adorable Animal Baby Blankets

For every blanket or toy that is purchased one is provided to a child in need at an orphanage or hospital!

Charity Water has bracelets and temporary tattoos for $5 (fun stocking stuffers) as well as many other items like playing cards for $10 and Customizable shirts for $20 (my kids love these)!

100% of the profits from these goods directly fund clean water projects and help them grow.

 

 

One World FutBol

This Ultimate Soccer Ball  (Futbol) never goes flat, and is durable enough to play in all kinds of terrains. It outlasts other soccer balls, so it a great choice for the long term.

How This Gift Gives Back: When you buy one of the One World Futbols one is donated to a child in need. I love this idea, as all kids need to play, especially when they are dealing with stressors like poverty, war, etc. 

Heart for Heart Girls

You can get these dolls in at stores like Target, Walmart and more. These dolls are from different communities around the world and come with stories about that community. You can read more about the dolls here, and our experience with them. It used to be that a bigger percentage of your purchase went to World Vision to use in the community in an area the doll is from, but it looks like now its just a $1 per doll. I still think these are a fun way to get your kids involved in global thinking though, and $1 per doll could add up if enough are purchased.

How This Gift Gives Back: When you buy a doll, a dollar of the purchase price is donated to programs that support children in that doll’s region. Whether it’s malaria nets in Ethiopia, warm blankets in Appalachia, or ducks in India, Hearts For Hearts Girls’ mission is to help girls thrive—and to empower all girls everywhere to “change the world one heart at a time!”.

Bears for Humanity

When you buy a bear they give a free bear to a child in need!

Gifts for Adults that Give Back

Wonderbags

This is one of my favorites! I love this idea. Slow cooking is such a great way to cook, and these Wonderbags let you bless someone you know with this unique slow cooker, PLUS give one to a family in need in Africa too!

Wonderbag is a simple but revolutionary portable, non-electric slow cooker.   Wonderbag’s clever insulation allows food that has been brought to the boil to continue slow cooking in the bag for up to 12 hours. No plugs. No Fuss. And no electricity required, so it’s worry-free.   This eco-friendly slow cooker also saves energy while freeing up time spent cooking – making your life easier and transforming lives of women in Africa.

How This Gift Gives Back: For every Wonderbag purchased in the US, one is donated to a family in need in Africa. (You can read about how the wonderbags started here)

SoapBox Soaps

Choose from a variety of soaps, body washes, etc. all of which could make great gifts!

How This Gift Gives Back: Having access to a simple bar of soap can save lives in many areas of the world. When you buy a bar of soap from Soapbox Soaps, one bar is donated where there is a need. If you buy body wash

 

Photo Credit: Ten Thousand Villages 

Jewelry, Scarves, Art, Home Decor, Bowls and More from Fair Trade Companies. Find really affordably priced gifts from these sites:

• Gifts With A Cause
• Ten Thousand Villages 
• Beads for Life
• Noonday Collections
• The Apparent Project

How This Gift Gives Back: Using fair trade practices, Gifts With a Cause, and these other organizations, help entrepreneurs create high-quality, value-priced products for the global market. Families thrive with fair wages, safe working conditions, and a sustainable income. You become part of this journey of hope with the purchase of high-quality, authentic artisan goods you’ll love to wear, talk about, and give as gifts. 

 

 Kiehls Special Edition Gifts 

I love Kiel’s products and the fact that I can gift something I love and support Feeding America is really cool!

How This Gift Gives Back: 100% off the net profits from limited edition gifts at Kiels will go to Feeding America (up to $100,000). $1 provides 10 meals.

West Elms St. Jude Charitable Gifts 

How This Gift Gives Back: 50% from each purchase is donated directly to the St. Judes Children’s Hospital organization.

Bombas Socks – high-quality socks. You can give 25% off here too to a friend!

Charity Water has clothing options as well to support clean water!

100% of the profits from these goods directly fund clean water projects and help them grow.

For every pair purchased, one is donated to the homeless!

Toms Shoes 

Buy a pair of shoes for the whole family. Toms shoes are very popular, and would be a much-loved gift for both kids and adults!

How This Gift Gives Back: When you buy a pair of shoes from these organizations a pair is donated to someone in need. In many areas of the world there are serious health issues associated with not having shoes to wear, so this gift not only provides shoes but improves health for many too! 

More Giving Back Gift Ideas

You can shop Gift Catalogs from Charities like World Vision and Samaritans Purse, and donate in someone elses honor. Many of them will provide you a special card that you can give to the recipient to let them know that the donation was made in their honor!

• World Vision Gift Catalog
• Samaritans Purse Gift Guide
• Compassion Gift Catalog
• Heifer International Gift Catalog

 More Articles You Might Be Interested In:

Blessing Bag Meals – #ShareAMeal and Reach out to those in Need

Blessing Bags – Keep on Hand for those in Need or Donate to Homeless Shelter

Giving back to the community and how to get your kids involved

5 Giving Opportunities – Think Outside the Box!