Giving Presents with a Purpose

Have you already started your holiday shopping for this year? I most definitely have. I get as much joy from finding the perfect gift for someone, as I do when I receive a gift. Today, I am sharing a great gift idea that not only will the recipient love, it also gives back.

World Vision asked me if I would like to help spread the word about their Holiday Gift Guide. Of course, I said yes! They even sent me a gift to try out and are offering a giveaway. I’m so excited about the giveaway, so make sure you stick around to the end of the post for that.

First let me tell you a little bit about World Vision.World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. They serve people in over 100 countries and provide both emergency relief as well as working towards long term solutions to poverty.
The World Vision catalog has all kinds of things that you can purchase in someone’s name. For instance, you can buy fast growing, drought resistant seeds for a family for just $17. Other items include chickens, goats, other animals, mosquito nets, school supplies, and shares in a water well, just to name a few. This would be a great gift for the person who has “everything” or someone that is socially minded. It’s also a great way to teach your children some compassion and the importance of giving to those less fortunate. I know this time of year can bring out the, “gimme gimmes” in my kids if I’m not mindful.
For those that are willing to donate money to where it is needed the most, you can receive some really neat handmade gifts in return for different donation levels. The serving spoons pictured above were hand-carved in Kenya. They came with a beautiful pouch as well. I really just want to display them in my home. I love the twisted look of the handles and I love that these spoons are made to benefit Kenyan orphans of the Kamba tribe. You can get hand carved serving spoons for a donation of $65 or more.
I looked through the gift catalog and here are some of my favorite items that you can receive for donations ranging from $25 – $95. You can see all of the hand crafted gifts on the World Vision website.

Before we get to the giveaway, I just want to add one more thing. I know some people feel it’s important to help those in their own backyard before the assist in global efforts. Well World Vision has you covered in that sense too. You can specify your donation for nutritious food, school supplies, or warm clothes and shoes for kids here in the US.

Now it’s time for a little giveaway! You can win a set of Hand carved serving spoons just like mine. I think that food served with beautiful utensils just tastes better! Don’t you?