In case you're looking for a good sustainble charity to support, or if you're planning ahead for Christmas gifts, or both - look no further!
Heifer International is a lovely charity that I've been supporting for years. Their projects help end hunger and save the Earth by teaching and empowering people around the world with initiatives in sustainable farming, animal management techniques, gender equality, HIV/AIDS, microenterprise, and urban agriculture.
As for the Christmas angle, you can choose items from their online gift catalog to send in honor of those hard-to-buy-for loved ones.
And right now there's a "double your gift" project for farmers in Honduras.
Want more? Watch the Oprah Winrey show on Thursday October 1st, which was inspired by The New York Times best-selling book _Half the Sky_ by Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn. .
Cold weather is coming... doesn't it just make you want to knit?? Me too.
My favorite cheapskate, Mary Hunt, recently posted some knitting resources in her newsletter for people looking to recycle or donate leftover yarn, or be on the receiving end of such goodness.
National:
www.Ravelry.com - online community for knitters to share patterns, yarn, tips & tricks, etc. www.ebay.com - buy or sell yarn here
I love Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday, hands down.What’s not to like about a whole month of getting together with friends you haven’t seen in awhile, sharing good food, decorating your house to look all twinkly, singing happy songs you’ve known all your life, and giving and receiving gifts?
And oh, the gifts!When I was a kid, I’d write to Santa asking for everything from a pony to Legos to new clothes, and as I’ve gotten older, my wish list hasn’t gotten any shorter… but this year it has changed a bit.I’m looking around my house and thinking, do I really need more stuff?I barely have enough room to contain all the stuff I already have!And what about the environmental implications of acquiring more stuff?
So I sat down and watched this “Story of Stuff” video.It’s only 20 minutes long, and quite thought-provoking.I’ve never been much for conspiracy theory, but the notion that Americans didn’t have such a love affair with shopping for new possessions until every household contained a television set that ran enticing advertisements designed to make us want bigger/faster/new and improved/MORE! is pretty compelling.
This holiday season, I challenge you to think about your stuff, and the stuff you give to others.Need some ideas for stuff-conscious holiday shopping?
Give an experience, like concert or sporting event tickets from Ticketmaster.
For more ideas, google "green christmas ideas"... there are lots of good websites out there. Get creative!
While I’m on a feel-good bent… the holidays also happen to be a popular time to volunteer! Did you know that Thanksgiving is THE most requested day to work at soup kitchens?A friend of mine who works with one in downtown Baltimore gently reminds people that while venues may be all booked up for volunteers on Thanksgiving, there are still plenty of time slots to fill on the other 364 days of the year!I read several studies that proved such tangible health benefits associated with volunteering as improved physical fitness, decreased rates of depression, and increased longevity, for starters.Read more atwww.nationalservice.gov
Ask any woman in the world: Brad Pitt is *hot*.I’ve been a fan since his big screen debut in “Thelma & Louise”.Then a few years back, I read an article in House & Garden magazine about his interests in gardening and green architecture – now that’s my kind of man!
Fast-forward to today: Brad Pitt has become quite the international advocate of green building.Not only is he building his own off-the-grid home in California, but he’s lending his star quality to green projects around the world.
He’s hosting a PBS series called Design: E2 (the economies of being environmentally conscious). Watch the trailer here: http://www.design-e2.com/
In New Orleans, he’s working with several organizations to rebuild homes in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.As a Global Green design jury chairman, he’s helping organize a competition for architects, urban planners, and ecologists to propose solutions for re-designing New Orleans neighborhoods.
He founded Make It Right, a green rebuilding effort in the Lower 9th Ward of NOLA.Under the umbrella of MIR, The Pink Project is a vehicle for raising awareness and money for the cause.Individuals can contribute to specific portions of a house, gather a group to sponsor bigger chunks or even a whole house, or simply make a general cash donation.The Home Depot Foundation is contributing at least $7 million to MIR, and getting into the act with new eco-friendly product labeling at their stores. You Idol fans out there may recall that this project was also featured on American Idol Gives Back.
Now he’s working with Zabeel Properties and L.A.-based architecture firm GRAFT to design a five-star green resort in Dubai.
To be sure, there are other celebrities out there doing good things for the green movement: Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Gore ... But I confess, Brad is my favorite!
Engineers Without Borders is a non-profit humanitarian organization that works with developing communities around the world to improve their quality of life. They design and implement sustainable engineering projects, while involving and training internationally responsible engineers and engineering students.
Check out this article about EWB designing tiny wind turbines for use in Guatemalan villages.My favorite part (besides the fact that it’s engineers doing good deeds) is that the turbines can be assembled from inexpensive materials… it’s not quite as cool as MacGyver saving the day using only a Swiss Army knife, duct tape, and a stick of chewing gum, but still remarkable!
While you’re spring cleaning, why not give some things away? Here are some local ventures where you can donate, sell, or otherwise get rid of your stuff. Your trash could be somebody else’s treasure…
Craigslist is a worldwide network that includes local branches on every continent except South America and Antarctica, as of this writing. Give away stuff on their “free” page, or sell by category. Or buy stuff/find a job/meet your match. You can do all kinds of things on Craigslist!
Freecycle is a non-profit network of people who are giving (and getting) free stuff in their own towns and thus keeping good stuff out of landfills. Moderators are volunteers. Posted items must be free, legal, and owned by you (i.e. no freecycling your neighbor’s annoying Chihuahua) (…speaking of re-locating pets, the rules vary on this, so check the site FAQ before posting).
The Baltimore Free Store’s mission is “to promote recycling and reuse to help alleviate the traumas of poverty, and to involve communities in working together to meet their needs.” A good idea for a good cause.
Say you have piles of books to give away. A great way to share your books with others is the Paperback Swap. You pay to mail books to other club members, and they return the favor when you request a book through the system. It’s currently free to join.
Want to give your books away locally? The Book Thing is a noble endeavor started by Russell Wattenberg in 1999 to give free books to people who need or want them. Last time I visited The Book Thing, it was somebody’s basement filled to the gills with shelves and piles of books: old, new, what have you. I was forbidden to leave without at least ten books! It was great.
And finally, if you’d prefer to give your non-book stuff to a worthy cause without leaving the house, here are some charities that will pick up donations from porch or curbside:
Purple Heart : enter your zip code to see if they serve your area.
Note: Recent studies have shown that spending money on others makes us happier than spending money on ourselves. Giving things for the good of others may prove to be just as rewarding!
Not only do they give old buildings new life by rescuing unique architectural elements from demolition, they also provide job training for low-income residents of Baltimore by providing instruction in construction skills from carpentry to precision deconstruction techniques.
While their main focus is building materials, they do sell furniture too.On my last trip to Second Chance a few weeks ago, I came away with a lovely little cherry dresser, gently used.You never know what treasures you will find in their warehouses! Remember, antiquing is recycling.
Here are some other local stores that give construction materials a second chance...
The Baltimore ReStore. Grand opening coming up on April 5.This Habitat for Humanity fundraiser serves the community by providing discount building materials, and serves the environment by keeping these materials out of landfills.
The Loading Dock. Their motto is“Don’t Dump: Donate!”...proving that you really can build a house with what people throw away. Look for them at the Ecofestival during Baltimore Green Week.
