Pay It Forward Holiday Shopping

I’ve been getting a TON of e-mail requests about various charities this holiday season so I thought I’d highlight a few today.

Mekong Blue Scarves – a beautiful, convenient gift idea that supports and empowers women, mothers, and children.

Mekong Blue scarves are hand-woven of 100% silk by women in Cambodia who are working to fight poverty, illiteracy and a brutal sex-trade for themselves and their children. Former St. David’s Episcopal Church minister Ann Walling has led the U.S. launch of these scarves here in Nashville. As a mother and grandmother Ann was touched by this cause. With the support of Ann’s family foundation, Mekong Blue scarves are available online at www.bluesilk.org and through a store at St. David’s Episcopal Church locally. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of these gorgeous scarves goes back to the weavers at SWDC to help employ them so that they and their children may be able to afford to pursue an education and combat the difficult situation in which they live.

Edited to add: This lime green (one of my favorite colors) scarf is my favorite!

Krochet Kids – a charity organization that teaches women in Uganda the art of crocheting to better their lives.

These stylish and handmade hats are much like many of the lead designers hats you would see at department stores or specialty boutiques, but made with so much more meaning behind them. Each hat is handmade by a woman in Uganda and personalized on the tag with a handwritten name. These women, who couldn’t read or write, are now making hats, owning land, reading, writing, and so much more. 100 percent of all proceeds from these amazing hats go directly back to the women who have made them. These hats are one of a kind and are sold online at krochetkids.org

Here’s a neat idea that I have personal experience with…

Kiva.org – a micro-lending site whose mission is  to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.

My brother gave me a $50 gift certificate to Kiva a few years ago and it’s a great, non-traditional gift that helps people in need. Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend to unique entrepreneurs around the globe. You can help real people around the world, from Rwanda to Nicaragua, launch their own businesses.

As a side note, many bloggers have been rallying these past few weeks to help the family of Anissa Mayhew, a rockin’ funny blog mama from Atlanta with three young children (the youngest of whom was diagnosed with cancer in 2006) who suffered a massive stroke last month. You can read more about Anissa here; her husband Peter has been writing the most incredible updates on how she is slowly but surely making progress. GO ANISSA!  The Paypal link to make donations to help Anissa and her family is here.

One more thing I read about on Nie Nie Dialogues is the story of Emily Jones, a young mother expecting her second child who lost her husband last month in a caving accident. There is a silent auction on A Daily Scoop benefiting Emily but it ends tonight at midnight so go check it out if you get a chance!