With Halloween just days away, my thoughts are beginning to jump beyond it to the upcoming holiday season. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite holidays...they beg us to consider them thoughtfully, as a family, and appreciate what we have and how we can make a difference in someone else's life. Whether it's the local canned food drive, the giving tree opportunities to make Christmas a little brighter for another family, or baking something special and delivering it to an elderly neighbor, we can always find ways to share holiday cheer.
This year, we are considering sending a gift through
Heifer International. I received their catalogue the other day and thought that would be a neat way to get the kids involved in giving with a global view. Flocks of ducks, chicks, and geese are around $20, or you can buy shares of the larger, more expensive animals. Goats cost $120, but one share is $10. They give lots of options and lots of different levels of giving in their online catalogue.
Another neat thing that Heifer does is educate people about sustainable living, both here and around the world. They have five education centers in the US now where you can visit a Global Village and experience the sustainable farming life of another country, including the homes, animals, and crops of the areas where Heifer helps. There are two of these centers in the east,
Overlook Farm in Rutland, MA, and
Shepherd's Springs in Sharpsburg, Maryland. I would love to tour one of these learning centers with my family next summer as we travel the east coast.
So that's what's on my mind today, three days before Halloween. It's really a continuation of the conversation Rachel began with her post
Be the Blessing. How do you plan to spread holiday cheer this year?
This year, we are considering sending a gift through Heifer International. I received their catalogue the other day and thought that would be a neat way to get the kids involved in giving with a global view. Flocks of ducks, chicks, and geese are around $20, or you can buy shares of the larger, more expensive animals. Goats cost $120, but one share is $10. They give lots of options and lots of different levels of giving in their online catalogue. 
Another neat thing that Heifer does is educate people about sustainable living, both here and around the world. They have five education centers in the US now where you can visit a Global Village and experience the sustainable farming life of another country, including the homes, animals, and crops of the areas where Heifer helps. There are two of these centers in the east, Overlook Farm in Rutland, MA, and Shepherd's Springs in Sharpsburg, Maryland. I would love to tour one of these learning centers with my family next summer as we travel the east coast.
7 comments:
We've done a gift to Heifer International for about 5 years now. Contessa loves looking through the catalog and counting out money from her piggy bank to "buy" the animal of her choice. (Normally chicks or ducks, of which she pays $5 - that's a lot of change!)
My cousin, a soon-to-be vet (graduating this spring, actually) has worked with the Heifer orginazation internationally and has sent us lots of pictures and told us stories about how the animals are used abroad.
It's a great gift to give!!
We've done a gift to Heifer International for about 5 years now. Contessa loves looking through the catalog and counting out money from her piggy bank to "buy" the animal of her choice. (Normally chicks or ducks, of which she pays $5 - that's a lot of change!)
My cousin, a soon-to-be vet (graduating this spring, actually) has worked with the Heifer orginazation internationally and has sent us lots of pictures and told us stories about how the animals are used abroad.
It's a great gift to give!!
We've done the same thing through Samaritan's purse before! And the year after Katrina hit my parents didn't give any gifts they just donated their set aside Christmas money (around $3000) to the Red Cross for relief. I think it's a great way to teach kids about others.
Absolutely, Lindsay. If we don't guide our children to look beyond themselves, they will remain self-centered (a natural phase of childhood) throughout their lives. I haven't looked into Samaritan's Purse, but it sounds similar to Heifer International.
Bryssy, the Heifer organization seems really well organized and doesn't just give the animal and walk away. They educate the people in how to use the by-products (making yogurt and cheese from goat's milk, using the manure to fertilize their gardens, etc.) to further enrich their lives and the lives of their neighbors. I think our kids will be excited to break into their banks to give another child's family an animal to help them. It doesn't surprise me that your little princess enjoys it, too!
We always enjoy doing the Shoeboxes for Samaritan's Purse. Giving a shoebox full of goodies for a needy child in another country. My kids really like it. I make them watch the video online that shows where the boxes go. Then we go purchase things for the boxes. And they also give their own money to buy some of the contents of the box. It's a wonderful tradition.
I ordered our catalog today, Donna--thanks so much for the info!
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