Thursday, September 20, 2007

Philanthropy Thursday


My best friend has a problem really likes shoes. So when her birthday rolled around last week, I was thrilled to find this website.
This year she got shoes, and they're sturdy ones that are on the feet of a young girl in rural Africa so that she may go to school. CAMFED is the campaign for Female Education, dedicated to fighting poverty and AIDS in rural communities in Africa by educating girls. It is an amazing organization. You can shop directly on the site, although I found my way to CAMFED by shopping here, where you can choose from an array of amazing gifts to buy. Not all of the goods and services on the Hunger Site benefit CAMFED, although it is also a charitable site, benefiting people all over the world.
At the Hunger Site store you can buy an actual good (fair trade of course) to give to someone, or you can choose to buy something such as shoes, or a goat, or a month of school tuition, or clothes for refugee children and do it it your name or a friend's. With the purchase of the shoes in my friend's name, 100% of the proceeds went to CAMFED. Some of the gifts on the Hunger Site benefit other, worthy, charities. If you'd prefer, you can also shop on the CAMFED site, although all the pricing is in pounds sterling, so get an exchange calculator.
Even more amazing? It only cost me $14 and 100% of the proceeds went to CAMFED. Truly fabulous. Christmas is fast approaching, and why not stock up on gifts that make a fantastic difference and also make you stand out as a unique gift giver? Who needs another scented candle?

14 comments:

thirtysomething said...

Wow, I am going to check this out...thanks!

painted maypole said...

Amen. And thanks for the link (and the reminder - i used to click on the hunger site daily to help them reap the ad revenue, and have gotten out of the habit...). For Christmas each year we don't give gifts to our parents, but give some sort of donation or adopt a family in our area and give gifts and food to them. The first year we did this our parents were SO pleased that we just kept doing it - this will be our 11th year. They don't need anything else to dust, they say, and they love to see that they values they taught us sunk in, at least a little. ;)

painted maypole said...

i just did a little philanthropic post at my site about the hunger site. Thanks for the kick in the pants! :)

flutter said...

This was lovely, What a great idea

nutmeg said...

Thanks so much for these links. I will use them!

Fairly Odd Mother said...

That is a great idea.

BTW, I see that you are doing PT every week---is it ok that I stick to just 1x/month? I don't mind doing the philanthropy, it is the writing about it on time that worries me!

Anonymous said...

You rock! I am bookmarking that site and doing my Christmas shopping there. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I'm on my way!

Daisy said...

Great idea! One of the most memorable gifts I've ever received (in teaching) was a card saying that the family had made a donation in my name to buy school supplies in rural India. That's worth a hundred "Best Teacher" mugs.

headlesschickie said...

Fabulous! Thanks for the info!

thailandchani said...

That looks good. I think I've heard of it.. but perhaps I am confusing it with "My New Red Shoes" or somesuch. Either way, it's all a good thing. :)


Peace,

~Chani
http://thailandgal.blogspot.com

Amy said...

Bookmarking this for the holiday season ... thank you! I love this series of yours. Very inspiring.

Magpie said...

That's great. I can think of some people who need "shoes" for Christmas.

Anonymous said...

From the international Camfed team, we wanted to thank you in helping us raise awareness for the importance of girls' education in Africa!
Happy holidays,
The Camfed Team