Whether you are single, or attached, why not celebrate Valentines Day with a gift that gives back?Megan Stohner has a great roundup of ideas in her post, What are you spending on this Valentine's Day - chocolates or charity? on the Case Foundation blog, Let's Talk.
Lots of abandoned dogs and cats could use your love this Valentine's Day. On February 14, The Escondido Humane Society will offer half off the regular adoption fee for all animals older than 6 months with any chocolate brown coloring. You can find animals to adopt near you using Petfinder.
Love animals, but can't adopt one right now? You can purchase a gift from the ASPCA, or Humane Society of Canada's online stores. The Lil Bee blog also has 4 ways you can help animals in her post, The Perfect Valentine's Day Gift.
In, A Valentine’s Day gift of real love on The West Australian, Tiffany Fox writes that this year she will giving, "A very special gift straight from my heart: blood." Fox is hoping it will help some of the victims of the fires in Victoria. If you're American, you can find a blood drive near you on the American Red Cross site.
Giving blood make you squeamish? Why not volunteer with your honey, or a group of pals in your community on Valentine's Day? You can search for volunteer opportunities on VolunteerMatch, Idealist, Social Actions, Network for Good, 1-800 Volunteer.org, Servenet.org, Volunteer Solutions, and GuideStar.
You could also make a donation in your Valentine's honor. Many organizations will provide you with a special card or e-card to let your Valentine know about your donation.
GlobalGiving, an organization that helps you contribute to grassroots charity projects around the world, is celebrating Valentine's Day with, "Operation: Give Love." When you make a donation to any GlobalGiving project, or buy a GlobalGiving Gift Card, after you check out, you can enter you and your friends in a raffle to win one of five floral bouquets from Organic Bouquet.
Finally, there's nothing wrong with gifts and chocolate! Check out what's available on Global Exchange's Fair Trade Store, and Original Good, World of Good's line of Fair Trade products. You can find out where to buy Fair Trade chocolate, wine and flowers on TransFair's Fall in Love with Fair Trade Certified page.
What are some other ideas for valentines that give back?
Cross-posted from BlogHer. Britt Bravo is a Big Vision Consultant.
Photo by Nu Ho from our wedding.
valentine
gfit
nonprofit
donate
volunteer
fair trade
great ideas on giving back! keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas!
ReplyDeleteWe are organizing a Valentine's Day fundraising event called Tweetheart for Kabondo Poverty Alleviation Organization. Tweetheart is an expression of love and caring for not only your sweethearts, but also your friends and Tweethearts around the world! Inspired by those have come before us, the project aims to raise $2500 in 36 hours to support three projects in Kabondo, Kenya. These projects, while small, will transform the lives of HIV/AIDS orphans.
Tweetheart will be held from 11:59am Friday February 13, 2009 until 11:59pm Saturday February 14, 2009.
How to Take Part?
1. Tweet your love and friendship on Twitter: Express your feelings of love, concern, caring and friendship to all those important people in your life. Take a moment to just say, “I love you” with no expectation of anything in return. Don’t be bashful! We all want to know that someone out there loves and cares for us. Be sure to include the @Tweetheart09 tag.
2. Give: Make a donation in honor of those you love via GiveMeaning at http://tinyurl.com/auwazg
3. Spread the love: Take the time to reflect on those you love and express that love in whatever way works for you. No three words have greater power than “I love you.” Make your Valentine’s Day about spreading love not only to those in your own life, but also to those less fortunate in your community and around the world. Tell people about this event by following @tweetheart09, blogging, retweeting, through facebook, via email or just by good old-fashioned talking.
Have a happy Valentine's Day!
Those are all awesome! I too love buying fair trade coffee and chocolates as little gifts.
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I also like to make a donation or volunteer together to our favorite charities.
Hey Britt - thanks for the shout-out.
ReplyDeleteDonna @
GlobalGiving
Barb - How did your fundraiser go?
ReplyDeleteChristopher - Did you and your wife donate, or volunteer this year?
Donna - Always happy to give a shout out for GlobalGiving! You do great work!
Thank you so much for posting this and spreading the word about how to help animals. That really means a lot to me and I was so excited to see that! Hope you have a great weekend;)
ReplyDeleteHi Britt,
ReplyDeleteWhile we didn't reach our goal of $2500 through the event, we did reach over $800 and learned some very important lessons which can be read at http://bit.ly/izRYB
We are still trying to raise the funds and people can donate at www.kabondopoverty.org/tweetheart09.
Thanks for spreading the word for us!
Barv
My pleasure, Barb and Feather.
ReplyDelete