The true meaning behind Christmas as the season of giving can sometimes get lost in the hype and the hustle and bustle of last minute shopping.
And with almost 90% of Australians either giving away or selling their unwanted presents, there is even more reason to buy gift that have a special meaning.
This year non-for-profit organisation DoSomething has come up with a list of five charity gifts that give back and do good.
DoSomething founder Jon Dee said the giving back to your community and others is what Christmas is all about.
“Some of these gifts can be bought right up to Christmas Day itself – they also embody the spirit of Christmas as they make life better for others,” he said.
“And don’t forget, if you receive a good quality gift that you don’t want, gift-it-forward after Christmas by donating it to your local charity op shop.”
Here is the list of their ideas:
- Oxfam – Gifts Unwrapped
You may have heard about Oxfam’s chicken and goat gifts, but what about giving someone a pile of poo? For only $15 Oxfam’s cattle manure pack can help crops to grow in places like Sri Lanka.
- Barnardos – Charity Christmas Cards from ALDI
No gift is complete without a card. For $2.99 you can buy a box of ten cards from your local ALDI store and help Barnados to provide books, clothing, bed linen and household goods to kids who need them most. Last year, ALDI raised $141,830 for Bernado’s from these cards.
- The Fred Hollows Foundation – Give the Gift of Sight
For just $25 you can give one person their sight back in Africa, Asia-Pacific or Australia. For $65 you can donate a cataract surgical kit that can be used on many more people.
- Unicef – Anti-malaria mosquito nets & drugs
Every year, over 219 million people are infected with malaria. $47 will buy ten life-saving mosquito nets, while $35 buys 360 tablets of anti-malarial drugs.
- Gift yourself to your local community
This Christmas why not commit to giving your time on a regular basis to a community organisation or event that you care about? Visit dosomethingnearyou.com.au, type in your postcode and find volunteering opportunities in your local community. If you’re short of time, the site gives you volunteering activities that you can do online at home.
For the gifts giving to charities such as Fred Hollow, Unicef and Oxfam, your gift recipient will get a card telling them what you’ve bought on their behalf and when you order online and send as an e-Card or print it off at home.
You can find out more about these gifts and where you can buy them visit them here.
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