Well, hopefully by now you’ve finished digesting your Thanksgiving turkey and all the other goodies that you had on Thursday. And hopefully you’ve survived the throngs of shoppers pushing and shoving to get the latest iToys and flashy electronic gizmos.
While we’re enjoying all that the season has to offer, one thing that’s always good to do is to take a step back and to consider those in the world who don’t get to eat a huge meal at Thanksgiving, or even a huge meal on any day, or even a regular meal. There are those here at home and in other countries who still go to bed hungry every night, who lack basic things like clean water, basic medical care, warm clothes, and security.
World Vision is a great charity that helps the neediest around the world. They have a unique “gift catalog” where instead of buying more junk that’ll end up in drawers, closets or landfills, you can give something that’ll really help someone in need.
Here’s a video that shows how it works:
If you flip through their gift catalog, you’ll see that indeed, instead of ties and smartphones they have listings like “Goat a 2 Chickens” and “Business Loan for a Woman”. While the listings themselves are mainly representative of the broad kinds of help your donation will be providing, they help you visualize exactly where your money is going.
You can donate yourself or give a donation on behalf of someone else and send them a card. Now admittedly, sometimes the whole “a donation has been made in your name” thing can be a little disappointing (after all, who doesn’t want to be able to hold their gift in their hand on Christmas morning?) so World Vision also has a few tangible items you can receive when you give donations of certain amounts.
Whether you just give a direct donation or you receive one of these gifts, you’ll be doing a wonderful thing for the neediest in the world. While you’re enjoying your holidays, remember that it doesn’t take a lot to bring others hope where they have none.