By Lucy Corkhill
20th November 2011
Present Aid – Whatever You Give, Give Joy!
Starting at just £7, Present Aid has ideas for every family member. Choose from a wormery, a goat, a beehive or perhaps even a new home for a family in Haiti, whose home was destroyed or damaged in the Earthquake of 2010. Different categories allow you to search for gifts suitable for gardeners or animal lovers, for example. You can also choose according to price range with the pocket money section offering some great ideas for stocking fillers. See presentaid.org for details.
Plant a Tree – A gift that keeps on growing!
The National Forest is one of the country’s boldest environmental projects and won the inaugural Sustainable Development UK award in 2008. It is transforming 200 square miles in the centre of England. Each year hundreds of people from all across the country help them by planting a tree, or group of trees. By buying a tree-planting gift from the National Forest, you are helping to plant a forest that is absorbing carbon and reducing the impact of climate change. Your gift recipient will receive a personalised certificate. There’s a choice of which tree to plant – usually oak, ash or birch – and recipients are invited to a special tree planting event where they also get expert advice from the foresters.
Shared Interest – Give an ethical gift that helps fair trade businesses
Shared Interest, the world’s only 100% fair trade lender, has launched its Christmas gift box, so that you can gift your friends and family their own account that will help fair trade business in the developing world. In working with Shared Interest, UK residents are doing amazing things like helping Peruvian farmers transform former mining areas into thriving coffee-yielding communities and enabling Kenyan soapstone producers to carve their own living – quite literally. You can now open a Shared Interest account on behalf of your friends and family for any occasion. The account holder will receive regular statements detailing their transactions as well as regular updates on the producer groups that their funds are helping. To find out more about Shared Interest and how you can give a gift that will change people’s lives overseas, visit: www.shared-interest.com
Oxfam Unwrapped – Charity gifts for people who need them most
Choose an Oxfam Unwrapped gift like a calf or a gardener’s pack, and not only are you buying a great gift, you’re giving someone living in poverty in the developing world the chance of a better life.
Your loved ones will receive a card detailing the present you bought them, and your donation goes to those who need it most. All items listed in the Oxfam Unwrapped catalogue have been identified as essential by the communities Oxfam works with. From education to farm animals to green energy, there’s a vast range of presents to choose from and you can add a little extra like some Fairtrade chocolates for your recipient if you’d like to.
