The frenzy of holiday gift-giving can be exhausting. Who wants this, who wants that, how much is this going to cost?? Many times those Christmas gifts are discarded within days or weeks and from year to year, most people would be hard-pressed to recall what it was they wanted so badly for Christmas!
Doesn’t it make more sense to spend our time and money picking out a gift that will be meaningful and life-changing? Something that meets an urgent need of a child or family around the world?
For 17 years, World Vision has issued their World Vision Gift Catalog, which sends gifts such as goats, clothing, bed nets (to protect against mosquito-borne illnesses), microfinance loans, and much more! Last year, 160,000 purchases were made, a total of over $33 million that helped over 825,000 people around the world! World Vision says that goats remain their most popular Gift Catalog item and in 2011, over 67,000 goats were given to families around the world!
Many families are including the World Vision Gift Catalog in their own holiday giving. Our family (my parents, sister and her family, and my own family) collect our change throughout the year and then pool our money at Christmas to purchase an item from the Gift Catalog every year. When you give as a gift to a friend or family member you can choose to send a special card which describes the gift purchased and its impact. When you give to the Maximum Impact Fund, donors can also receive a free handmade gift, such as jewelry from Thailand or an ornament from Nairobi.
Your World Vision Gift Catalog gift can match the interests or hobbies of you or your recipient (for the person who has everything or doesn’t want a meaningless gift)! A gardening enthusiast may love to know that hybrid or drought-resistant seeds have been purchased in their name to help feed a farmer’s family for many seasons. A child who loves animals can choose from giving a cow, goats, or chickens to help a struggling family find a new source of nutrition and the potential to climb out of poverty by selling eggs or milk.
There are so many ways to give through the World Vision Gift Catalog! See them all at WorldVisionGifts.org! You can also order by phone or request a gift catalog by calling.
Stay connected with World Vision!
Enter to Win!
I have a DVD to give away to one reader, courtesy of World Vision! Enter below on the Rafflecopter form below (give it a moment to load) to win a VeggieTales The League of Incredible Vegetables DVD! This fantastic new episode (that my boys love!) is a lesson on handling fear. Giveaway open to U.S. residents only, age 18 and up.
But Wait! There’s More!
Together, we can give a lot of life-changing gifts! Last year, Playdate Crashers readers raised $1500 to help make Christmas possible for 30 families. This year, you can donate to World Vision Gift Catalog and as a group, we’ll have a combined total of meaningful gifts! Click here to give!
You can make your own My Gift Catalog, a personalized fundraising page for the World Vision Gift Catalog, which allows your friends and family to purchase a gift from the catalog in lieu of traditional presents!
Disclosure Statement: I received a free DVD in appreciation for my participation in this campaign.
About Krista
Love what World Vision (and organizations like them) do for children in our world. Help us to think beyond ourselves.
I would choose the backpack and school supplies to give from the World Vision Catalog.
I would donate towards helping sexually exploited girls.
School supplies would definitely be useful for them.
School supplies will definitely be useful.
I would love to donate a share of a bull.
I would love to donate a business loan for a woman. I think that would be a really great gift to help out!
I would love to donate a duck because my 2-year old understand what was being given.
I would love to give them a goat or some animal to help them.
I would love to give a goat and 2 chickens!!
Microfinance loans don’t seem to us like they do much, but in poorer areas, a little money can go a long way toward helping someone.
I would love to give them chickens..