I first started selling paper star earrings to help money to donate to Japan relief efforts following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in spring 2011. Now I've decided to continue in this vein of using my earrings for good and donate 10% of my proceeds to organizations dedicated to creating positive change. I'll be changing the charity every other month so be sure to check back for updates!
Sorry to be a little behind on the writing. Currently donating to the Berkshire Food Project, which provides free meals to residents of North Adams. Previous organizations include Heifer International (see below); Higher Ground, an organization aimed at providing affordable housing and disaster relief in the Norther Berkshires; and Community Servings, a Boston-based organization that delivers hot meals to individuals and families who are homebound by life-threatening illnesses.
Sorry to be a little behind on the writing. Currently donating to the Berkshire Food Project, which provides free meals to residents of North Adams. Previous organizations include Heifer International (see below); Higher Ground, an organization aimed at providing affordable housing and disaster relief in the Norther Berkshires; and Community Servings, a Boston-based organization that delivers hot meals to individuals and families who are homebound by life-threatening illnesses.
For the next few months, I am donating 10% of my proceeds to Heifer International. So why Heifer? I first found out about Heifer in high school where a friend's mother explained to me the amazing work that they do. Their mission is to end world hunger, and that in and of itself is a highly commendable goal, but that's not what makes them truly special. I was inspired by their method more than anything. What Heifer does is it gives pairs of animals - anything from chickens, goats, heifers, bees and llamas - to families around the world so that they can have a sustainable source of both food and income. Before receiving animals, recipients first go through training so that they have a proper understanding of caring for their animals, learn about Heifer's cornerstones which include gender equality and sharing, and agree to "Pass on the Gift," which means that when their animals reproduce, they pass on one or more of their animal's offspring to another family along with the skills and training required to be self-reliance. Check out their well-done interactive for more information on how Heifer does their work here.
Heifer's mission of spreading the ability to feed oneself and earn a living yourself through widespread community involvement and cornerstone of self-sufficiency creates a network of good, which seems to me something the world could use more of. What's also great is that when you donate money to them, you can directly purchase animals that Heifer will give to a family somewhere. Some examples: a flock of chicks is a 20 dollar donation, honeybees are 30, llamas are 150, and camels are 850 (for larger animals you can also donate shares). See their gift catalog here. With this system, it becomes so easy to see how much good any sized donation can do. I've tabled for Heifer at Alternative Gift Fairs where many donate animals as Christmas gifts for family and friends and my favorite memory of one of those days was the seven- or eight-year-old little girl who has so excited that the crumpled up twenty-dollar bill in her hand would be enough to donate a flock of ducks to a family in need.
With her inspiration in mind, I've chosen to donate to Heifer for the next few months!
