Saving Christmas

[JohnMichael]

This year Christmas will not be the same. I have found a way to make it more fun for me. I have friends who want for and need nothing. This year I am going to www.makeitrightnola.org and I am donating items in their name to help rebuild the homes destroyed by Katrina in New Orleans. This way I do not have to shop, they do not have to pretend they like it and we have done something to help someone.

This was inspired by how pleased I was that a friend donated a rabbit in my name through www.heifer.org. This organization donates animals to help struggling people around the world. Rabbits are fast reproducers and good sources of protein and if you have limited land easy to maintain.

I would be interested to know of any other charities of which you are aware. Of course I am not affiliated with either charity.

[ForeverAutumn]

That's wonderful John! What a great idea.

One of the companies that I used to work for always adopted a poor family at Christmas time and we would raise money to purchase food and gifts for them. We found the families through someone's church and a couple of employees would personally deliver the items to the family a few days before Christmas. We would receive the most heartfelt letters of thanks from these families after the holidays. It really made a difference for them.

[PeruvianSkies]

This year I am going with a group of friends and such (about 20-30 of us) next Saturday to downtown Pittsburgh and we are giving out blankets, food, and clothing that we have all accumulated, plus Bibles. We are excited to have that personal interaction with the people rather than the distance of giving to a cause that you never see the impact of directly.