Donating & Gifting

Donating
Do you donate to worthy causes and how much do you donate? I donate a lot of items to the Goodwill. It's the one place that isn't to picky about what you are donating. I've dropped off televisions, old cookware, clothing and tons of fabric that I knew I would never work with again. There are a lot of other worthy causes besides The Goodwill where you can donate items or your time, like your to local school that might have a need for volunteers or other items. Have you ever donated something directly to a needy person or family? The personal reward for direct donation can be exceptionally gratifying.

Last year, I had been trying to give away my old G3 iBook to a person in need. Most of my Internet friends though, didn't want a Mac. So it sat under my desk for months gathering dust. Then I read this post by Steve Huff at his old, True Crime Blog.

I've never met Huff in person, but I've been a fan of his crime blogging for a long time. There have been times in the past when Steve was in need, he would temporarily add a Paypal button on his blog. I always felt he had the absolute right to do that, and it was satisfying to see that his loyal readers would click on the link and make a donation. Steve is a real writer and I've always felt that if anyone could score a paid writing gig for their crime blogging, it should be him. Earlier this year Steve did get a crime writing job. He is the the driving force behind a new blog, True Crime Report.

But back to that entry. Steve was thanking people for donations but he let everyone know that he really needed donations to go to his wife Dana, so that she could save up for a laptop computer. Eureka. I finally found someone I could help who really needed a laptop, and to top it off, Dana is a teacher (she has two other blogs besides the one linked) and this laptop would help lesson planning for her students. So, indirectly, it was helping more people than just Dana. Last I heard from Steve, the G3 was working perfectly and a big help to the entire family.

Gifting
Not just our nation, but it appears the the entire global economy is heading into dark times. It's going to be especially hard for many families to have a bright holiday season this year. There will be many people who will have to cut back on their traditional gifting. For the last couple of weeks I have been sewing late into the wee hours, making some affordable gifts that might be within your budget. First up, the new Mini Hot/Cold Pack priced at just $8.00! My Hot/Cold Packs are filled with rice, flax seed, lavender flowers and peppermint leaves. The Mini Pack is 4" wide by 12" long.


You can see more photos of whats for sale and how to order on my sewing blog, here.