Project Linus | MomStart

Season of Giving Extra Unique Places To Give

Summer really did a great job bringing us an entire month of ways to give. Because of all those fabulous posts I’ve received quite a few extra charity mention requests. I really do love supporting charity, it’s a passon of mine, so I can’t post them all as much as I want to, but I’ll do what I can here and there. So for an extra to today’s charity idea, I bring you a few unique places to give.

Save the Bees!

Having recently announced their “Buy a Bottle – Save a Bee” campaign, an initiative established to help local beekeepers maintain and build new beehives in an effort to fight against Colony Collapse Disorder, Honeydrop is now thrilled to launch their holiday gifting charity initiative to help save the bees by gathering donations to benefit Honeybee Research at UC Davis. Since 2006, the honeybee population has been diminishing at an alarming rate, with nearly 30% of honeybees lost each year to a spectrum of causes, widely known as CCD.

Want to do your part to save the bees? Visit http://www.honeydrop.com/savethebees to donate. The first 100 people to donate $100 or more will receive a limited edition Honeydrop gift tote full of Honeydrop products and gear, an official “Save the Bees” certificate, and gifts from Honeydrop’s local beekeeping partners. 100% percent of this monetary gift (less PayPal fees) will be donated to UC Davis to support honeybee research.

Flowers for Good

Organic Bouquet, the largest online provider of eco-friendly and organic floral gifts, hosts a Flower’s for Good page, where the purchase of each bouquet donates a percentage of the price to that bouquet’s coinciding charity. Consumers have over 50 charities to choose from, from Amnesty International to Green America and the Breast Cancer Fund, providing a gift that will keep giving long after the flowers are gone.

Organic Bouquet flowers are organically grown and have been certified by third-party agencies, such as USDA, Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance. They are also a carbon neutral company, partnered with ClimateFund.org in a carbon offset program supporting re-forestation projects in Guatemala.

Project Linus

As Charles Schulz’s Linus character from the PEANUTS® comic strip was comforted by his blanket, Project Linus strives to do the same and more for children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need. Since launching in late 1995, Project Linus has distributed blankets to over 4 million hospitals across the U.S., providing these children with a sense of security, warmth, and comfort during a difficult time.

Heal the Bay

A gift to Heal the Bay is the perfect way to show someone how important they are while at the same time making a significant difference in the Southern California coastal waters and watersheds, keeping them safe, healthy and clean. Through their website, Heal the Bay will send notification of your dedication gift along with your personal note to the person of your choosing.

Check out the 2012 Holiday Gift Guide

Places to Donate Used Items To

What great tips we’ve had this week from Summer. Let’s run through all the ways to get rid of your electronics:

Places to Sell Your Electronics Yourself

Recycle Cell Phones through Operation Gratitude

Places that Buy Back your Electronics

Ways to Recycle Your Christmas Lights

Today’s Tip is for more than just electronics. You can give away more than you think you can. I know in my case, I’ve found that if you think outside the box, there is a place that will take your used items. And giving them to someone in need is much better than letting them stack up in your house, or ending up in a landfill or dumpster. So, think of places to give to the less fortunate by giving. Here are a few places that Summer came up with, and thanks to her, I’ve been giving to a few of these already!

Reuse it by giving it!

(AND ask for a tax receipt so you can deduct the value on your 2010 taxes.)

- Contact your local food bank about taking your gently used toys for Christmas or even clothing. They may even have a family in need of housing items or other things you’re getting rid of at the end of the year. Check with your food bank before stopping by with your items. If you don’t know where your local food bank is located you can find an incomplete list through Feeding America.

- Give items to a specific charity with a need. For example, take your gently used blankets and give them to Project Linus, or One Warm Coat will take your gentle used coats.

- Donate to the Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

I’ve been donating to a local charity called Pave because they come and pick up the donations right at my doorstep every other month!

About Summer:

Summer is the President of our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living.