Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter
More Thoughts on GIving
Yes, it is true that if you buy gifts Made in the USA it may cost you more, and you may buy less, and from where I stand (peering into your closets) that is a good thing! Still, good old American ingenuity hasn’t managed to make holiday gifts that don’t take up space and so my quest to come up with meaningful gifts that don’t become clutter continues.
I recently had the idea to give my children each $25 to invest in micro-finance. Micro-finance, for those who are unfamiliar with the term, brings financial services to low-income people around the world who are not served by larger financial institutions. At first my kids were skeptical (what’s in it for me?) but they soon became interested in reading the profiles on kiva.org . Should they lend money to Farangezi in Tajikistan, who wants to buy a sewing machine so she can earn money for school? Or to Kadii in Kenya, who needs money to buy seeds for her farm so she can better support her family? They were taken with the idea that they might get the money back and be able to lend it again. (They did ask if they could have the money if it was repaid, but I managed to successfully redirect that conversation!)Since my children constantly want to be on the computer, this feels like a double win; I can teach them about investing, get them to think about someone other than themselves and give them an opportunity to use the Internet for something more significant than YouTube and Club Penguin. And that, my friends, is all I want for Christmas.
Please follow me on Twitter and Facebook for more holiday tips and updates on how my holiday preparations are going…