My own mother is an absolute inspiration to me. Early on she instilled in me a sense of giving back. She taught me that philanthropy isn’t just about causes, philanthropy is about people. So this Mother’s Day, I wanted to give her something that also gave back and made the world a better place. Here are my top five finds for charitable Mother’s Day gifts:
- Tea for Two and Jobs for Many. Thanks to REDF’s great Mother’s Day Gift Guide, I found the Women’s Bean Project. This Denver, Colorado organization employs chronically unemployed and impoverished women in a transitional job in gourmet food and handmade jewelry manufacturing and helps them earn the job readiness, interpersonal and life skills needed to move into career entry-level employment. I’m a big fan of the Tea for Two gift basket.
- A Goat. There were plenty of times in my teen years where my mother might have said I “got her goat” but now I can really get her one from Heifer International. This organization’s mission is to end world hunger by linking communities and bringing sustainable agriculture and commerce to areas with a long history of poverty. Heifer does a great job by making it easy to donate and provides the option to send a card to your mom by mail or email.
- An Animal Experience. To continue the animal theme how about celebrating Mother’s Day with some animals at Gentle Barn in Santa Clarita? Every Sunday, volunteers are needed to help run their public day for kids to meet the animals.
- The Gift of a Midwife. Through Oxfam International you can honor two moms at once, yours and a woman in need. A donation provides the resources to train and equip a midwife in a rural area, plus they will send a card to your mother letting her know about the gift you made in her honor.
- Help to feed the Homeless. Sure, Mother’s Day brunch is great, but I like the idea of skipping the overpriced meal and volunteering with mom. The Pasadena-Altadena Youth Association always needs helping hands on Sundays when they provide meals and service to the homeless vets on LA’s Skid Row.
Let me know any other Mother’s Day finds in the comments!
