The Feast of the Immaculate Consumption

Plenty is written this time of year lamenting the excessive consumerism and materialism that dominate the Christmas season and push aside any serious reflection on the birth of Christ.  Rather than add my words to the rant I thought I’d offer highlights from the growing list of alternative gift-giving ideas. Some of them will still bring something to wrap and put under the tree, while others let you give a water buffalo in your loved one’s name. In every case, it’s the thought the counts and it’s a charitable cause that wins. And just maybe, the process of looking for a fresh way to get into the giving spirit will allow us to ponder more deeply the mystery the birth of Christ.

Heifer International :: www.heifer.org
This hunger-fighting group has been around since 1974. Their catalog, print and online, introduced the idea of giving animals, like chickens, pigs and bees in every price range ¬– $20 buys you a flock of baby chicks or for $250 someone in Africa gets a water buffalo. Your loved one gets a card telling them of the gift made in their name while a family on another continent gets a ticket to a sustainable income and self-reliance. You get to feel good about yourself.

Catholic Relief Services :: www.crs.org
The official international relief and development agency of the U.S. Catholic Church, CRS is among the first-responders in times of natural disaster, famine and war. They also support extensive long-term development projects. Similar to the Heifer catalog, CRS’s Gift Catalog allows alternative gift seekers to “give” a share of those development projects. Projects range from water management systems in Ethiopia, efforts to combat human trafficking in Benin and vocational training for former slave laborers in Brazil. Project shares range in price from $45 to $1500. The website gives details about the problem being addressed, how many people will benefit from a project, and its overall cost.

Ten Thousand Villages :: www.tenthousandvillages.com
Since 1946 Ten Thousand Villages has supported the work of literally tens of thousands of artisans in over 30 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, making it one the largest fair trade organizations in North America. Working with more than 100 artisan groups, the chain of 160 retail shops sells crafts, musical instruments, furniture, folk art, toys and games, kitchenware and jewelry made by craftspeople with whom they have longstanding, nurturing relationships, helping to bring dignity to their lives. A pioneer in social entrepreneurship, Ten Thousand Villages has no store in Dallas, but stores in other locations can be found on its website. Shopping on its website is just as easy and information about the products you buy is plentiful.

Kiva Micro-loans :: www.kiva.org
If charity with a twist is not what you’re looking for this Christmas, than maybe some free-market entrepreneurship that changes lives is. Kiva is an online service that connect lenders with entrepreneurs in developing nations. A typical entrepreneur featured on Kiva is a mother of six in Cambodia who needs capital to expand the grocery store she runs in her village. That’s just one example among thousands. So far more than 123,000 people have loaned more than $12.4 million to 18,000 entrepreneurs. Here’s how it works: read a short profile about each entrepreneur, then decide which to fund. That’s it. Your micro-loan can be as little as $25. While a lender does not earn interest on a loan, the micro-finance organizations that helped Kiva find the entrepreneur does. Entrepreneurs pay back loans at a remarkable  99.67% rate. Once your micro-loan is repaid, you can choose to withdraw your funds or re-loan to a new business. Kiva even sells “gift certificates” that recipients redeem by granting it as a loan to a Kiva entrepreneur.