Gifts That Keep On Giving

There's always someone special on your list for whom a run-of-the-mill gift won't do. So make a donation on his or her behalf to an organization that helps others all year long. Architecture for Humanityprovides architects around the world with opportunities to create environmentally sustainable temporary shelters in developing and disaster-stricken countries (www.architectureforhumanity.org). America's Wetland: Campaign to Save Coastal Louisiana seeks to reverse 75 years of wetland deterioration along Louisiana's coastline and barrier islands, which serve as a habitat for over 5 million migratory waterfowl and provide much-needed storm protection for human communities as well (www.americaswetland.com). After raising livestock and donating the animals to poor families, Heifer International educates communities on how to sustain agrarian economies in an effort to alleviate world hunger and promote environmental health and sustainability (www.heifer.org). To help poor communities get on their feet, Trickle Up provides seed capital for start-ups or expansions and business training to women especially, from Niger to the U.S.A. (notably in a Women on the Move partnership with Care USA) (www.trickleup.org). Throughout Africa, Keep A Child Alive provides HIV/AIDS medications and grants for constructing and staffing medical clinics (www.keepachildalive.org). Founded by the late musician John Denver, Plant-It 2020 plants, maintains, and protects indigenous trees in forests and urban areas all over the world through programs such as "dollar-per-tree" (www.plantit2020.org).