The festive season is often so jam-packed with things to do - visits and parties, organising holidays and mad dashes through crowded malls - that it's easy to forget those for whom this is a lonely, cheerless time. It's been a tight year, and most people are tired, strained and have already cut back on their own plans and celebrations. But if the economic downturn has demonstrated anything, it's the value of small, meaningful acts, rather than overpriced clutter.
So, if you're considering giving back this season, whether it's time, money or otherwise, here are some worthy causes and networks to spark that generous spirit.
For those looking to meet a specific need, Give Back is a non-profit, volunteer-run site where people can get in contact with charity and community organisations in their area, as well as post details about relevant charities. One can match particular capabilities, services or goods with a corresponding cause, or simply find out more about the many places that need help this festive season.
CharitySA is another listing site for local non-profits, where users can search by category or province. It also features a sponsored search engine, called www.search2support.com, with each search generating income to keep the CharitySA site up and running. Why not make it your homepage?
Then there's Greater Good SA, an online community and resource portal that connects givers with charitable causes. Among other programmes, it hosts Gifts4Good, an online store of alternative 'gifts' sourced from local development projects. The site is running a festive season campaign, called 'Like2Give', with those who 'Like' its Facebook page standing a chance to win a R500 Gifts4Good voucher - the more you get, the more you give back.
For projects that reach beyond SA's borders, global philanthropy community Given Gain links volunteers and causes, and helps individuals and groups organise short- and long-term funding. Visitors can become 'activists' by donating money and time, giving advice, or sharing their talents and skills. Activists are able to create their own page and post project updates through various online media channels, including Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.
The young ones
There are scores of organisations focused on children in need, but here are a few that span a range of causes and have easily accessible online donation facilities.
HeartBeat was founded by a local doctor in response to the enormous challenges faced by orphans and vulnerable children in SA, with an estimated 18 million South African children having lost one or both parents to HIV/Aids. Heartbeat aims to empower these youngsters by creating a stable home environment, protecting their rights, and providing educational and other developmental services. Individuals can donate online, sponsor a child in need, or choose HeartBeat as their MySchool beneficiary, by simply downloading the form. The site is very clear about exact conditions and where the money goes; it also supplies supporting documents, and the children's testimonials speak volumes about what it means to them “because [they] are no different from other children”.
In a world churning out an endless stream of stuff, it's easy to forget that, for millions of children, a simple toy or 'companion' is a luxury. Bears Without Borders is a non-profit, founded by two graduate students at Harvard University and MIT, that delivers toys and childhood necessities to young people worldwide. The organisation has a teddy bear distribution programme in SA, which brings teddies to children in hospitals, orphanages and other care centres in KwaZulu-Natal. Alternatively, one can donate to children in various other countries, including Cambodia, Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Mexico, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. The bears cost $15 (around R124), but givers can also support local artisans in Peru and donate a handmade stuffed llama ($7.50/R62) or a goat ($30/R248) to a family in Rwanda.
The Pebbles Project offers support to children with special educational needs, particularly those whose lives are affected negatively by alcohol, in the Western Cape. Pebbles works closely with wine farm owners and other partners to help uplift farm worker communities and assist in educating their children. The organisation points to the high number of children in the Western Cape with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder and other learning difficulties, as well as those who have suffered due to parental drinking and neglect. Pebbles provides support and training to local wine farm and township cr`eches, and runs after-school activities and life skill programmes. Get involved by making a donation, sponsoring a child from a deprived community, or by supporting one of the many fundraising projects.
Founder and director Sophia Warner says providing education and recreation services to the 700 children that Pebbles Project supports means it needs to raise R6 million in 2012. “Our main focus is education, but without specialist teachers, we are not able to offer the support the children need - donations of money enable us to do this.” She adds that volunteers who can commit to giving regular time to work one-to-one with special needs children make a huge difference to their progress and happiness.
Sponsoring a child costs R150 a month and benefactors receive extensive information on the young person's progress, with six-monthly updates on how they're doing. For a meaningful Christmas gift, buy a child his or her yearly school pack, consisting of a school bag, uniform, socks, shoes, and basic stationery set for R200. This is often a major financial burden for parents, and many children do not attend school simply because they do not have shoes or a uniform. If you give Pebbles Project organisers the contact details of the person on whose behalf you're buying the pack, they'll send thanks and a photograph, and let them know who made the donation. An all-round joy-giving gift.
For little bodies eager to explore, walking disorders can be devastating, especially when they are preventable. Steps is a local non-profit organisation that helps babies and children born with lower limb disorders, with a strong focus on the birth defect of clubfoot. An estimated 2 200 babies are born every year in SA with clubfoot, and at least 80% of these children have no private medical cover, according to the site. Steps aims to help fight poverty and hunger by working with various partners to establish a less expensive, non-surgical approach, called the Ponseti method, as the preferred treatment for congenital clubfoot. Help give a child the simple but life-changing gift of being able to walk properly by making a donation or seeing the site's big and small fundraising ideas. Alternatively, buy a meaningful gift in the form of a Steps Message-in-a-bottle - it's a key ring message holder that can be personalised with a message and logo. Each bottle equates to a R100 donation to Steps on a relative or friend's behalf.
Kick is a local organisation formed to educate and equip children in SA, with a focus on making long-term differences in the lives of young people. To help break generational cycles of poverty, Kick works with a team of volunteers to support individual children as well as children's homes and organisations. It runs several projects and programmes, one of which is called 'Kick Cares'. This initiative aims to help relieve the stress many organisations face in finding finances for food, while using available resources and preventing waste. A vehicle travels along a set route once every two weeks to collect old and damaged goods from manufacturers, and then sorts and delivers goods to chosen organisations and schools. Donate to Kick Cares or one of the many other programmes, or sign up as a volunteer. CEO Lauren Stretch says Kick hopes to do renovations at a baby safe home in the new year, as well as at a shelter that educates street children, for which materials such as paint, tiles, desks, chairs and computers would be a great help. “The contribution of these supplies will support Kick in creating a happy, healthy, informative environment for these children - equipping, empowering and educating them.”
Earth care
With increasing awareness of people's impact on the environment, and messages from the UN climate change conference still fresh in mind, helping take care of the environment is the perfect win-win gift this holiday.
One of the most meaningful green gifts doesn't even require getting your hands dirty anymore. Give a community or school years of benefits for less than R100 by donating a tree through one of Food & Trees for Africa's (FTFA's) programmes. Planting a tree in the name of a relative or friend is a simple way to give back to people and the planet, and offset carbon dioxide emissions this Christmas. If you order a tree certificate, FTFA will send a personalised one and arrange for the tree to be planted in the name of your loved one. These trees go to schools, orphanages, community centres or hospices in disadvantaged areas in need of greening (as 2011 ends, FTFA has applications for 100 000 trees to be planted right across SA). You can also donate to FTFA through the MySchool Christmas Catalogue, enter the Customer Competition, or use FNB eBucks to buy a tree.
Alternatively, turn over a 'new leaf' at year-end by sponsoring a leaf on FTFA's Climatree. For R10, individuals can make their personal pledge to act against climate change, and for every 10 leaves added to the virtual tree, a real tree is planted in a school or community.
Another green gift idea is buying an EarthBox gardening system for a family in need. EarthBox matches you with a recipient family in need, which fall into one of several categories, including child-headed households, families living with HIV/Aids, and the marginalised elderly. Recipients will also receive all the necessary support and monitoring to ensure the EarthBox systems are used in a way that makes a real, sustainable difference in their lives. If you buy a gardening system on behalf of someone, EarthBox will send them a card acknowledging the gift and the impact it makes. Contact julie@operationlionheart.com to find out more.
For those visiting the Kruger National Park (KNP) during this or future holidays, Nourish is a local non-profit aimed at uplifting communities in the region through environmental education and entrepreneurship. By schooling communities on nutrition, sustainability and the fundamental role of the environment in their lives, as well as promoting public responsibility, the organisation hopes to foster job creation in the area. Nourish runs several initiatives, including Travel Trees, which aims to create a link between visitors to the KNP and rural communities that border the park. The programme allows tourists to offset the carbon emissions of their trip by sponsoring a tree or composting project in the local community. Visit the site to see how to sign up or get involved.
Furry companions
The holiday season is often an unfortunate time for pets and other animals that get lost, abandoned, tied up or suffer the effects of festive revelry, including accidents and fireworks. Fortunately, there are organisations throughout the country looking out for animals in need.
Township Animal Rescue, for example, runs weekly clinics for minor medical treatments, transports pets from the townships to local vets, and rescues neglected and unwanted pets. The organisation has also put a sterilisation programme in place, and tries to find loving homes for all its animals.
Committee member and Web master Mary Shand says the shelter always seems to have an influx of animals around this time of year, particularly kittens, as the breeding season starts in September.
She says top on Township Animal Rescue's wish-list is finding homes for all the animals, but adds that donations are always appreciated, as the organisation is completely reliant on these to carry out sterilisations.
“If more people are able to help us raise funds for sterilisations, we can really make an impact in the townships. Poverty-stricken people struggle to look after their families as it is, so spending money to get their animals sterilised is not often an option.”
Support Township Animal Rescue through the MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet programme, or donate online.
Cape Town-based Lucky Lucy is a foundation for severely abused and neglected animals, named after real-life survivor Lucy, whose owners had tied the heavily pregnant dog to a railway line. She was rescued by a couple who found her after she'd been run over, and while she lost her puppies and her right front leg, 'Lucky Lucy's' story led them to establish the foundation against animal cruelty and abuse.
Lucky Lucy's main focus is the sterilisation, rescue and rehabilitation of abused and neglected township and street animals. It also aims to educate communities and alleviate the suffering of animals by providing disadvantaged communities with food and clothing. Those who want to get involved can become a Guardian Angel by donating R50 per month to help ensure the animals get the medical attention and care they need, or see the wish-list for other needs.
With many Johannesburg locals trekking to the seaside this month, the Sandton SPCA has put out a call for blanket donations, as it prepares for the annual influx of stray and abandoned dogs, along with the probability of wet weather. Make a donation, see the SPCA's wish-list for specific items, or become part of the Wall of Honour by contributing a monthly amount towards the support of the shelter's services. For social networking animal lovers, Hill's is running a Christmas campaign to give shelter animals a meal. Share the Hill's SA page, and for every new 'Like', Hill's will donate a Christmas meal to a needy cat or dog. The drive ends on 19 December, so best get sharing.
With all the gadgets and tech toys making the rounds this Christmas, many of us will be tapping away on screens big and small in the next few weeks. In the time it takes a video to load, a quick visit to one of these sites could make a lasting impact - a small but significant act that will leave the world a slightly better place as we head into 2012.
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