My Gifts that Give Back Gift Guide has been the most viewed post on my blog for over a year straight which says a lot since I have been blogging for almost six years and have well over 1,000 posts. It has become so popular that I created a permanent page on my blog of Gifts that Give Back and am updating it all the time with new, inspiring organizations.
The wonderful news is that business is booming for these organizations and I am utterly blessed that I have played a small role in helping give back. From buying a handmade scarf that helps send a girl to school in India or a candle made by Syrian refugees, there is so much you can do to help out.
Even better is that Gifts that Give Back don’t have to be only for adults. There are also several wonderful gifts that give back to and for children. Without further ado, here is a list of some of the best gifts for children that help other children around the world.
Bird + Stone
Bird + Stone is a socially conscious jewelry company with mission aligned products designed to inspire, educate, and most importantly help shape the dreams of deserving women who aspire to be independent and financially stable. As a social enterprise, Bird + Stone uses jewelry as a funding vehicle for micro-loans and financial training, and invests in single mothers in Kenya to start farming businesses to help lift themselves out of poverty. Bird + Stone has recently partnered with Girl Up and what a better gift idea to empower the young girl in your life with a new bracelet (comes in hot pink, purple and blue). For each bracelet sold, Bird + Stone is giving $3 to help girls around the world access education and become leaders in their communities. www.birdandstone.com
Bureo
Bureo makes skateboards and sunglasses from recycled fishing nets. Operating a recycling program in Chile, ‘Net Positiva’, Bureo’s programs provides fishing net collection points to keep plastic fishing nets out of our ocean. Preventing harmful materials from entering the ocean, these recycling programs protect wildlife and supporting local fishing communities through financial incentives. Bureo is on a mission to find innovative solutions to prevent ocean plastics, and inspire others to join them in the movement to protect our oceans. www.bureo.co
Headbands of Hope
Headbands of Hope – This entire brand was founded on the mission to give back. Chock full of great hair accessories from glitzy bridal headbands and glittering hair jewels to everyday hair ties and vibrant bandanas, HOH donates a headband to a child with cancer for every single piece sold. The founder hand delivers hundreds of headbands every month to hospitals and programs around the country. HOH also donates a percentage of sales to support cancer research. www.headbandsofhope.com
Happisnappi
Happisnappi kid’s accessories are the perfect way for your little ones to accessorize with ease! Happisnappi accessories have interchangeable pieces, making matching different outfits as easy as can be! Simply choose an embellishment and snap it on to the hat or headband! For every hat sold, Happisnappi gives another to a children’s hospital. www.happisnappi.com
Krochet Kids
Krochet Kids is a non-profit social capitalism brand that empowers people in Uganda and Peru by creating, selling apparel knit & crochet hats for babies men and women. Through a unique model they are empowering the women of Northern Uganda and Peru with the assets, skills, and knowledge to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. The result is long lasting and sustainable change. www.krochetkids.org
Love your Melon
Love Your Melon began with a simple idea of putting a hat on every child battling cancer in America. Since 2012, they’ve donated over 80,000 hats to children battling cancer and with each product purchase, they donate 50% of net proceeds to their select charity partners to help end the fight against pediatric cancer. Over $1.5 million has been raised so far! One of the biggest days of the year for Love Your Melon in terms of raising money for their nonprofit partners is Cyber Monday. This past Monday $414,095 was raised, over double that of last year. www.loveyourmelon.com
Out of Print
Out of Print is dedicated to celebrating our favorite stories while promoting literacy in underserved communities. Each purchase helps to fund literacy programs and book donations to communities in need. It also supports the authors, publishers and artists who made these iconic works an integral part of our lives. Check out these cool t-shirts for kids from Out of Print. www.outofprintclothing.com
Pals Socks
Pals Socks are socks for kids that come mismatched on purpose, because it’s fun to be friends with someone different than you. They are all about inspiring kids to keep an open mind to all kinds of people and new ideas/experiences. Pals Socks also give a percentage of their profits to an organization that also helps make our world a better place. They support anti-bullying, animal rights, the environment and more. www.palssocks.com
Rockin’ Baby
Keep your kids looking cool and feeling comfortable in Rockin’ Baby. Their childrenswear, accessories, and baby carriers are made in the USA with fairly and sustainably sourced fabrics. Rockin’ Baby’s “You Buy. We Give.” model gives back to ChildFund and other non-profit organizations around the world, donating one well-made product for each one sold! Check out Rockin’ Baby’s all new fall/winter 2016 line on their website! www.rockinbaby.com
Story Shares (Books)
Story Shares is making its award-winning books available to the public. The nonprofit organization is adopting a “Give One, Get One” model that will allow people to purchase a paperback while also providing a book to be donated.
By purchasing the paperbacks that give back, the public can help get these needed books in the hands of teachers and students—while also getting a book to give as a gift to a child or teen. Story Shares provides books to teachers who work with students reading below grade level, mostly in middle school and high school. The teachers can then offer them to their students as more engaging choices to read. Books can be ordered online only at http://www.storyshares.org/books/paperback.
To the Market
TO THE MARKET | Survivor-made Goods (TTM) combines the powers of commerce and storytelling to empower the world’s most courageous survivor populations, in the belief that resilience is more powerful than suffering. TTM showcases handmade goods made exclusively by proud and passionate artisans who have overcome the perils of abuse, conflict, and disease. By assisting local partners around the world in bringing these goods “to the market,” we take an active role in equipping the survivor’s they employ with economic independence, while raising awareness of the challenges that they face. www.tothemarket.com
TOMS
With every purchase you make of either a pair of shoes or eyeglasses, TOMS will help a person in need. One for one. It feels great to know that when I buy a pair of TOMS shoes, someone else far away who who really needs shoes is getting a pair as well!
UNICEF
UNICEF, one of the world leading organizations that supports children around the world has an impressive marketplace filled with ideas for men, women and children alike. Here are some of my favorite ideas for older children this holiday season. Every gift you purchase from UNICEF Market helps UNICEF to save and protect the world’s most vulnerable children. www.unicefusa.org
Finally, for the girl who has everything but wants to give something special to another girl, check out these ideas below:
Heifer International
Give a cow, a sheep or a flock of chicks to fight hunger and empower women and communities. Send a girl to school, fight poverty and hunger and more. www.heifer.org/catalog
The Passport Party Project
A National Geographic award-winning grassroots global awareness initiative for underrepresented American girls 11-15. Help an underrepresented girl get a passport and see the world. www.passportpartyproject.org
Save the Children
Save the Children invests in childhood – every day, in times of crisis and for our future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. By transforming children’s lives now, we change the course of their future and ours. Shop their amazing gift catalog or give a donation, and helps kids around the world. www.savethechildren.org
World Bicycle Relief
World Bicycle Relief is an innovative organization that brings rugged, specially designed, high quality bicycles to girl students in rural Africa. You can choose to donate a wheel set, a mechanic’s toolset, one bike or many! You can also donate to help the environment, provide skills training and more. To view the list, click here.
Do you know any good gifts that give back to and for children? If so I’d love to hear about it.
Wonderful to know you are making such a difference Nicole!
Thanks Sue! 🙂
You go girl – I’m off to buy some pals socks – they’re fabulous and my granddaughter will love them 🙂
Wonderful! I love the socks so much! 🙂 Happy Holidays Tina!