THE SELECT: RANDOM ACTS (OF KINDNESS)
IT SEEMS TO ME, THAT IN THE MIDST OF ALL OF THIS STUFF I'M SUGGESTING, I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T ALSO INCLUDE A LIST OF CHARITIES THAT ARE CLOSE TO MY HEART. WE SHOULD ALL ALWAYS BE PAYING IT FORWARD, AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE FINANCIALLY, EITHER. THERE ARE PLENTY OF WAYS TO HELP WITHOUT MONEY EVER EXCHANGING HANDS.
NEW WAYS TO GIVE: SHOP FOR GOOD
The world is mostly not a nice place. Route is paving the way to make it a little bit nicer. Started my good friend Margaret Zakarian’s cousin, Christina Weaver, Route is an online shop selling everything from jewelry and clothing to gifts and home goods. But that’s not all. Every single item offered on the site is ethically produced, which means that every maker is provided safe working conditions and fair wages.
Route works with over 25 partners, some not-for-profit and others for-profit, but what they all have in common is that they are each committed to ethical employment, they are run by “caring, thoughtful entrepreneurs who are changing the world by changing production practices.” Many of them go beyond fair wages and safe working conditions to include a variety of other supports as well: outreach in their maker’s communities, providing education, healthcare, using environmentally sustainable production practices such as natural dyes or remnant fabrics or the use of renewable energy sources. Each product on the site is carefully selected to also be high quality, fashionable and have the highest impact. From clothing sourced from zero-waste facilities in Cambodia to micro-jewelry made by refugees in the U.S., the stories are endless.
This small nonprofit believes strongly in the power of purchasing to change the status quo. Child labor, dangerous factories and slavery plague the production industries. Route believes that every purchase of an ethically made product is one significant step away from those atrocities and towards a safer, more equitable world. Purchases from Route, and other ethically sourced retailers, create paths — routes — from maker to customer that are safe and sustainable. In a time when there are more slaves than ever before; when hundreds die every year because of unsafe working conditions; when millions of children are working instead of going to school – the more we are committed to ethical purchasing from Route, and others like them, the more we can help. Check them out at shoproute.org or @knowtheroute. They also have a brick and mortar store in Columbia, Missouri, so if you’re in the hood, please stop in, say hi and tell them we sent you.
If this isn’t the best way to make the world a nicer and better place, then I don’t know what is.
think outside the (heart-shaped) box
Let's forget the worst of the Hallmark holiday and turn Valentine's Day into a day where we really share the love. While I know it might seem like a bad idea to bypass the jewelry and chocolates, these are gifts that give back and are far more fulfilling than any bracelet ever could be.
WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT, prices vary
Heifer International hosts a number of programs, all of which are focused on empowering families to turn hunger and poverty into hope and prosperity – but it’s not about a handout, rather about ways to help families achieve self-reliance. They do this by providing the tools people need to sustain themselves: to give a hungry family the training it takes to feed themselves and their children; to give a young girl a chance at an education; to empower a woman to have a voice in her community. There are many gifts, but for Valentine’s Day we chose the gifts focused on women’s empowerment.
DIVINE CHOCOLATES USA, prices vary
If you feel you have to present your sweetheart with chocolates, please make sure it’s fair trade like the chocolate from Divine Chocolate USA. It’s owned by cocoa farmers from Ghana and fair trade means that farmers are guaranteed to earn fair wages and aren’t exploited.
BRILLIANT EARTH DIAMONDS, prices vary
OK, OK. We know – you just might have to buy something with diamonds this year. If that’s the case, let’s make them conflict-free, deal? At Brilliant Earth you can design your own jewelry and rest easy knowing that the diamonds you receive were all mined legally.
SUSAN G KOMEN, prices vary
We all love boobs, especially on Valentine’s Day. So why not donate to ensure that all of the women in your life, now and in the future, have healthy ones.
OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH FUND, prices vary
Ovaries aren’t as sexy as boobs, but they’re just as important to protect. And every woman you know has (or has had) them.
UNICEF SUPER HERO PACK, $80.78
You and your significant other can single handedly save a child’s life with the purchase of the Super Hero Pack. It provides 100 Measles, Tetanus and Polio Vaccines; a Vaccine Carrier to ensure every precious drop of vaccine safely reaches a child in need and 10 Mosquito Nets to keep disease-carrying insects from stealing precious lives.
FEED + MOUTH BIG HEART GIFT BAG, $75
Mouth partnered with FEED to curate a Valentine’s Day collection of small-batch goodies packed in their lovely pink canvas bag. This collection of goodies are, of course, on the sweeter side: delicious mini kettle popcorn, organic gummy bears, chocolate peanut butter cookies, chocolate covered Cheerios and a melt-worthy dark chocolate lollipop in the shape of a heart. Not only delicious but the gift bag also provides 25 school meals for children around the world.
ADOPT AN ELEPHANT, starts at $50 a year
What kid doesn't want a pet elephant? The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Fostering Program is a great way to get one and also to save a whole bunch of elephants who are in danger of being killed thanks to the ivory trade.
he David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is dedicated to fostering baby elephants who have been orphaned largely as a result of the Ivory trade. When you adopt one online, you'll receive a fostering certificate with a profile and photograph of your adopted orphan with a description of the Orphans’ Project; An interactive map indicating where your orphan was found and a description of the habitat and the plight of the elephants in that area; A monthly summary highlighting events of the previous month with a direct link to the ‘Keepers Diary’ for your elephant. In the diary you will be able to access the daily calendar entries and the monthly photos. You'll also receive a collectable monthly watercolor by Angela Sheldrick; and from time-to-time, you'll receive news of new arrivals and rescues.
ALEX'S LEMONADE STAND
When Alexandra Scott was four years old, she told her parents she wanted to set up a lemonade stand. But this wasn't just any lemonade stand: Alex had been diagnosed with cancer at the age of one, and her plan was to give the money she raised to doctors to help find a cure. And so, Alex's Lemonade was born. Her first stand raised an incredible $2,000 in one day and while she fought her own cancer, she continued to set up the stands every year. As news spread of the remarkable girl so dedicated to helping other sick children, people everywhere were inspired to start their own lemonade stands — donating the proceeds to her cause.
In 2004 when Alex died at the age of eight, she had helped to raise more than $1 million towards finding a cure. Her parents started the Foundation the following year to continue their daughters' work and the mission is simple: "to raise money for and awareness of childhood cancer causes — especially research into new treatments and cures — and to encourage and empower others, especially children, to get involved and make a difference for children with cancer." Today, many chefs are involved in this incredible cause, and I have had the great fortune to be at some of their events. It is an amazing foundation for an amazing cause.
C-CAP (CAREERS THROUGH CULINARY ARTS PROGRAM)
C-CAP works with public schools to prepare underprivileged high school kids for college and for career opportunities in the restaurant and hospitality industry, which is amazing. We have actually used a number of their students as interns, and they are all really incredible. C-CAP offers job training, internships, teacher training, college advising and culinary scholarships. Since it was founded in 1990, they have awarded over $43 million in scholarships and classrooms have received $3.8 million worth of supplies and equipment. All amazing stats, but as I said, most amazing is the passion these kids have and the opportunities that they get that they would never have had before.
CITY HARVEST
Nearly 20% of New Yorkers are currently living under the poverty line, and it's City Harvest's mission to help feed these nearly 1.5 million people who are facing hunger each year. By rescuing more than 150,000 pounds of food EVERY DAY from restaurants, hotels, grocers. farmers markets and more that would otherwise go to waste, City Harvest is able to provide food and meals to over 500 community programs as well. They also run great programs to teach people living under the poverty line how to make healthy meals, and they run incredible mobile markets in these underserved areas so that community members can "shop" for fresh fruits and vegetables. It's truly an incredible organization making a real dent in the hunger issue in New York.
COOKIES FOR KIDS CANCER
When Gretchen WItt's 2-year-old son Liam was diagnosed with cancer, she couldn't believe the lack of effective treatment there was out there for kids. So she took to the kitchen and, with the help of 250 volunteers, baked and sold 96,000 cookies, raising over $400,000 for research. Incredible, right? What I love about this organization is that it's an amazing one for kids to get involved with - it's accessible and meaningful, and who can't get behind a good bake sale?
HARLEM RBI
My son is a baseball fanatic and so, with our Mark Teixeira obsession, we learned about Harlem RBI. Teixeira is on the board of this organization that provides inner-city youth with opportunities to play, inspiring kids to recognize their potential and realize their dreams. Another great one for kids to get involved in, especially all of the sports fans out there.
SHARE OUR STRENGTH
Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry Campaign is working to end childhood hunger in America. Wait, what? Childhood hunger? In America. Yep. It's hard to believe, but it's true and luckily brother and sister Bill and Debbie Shore believe that everyone "has a strength to share on the global fight against hunger and poverty." A future without childhood hunger is a future where kids have access to healthy food all of the time. It gives them good breakfasts at school and food all year long, even in the summer. This is an organization very near to our hearts and one that make huge impact in the lives of all of our children every day.
STOCKINGS WITH CARE
It seems only fitting that we highlight a holiday-based organization at this time of year, and Stockings with Care is one that we feel strongly about. The premise is simple: to make sure that families in need can create the magic of Christmas morning for their kids. For SWC, it’s about “opening hearts, inspiring dreams and preserving the dignity of parents and their families.” Here’s how it works: Social workers at each of the coalitions working with Stockings with Care, work with parents to make their Christmas lists. These lists are then passed on to Stockings with Care and through the generosity of private and corporate donors and a whole bunch of elves, they make sure that every child receives at least two or three things from their list to open on Christmas morning. Thousands of gifts are wrapped and delivered to the parents, empowering them to create magic for their kids.
We love this so much because it really allows families who are in such dire need the other 364 days a year, to feel whole for at least one day – to just feel like a regular family on Christmas morning. It's so important.