Tis the season for gratitude, and we’re grateful for the give back gifts that offer sustainable options to help others, support good causes and let us skip long lines.
Put one of these give back gifts on your holiday list. Accelerate the journey towards a more sustainable future this holiday season.
Fund Wildlife Conservation around the World
A friend whose daughter is in love with snowy owls discovered that the Sierra Club offers snowy owls and bison among their collection of virtual animal adoptions ($49 and up often includes a plush toy). Discover your own adoptable tarantula or honey bee. If you can’t choose, let the next family vacation drive the decision. Protect an armadillo, for example, if you’re heading for Big Bend National Park in Texas.
Explore opportunities to help protect other endangered animals with the World Wildlife Fund. In addition to research, they sell wonderful gifts that give back. For $25 and up, your family funds a Symbolic Adoption that helps conserve an elephant, polar bear, tiger, orca, panda, snow leopard or other species. At the $60 level and higher, WWF will send adorable plush replicas of the adopted animals.
The koala population has been declining in Australia due to the loss of habitat, bushfires, disease and domestic dog attacks. Fortunately, Koala Conservation Australia Limited of New South Wales rehabilitates these cute animals when they’re found sick or injured. Their Adopt-A-Wild-Koala e-program starts at A$50. Donate a bit more (A$80 for overseas families) to receive a story about your specifically chosen koala, a booklet about koalas and more. If you’re on your way to Australia, select an ‘Exhibit Koala’ so you can visit them in the hospital. Adoption money helps treat and rehabilitate koalas with the goal of releasing them back to the wild.
Give Back Gift to the Oceans
Adopt a sea turtle or manatee — or an Orca, for those who think big. It’s the ideal gift that gives back to marinelife lovers and the world’s oceans. The non-profit organizations that raise money by selling symbolic adoptions run many real life events and educational programs year round.
Adopt-A-Sea Turtle gifts animal lovers with a personalized Adoption kit and plush toy ($56) from the Sea Turtle Conservancy. Once adopted, follow the turtles they are tracking by satellite. Plus, teens may be interested in opportunities to volunteer in Costa Rica or Panama as a research assistant. The STC has done this important work for more than 50 years.
Why not Adopt-A-Manatee for just $25? Save the Manatee was co-founded by the late Jimmy Buffett, singer, songwriter, marine life activist and hotel owner, who championed their cause. STM also promotes sustainable and eco-tourism events around central Florida. At many of their programs, see the creatures up close. You may even meet your adoptee.
Washington state’s Adopt-an-Orca program is run by the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands. Select the Orca of your choosing from the three pods living offshore. Invest $50 and up per year to find out how they’re doing and learn much more about this unusual breed. Contributors get a free yearlong membership to the museum and 10% off at their gift shop.
Support People’s Lives with Gifts that Give Back
Support nonprofit groups whose work represents an incredible give back gift for all ages. Recipients say that even a greeting card with a powerful story is well worth receiving.
Oxfam America is a nonprofit organization committed to ending the injustice of poverty. At Oxfam, make a donation to fund the purchase of any number of items. Your $60 gift trains a local volunteer to be a community health care worker. Fund the construction of an emergency toilet for $250 or give $510 towards a cash-for-work program for six months. Recipients receive an e-card describing the contribution.
Heifer International is charitable organization that donates livestock, poultry, agricultural products and more to support people around the world. Their online holiday marketplace is also full of hand-crafted ornaments and toys (from $15) and sustainably farmed items. Hear moving stories about donated heifers ($500) that helped families build new houses, a goat ($120) that provided warm milk for children, and a flock of chickens ($20) that fed them. Partial contributions from $10 and up are pooled with others to fulfill these needed gift items and to support educational programs in lesser developed regions.
Kids to Kids Direct Giving
Help your child give a gift to another child through Save the Children, for an incredible bonding moment. Choose from an online catalogue of ‘gifts’ ranging from $15 (one soccer ball) and up. Hospital essentials, for example, include sterilization materials, cleaning supplies, blankets and fuel for generators. This charity lets you focus your donations on relief and emergency funding, at home or overseas.
Support many other worthwhile groups in person by signing up your family for a volunteer vacation next year. Read our “How to Volunteer” guide before planning that special trip.
Give Back Sites & Auctions for Good
To raise money for a variety of causes, upcoming projects, and non-profits, the online auctioneers at Bidding For Good can’t be beat. Schools, youth groups and other non-profits use their Commerce for Charity system to upload donated Major League Baseball tickets, Paris walking tours, collectible Barbie dolls or Amazon gift cards so everyone can take part in the worthwhile bidding process.
Want to give back with your child through a family donation? Among many sites out there, the educator-founded DonorsChoose.org allows families to pick what type of school project, field trip, sports team, activity or need they want to support. Search together through the collection of actual requests made by teachers around the United States.
Don’t use this holiday to give another unwanted gift that will soon be forgotten. Instead, help a good cause and let your child (or your nanny, or your neighbor, or your boss) take part in a kinder world.
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hope you all like it!
The Paramount Hotel- http://www.nycparamount.com
BDC- Broadway Dance Center- http://www.broadwaydancecenter.com
Ellen's Stardust Diner- http://www.ellensstardustdiner.com
Capezio store- http://www.capeziodance.com
Amy's Bakery- http://www.amysbread.com
Junior's in Times Square- http://www.juniorscheesecake.com
The Ambassador Theater (Chicago)- http://www.ambassadortheater.com
Al Hirschfeld Theater- http://www.hirschfeldtheater.org
I was the same way. I had my Bat Mitzvah on top of Masadah and was complaining of the heat. I didn't truly recognize what an amazing place I was in. I was fortunate enough to return last summer and had the time of my life. I look forward to seeing your post for when you get to return. I wish you all the best!
one of my all time favorite vacations.
This was one of the best trips I have ever been on.
I am ecstatic that I was able to participate in learning my heritage, history, and my parents past.
My trip to Africa was really an extraordinary experience, and I fell in love with the country Nigeria. I am so happy that my father allowed me to see my heritage and my family.
Truly humbling
I hope you enjoy learning about my experiences in Paris, France!
Thank you so much for this information. Multi-generational travel is an area that I am interested in, but it is not easy to navigate various ages, levels of mobility and interests. These tips are super useful!
This was seriously such a life-changing trip for me. I got to see a whole other way that people live life. It really opened my eyes and made me EVEN MORE eager to learn German and to adopt a more frugal lifestyle.
My experience with traveling to a foreign nation, in the form of a blog.
Going on that trip was the best thing I have done in my life. I learned so much, and experienced many different things, such as food, culture, and people. It was a great opportunity for me, and I highly advise others to travel as well. You will not be disappointed.
I recommend this or a similar trip for any future paleontologists. I have since been to the Field Museum in Chicago and the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and am pleased to have visited all the major paleontological museums in North America.
I hope you have fun on your trips, too!
This is my submission to the young travel writer scholarship
My trip to South Africa transformed my life. I grew closer to my best friend, as well as experience a culture very different from my own. As a result, my knowledge of the world has grown.
I quite enjoy I can feel the passion.
I hope you enjoy the lessons i learned over seas in Spain! I know I will take them with me as I move forward in life. Thank you for reading!
-Rebecca Krivitsky
enjoy my story, i pray it will reveal a new cultural avenue while still providing a humorous tale
This trip was truly life changing. It was the first time I realized that there is a whole other world outside the United States!
Thank you very much for your post! I love it very much! I will bring my family to Florida soon!
Thanks and support
Here is the website documenting my trip: http://madisongoestonewyork.blog.com/
My time in El Salvador changed my life. It is my dream that one day I will be able to return there. I can honestly tell you that my love for the people in El Salvador has remained with me. And I hope the best for that nation.
The summer of my sophmore year in high school I spent a week in El Salvador. This one week changed my life. As I volunteered in El Salvador I gained an amazing view of different cultures and life styles. I developed a love for El Salvador and its people. And my memories there will remain with me through out my life. It is my dream that one day I will be able to return their and give more of my time to those amazing people.
My freshman year of high school I spent a week of my summer in El Salvador. It was a remarkable week that literally changed my outlook on life. I have a huge heart for the people of El Salvador and the country itself. It is my dream that one day I will be able to go back.
My amazing trip
It was definitely a trip to remember that I'd do any day! 🙂
A trip to remember that I'd do again any day
It was a trip to remember. Every spect of it was interesting and something I would do again!
I enjoy traviling with my family and creating new memories.
I enjoy traviling and spending time with my family.
– By Ciara Bri'd Frisbie
Thank you for reading my essay.
-Nathan Shaw
Thank you for taking the time to read my essay I really appreciate it.
-Nathan Shaw.
This trip was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. From the Great Wall to the hospitals of Beijing, I learned so much about myself and other cultures.
I just love traveling. Disney World is my favourite destination. Above all 10 sposts are my favourite. I would love to visit all that destination.
Reading this story has been a stroll down memory lane. I stayed at the Diplomat as a little girl in the 1970's, and still remember how impressed I was with it. So glad to hear that the resort has bounced back to its original glory.
I am very glad to know that Disney Cruise Line is taking health so seriously, yet making cleanliness palatable for kids. These suggestions are also great for air travel, another germy breeding ground. Thanks for the info!
My family loves Cancun, and we have had good stays at the Oasis and the Sol Melia and the Sheraton too. Nice to see a new list of recommendations from you. Thanks
This is a really fun outing, but if you can't get out to the countryside, just visit one of those urban tree sellers. A lot of them in the northeast are staffed by college kids from Canada, who take a break, get into a rental trailer and drive it south, then re-sell trees they have bought on consignment to pay for the next semester.
I always ask (nicely) and I always get (with a smile), the extra boughs that they take off to make the trees look even all around. With some ribbon, maybe the wire from a coat hanger and lots of creativity, it's easy to get the kids helping you turn old boughts into beautiful wreaths for around the house.
Love the photos in this article!
Thanks for having this contest; my family loves Snowmass and it would be great to go back there. We took our son when he was about 7 and it was a great learning adventure for all of us. The instructors are terrific and we had fun, but it's not something we could afford to do right now.
Thanks for giving us another chance to go back!
When Jean Carlisle of Menomonie, Wisconsin heard she won a family of four Galapagos Adventure Cruise, she wrote us:
"YES YES YES!!!!!!!! THIS IS MY DREAM DREAM DREAM VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CAN you tell I’m excited??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"A Galapagos vacation has always been on my DREAM list!!…add it to a cruise vacation makes it even more special. I accept!!!"
Jean explained that she'd enjoyed playing along the scavenger hunt but was anxious about the random drawing for a winner.
"I didn’t sleep well last night because I was so excited!! LOL I entered the contest because I had seen many publications and shows on national geographic on the Galapagos Islands and always thought that would be a place I’d like to visit. I was first drawn to the beautiful pictures on the website and when I saw the contest, I knew that I just had to enter and would love to win!
"I’d like to thank TakingtheKids.com, TravelingMom.com and Family Travel Forum for this once in a life opportunity!! We are excited to make arrangements and show off photos when we return!"
So glad it's helpful to you with your teens, I've already given the Primland brochure to my own mom and her girlfriend who want to tour the Blue Ridge Parkway and look at the Appalachian handcrafts. This is a great base for lots of exploration. If you go, I know you'll enjoy it!
This sounds like a real find and perfect for my own family. I ma always looking for resorts that will work as destinations with lots to do for my two teens, and Primland sounds excellent. Thanks for spreading the word!
Thanks so much for sharing your dreams about the Galapagos; that's the way we all felt when we learned that the terrific Lindblad team wanted to work on this project. so excited to know that someone's dream will reallyl come true! And a 6th grader is the perfect travel companion.
Don't forget to post your a link to your comment here :
http://www.travelingmom.com/freebies/contests/3917-galapagos-giveaway-contest-entries.html
so you're sure to be recorded as an entry into the grand prize drawing. Hope to see you on Twitter too @familytravel4um @travelingmoms @takingthekids @LindbladEXP
If there are no comments on our blog, does this mean that our blog has been rejected, or that it has not been reviewed yet? thanks!
As noted, thanks to your enthusiasm, there are several thousand posts to read, so the judges will be done by mid October. Check back after that to see your status!
I tried following the steps above for finding out about the scholarship judging, but I'm still lost. Does it show up at the bottom of your blog? Or is it just off to the side when you have the option of clicking on your blog? Like, is it next to the name of your blog, the date it was published and then the word scholarship with either a yes or no? Thanks!
Crystal – you get an email