Give a little, Get a lot!

Okay...Christmas is almost here!  I still have all my presents to wrap and I'm pretty bad at that (they always look like I drank a bottle of scotch and blindfolded myself before starting,) so I'm going to make this a short and sweet post for the holiday season!  Then it's off to my present-wrapping nightmare.  Hmmm...I wonder if I bought enough Johnnie Walker??

I wanted to pass on an idea I read about while visiting another favorite blog of mine, that I have been a fan of for a few years...the site is http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/.  The idea?  Paying it forward!  The writer of Cakewrecks had a wonderful idea for the holiday season.  Instead of exchanging gifts, her and her husband (co-author,) are donating money to charities...and if you log onto their site every day you can click on a link to donate as little as a $1.00 to a special cause, and each day a different one will be featured.  The suggestion is to donate to 12 different causes, for the '12 days of Christmas'...though the daily charity options will continue until August, 2011!  No need to limit the giving to December, now is there?  And let me assure you that donating is an option...not a requirement.  You can still log onto Cakewrecks and enjoy the hilarious, misspelled and often horrendous cakes that they feature every day!  No matter what your beliefs may be or what holiday traditions you may celebrate, here is a chance to donate money to charities all over the country in the spirit of the holiday season...and enjoy a laugh or two in the meantime.  Who could ask for better than that??

Now I know most of us are struggling financially...I certainly am!  That's what makes this idea of Cakewrecks so great...you actually CAN donate as little as a $1.00 to as many or as few causes as you wish, through FirstGiving.  This was the one charity site Cakewrecks found that will take dollar donations, and most of us can afford that!  Some of the causes I have donated to so far are The Water Project, Inc. (which provides clean drinking water to developing countries around the world,) Best Friends Animal Society (the nation's largest sanctuary for abused and abandoned animals,) and To Write Love On Her Arms (which provides help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self injury and suicide.)  I may not be able to rid the entire world of its problems, but at least I can make a tiny dent of positive change, one charity at a time...and just think about it--the more tiny little dents that are created, the quicker that change will come!

So during this time of giving when most of us are still rushing to buy last minute presents for our loved ones, take a moment if you can, and check out this site!  It's a chance to look beyond ourselves, and give help to someone who so desperately needs it.  What's in it for us?  Well, I'll be honest--there's really no material gain...in most cases you will never meet the people and/or the animals you help.  So what has this given me?  The benefits are HUGE.  From my tiny little corner of the world I actually feel like I'm making a difference in someone's life.  Together with all the other loyal Cakewreck readers, we can start to fix the world, one little piece at a time.  And that certainly means a lot!