Help to make someone else’s New Year dreams come true.

A couple of years ago I decided to start a new family tradition. Every year we would donate $25 to KIVA.org. Kiva is a charity that loans donated money to people living in poverty who are trying to help better their situation. As a family at Christmas we sit down and read through the profiles of people needing a loan then loan them the money. Every year the money is given and is repaid. Then we loan the money to someone new. We could as easily ask for the money to be given back into our account, but we don’t need it at the moment and I like to think that as we continue to give we can help more and more people.

If you have ever thought about giving to a charity I recommend checking it out. There is nothing like the gift of helping someone help themself because it will keep on giving long after our $25 is gone.

How KIVA works

You can check out KIVA through this link.

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The Christmas List: 14. those less fortunate

Catching up slowly, here is the giving tree at KMart. I couldn’t imagine not being able to give my children anything for Christmas. I know it’s not about the commercialism, but if some kids are getting mountains of presents it would be nice if even the poorest of children got something to call their own. It would help to make them feel special and validate their existence on some level. I wish for these children that their circumstances will change for the better in the coming year.