Giving
As you all know, instead of wedding favors, we gave a donation to UNICEF. Originally we wanted to give to Kiva, “loans that change lives,” but one of the micro-finance blogs I read mentioned how Kiva had some not-so-transparent issues with the way they collected loans and gave to people. Of course, UNICEF is no saint either, but until we learn more about Kiva and whether they are doing all that they can to truly make the process transparent to the givers, and fair to the recipients, we decided to hold off on giving to the organization. In the end, Kiva is still a money making operation and I guess no matter how altruistic an organization may be, it still has to please its stakeholders.
But the original point of this writing is not to bash Kiva. We wanted to highlight a unique and feel-good way of giving if you’re looking to do something beyond gift giving to your immediate family and friends. UNICEF has an “inspired gifts” section where people can give a set amount towards a needed item for a child (for instance, an insecticide treated mosquito to prevent malaria).
So if you’re particularly feeling generous this holiday season, go over to the UNICEF page and give to a child in need.
