The following comes from Mary Hunt's Everyday Cheapskate newsletter (free on line) ... What neat ideas.

Gifts of hope. Making a donation to a worthy cause to honor a special person in your life will bless both you and the recipient who seems to have everything. Be careful, though. There are lots of wolves out there masquerading as worthy sheep. You can trust Heifer International (Heifer.org) and World Vision (WorldVision.org). Both feature delightful gift catalogs on their websites.

At Heifer.org, for $20, your recipient gives a flock of geese to a poor farmer in a third world country who will raise them to produce much needed protein in the form of eggs or meat, plus feathers and down to enable a cottage industry. For $10 you can give a share in a sheep that will be raised to produce wool to help a struggling family. You can even order a gift card to announce the details of your donation to your recipient.

The World Vision gift catalog (WorldVision.org) lists more than 100 gifting opportunities, including alpacas, pigs, educational support for children, shares of water wells and care for sexually-exploited girls. By giving these gifts of hope, you and your recipient can help end hunger and care for the earth.

$20 for a flock of geese -- and all that hope ... what a bargain.

xx, Teal

P.S. I couldn't find a category for this subject -- 18 subcategories for sports, though.