Oh goodness – that time of the year is upon us again! I cannot believe its almost time for the holidays. This only means one thing: holiday shopping to is about to begin. (And if you’ve already started your holiday shopping, spare me…that’s just crazy over-achieving.) As Black Friday inches toward us, you need to get a plan together! I want to help you think about being charitable while you do.
Chicagoans, I hope that you know the important work that Vital Bridges does, not only for our community but for loved ones far expanded beyond our city limits. This holiday season, you can support this awesome organization by participating in their fundraiser with Scentsy. For those that don’t know, Scentsy has fabulous scented wickless candles and a great variety of scent warmers. You can stock up on perfect host/hostess gifts, treats for anyone who’s home could use a little “refreshing,” even a little something for yourself by shopping through this’ fundraiser, knowing that 25% of your purchase will go back to Vital Bridges. Make sure to go to the Vital Bridges Fundraiser Party under the “Buy” section (complete instructions here). And here is Scentsy’s website - Scent-sational! 
Another great shopping event to support a fabulous non-profit is happening on December 15, 2011. That night, between 6-9pm, The Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network is taking over the Andersonville Galleria to provide attendees a private shopping party complete with wine, nibbles, and music. They are asking for a $10 donation at the door and will have a silent auction available to raise extra funds for the cause. If you’ve never been to this space filled with over 90 booths curated by independent artisans and other merchants, you’ve got to go! You can find fantastic gifts for everyone in this space including Chicago-centric coasters, home decor, gourmet foods, one-of-a-kind fashions, and so much more.
Here are some other simple things that you can do to keep your holiday shopping and prep adventures Fun & Philanthropic:
1.) Visit Dose Market on December 4, 2011 at the River East Art Center. We’ve gotta show them some love for not only curating a great lot of “dosers” offering great items, but lately they’ve been bringing the non-profit love into their monthly events. At the December market, aptly titled the “HoliDose,” you can pay for $1 gift wrapping and all of the proceeds will go to their Dose Cause, The Inspiration Corporation.
2.) Shop SUPER eco-friendly (an earth-saving endeavor in and of itself) by visiting That’s Caring: Green Gift Shop for Earth-friendly and Green items. They provide items that are locally-sourced from the Chicagoland area in a variety of beautiful gift arrangements. Their gift baskets even use recycled material, less packaging, and off-set the carbon dioxide of their shipping to keep things even more green. For details, read this and then start sending gift baskets!
3.) Check out Cards That Give‘s website and you’ll find out that Americans spend almost $2 Billion dollars per year on Holiday cards. Cards That Give figured why not send some of that money to charity organizations across the county? Visit their website (www.cardsthatgive.org) and browse through the various charities that offer holiday greeting cards. While Cards That Give highlights some cards in their card gallery, you can visit each individual charity’s website to see all of the stock that they offer. You can even sort by location if you’d like to keep your giving closer to home!
I have to imagine that there are 1,000,000 other ways to shop smarter and charitably this holiday season. If you know of additional opportunities (either in person or online) to keep shopping Fun & Philanthropic, PLEASE post them in the comments section of this article so every one can be in the know.
On The Radar:
- Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
- November 29, 2011: Opening Night at Bar Toma to benefit The Green City Market, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
- December 3, 2011: Ugly Sweater Pub Crawl 2011 to benefit Imerman Angels, noon – ?
For more information and events, visit the On The Radar page.
