It's that time of year...make something out of it.

It is the holiday season which means you are surely out and about finding gifts to give your friends, family, and others. What are your plans? Here is the thing, there are many ways that you can give gifts that will also benifit others. Cool huh? Global Exhange has a great store with all sorts of great things to give. Not only will you have something to give at the end of the month, you will also be giving people in other countries a chance to earn a living and support their families. Yes, this time of the year is a time of giving but is it the same to give a bunch of stuff to others when our friends in smaller countries can not even put a meal on their table? At this point, you might be asking what other options you have if you cannot find anything by clicking the above link. Well, you could shop at Oxfam. This is a bit of a different type of giving. There are many cool deals that are going on with Oxfam this year. One of them is Oxfam Unwrapped. Here is how it works according to their site: Oxfam America works in 26 countries around the world. This catalog contains gift items that symbolically represent our work. The items selected represent project goals from grants disbursed by our seven offices around the world. The purchase of each gift item is a contribution toward Oxfam America's many programs, not a donation to a specific project or goal. Your donation will be used where it is needed the most--to help people living in poverty throughout the world. I really like the fact that you can buy -- say, a cow -- for instance. How great is that? You get a nice card with a cow on it sent to who you are buying it (you are giving it in their name) and a cow is purchased and giving to someone how needs it. Very cool. You would surely be amazed at how far a cow can go -- milk, food, training, commerce, etc. Oxfam also has a nice list of places you can shop for your loved ones and friends. I would pick a company from their list and watch you gift keep on giving. If one of these does not work, how about helping your local food bank or shelter? Maybe even donate some of your stuff to a local organization or give money to your animal shelter. Really, what it all boils down to is taking care of our friends and community neighbors wherever they may be. If you are having a problem, like I am, with giving stuff away, go around the orgs and find someone to personal give you stuff to. I heard the other day that Americans throw away more than some countries will ever produce. Wow. Do something nice this year and help out a friend here and far away. .be bold