December 2, 2009

Gifts that give

By John Gleason

Below are gift shopping sites that support ministries or help people in need. Other places to keep in mind are craft fairs at churches and community centers in your neighborhood. 

Online Mall
GoodShop.com is an online shopping mall of more that 1,400 stores. They also have money saving coupons for many of the stores but the best part is  each purchase made via the GoodShop mall results in a donation to the user's designated charity or school—among them Catholic Charities USA—averaging approximately 3 percent of the sale, but going up to 20 percent or even more.  It’s as easy as logging on, select the charity of your choice, do your shopping and the donation is made. Visit www.goodshop.com.

Carmelite monks
In the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, monks of the Carmelite order of the Immaculate Heart of Mary are selling coffee for the purposes of raising funds with which to purchase new land and build a larger facility to provide for the increase in vocations their order is now experiencing.  The coffee, available in gift sets, by subscription and even in samplers, is a delicious blend of the finest gourmet coffee beans.  Information on the complete line of Mystic Monk coffee can be found online at www.mysticmonkcoffee.com.

Abbey of St. Walburga
The Abbey of St. Walburga in Virginia Dale, Colo., is a small community of contemplative Benedictine nuns. To help support themselves they have gift items including books, calendars, rosaries, Christmas cards, audio recordings and decorative note cards, many of which are designed by the sisters themselves.  Check out the many items the abbey has for sale online at www.walburga.org.

Bethlehem Gifts
Bethlehem Gifts has a proud history creating beautiful handcrafted art from the Holy Land.  Their inventory includes olive wood carvings of Jesus, Mary, saints, crosses, rosaries, depictions of the Last Supper, music boxes, ornaments and much more.  Proceeds from sales go to support the livelihoods of the Christian artisans who still live in the place of the Savior’s birth. Many of the pieces are hand-carved from a single piece of olive wood. Most items can be shipped immediately if in stock. Visit online at www.bethlehem gifts.com.