This giveaway is now closed. Thank you!

A few weeks ago I shared some of my favorite organizations that give back, one of them being TO THE MARKET | Survivor-made Goods (TTM). I learned about TTM at the AYA Summit with ONE this past October and was completely taken with the founder, Jane Mosbacher Morris, a woman dedicated to lifting survivors throughout the world. Jane was energetic, passionate, smart as whip and had a really cool first name, so obviously I fell in love with her.

TTM combines the powers of commerce and storytelling to empower the world’s most courageous survivor populations. TTM works with proud and passionate artisans who have overcome the perils of abuse, conflict and disease and they just launched their online marketplace, making their survivor-made goods available to anyone at any time!

I shared TTM with you on Giving Tuesday as a great gifting option for the holidays, which it obviously still is! (Seriously, if you get me this Sari Blanket for Christmas I’ll love you forever. Oh wait, this isn’t about me. Sorry about that. It’s just, well, that blanket!) In addition to TTM being a great place for you to shop for the holidays, TTM is hosting a giveaway here on the blog!

TO THE MARKET will be giving one lucky randomly-selected winner their choice of one of the All Across Africa baskets (you can see the baskets by clicking on this page). I have the navy/silver small basket and it is beautiful.

There are several ways to enter the giveaway! Comments must be posted by Midnight PT on 12/23/14.

• Leave a comment! Easy peasy! If you would like, please share with us something you love on the TO THE MARKET website!
• BONUS ENTRY: Sign up for the TO THE MARKET email list. Click here, scroll to the bottom of the page and enter your email address in the box on the very bottom right. Leave a separate comment telling us you subscribed to get the extra entry.
• BONUS ENTRY: Follow TO THE MARKET on Facebook. Leave a separate comment telling us you did so to get the extra entry.
• BONUS ENTRY: Follow TO THE MARKET on Instagram. Leave a separate comment telling us you did so to get the extra entry.

I am SO happy to be connected with TO THE MARKET and grateful I can share them with you, too! Thank you for showing them support and good luck with the giveaway!

The lucky winner of this giveaway was Sarah K from The Pajama Chef who said, “I love the Turquoise & Brass Horn Necklace.” 

Forget Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday is where it’s at! If you don’t know what Giving Tuesday is, click here to watch an introductory video. Essentially it’s a bunch of really great people from all over the world coming together to GIVE and to also share ideas for giving. To show my support I want to highlight a few organizations that I have personally supported and worked with.

ONE: I love ONE because it’s all about advocacy. They don’t ask for money, they just ask for your voice. Click through to ONE’s website to find out all of the amazing ways to make your voice heard and help those in the world who need it most. If you really want to shop and support ONE at the same time, buy the Alex and Ani New Beginnings bracelet. I bought this for myself as a stocking stuffer but, alas, it will never make it to my stocking. It just really, really, really wanted to be on my wrist.

To The Market: This website just launched and it is beyond beautiful. The woman who started the organization To The Market (also named Jane!) is filled with so much positive energy (and smarts) I almost don’t know what to do with her. 😉 To The Market’s goal is to support survivors by selling their goods. Read more here and don’t forget to shop!

fashionABLE: I love fashionABLE and am basically swimming in their scarves. I also bought myself a beautiful bag that I have yet to open because we’re saving it for Christmas morning. That closed box is taunting me and I don’t know how much longer I can stand it! Anyway, fashionABLE creates sustainable business for women in Africa and the founders are amazing and also filled with energy that inspires. Click through to learn more and shop!

Heifer International: Last year I bought some goat shares. Maybe this year we’ll make it a llama. I’m still deciding. No matter what, it’s gonna be cute. Heifer is the best, click through to find out more!

Fair Trade USA Holiday Guide: Fair Trade USA, another organization I love, put together an awesome fair trade shopping guide, so make sure to check that out, too!

I KNOW there are so many worthy organizations out there, but I wanted to share the ones that I have most recently supported myself because A) I know from personal experience that they are awesome, and B) I know that these organization really truly help people – it’s not lip service.

Happy Giving Tuesday! Whether you get out there and shop from companies that give back, make a donation to your favorite non-profit or you just deliver cookies to the widowed elderly woman down the street, get out there and give. It’s the best way to kick off the holidays!

And please share your favorite giving organizations in the comments! The more suggestions the merrier!

Happy Friday! Hope you are all recovering from any sugar-induced Halloween comas!

I think it’s safe to say we have officially entered the holiday season. Before things get too crazy and the giving season is in full swing, I wanted to share two meaningful ways you could give back and help out some folks in need.

First, a story close to home. This past spring Anna’s wonderful preschool teacher Mandy gave birth to her first baby. She and her young husband were so blessed to be given this miracle baby – at just 23, Mandy was a cancer survivor and they thought they may never have children. Everyone was ecstatic for this beautiful young family with their baby’s safe arrival! Then, just weeks after the baby was born, they discovered that Mandy’s husband Ryan had a rare and aggressive form of cancer. They are both in their 20s and it breaks my heart whenever I think about what they are going through. Their faith and positivity have been truly inspiring as I’ve read their Facebook updates, but they are definitely going through some difficult times right now. I wanted to share a link to a fundraising page for their family, in case you have even $5 to share with them. I rarely write about or share these types of links because, well, I could share them all day every day, there are so many wonderful people out there who need support. But this story, well, it’s been on my mind a lot.

Moving on, I love partnering up with ONE, Bono’s non-profit campaigning and advocacy organization that aims to end extreme poverty and preventable disease. ONE is not a fundraising organization but instead achieves change through advocacy. I think they’re awesome and love the people I’ve worked with on their team. They just announced a new partnership with Heifer International which is really exciting. To find out more about the partnership and what Heifer does, click here! Plus, you can buy a goat. I know you’ve always wanted to buy a goat and that day has arrived, my friends.

Looking forward to seeing what you all have to share this week! Have a great weekend!