Kiva

Last night's Advent calendar activity was to PUT A TWINKLE IN SOMEONE'S EYE, and I'm excited we donated to Kiva. Each year we try to pick a new organization to support and I've heard about Kiva for so long I'm glad we went with them. In a nutshell, you make a $25 microloan to someone who needs it - like a young Bolivian woman for her school tuition, or a Ugandan farmer in need of more dairy cows. Then, when the borrower repays the loan, you lend the money out to someone else, so it's the gift that keeps on giving. The coolest part: They have a 99% repay rate and $2.5 million has been lent out just this week. Awesome.

All the borrowers are worthy, so it took us about an hour to choose. In the end, we decided to support a young Kenyan woman who sells tea leaves and wants to use her anticipated profits to build a school. Wouldn't it be a nice gift to donate in someone's name? Especially for that friend who already has everything. 'Tis better to give than to receive.