Category Archives: Holidays

Gifting Outside The Box

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Do I already have plenty of stuff? Yes. Do I care deeply about a cause and want to make a difference? Yes. Am I looking forward to opening brightly colored boxes with my name on them? Absolutely.

This year, since money is tight – I’m approaching the holidays in a different way. Many of my friends and family members like opening tangible gifts so I’m putting together “packages” they’ll enjoy and including charity too!

 

Charitable gifts don’t have to be all or nothing.

I care about making charitable giving a part of everyday life. (That’s why I choose to work at JustGive.) During the holidays, I know people want to wrap (and unwrap) presents. And I know we really want to give gifts that make our recipients’ faces light up.

Whether we participate or not, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, 24 hour deals, and last minute doorbusters are here to stay — through financial highs and lows. And I appreciate good deals just as much as the next person. But I also think there are clever ways to embrace both ways of giving, with gift thoughtful, personal gift packages. Giving smiles and making the world better at the same time:

- Have a foodie friend? A box of gourmet treats, or dinner at a new restaurant is made meaningful when paired with a donation to the recipient’s local food bank (find local charities here).

- Shopping for the handyman in the family? When you wrap up the power tools and fix-it gadgets, include a donation to Habitat for Humanity.

- If you buy a Christmas tree this year, consider giving to the Arbor Day Foundation. $10 is all it takes to plant 10 trees in a National forest.

- Pay it forward and donate some the money you saved shopping for the best deals. Buy a GiveNow Charity Gift Card and your recipient can easily choose from more than 1.8 million charities to support their favorite cause. For as little as $15*, you can give a great stocking stuffer, hostess or teacher gift that makes a big impact.

 

Do you plan on giving to charity in combination with a traditional gift?

We’d love to hear about it! Share your ideas with us on Facebook or Twitter.

 

 

* GiveNow charity gift cards never expire and are available in any quantity. Minimum fees apply.

Food nourishes the body. Giving nourishes the soul.

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Thanksgiving is, without a doubt, my favorite holiday. Nothing makes me feel warm and fuzzy quite like friends and family gathered at home, sharing laughter and memories, and eating generous helpings of my favorite comfort foods. But what makes this holiday so special to me isn’t roasted and placed on a table. Thanksgiving is a time to take a moment to appreciate the abundance in our lives, even in hard times.

This is my first Thanksgiving without my father, and the first with my daughter. Like most families, we go around the table saying what we are thankful for this year. My father always said things like, “I’m grateful to complain about going to work tomorrow, because it means I have a job” or “I’m grateful I’ll be stuck doing the dishes, because it means we had food to eat.” He truly understood what it means to give thanks. I’m grateful for the wisdom he passed on, and hope to pass it on to my daughter.

This Thanksgiving, give someone else something to be thankful for. Your generosity can provide a hot meal, a warm bed to sleep in, and comfort in a time of need.

 
Is there food in your kitchen?

The USDA announced the number of Americans who rely on food stamps has increased 17% in the last year—up to 42 million. But with $2 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, resources for hungry families are dwindling. A report from theU.S. Department of Agriculture reported nearly 6 million households—affecting as manyas 1 million children—had ongoing financial problems that forced them to miss meals regularly.

I found a few charities that are working to bridge this gap:

 

  • A $20 donation to Feeding America provides an amazing 140 meals.
  • For $35, Meals on Wheels will provide a hot meal and a comforting visit to 5 home bound seniors.
  • A $50 donation to Rubicon Programs buys a grocery bag of fresh food for a formerly homeless family moving into their new home.

 

Not just a man on the corner holding a sign

After years of record high unemployment and foreclosures, it’s likely that someone you know—a co-worker, a friend, a relative—is now without a stable place to call home. Budget cuts trickling down from a rough economy make the future uncertain for those who need a roof over their head so they can get back in their feet.

When you’re cleaning your home for visitors this holiday, consider donating to organizations helping those in need of shelter and warmth:

  • A $25 donation buys paint for a house built by Habitat for Humanity. For an additional $100 you can buy the kitchen sink, too!
  • A $35 donation to Covenant House provides clean sheets and a blanket to a homeless youth.

 

Are you a guest at Thanksgiving diner?

A charity gift card makes the perfect hostess gift! You choose the card and gift amount, and add your personal message. Your recipient uses the card to donate to any charity of their choice. For as little as $15, you can give a green gift for good!

Have something you’re thankful for that you’d like to share with friends of JustGive? Visit us on Facebook.

Then let’s spread the thanks around – Tell a Friend!

Celebrating & Honoring Grandparents Day

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Grandparents Day

My grandmother is 104 years old. She’s actually in wonderful health, though she lost most of her hearing years ago. This may be a blessing when all 10 great-grandchildren are running around creating chaos. She loves to play Scrabble™, work a crossword puzzle or read a good book. What she loves most of all is sitting in the warm summer sun by the water.

Sunday, September 12th is Grandparents Day. Though this isn’t a widely celebrated holiday, it’s the perfect opportunity to plan a family dinner in honor of your grandparents or even your parents who may be grandparents in their own right. (Or, you can honor the day by scheduling a visit to a nursing home or taking a moment to help an older adult in your neighborhood.)

My grandparents spent most of their lives on the Chesapeake Bay, so I want to honor my grandmother with a dedicated donation to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

When she was young, the Chesapeake Bay was a thriving body of clean water. But today, the Chesapeake Bay in the East and the San Francisco Bay in the West, along with many other U.S. waterways, have fragile ecosystems. Pollution, invasive species and climate change are threatening our waterways and all the marine and human lives they support.

As we have all seen and read about the Gulf Coast disaster, it is still unclear the long term impact the oil spill and dispersants will have on the health and habitat of water and wildlife.

By making a donation in her name to help restore the Bay, I’m giving my grandmother something meaningful—a link to the past and to the future, both of which she can share with her 10 great-grandchildren.

Notecard Sample

While normally I would send an email with a dedicated gift, my grandmother doesn’t quite get the Internet nor does she have email. That’s why I’m sending her a note card announcing the donation. The card lets me add a personal note, and JustGive conveniently sends it directly to her, through the mail, on my behalf.

-Andrea Lloyd, JustGive Director of Programs

This Grandparents Day, celebrate your grandparents—whether they’re with you or have passed on—with a gift in their honor. Donate Now.

Visit us on Facebook and tell us how you celebrate Grandparents Day.

National Park and Recreation Month: Time for a Green, Volunteer Vacation

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My family visited Shenandoah National Park recently, renting a rustic cabin from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. For those of you who have forgone running water and electricity with an infant in tow, you understand this is no small commitment. But we all made it through happily.

There must be something in air this summer, because the First Family flew to Maine recently for an outdoor weekend vacation at Acadia National Park, the iconic end of the line for the Appalachian Trail. More and more people are visiting the great green outdoors. If you haven’t already made plans to visit a national park this summer, it’s the perfect time.

July, designated as National Park and Recreation Month by Congress, salutes the vital role of parks and recreation: How they help us establish and maintain a healthy quality of life, and contribute to the physical, economic and environmental well-being of communities. Since 1985, this month has been a chance to showcase our national parks.

Green and Volunteer Vacations

National parks are a uniquely American creation. They are truly the first foray into what is now called ecotourism. But more simply, they remain one of the best ways to vacation in nature.

After a decade of decline, attendance at national parks shot up sharply in 2009 to almost record numbers—ten million more people visited national parks last year than in 2008. People are once again seeking out greener pastures (and forests and deserts) for their vacations. And vacations aren’t just what they used to be.

Organizations are connecting with vacationers across the country—and the world—for nature cleanups, preservation projects, and to help promote local, sustainable practices. Volunteer vacations are a growing trend and parks in the US are becoming popular destinations. The Ecology Project International‘s Yellowstone program for teens saw a near doubling of participation by students, who take on conservation work at the park.

USA Today posted a great article to get you started on a national park volunteer vacation.

Vacationing Generously

No matter where you choose to vacation, our national parks and refuges are a treasure. My family tries to get out into the woods as often as possible, and our son is working on filling up his National Wildlife Refuge Passport. With 552 National Wildlife Refuges, he has a long way to go. It’s for his generation that we try to travel with five goals:

  • Go local, Go green. By supporting local businesses committed to sustainable and indigenous practices, and researching hotels and tour companies that have ecotourism policies and standards in place, we are doing our part to create a market for green vacations.
  • Choose green activities. We make use of the parks and their surroundings on our vacations by biking, hiking, whitewater rafting and kayaking, among other outdoor activities.
  • Pack in, pack out. We leave as little a footprint as possible, so others might enjoy the same surroundings for years to come. We work to stay on trails, not to leave garbage, and respect the local environment.
  • Offset the vacation. I like using such services as Carbonfund.org where we can make sure our vacation is green by offsetting carbon emissions for travel.
  • Support conservation. By donating to organizations working to conserve national parks and wildlife refuges before we visit, we can empower a force of local volunteers and Federal workers to continue to give their all to make the places visited safe and green for generations to come.

What can you do?

The First Family’s next trip will be down to the Gulf for a volunteer vacation of their own. Visit our Facebook page to learn more about some work that’s been done right now to protect the eight national parks and 33 wildlife refuges along the Gulf of Mexico threatened by the BP oil spill. Search our database for a local “friends” organization of your parks. Or check out some of these national organizations working to benefit parks and refuges:

  • National Park Foundation – For more than a century, private philanthropy has been essential to the preservation and protection of America’s national parks. The National Park Foundation upholds this commitment, working to raise the funds necessary to connect all Americans to their national parks and guarantee their future for generations to come. They recently launched a special fund to help the Gulf in the aftermath of oil spill and to assist sustained recovery efforts.
  • National Recreation & Park Association – NRPA is the leading advocacy organization dedicated to the advancement of public parks and recreation opportunities. Founded in 1965 through the merger of five national organizations dedicated to the same cause, NRPA has grown over the years —in total membership, in outreach efforts, in building partnerships, and in serving as the voice and defender of parks and recreation. This year, they’re encouraging all to “Celebrate, Advocate and Recreate!”
  • National Park Trust, Inc. – NPT’s mission is to provide important recreational and educational parkland opportunities for current and future generations.  As a country, since we’re spend more time indoors and successive generations are growing up with less of a connection to nature, their goal is to build greater awareness and appreciation for the country’s public lands and parks. Their vision: Everyone will have an American park experience.
  • National Parks Conservation Association – Americans expect our national parks to have clean air and healthy wildlife, and to be well-cared-for historical treasures. But years of underfunding and external threats such as air pollution and climate change are taking their toll. National Parks Conservation Association is working on these key initiatives to restore America’s national parks by the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service in 2016.

Pass this on to friends and family who are interested in going green and exploring our national parks for their next vacation!

Giving Back on Father’s Day

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Visit www.justgive.org for Father's Day Gifts

Honoring the Men who Made Us Who We Are

I was eight years old when my father stepped back on the wrestling mat after more than twenty years. His first opponent turned out to be one of the best wrestlers in the high school’s history, a hulking, punishing, future Marine. That matchup was no mistake; it was a trial by fire.

He made it through that first day and kept going until I graduated from high school. He was 55. His choice to throw his hat onto the mat was a formative experience for me; coming with him to practices and matches, watching him interact with my boyhood heroes. Looking back what really influenced me was his passion for the sport and for life.

The Gift that Says More

This Father’s Day I want to show my father how much his exuberance for life influenced me. And a tie just won’t do. That’s why I’m dedicating a donation to Beat the Streets in his honor.

Beat the Streets funds a program that is expanding wrestling into urban New York areas for middle school and high school students who otherwise would not be exposed to the world’s oldest sport. Wrestling builds confidence and capabilities for young people and helps them develop mental toughness and work ethics. These inherent requirements are critical to success in every sport as well as to success in academics and to success in life.

I learned about Beat the Streets when they were promoting their annual gala. Each year, Beat the Streets celebrates wrestling with some of the thousands of students whose lives they’ve touched. This year their Main Event was conducted on the deck of the USS Intrepid with over 1,200 people witnessing some of the nation’s top wrestlers including several wrestlers from Beat the Streets.

Athletes of all shapes and sizes can excel and enjoy wrestling. And all can benefit from the physical activity, strength and healthy self-esteem that come along with the sport.

My father was never a coach, never paid, and never came back excited that he was able to beat a wrestler. He was patient, helpful, and enthusiastic with every wrestler. His team’s wins and losses mattered in the moment, but they weren’t held onto with ego or regret. My father wrestled because he loved the sport. That passion is what I carry with me every day, and what I want to give back.

Donate Now to a charity your Dad cares most about. Add a personal message and we’ll take care of all the delivery details, if you like. Every gift made through JustGive can be designated as a memorial gift—the perfect way to honor and remember your Dad if he has passed.

Don’t know what charity your Dad is passionate about? Personalize a GiveNow charity gift card your Dad can redeem to give to his favorite charity.

Visit us on Facebook and tell us about a charity that reminds you of your Dad!

The Perfect Gift for Graduates

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For many of us, graduation was a long time ago. But if you know a graduating senior you can see something in his or her eyes that you’ll still recognize. It’s the dream to make a unique impact on the world.

Graduation is a time for new beginnings, filled with hopes and dreams for the future. For many those dreams include changing the world, whether their impact occurs in the rebuilding of Haiti, like our champions from Naples High School, or locally—like a graduating senior dedicated to helping local kids and families affected by the economy.

For a generation on the cusp of change, the perfect gift can be a challenging find. Why not celebrate their momentous achievement with a message of hope and joy through our GiveNow charity gift card.

No matter their dreams you can help start your new grad on the path of lifetime of giving. Most don’t have the ability to be a force as individual donors, but the ways they start to interact with social causes now will help define how they will give in the future. According to a recent survey, when asked who could inspire them to donate, 75% said they would give if asked by a family member and over 60% said a friend.

A donation to the charity that your graduate chooses can be a powerful way to recognize their dreams and show how much you respect their choices. This generation has already shown they are ready to serve the causes they believe in, providing over a billion hours of volunteer service to our nation’s communities.

For as little as $10, your graduate can begin to change the world. The perfect way to say congratulations!

Visit us on Facebook and tell us what your graduate’s cause!

Tell a Friend

The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

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Working for a nonprofit is often a labor of love. All of us at JustGive have stories about why we work for the public good. For many of us, it was our Mother’s who instilled a sense of giving back. That’s certainly the case for me. When I was seven years old my Mother founded a nonprofit, Surrey Services for Seniors. Watching her struggle and succeed – before retiring last year – is one of the reasons I made social change a career path. It’s also why this Mother’s Day I’ll let her tell me what her next passion is by giving her a charity gift card.

This Mother’s Day, the JustGive team is sharing stories about our Mothers and the ways we can honor what they’ve taught us:

I feel very fortunate to have a mother that instilled in me the importance of compassion and equality. My mother has always strongly believed that helping others who are less fortunate is a duty we all have as members of global and local communities, not just something that you do because it makes you feel good. It is because of her passion and commitment to help others that I would choose to donate to Outside In, a local organization that provides services to help empower homeless youth and other marginalized people.  - Kelly

No matter where your Mom lives, there’s a community organization she loves—helping the elderly, caring for animals or giving shelter to those in need. Conveniently find that organization with just a zip code with our Act Locally tool.

I would donate to the Spay-Neuter Action Project in San Diego. My Mom was “that crazy cat lady” who took in the neighborhood strays. She always said it wasn’t enough to provide just food and water, it was important to control the pet population. This message was echoed on mornings we’d have breakfast together and watch re-runs of The Price is Right with Bob Barker. SNAP provides mobile spay/neuter services throughout San Diego County, as well as reduced rate services for low-income pet owners.  - Sarah

Donate to a charity your Mom cares most about. Add a personal message and JustGive will email your gift in a convenient, earth-friendly way—or print a receipt of your gift and enclose it in her Mother’s Day card.

My mom is a very generous woman. She always opens our home to people that need a place to feel welcomed or need a place to stay. She is quick to offer what little extra she has to local family shelters and rescue missions. In her honor I donate locally to BOSS – Harrison Family Shelter and Bay Area Rescue Mission. This Mother’s Day I hope to share that I’m following in her footsteps, and making the same difference to those that need. – Julia

Select and personalize a GiveNow charity gift card and let your Mother choose her favorite cause.

One of the things I remember not liking when I was young but appreciate now is public radio. My mother always listened to public radio while preparing dinner and even now the program themes put me back in our kitchen. Every year for Mother’s Day, I send my mother a gift donation to her local public radio station.  - Andrea

Make your Mother’s gift a monthly donation and provide ongoing support in her honor all through the year.

I would give to an environmental charity, particularly one that preserves forests, because my mother loved the woods. I have memories of her hugging redwood trees in Northern California, before the term “tree hugger” was formally coined! – Roxanne

My mother is passionate about giving back to others.  She donated to the same children’s charity for over 20 years, sponsoring several young girls’ education into adulthood.  Later, my mother turned to micro-lending to support women’s businesses in developing countries.  This year she is going to the World Cup games in South Africa and will volunteer at a local orphanage during her visit.  For Mother’s Day, I’ll give a charitable donation to her favorite nonprofits.  (If I gave her anything else, it would just end up at the Goodwill anyway.) – Michele

Give her a Gift Collection—a “basket” of four charities that support a cause that’s close to your Mom’s heart.

My Mom went back to school as an adult for seven years part-time to become a teacher—while also raising 4 kids. She received her bachelor’s degree the same year I graduated from high school. Mom showed me how to go after what was important and work through any obstacles. For Mother’s Day, I’m donating to Girls Incorporated to help inspire, support and empower young women. To this day (and I’m no spring chicken), that’s what my Mom does for me! – Candy

Visit us on Facebook and tell us your story about how your Mom inspired you to give back!

Give new hope—Starting with year-end charity

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My adorable three-year-old nephew is obsessed. Last year it was Lazytown, this year it’s Star Wars. Santa Claus brought him a Darth Vader costume and a Han Solo costume for Christmas. After Christmas dinner he wanted to watch his favorite movie, Episode IV: A New Hope. Actually it’s a fitting choice as we close out 2009. What is New Year’s but a celebration of new hope?

Take resolutions—aren’t they essentially a hope for a better you? I have my resolutions worked out: I’d like to get in better shape (going to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu), spend more time writing (with a two-month-old baby I may be biting off more than I can chew), and do a better job at giving back to my community.

Luckily for me, I can get a head start on one resolution by donating to my favorite causes before the year is out. And if that’s not motivation enough, all my donations made through the end of the year are tax deductible come April.

Giving Local, Giving Global

At JustGive, you can conveniently connect and give to the causes that mean the most to you. With a few clicks, you can easily find charities of choice in your community – whether your community is local or global:

I recently tried a zip code search and found Mental Disabilities Rights Initiative (MDRI). MDRI is creating systemic change through its innovative approach, making a real impact on the day-to-day lives of countless individuals across the globe. According to Eric Rosenthal, the Executive Director for MDRI:

Over the last 15 years MDRI has investigated the living conditions and treatment of people with mental disabilities in dozens of countries in Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East. Sad to say, (we) have found serious human rights violations across the globe… Despite these very upsetting findings, (we) are filled with hope. Wherever MDRI has worked, (we) have found courageous and inspiring local activists who are working within their own country to bring about change. MDRI has trained and supported those activists, and is collaborating with them to end abuses.

It sounds like MDRI has already made 2010 more hopeful.

Making it Easy to Give Back

JustGive’s tools make it a cinch to sign in and view your Giving History for a record of previous gifts. Using this history, you can select any or all past donations, and instantly make them again. Your charitable history is available to see and print at any time; perfectly organized for tax purposes.

You can even opt for recurring donations to give on a monthly basis. Just check “Make this a recurring donation” button and every month, we’ll automatically deduct the donation from your account to send your support to chosen charities.

We accept donations for charity as small as $10 and allow you to make any gift anonymously.

You can spread hope throughout 2010. Act now – before the Empire Strikes Back J – Donations made through the end of the year are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law!

And ask your friends to join you in making charity count.
- Grant La Rouche

Rethinking holiday gifts

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Tonight, I’ll tell my one-month-old baby that I’m giving him a baseball stadium for Christmas. I figured this out at 3:30 in the morning when his cries made me appreciate the small conveniences of life. Take our bottle warmer: The process to heat a baby’s bottle is not really difficult, but in the early hours of sleepless nights, a bottle warmer can give a new father some semblance of ease.

Convenience is something we often take for granted: easy access to food, shelter, and, at this time of year, presents. I recently saw a commercial for Burger King, touting its “Dollar Holidays” card promotion–sending a holiday gift card containing a dollar bill to “casual friends.” According to BrandWeek, more than 8,000 of these gift cards were sold on the program’s first day alone. There’s something in the magnitude of that number that disturbs me. Perhaps it’s the new baby making me ask questions, but is this really what the season of giving has become?

Don’t get me wrong. I like presents. I like giving. I like getting. Some of my fondest memories are of avoiding creaking floorboards on Christmas morning to see our tree lit up, presents arranged underneath, the cookies and milk left for Santa Claus gone. When it comes to Christmas presents this year, Gallup’s first look at 2009 spending found that Americans plan to spend an average of $740 on gifts this year. That’s starkly down from two years ago – and 65 percent of Americans return holiday gifts every holiday season. We are a country that likes to give and get, and return.

Starting a giving tradition that generates many happy returns . . .

As a recent addition to the JustGive family, I’ve decided to start a new tradition this year and give a gift that that keeps on giving: A donation to a cause I believe in.

Imagine if the 8,000 people who jumped at the chance to give their friends a BK cheeseburger did the same and gave to the Capital Area Food Bank For that same $1, the food bank can provide three meals to someone in need. But what personally interests me is the Capital Area Food Bank is leading the DC-area Farms to School movement: remaking school lunches into nutritious and delicious meals while supporting local farmers. In a culture beset with Dollar Holidays, that’s something a whole lot better I’d choose to support.

Convenient, meaningful gifts

JustGive makes it easy to give back – the type of convenience I appreciate. Three thoughtful e-gifts they offer can make a difference, starting with as little as $10:

    • Donate to charity in your friend, family member or colleague’s name.

      Make the gift personal and donate online, in a few short minutes. You don’t even need to know the name of a charity. Use convenient search tools to quickly find one that supports the cause your recipient cares about.

          This holiday season, you can select from a wider variety of charity gift cards. More than 12 available images make it easy to find one that expresses your sentiment best. Designed for every need, the cards fit Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Years, and represent many charitable causes, including education, children, and peace on Earth.  It’s the perfect gift of choice for your recipient, who redeems the card to support their favorite charity.

          A few of the gift card images available

            • Give a Gift Collection—A “gift basket” of four charities supporting a specific cause.

              A dozen already-packaged gift collections focus on feeding the hungry, creating homes and jobs, mentoring children, protecting animals, respecting elders, planting trees, saving the earth, promoting human rights, pursuing peace . . . and more. Gift Collections start at $40 and are available for any amount.

              My choice

              A small donation to a grassroots organization like City Green, an organization that promotes environmental equality through inner city gardens and education, can make a big impact in the life of a community. City Green supports the Cougars Go Green student club, which is now in its second year. These young students – with the help of donors such as my family – are working to restore the crumbling Hinchcliffe Stadium in their backyard to the thriving city asset it once was when the New York Black Yankees played the Philadelphia Stars in 1933.

              That means that tonight, during my next 3:30 a.m. feeding, I’ll have more than a warm bottle to give my son. I’ll be able to share the joy of giving back.

              Now there’s an idea to share with your friends!

              - Grant La Rouche

              Celebrate the Love and Wisdom of a Generation

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              “To forget one’s ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root.” – Chinese Proverb

              Grandparents Day

              They say it takes a village to raise a child. My Grandparents raised me, making them a very significant part of my “village.” My Grandpa served our country as a Marine in WWII then supported his family working for the City of San Diego. My Grandma raised four children, then took on the responsibility of raising three grandchildren. My life would not be the same without their love and wisdom.

              Celebrating the difference my grandparents have made in my life

              In 2004, my Grandpa passed away from lung cancer. This Grandparent’s Day, to help create awareness and prevention, I’m honoring him with a Memorial Donation to the American Lung Association. My Grandma taught me everything I know in the kitchen. Pierre’s Place, a café near my house, employs alumni of Toussaint’s Youth Villages, a residential program for teens. Profits from the café, along with my Gift Donation in her name, will help provide training for youth to succeed in the restaurant industry.

              History behind the tradition

              Grandparent’s Day was first celebrated nationally in 1978. Marian McQuade, a housewife in West Virginia, started it to create awareness of elderly men and women in nursing homes. She also hoped to inspire grandchildren to tap into the wisdom and heritage their grandparents could provide.

              • Learn more about the Forget Me Not program, which connects youth with seniors, and benefits both generations. It may be something you’d like to participate in!
              • Use the JustGive Guide to find the perfect cause to honor your Grandparents. Are Grandma and Grandpa tech savvy? Buy them a GiveNow charity gift card and they can choose from any of the more than 1.5 million charities on JustGive to donate to a cause they care about.

              Sarah Myers
              Program Manager

              Share this idea with friends and family—it’s almost as sweet as Grandma’s fresh baked cookies.