SEATTLE (October 10, 2016) — This holiday season, set off a domino effect of well-being with meaningful gifts in the 2016 World Vision Gift Catalog – one act of generosity can lift a family out of poverty, empower a child to achieve their dream, spark change in an impoverished community and have a profound impact on your health.
Joy travels both ways
According to a recent study, charitable giving doesn’t just warm your heart, it also helps lower blood pressure. Parents modeling generosity may also see the benefits trickle down to their children. Researchers at the University of California found generous children had more control of their stress levels which could lead to better physical and mental health as they grow. With over 100 life-changing gifts, the World Vision Gift Catalog can be a great teaching tool this holiday season, giving children a tangible way to learn about generosity, gratitude and the needs of others.
“For many families making the Gift Catalog a part of their holiday tradition has helped move their children from ‘gimme, gimme’ to giving back,” says Cheryl DeBruler, World Vision’s Gift Catalog Manager. “Studies show, if parents want charitable impulses to stick, they need to do more than just model good behavior; they need to talk about it. Seeing the smiling faces of children in need in the Catalog can help teach your kids that distance doesn’t equal difference.”
Big change starts with one generous person
Shoppers don’t have to spend a fortune to share big dreams with a child in need this holiday season. Gifts in the Christian humanitarian organization’s catalog range from $16 to $39,000 and can be purchased in a loved one’s name. Shoppers can also choose to send a personalized card describing the gift and its impact. For children like Rosemary, the “cover girl” of this year’s catalog (see left), one gift can kick-start a dream.
Before receiving goats from the World Vision Gift Catalog, Rosemary’s family struggled to buy even basic commodities. Salt was a luxury, food that fell in the dirt had to be eaten, they couldn’t spare a morsel. The family was so poor they were considered outcasts in their rural Zambian community. Then they received five goats from World Vision along with training on how to care for them, the goats brought freedom.
“Goats actually change everything,” says Rosemary’s grandmother, Patricia. “Goats give health to a family. Goats give education to a family. Goats bring food to a family.”
For Rosemary, goats were the missing ingredient in her recipe for a dream. Now her family has a steady income, a prominent place in the community, a field with a bountiful harvest and the opportunity for this little girl — whose family was once hungry — to go to school and pursue her big dream of becoming a chef.
World Vision’s Gift Catalog gives shoppers the opportunity to make a personal impact on the lives of children like Rosemary with gifts that address urgent needs such as: clean water, food, education, prevention of sexual exploitation and job training, among others. Here are some examples of alternative gifts featured in this year’s catalog:
Gift a goat: Every year, goats are one of World Vision’s top-selling items. They are a gift that keeps on giving, feeding hungry families often for 10 years or more. One goat provides a family with up to 16 cups of milk a day, and the extra milk can be sold at the local market, providing a regular source of income for the family. When you give an animal such as a goat ($75), chickens ($25) or a pig ($205) to a family in need, the offspring are often shared with others in the community – changing generations of lives with your gift.
Help in the world’s most broken places: While shoppers in the United States line up for Black Friday deals, refugees from Syria, South Sudan and the Central African Republic will be lining up for food. For as little as $10, less than the average price of a t-shirt, you can feed a refugee child for a week with World Vision’s new food kits for refugees.
Spend once, give twice: Choose from a number of beautiful, hand-crafted fair trade items made by artists around the world like an artisan bowl upcycled from industrial waste ($135) a brightly-beaded turquoise medallion necklace ($75), or a set of hand-carved olivewood salad scoops ($75). Your gift to help where World Vision needs it most will address specific, urgent needs that might otherwise go unmet without your support.
Fight poverty in America: Here in the U.S., one in four children lives in poverty. A gift as simple as diapers can have a profound impact. Diapers are not covered by government support programs. Most childcare centers require disposable diapers, so without them, parents can’t go to work. Giving the basics such as diapers ($45), a food kit ($18) and school supplies ($50) can help lift a family out of poverty.
For more than 20 years, the World Vision Gift Catalog has become one of the most popular gift-giving alternatives for families across the United States. Last year, more than 122,000 Americans donated to the catalog, helping more than 650,000 people around the world. To order from World Vision’s Gift Catalog, visit www.worldvisiongifts.org or call 855-WV-GIFTS. Want to see where your dollars go? Check out this video from World Vision to learn more.
About the World Vision Gift Catalog
Since 1996, the World Vision Gift Catalog has given people the opportunity to better the lives of children, adults and communities in the U.S. and around the world through hundreds of gifts in all different areas of need: clean water, food, education, sexual exploitation, job training and others. In fiscal year 2015, more than 122,000 Americans raised more than $29.3 million through the Gift Catalog, helping more than 650,000 people around the world. To order from World Vision’s Gift Catalog, visit www.worldvisiongifts.org or call toll-free at 1-855-WV-GIFTS.
About World Vision:
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization conducting relief, development, and advocacy activities in its work with children, families, and their communities in nearly 100 countries to help them reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information, please visit www.WorldVision.org/media-center/ or on Twitter @WorldVisionUSA.
Highlights
Studies show charitable giving does a body good and can lead to better health and social skills for children