droolicious : do good

The Babble Review: Karito Kids Dolls

editors — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:33:00 GMT

Your girls and boys who must have a doll for Christmas have another family of gals to beg for, but these are fully clothed and helping the world. Thank god. Karito Kids has a line of dolls that have a story to tell, mysteries to solve and cuteness that your youngest kiddos will appreciate.

Our pick for this holiday season is Piper, who hails from sunny Australia where she enjoys the surf and saving baby beached whales. And like so many dolls of the ‘00s Karito Kids have an online component called World Change. The bonus to getting your kids all up on the computer is that children around the world benefit whenever you log on through reading programs, medical care and more. So you can do good this holiday season while making your doll fans squeal with delight. - April Peveteaux

Get Piper at Karito Kids for $99.99.

Do Good: Spunky Sprout and Reach the Children Feed Kenya

Mir — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:01:00 GMT

Spunky Sprout has decided to respond to the current crisis in Kenya in a most befitting way: Purchase one of their designated baby shirts or onesies (four adorable tie-dyed designs from which to choose, and just $6 each), and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Reach the Children to feed Kenyan orphans and families in need.

That's fashion with a purpose, baby,

Do Good: Buy Kaching, Help Endangered Wildlife

Mir — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 21:01:00 GMT

5% from the sale of each of Kaching Design's new Endangered Animal Series shirts will go directly to the World Wildlife Fund to help protect the animals featured. (Maybe that will make the $32 price tag a bit easier to justify.) Each long-sleeved cotton shirt comes in sizes 2-6. Choose from grey wolves, panda, or polar bear.

Do Good: IFAW Gifts for Animals

Mir — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:00:00 GMT

Here's the perfect holiday gift for the tiny animal lover (or her parents) on your holiday gift list this year: Visit animalgift.org to donate money to an IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) animal campaign -- right now they are featuring elephant preservation, Russian bear cub rescue, or Canadian baby seal rescue -- and your good karma comes with small trinkets to pass along in commemoration of your gift. No, you don't do it for the pen and pencil set, colorful card, brochure, or even the canvas tote bag, but it's a nice little bonus. (Not to mention that this is a much more socially acceptable way to support wildlife than just standing around and spray-painting people's fur coats.)

Do Good: Shop Sandbox Couture, Benefit CHOC

Mir — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 12:30:00 GMT

If you're picking up some clothes for your favorite little fashionista at Sandbox Couture this holiday season, don't forget that you can use coupon code CHOC10 to save 10% off your order, and that doing so will result in Sandbox Couture donating 5% of their net revenue on your sale to CHOC Foundation for Children. It's a little bit of savings for you, and a little bit of money and good karma towards a worthy cause.

Do Good: Save the Children, One Ethiopian Apple Tree at a Time

Mir — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:03:00 GMT

Here's another great charity option for a holiday or new baby gift for the spawn who already has it all: Go visit Save the Children and consider choosing a charitable gift in recipient's honor. I particularly like the $75 option of apple tree seedlings for Ethiopian farmers -- for the price of what most designer toddler dinnerware costs, you're helping struggling villages build sustainable economy.

Do Good: Give an Acre of Rainforest with The Nature Conservancy

Mir — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:01:00 GMT

The Nature Conservancy would be happy to gift that special someone on your list with a half-acre or more of Costa Rican rainforest. (For an explanation of their Conservation By Design philosophy, go here.) All levels of giving come with a certificate, fact sheet, and a one-year subscription to their award-winning magazine. That's not a bad deal starting at $25, and I promise Junior's parents will appreciate it more than the latest Elmo.

Do Good: Double Donations with First Book

Mir — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:03:00 GMT

If you're unfamiliar with First Book, they're an organization dedicated to providing new books to disadvantaged children -- a worthy charity at any time. But now through December 31st, 2007, every dollar donated to First Book will be matched by one new book from Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing. That makes it a doubly wonderful time to make a donation in honor of someone, don't you think? I suggest printing out the card for your honoree and presenting it tucked into -- what else? -- a favorite book.

Donation levels start at just $10, and remember that through the end of the year that will be matched with an additional 10 books.

Do Good: Give the Gift of an Oceana Adoption

Mir — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:04:00 GMT

If you're looking for a meaningful holiday gift for a little one that isn't about "stuff," perhaps you'd like to investigate adopt-a-creature at Oceana. Adoptions start at $35, where your donation comes with a cookie cutter shaped like your chosen creature, a sugar cookie recipe, and facts on ocean creatures. Choose from sixteen creatures, or choose a subgroup of four or all sixteen.

You get to make cookies, and the oceans get protection. Happy holidays, indeed.

Do Good: Robert's Snow Snowflakes Auction

Mir — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:03:00 GMT

Want to celebrate the season with a one-of-a-kind piece of art that will help raise money for a good cause? Check out the Robert's Snow auction, snowflake ornaments painted by children's book illustrators and then auctioned off to benefit cancer research. There will be three weeks of auctions, and the first one went live today. Each snowflake starts at an opening bid of $50. Some of them are absolutely breathtaking.

[Hat tip: book, book, book]

Do Good: PCRF Holiday Cards

Mir — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 14:02:00 GMT

Each year the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation produces sets of kid-friendly holiday greeting cards designed by young cancer patients. Proceeds from the sales benefit pediatric cancer research, and are mighty cute, to boot. Set of 12 cards for $12; plenty of options from which to choose.