The Circle of Kindness

My last post was about Kate Titus's company, A Loyal Companion. She provides canine massage and she's recently branched out into prosthetics for canines. While that might seem like a bit of a luxury, for working dogs or very active dogs, it can be a solution that brings new joy, life and most importantly, restored activity to a dog who otherwise would be sidelined. But that's not the point of this post - keep reading...

Kate texted and said to set my DVR to record an early morning local news show on Sunday morning she was appearing on. I did so and watched one of the most moving segments I've seen in a long time. Kate and her dog are part of a group called Gabriel's Angels (www.gabrielsangels.org). The organization is dedicated to changing the circle of violence and neglect by bringing everyday dogs to visit children at risk - those in shelters, domestic violence shelters and juvenile detention, among other places. The volunteers are trained to understand the situation but beyond that, they are everyday people with their dogs (dogs are certified through the program). Gabriel's Angels believes that the bond between a therapy dog and a child is strong enough to break the cycle of violence. Those of you who love dogs know the power of that bond.

The founder, Pam Gaber , was interviewed (as was Kate and her companion pup, a gigantic Great Dane mix named Harley). Pam talked passionately about the impact these dogs have on the kids. Her explanation was quite moving - she talked about the importance of developing trust, compassion and empathy in these kids and that more often than not, these dogs do the trick. In fact, the organization has sponsored studies to validate their result - that these children are forever changed and healed by experiencing the unconditional love dogs offer.

In this season of giving, consider giving to the charity of your choice - funding has been severely cut in this economic climate; non-profits are struggling under the burden of being tasked with ever larger work loads with continually dwindling funding. Help fill the gap by making a generous donation of whatever size to an organization in your neighborhood that makes a difference, touches your heart and contributes to the circle of kindness.

This year, I'm going to stretch a bit more than usual and make sure I help the organizations that make a difference. I hope you'll consider helping out as well.

One by one and all together, we can make a difference.

Happy Holidays from all of us at shopOrganic.com. And remember, during the holiday craze, you still gotta eat. We've got plenty of healthy, organic food for quick and easy meals for you - and yup, we've got some great green and organic gifts for your last minute shopping as well.

Here's your reward for reading the whole post - watch this really fun dog video on YouTube - it will make your day! Now go out there and enjoy your day! Read more!

Affordable Organic and Green Gifts

I just read an article saying that Americans were planning on cutting back on gifts this year. In many ways, that's probably a good thing as we have tended in the past to overspend at the holidays (and I include myself in that "we"). It will be interesting to see how this pans out as we get closer to those winter holidays. Often people swear they're going to spend less but end up spending more than they anticipated or budgeted. This year, I'm guessing most folks will truly scale back - but I'm also thinking the kinds of gifts we give might shift.

In recent years, I've started giving gifts of food since it's not something someone stuffs in a back closet or tries to re-gift (though if it's the notorious fruitcake, it might be re-gifted several times, even across state lines)...

As a business consultant and business owner, I often give a small gift to clients as a token of my appreciation for our business relationship (which often turns into genuine friendship over the years). Food is a pretty safe gift for corporate gift giving especially because you don't have to worry about size, color, or more importantly, cost. Many companies have strict rules about employees receiving gift, especially from vendors, but those restrictions rarely apply to food gifts.

Of course, there's a reason I'm talking about all this. Cara has been hard at work putting together some really cool gift collections that fit every budget. For example, we've got an Organic Harvest hot sauce collection of three of the best, 100% organic hot sauces you'll ever taste for only $9.99. Here's another example - a set of four organic jams from Colorado Mountain Jam so packed with flavor you'll be tempted to eat it straight from the jar - for just $21.29. One more example - Cara put together an amazing gift (I'm hoping someone gives this to me this year...hint hint) with organic Rishi tea, Biscottea shortbread cookies (perfect with tea) and a really cool ceramic mug with removable tea strainer for just $35.99. I'm not a big fan of tea (I'm more of a hard core coffee drinker), but this Rishi tea is like nothing I've ever tasted before. It's got incredibly robust, complex flavors and as it cools, you can taste more and more nuances. I know, I know, it sounds a bit like some high brow wine review, but really, this tea is THAT good. The Biscottea use organic tea in the cookies. Cara worked with Rishi to create parings that really work nicely together and the ceramic mug is great for coffee or tea.

So, you see, you can give a wonderful gift that the recipient will be thrilled to receive, you can do all this on a tight budget and you can be sure that everyone you know gets a little something at the holidays that won't end up being re-gifted.

I spared you by not listing every single gift we have - suffice it to say Cara's had a really fun time creating these gifts and I don't think she's done yet - so check back often for affordable organic and green gifts you can give with a clean conscience this year!

shopOrganic Affordable Organic and Green Gifts
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