Fair-Trade Flowers, Birthing Kits, and Mothers Day

By now I hope you have already made plans on how to celebrate your mother (moms tend to like that), but in case you haven't or want to try something different next year, here are some giving ideas that benefit more than just your mother.

If you're at all like me, you may find yourself having an internal dialogue such as this when holidays like Mothers Day turn up.  How much money should I spend?  I don't want to buy something just to benefit large corporations like Hallmark..  In fact, am I feeling pressured to give something just to keep up with the Jones'... or just out of obligation?  Well, if I am going to get a gift, I don't want it to be a needless purchase that will end up in a landfill in less than a year.  Hmm.... what to do? 

Let's face it.  Holidays are part of our cultural celebrations, and I love a good excuse to go out on a date on Valentines' or get together with the family on Mothers Day.  I just don't want to play a part in the wasteful consumerism that seems to go along with the package.  That's why I love some of these creative ideas that keep coming through my email.  They're gifts that honor moms while remembering other moms around the world who struggle to feed their kids or struggle to have a voice or overcome a history of sexual abuse.  Of course, there are MANY other great ways to give on Mothers Day (flowers, cards, homemade gifts, taking Mom out to eat, etc...), and I still buy Hallmark cards for my mom and grandmother.  I just thought it would be cool to highlight some not-so-typical ways to celebrate important women in our lives.

Fair-trade Flowers!   Change.org helped to pressure 1-800-Flowers to begin carrying fair-trade flowers so that consumers have the option to buy flowers from companies they know uphold the workers rights of their gardeners.  Cool, huh?



Help a mother help her child!   Through Church World Service, you can buy a birthing kit for $35 or pay for two women to take a literacy class for $50.  Or choose another gift option.




Help 65 mothers get HIV-testing!  Though UNICEF USA you can help 65 women determine whether or not their babies will need treatment for HIV so they can live past their first birthdays.


Tread on Sex-Trafficking!  You can send a wicked, cool email to a mom  that tells her you donated to LOVE 146 which helps to rescue and rehabilitate girls from sex-trafficking. 


I'd love to hear other creative ways you may be celebrating your mom this Mothers Day.  And don't forget to honor a single mom that you know!  They deserve to be honored for all of the hard work, love, and sacrifices they make for their children which often go unrecognized.