This article originally appeared on PassBlue.com
That’s right, the #GivingTuesday season is upon us. This year, PassBlue brings you the #GivingTuesday Gift Guide.
Not sure what to get the person who might have everything? Give a donation in their name to an organization that aligns with their values. The UN offers you the chance to cover all the important bases: children (UNICEF), women (UNWOMEN), refugees (UNHCR, a particular need as winter is setting in for many people in the camps), food and food security (World Food Program) and human rights (OHCHR). The United Nations Development Programme lists 7 other ways you can participate in Giving Tuesday.
Concerned about press freedom? Less than 14 percent of the world has full freedom of the press, and that number is posed to shrink. You could donate to UNESCO, which promotes freedom of the press, or you could also choose an actual journalism site for your US tax-deductible contribution.
Many publications, including PassBlue, rely on public support to deliver breaking news, feature stories and long-form investigative pieces. And as 2017 starts with a new United Nations secretary-general and the US looks to appoint former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley as its new UN ambassador, PassBlue’s coverage of the UN will be even more important.
The only way to fight the proliferation of fake news across social media and other outlets is to ensure a free and legitimate press. Donate now, and give the gift of free press, something we all need.
Looking for the full holiday experience of giving wrapped gifts? Here are our favorite places to make sure any gift has multiple recipients:
- Disarm old landmines in Laos via Article 22
- Recycle illegal or unwanted guns returned to municipal authorities in the US, via the Caliber Collection
- Support nuclear disarmament via From War to Peace
- Established in 2014, UNICEF’s marketplace offers a variety of gifts, including great toys
- Global Goods Partners creates economic opportunity for women in some of the world’s poorest communities by providing access to the US market for their fair trade, handmade products, including great toys
- Global Citizen marketplace supports a variety of efforts, and is perfect for the music lover on any list
- (Red) products fight AIDS globally and offers everything from Moleskine notebooks to high-end housewares
- FEED, created by a former World Food Program goodwill ambassador, helps alleviate hunger and provides education through its bags and apparel
- FashionABLE provides jobs and training to women who have overcome many hardships, producing gorgeous jewelry, too
- PURPOSE jewelry provides professional opportunities to young women rescued from sex trafficking
- Gifts from the WHY Hunger store feeds those in need
- Dsenyo offers fair-trade products from Africa, crafted by “women and artisans working to build a better life and inspire social change in their communities”
Looking to add activism in other ways in your holiday gift giving? Consider donating to the American Civil Liberties Union, which has reported a significant rise in donations, many citing President-elect Trump as the reason. By November 20, 2016, Planned Parenthood had received over 50,000 gifts in the name of Michael Pence, the US vice-president-elect who has expressed less-than-tolerant views on women’s reproductive rights.
Happy holidays!
