With Father’s Day fast approaching, why not give your Dad something really special this year by choosing from the World Vision Charity Gift selection?

Instead of purchasing the regulation socks and hankies, World Vision has over 70 charity gifts to choose from. By spending £11 you could buy him a much needed football for a team in Malawi (probably a better standard than anything we’ve seen in Euro2008 so far!). Other great gifts include buying fish for a farm in Sri Lanka, or a bike to help health workers travel around Zambia.
 

Alongside these great gift ideas World Vision have also created 240 unique cards to choose from, and you can even design your own. Simply drop your personal picture onto the front of the card and write your own unique message.

By choosing your gift through World Vision, you are donating funds towards people who are a lot less fortunate than oursleves. So not only will you be purchasing a unique Father’s Day present, but you will also be helping other people to help themselves in some of the poorest countries on the planet.

> > click here to find out more about World Vision

> > click here to view the top charity gift providers

Christian Aid, our featured charity for May, is looking for entries to compete in the BUPA Great North Run in October. 150 places are currently available for the world’s biggest half marathon, with runners only asked to raise £300 to take part.

One of last year’s runners, Kevin Clelland, ran with his wife Amy and his mate, Daniel.

“It was Amy’s first half marathon so we took it easy and came home over an hour down on my time last year and 29000 places further back but it was probably my most enjoyable Great North Run yet!   Daniel and I ran as Mexicans – I attached my Christian Aid vest to my poncho and thankfully the sombrero kept the sun off my head!”

Proof that the fun really is in the taking part!

Thanks to people like Kevin, Amy and Daniel, Christian Aid will be raising money to help poor communities worldwide. If you want to be part of this truly mind-blowing event and join in the fun call us now to reserve your place and avoid disappointment on 0207 523 2248 or email events@christianaid.org

You too can help Christian Aid by purchasing one of the 40 gifts available from Present Aid. Your gift could be a herd of goats all the way up to a health workers salary, helping to transform the lives of people in some of the world’s poorest countries.

> > click here to view the gifts available at Present Aid

Question: What’s the smartest way to help people in the world’s poorest communities help themselves?

Answer: Quizaid a new quiz night game from Christian Aid

Quizaid is the best quiz night in town – and it’s organised by you.

Challenge your friends, colleagues and neighbours to dust off their brain cells – and make a real difference this Christian Aid Week.

QuizAid events are currently being held across the nation for Christian Aid Week. Take a look at this fantastic event that was held on Monday night in North London :

If you are interested in holding a Quiz Aid evening all the available resources can be found here: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/getinvolved/christianaidweek/quizaid/index.aspx

Charity of the Month Christian Aid kicks off their Christian Aid Week today. Read on below to see how the money raised during Christian Aid Week is spent.

Rekha Biswas from Bangladesh provides one of the most humbling and inspirational examples of tenacity this Christian Aid Week. This courageous lady has helped set up a water council which gives training to help people understand what they need to do to get clean water and then how to achieve it. And vitally, she challenges gender roles. She encourages women to come to meetings of the local pani parishad, the village water council.

Getting clean water is a problem throughout Bangladesh. People often have to walk for up to 24 hours carrying heavy pots to collect water to drink.

Through the new village pani parishad (water council), Rekha is teaching the community how to harvest rainwater safely so that they don’t have to travel for a whole day and cross a dangerous river to fetch drinking water.

By giving up a couple of pounds during Christian Aid Week, you are giving so much more than money. Your generosity can mean water, rights and courage.

• A gift of just £0.50 to Christian Aid would pay for one day’s gender training per person with BCAS to improve relationships in families and lessen the burden on women.
• £50 would pay for the monthly salary of a community pani parishad coordinator, who helps women and the poor to discover their voice, understand their right to water, learn about health and hygiene, and begin to instigate change.
• Your gifts this Christian Aid Week can help to give voice to a single woman or to a whole community.

>> Click here to donate during Christian Aid Week

Christian Aid is to be the very first “charity of the month” on charity information website donation4charity which has recently rebranded and added a new charity gift shop section. The new sponsorship initiative coincides with Christian Aid Week (11-17 May) and will promote the organisation’s work to potential supporters and donors.

Christian Aid Week is the UK’s largest and longest-running national awareness week and in 2007 raised nearly £15 million for vital overseas development work. This year, as well as raising money, Christian Aid is encouraging supporters to pledge to “do something else”, like recycling an old mobile phone.

The collaboration with Donation4charity - an independent portal providing users with information on UK charities - is an excellent opportunity to promote the week and new pledge-initiative.  Since launching just over two years ago Donation4Charity users have set up over 15,000 regular direct debit donations to the charities featured on the site and have purchased over £500,000 in charity gifts.

Chris Russell, head of interactive marketing at Christian Aid said: “This year we want people to give and get involved. By taking simple actions like switching to green electricity or emailing their MP about climate change, everyone can contribute.”

“The new Christian Aid Week website has lots of innovative ideas about how to get involved, and the partnership with donation4charity it is a excellent opportunity to promote and boost awareness in the run up to the event.”

Ross Travill, marketing director at Venturian Media Ltd, publishers of Donation4Charity said: “We have chosen Christian Aid as our partner for the site re-launch as with Christian Aid week fast approaching it presents an ideal opportunity for us to educate our community on the important work that they are doing and hopefully facilitate some additional support”.

America’s constant and reckless sourcing of oil and gas at any cost has come under criticism again from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Arctic Polar bears were supposed to be added to the endangered species list on January 9th 2008, but as of yet they have not made the list. The reasoning behind this decision is unclear, with the melting Polar ice caps offering the bears less land to live and hunt on, the species could be extinct within the next 50 years.

Serious questions are now being raised as to why they haven’t been added. With sales of oil and gas in the Chukchi Sea, as well as the foreseeable energy mining in the Arctic region, it seems the U.S are stalling on adding any more species to the endangered list. Whilst work is under way to capitalise on the limited fossil fuels, currently on the Interior Department’s Endangered Species act is the lowest number of species of animal - ever!

Interestingly, 10 years ago it was then Senator Dirk Kempthorne who led the way in the reform of the Endangered Species act. It was he who announced that scientific data, and not bureaucracy, would be key in all decisions, and that the speed of the process was vital in saving animals from extinction. Fast forward 10 years, and who seems to be holding up the decision making process – the now Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne!

Arctic Polar Bears ARE in danger, and the sooner the U.S Government are pushed into admitting this travesty the better. The World Wildlife Fund have set up an adopt a Polar Bear scheme, where a donation of as little as £2.50 a month will help the continued support of the Polar Bears blighted cause. With the Arctic region continuing to warm at twice the rate of the rest of the world, the time to act is now.

>> Adopt a Polar Bear with the WWF from £2.50 a month

>> WWF Animal Adoption programmes.

If you’re thinking of giving something a little different to Chocloate eggs this coming weekend, why not put something back into the environment by giving a RSPB Membership as an Easter charity gift?

With over a million members in the UK alone, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds successfully campaign for endangered species, whilst protecting and restoring bird habitats. With over 100 nature reserves in the UK, the RSPB not only protects and nurtures British wildlife, but also tackles international conservation issues through the Birdlife International Partnership.

Each adult member will not only gain free access to any of the UK’s beautiful RSPB’s nature reserves, but also a handbook on British Birds, not to mention a quarterly magazine. For younger members, the Wildlife Explorers kit is an excellent learning tool, which including posters, stickers, a logbook with activities, a membership card and a certificate. Explorer’s also get a choice of either a wildlife stationery set or organiser, plus a free subscription to Wild times magazine.

Children’s prices start from as little as £1.17 a month, whilst an adult membership is £2.67 per month (based over 12 months). Also available is a Family Membership, which consists of two adults plus any number of children, for only £4.17 a month!

Water-way to have a good time.

>> Sign up for an RSPB Membership from just £1.17 a month

Give more than just chocolate this Easter with an amazing array of life changing charity gifts from World Vision Alternative Gifts. For as little as £9, you can donate a selection of seeds to be used by families in Zambia to grow and nurture their own crops for food. Or for £14 why not help the people of Sri Lanka to raise 20 vaccinated chicks, offering them both food and produce to sell in the future.

In Senegal, families see little reason to send their children to school, as nearly all children will rely on farming, not education, for their future. So why not spend £29 on a sheep for a school, so children can attend the more attractive sheep breeding lessons alongside their formal education? By providing these Charity Gifts, you will be actively encouraging families to send their children to school to learn this vital skill. Also, whilst offering the children a chance with their education, you will also be aiding school funding by providing livestock that can be re sold within the community.

Easter is a time for giving, so why not donate a special present from World Vision Alternative Gifts, one that can help people across the world help themselves.

>> Buy a Charity Gift Online with World Vision Alternative Gifts

>> Read our World Vision Alternative Gifts Review

>> Top Charity gifts for Easter

ActionAid’s Gifts in Action programme has a huge range of gifts available for that Eggstra special person this Easter! So why stick to tradition? For just £10, your charity gift could help fund a chicken breeding scheme in Malawi where woman are given help to buy broods of chicks to raise. The nutritious eggs that these chickens produce can be eaten by poor families or sold at local markets, enabling them to earn an income.

What’s more, you could even choose to give your family or friends an interactive e-card – perfect for those last minute presents. Gifts start at £8 and there really is something for everyone. And don’t forget, the money you spend will go towards a whole range of programmes to help poor communities overcome poverty.

>> Buy online with ActionAid from £8.00

>> View top Easter Charity Gifts from £3.99

Make your mother’s day with an alternative charity gift from Cancer Research UK. They have a range of thoughtful and unusual gifts that are a great alternative to the usual flowers or chocolates. Your gift could fund research into breast cancer or buy essential lab equipment for their team scientists.

Any alternative gift you choose will directly fund CRUK’s life saving work and help beat cancer.  They have charity gifts for all budgets - from £6 to £600, so you will be sure to find something to make your Mum smile on March 2nd.

The Cancer Research Send and Give online shop also offers a great range of eCards so if you’re worried about getting a card to your Mum in time or just want to save paper, why not personalise one of the thoughtful, funny or touching eCards. You can even upload a photo of the two of you.

By donating the money you would have spent on a paper card you will be helping to beat cancer.

>> Buy online at the Send and Give with Cancer Research UK Shop

>> Read more about how you can  donate to Cancer Research UK

>> View the Top 10 Charity Gifts for Mothers Day