Heifer Christmas Challenge

With Thanksgiving almost here, I am sure we have all started thinking about what we are thankful for. One of the things I am thankful for is our chickens and ducks, as I am sure many of you are thankful for yours. They not only give us eggs to eat, but the poo makes great compost for the garden and let us not forget their friendship and silly ways that entertain us all year long. I know there are many of you out there that wish you could have chickens but for whatever reason can’t. But you too know the value of a good flock.

So where am I going with this? Well a while back I received a Christmas catalog, but not your typical gift catalog. The catalog was from an amazing group called Heifer International. What are they “selling?” Critters!!!! You see what they do is offer you the chance to donate and an animal (or group of animals) will be giving to a family in need on behalf of someone, say your mother. Your loved one gets a card explaining your gift on their behalf. The donation you make then goes to a family who has completed training and prepared an appropriate facility for the animal(s) you picked.

Let’s say you picked a flock of chickens…… not only does the family now have eggs to eat and poo for their garden and a financial income from selling those items, but the family must then “pass on the gift.” Once they hatch out chicks they give some to another family to start the process. And then that family, when the time comes, passes chicks to another family, it is a domino effect. So you don’t help just one family, you in essence help the whole community over time!!! How neat is that!!!

Heifer International has been around since 1944 and has worked with 18.5 million families in 125 countries. Heifer works with livestock and agriculture to develop programs to alleviate hunger and poverty. The have specialists in the field who train and support the families in the program.

So why am I telling you all this? Because it is a great program but I know times are tough for a lot of us. It might not be feasible for you to send $60 for a trio of rabbits or even $20 for a flock of chickens. So what I thought we could do is band together, each giving just a little, that could turn into a large (maybe very large!?!?) donation to Heifer that could help many families. Call me crazy but I know on Facebook I have close to 3,400 likes. If each person gave just $1, can you imagine the impact we could have on so many!?!?!?! So I want to set a challenge this year for Christmas, let’s see how much we can raise for Heifer International. I am sure we can all give up a cup of coffee, a candy bar, or a dinner out……..

I have set up a donation Paypal account to make donating to what I am calling the Heifer Christmas Challenge, as easy as possible for everyone. Let’s see how much we can raise by December 20th this year. I would also like everyones’ input on how the money should be donated, so in the comment section please let me know which programs from the list peak your interest!! (please note, some of the critters are very expensive and we may not raise enough to say give a camel which is $850 but let’s dream big shall we.) So what are you waiting for, look in your heart, click the button, and let’s band together to make a difference!!!!

Please note if your prefer to send a check, please email [email protected] for address.

Heifer Programs
Ducks/Geese
Flock of chicks
honeybees
Trio of rabbits
Pig
Sheep
Goats
Llama
Water buffalo
Camel
Fish fingerlings
Tree seedling
Irrigation pump
Where ever Heifer feels it is needed most

* photo credit: Heifer International