CHIMP’s 2017 Gift Guide For The Holiday Season

What should you get your friends and loved ones this holiday season? Maybe you’re thinking of getting them this year’s hottest consumer electronic.

But is that Bluetooth-enabled toaster really the best gift you could be giving them? Will they truly benefit from a gadget that tweets on behalf of their dog?

This year, go above and beyond. Spend your money on something that actually improves their life. According to experts, people are happier when they’re charitable.  

With CHIMP, you can either send money to someone’s account, and they can donate as they choose—or you can make the gift more personal, by picking a charity and donating on their behalf.

But deciding to give to a charity is no small task. Which of the 86,000 registered Canadian charities should you give to? Should you donate supplies or food? And what kind of impact will the donation have?

To make things easier, we’ve assembled a list of charitable gifts for a variety of interests and budget sizes: 

Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) through the Against Malaria Foundation ($2.50 each)

Despite the efforts of prominent philanthropists like Bill Gates, more than 400 million people are infected with malaria every year, and more than 400,000 of them—mostly children below the age of five—go on to die of the disease.

Our first line of defence against the spread of the mosquito-borne disease are long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), like those provided by the Against Malaria Foundation, which has distributed more than 50 million nets to more than 100 million people since 2004.

For just $2.50 of your donation, the AMF can provide two people with a LLIN that could protect them from malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

Help 100 people overcome iodine deficiency for one year through the Iodine Global Network ($5)

Iodine is something that most of us take for granted in our diets, but more than two billion people around the world get too little of the nutrient in their food, leading to increased rates in infant mortality and a variety of developmental and cognitive problems.

Charities like the Iodine Global Network are trying to fix the problem by providing millions of people every year with adequately iodized salt.

The IGN has been recognized internationally for its impact and cost-effectiveness, and is able to deliver iodine nutrition programs around the world for as little as two cents per person per year.

“Buy an owl dinner” through the BC SPCA ($10)

Every year, the SPCA’s Wild Animal Rehabilitation Center (ARC) in Victoria, British Columbia rescues and rehabilitates thousands of injured, sick, orphaned and distressed animals affected by human activity.

By donating as little as $10, you can help the centre provide food and all the necessary supplies for rehabilitating one of the center’s furry patients. Once you’ve donated, you can get access to the center’s live ‘Critter Cam’ to see your dollars at work.

Two weeks of food supplies for Eva’s Initiatives For Homeless Youth ($35)

Eva’s Initiatives operates a series of shelters in the Toronto, Ontario area for at-risk youth ages 16-24. In 2016, more than half of the youth served through Eva’s shelters successfully returned to their family homes or moved on to stable housing.

For $35, Eva’s can provide one of its residents with two weeks of food, and for $250, the center can provide all of its residents with food for a day.

Safe maternal delivery kit through Doctors Without Borders ($45)

Maternal deaths are a rarity in developed countries, but in poorer countries they’re an ever-present danger, usually resulting from a lack of access to basic medical supplies.

This kit, which you can help Doctors Without Borders provide to its workers for as little as $45, gives an individual everything they need to deliver a baby safely: foreceps to clamp the umbilical cord, scissors, gauze, and

sterilizing tools.

Sight-restoring cataract surgery for one individual through Seva ($50)

Nearly 250 million people worldwide are affected by some category of visual impairment. What’s worse is that 80% of those incidents are preventable or curable, but go uncured due to lack of access to basic medical procedures.

Seva has helped restore vision to over 35 million people over the last 35 years by providing the world’s poor with access to low-cost procedures like cataract surgery, which you can help the charity provide to one individual for as little as $50.

Blankets, tarps and hygiene kits for disaster relief through the Samaritan’s Purse ($60)

On September 7th 2017, the island of Saint Martin was hit by Hurricane Irma, the strongest observed hurricane in the Atlantic in at least a decade.

Within 24 hours, workers from Samaritan’s Purse were on the ground, distributing 20 tonnes of supplies, blankets, tarps and hygiene kits.

Your donation can help the organization sustain its ambitious relief operations in the Caribbean, Myanmar, South Sudan, and more.

Donated food through Moisson Montreal ($67)

Opened in 1984, Moisson Montreal is the largest food bank in Canada, and it knows how to get food to those who are in need.

According to Moisson, every dollar donated to the charity results in $15 worth of donated food. So if you donate $67, that results in just over $1000 worth of food! If you’re looking to make a big impact with a modest donation, Moisson might be the charity for you.

Support a bursary for an Indigenous student in need through Indspire’s Building Brighter Futures program ($250)

Indspire helps provide access to post-secondary education for Canada’s Indigenous students, who are one of the nation’s most underrepresented communities at post-secondary institutions.

The charity operates a variety of mentorship, peer support, scholarship and bursary programs, and is the largest provider of scholarships and bursaries for Indigenous Canadians outside of the Government of Canada.