Mother's Day Gifts: 10 Charity Gifts That Help Women In Need

When you shower your mom with the love –- and chocolate, jewelry and flowers –- that she deserves on May 13, you can also use that moment to honor a struggling woman in need living worlds away.

Because while Mother’s Day is an opportunity to thank the woman who gave you life, it is also a chance to honor the women who are overcoming major adversities and are determined to carve out a meaningful life for themselves and their families. When you celebrate with your mom, don't forget the pregnant woman in Africa who isn’t guaranteed a safe delivery and the sex trafficking survivor in Cambodia who is hoping for a second chance.

As you prepare to indulge your mom in the goodies she loves most, consider doing so with a present that also gives back to an organization empowering women in greatest need.

SLIDESHOW:

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• Sport Bling For Women's Health, $50

  After surviving the devastating Haiti earthquake in 2010, an artisan collected materials around the house, and <a href="http://www.jewelryforacause.net/products-page/featured-items/" target="_hplink">crafted this sparkling pendant</a>. When you buy this piece of jewelry for mom to keep close to her heart, 20 percent of the sale will go to <a href="http://www.afyafoundation.org/index-1.html" target="_hplink">the AFYA Foundation,</a> which addresses the health concerns of those in the greatest need. <em>Shop Jewelry for a Cause <a href="http://www.jewelryforacause.net/products-page/featured-items/" target="_hplink">here. </a></em>

• Drink To A Cure For Breast Cancer, $18.99

  When you toast your mom for bringing you into this world, keep the women in mind who are fighting for their lives. As you clink glasses, you'll know that a percentage of your purchase will go to fight breast cancer when you buy your <a href="http://www.onehopewine.com/our-wines/white-wine/chardonnay/2010-onehope-california-chardonnay" target="_hplink">Chardonnay from ONEHOPE Wine.</a> <em>Shop OneHope Wine <a href="http://www.onehopewine.com/breast-cancer.html" target="_hplink">here.</a></em>

• Fight Cancer With Sweets, $2.65

  Celebrate your mom -- and your vow to fight cancer -- when you two bite into a <a href="http://shop.seattlechocolates.com/scc/survivor-chick.html" target="_hplink">Survivor Chick</a> white and dark chocolate bar, filled with raspberries. This Seattle company is so determined to put an end to the C-word, it's giving 100 percent of proceeds from this item to the fight against cancer. <em>Buy your mom's Survivor Chick treat <a href="http://shop.seattlechocolates.com/scc/survivor-chick.html" target="_hplink">here. </a></em>

• Light A Candle For Women In Post-Conflict Regions, $18-$40

  <a href="http://www.prosperitycandle.com/" target="_hplink">Prosperity Candle</a> gives those who have suffered unspeakable tragedies in post-conflict regions the chance to rebuild their lives, by building candle-making businesses. One such businesswoman is Wafa'a -- an Iraqi widow who toils away to make scented, colorful candles to support her son who was seriously injured in a mortar blast. <em>Shop Prosperity's <a href="http://shop.prosperitycandle.com/mothers-day/" target="_hplink">Mother's Day gifts here </a>and write a note of encouragement to a candle-maker <a href="http://www.prosperitycandle.com/engage/" target="_hplink">here. </a></em>

• Buy A Sex Trafficking Survivor's Necklace, $75

  Give a sex trafficking victim a second chance when you buy a <a href="https://www.empowermentstore.org/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Strength+%2B+Support" target="_hplink">Silk Empowerment Necklace</a>, crafted by a survivor, that comes with a hand-written card expressing her thanks. Proceeds from your purchase benefit the <a href="http://www.somaly.org/" target="_hplink">Somaly Mam Foundation</a>, a nonprofit that helps rehabilitate and empower women and girls who have suffered the horrors of trafficking in Cambodia. <em>Peruse the Somaly Mam Foundation's Mother's Day gifts <a href="http://www.empowermentstore.org/" target="_hplink">here.</a></em>

• Give A Mom-To-Be A Safe Delivery, $24

  In 2010 alone, the <a href="http://gifts.rescue.org/" target="_hplink">International Rescue Committee </a>helped more than 152,000 pregnant women have safe deliveries in areas where hospitals have been destroyed. When you send your mom an <a href="http://gifts.rescue.org/product/health/safe-delivery" target="_hplink">IRC Mother's Day card</a>, your $24 donation will make sure that figure keeps climbing. <em>Purchase an IRC Mother's Day card <a href="http://gifts.rescue.org/product/health/safe-delivery" target="_hplink">here. </a></em>

• Wear This T-Shirt, Feed Hungry Moms And Kids, $47

  When you buy one of <a href="http://www.projectirisclothing.com/home/?currentPage=3" target="_hplink">Project Iris' colorful tees</a> for mom, you'll be helping another set of mothers and kids on the other side of the world. Five percent of your purchase will benefit <a href="http://www.wfp.org/" target="_hplink">the World Food Program</a>, which addresses the nutritional needs of mothers and their kids in developing countries. <em>Shop Project Iris <a href="http://www.projectirisclothing.com/home/?currentPage=3" target="_hplink">here.</a></em>

• Support Artisans Worldwide, Prices Vary

  You don't have to take your mom to India to buy her a one-of-kind gem crafted by a local artisan. Log onto <a href="http://worldofgood.ebay.com/" target="_hplink">eBay's World of Good site</a> to peruse the handmade pieces crafted by folks who are intent on sharing their gifts with the world, and using the proceeds to earn a livelihood. <em>Shop World of Good's Mother's Day gifts <a href="http://worldofgood.ebay.com/" target="_hplink">here.</a></em>

• Give A Mom A Garden, $30

  If your mom has more than enough "stuff," consider this fresh idea: Provide a green garden -- and a living -- for another mother and her family. An Oxfam fruit and vegetable garden provides fresh fare for families in need to eat themselves or sell at local markets. <em>Purchase your Oxfam garden from one mom to another </em> <a href="https://www.oxfamamericaunwrapped.com/Plant-vegetable-garden-gift.html" target="_hplink">here</a>.

• Buy Soap, Educate A Mom, $24

  It's a Mother's Day dream come true: Your mom can sit back and breathe easy -- all while working to help other women in need. Give the gift of relaxation with a Raven & Lily soap set. The gift includes honey oatmeal, lavender basmati, lemon sunrise, and leh apricot scents -- handmade in Northern India using locally grown ingredients and fresh spring water. Proceeds fund literacy programs for the women artisans and children in the community. <em>Shop for soap that helps women in need <a href="http://www.ravenandlily.com/soap-gift-set/" target="_hplink">here</a>.</em>

Flickr photo by Caroline Gluck/Oxfam.

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Comments

[WorldofChildren]

04:28 PM on 05/07/2012

Pair one of these gifts with a meaningful e-card message from the World of Children Award: http://bit.ly/JjWNnw

Select a card that supports the cause of your choice: orthopedic surgery in Nepal, early childhood literacy in Africa, orphan education in India, leadership training in the UK, and sexual abuse recovery in the Dominican Republic.

100% of your e-card purchase will directly impact a child in our life-changing programs.

[Durt Bagg]

12:50 PM on 05/06/2012

Beadforlife.org

[RedDonnaAnn]

11:36 AM on 05/06/2012

It is Sunday morning and I am sitting with my tea and my dogs, safe in my home, waiting for friends to come help with the back garden. I am moved to tears at how hard, scary and dangerous the world can still be for women.

I put a $25 loan into http://www.kiva.org/ almost two years ago. Once it is paid, I re-lend it. I always lend to women and I have always been paid back: on time, in full.

My heart breaks, just breaks as I sit here listening to birds at the feeder, splashing in the fountain, contemplating the many gifts of my life and the tasks I am blessed to have on my list today.

Please consider micro-lending or regular donation to a group. My twenty-five dollars has gone out and come back five times. Had I not put it there... what would I have spent it on? Gas? Groceries? Starbucks? I bought all that without my tiny twenty-five and it made such a huge difference in the lives of the women I did business with.

Peace.

[jmichaelmunger]

11:26 AM on 05/06/2012

Birth control and family planning would go a long way in the developing world.

[RedDonnaAnn]

11:41 AM on 05/06/2012

Too bad their governments don't want that. Controlling women is an age old trend that always, always, always leads to poverty, starvation, suffering at the worst possible levels.

And where do you think the GOP wants us to head? Right down there with the 3rd World. Terrifying.

[jmichaelmunger]

12:04 PM on 05/06/2012

I have always tried to stay out of women's issues. I feel that I'll either come off as disingenuous if I am supportive and oppressive if I have my reservations. But given the recent onslaught, I think I'll have to be a little more vocal in my support of women's issues.

[LibertarianCentrist]

11:04 AM on 05/06/2012

A new Vacuum Cleaner perhaps??

[RedDonnaAnn]

11:36 AM on 05/06/2012

Dick.

[SpencersMom]

09:55 AM on 05/06/2012

Buy a $47 t-shirt and 5% of the proceeds go to feeding the hungry? Sorry, that's NOT a charitable organization.

[artist-53]

10:24 AM on 05/06/2012

I agree with you.It appears that there are more Agencies that seem to be exploiting,rather than donating .Reminds me of the KomenFoundation. Exploit ,profit and brand.

I know of non profs that donate all proceeds,and that is where I will shop.

[Divine thought]

10:28 AM on 05/06/2012

You know I thought I was the only one thinking that.
I need my money to go to the people in need, not the organization.

[ruyanorton]

10:16 PM on 05/08/2012

That's an astute observation, and a challenge that I've grappled with as well. When organizations are taking much more than they give back, how far is your donation or purchase of merchandise really going to go? The Invisible Children (who brought us the viral Kony video earlier this year) came upon harsh criticism for their divvying of funds, and it is more of a positive than a negative that they did. Donors need to begin testing and questioning where their dollar goes. Unfortunately, it isn't enough to take an organization for it's good word. There are, of course, TONS of amazing charities that DO distribute their money properly. Maybe of them are big names, but others are tiny, like Maasai Girls Education Fund (MGEF), which spends over 90% of it's budget on programming: http://maasaigirlseducation.org/

[sultanhalwitz]

07:44 AM on 05/05/2012

mothers is very important in every persons life .
Send Rakhi to India

[Tim Whitley]

01:15 PM on 05/04/2012

Another great option is a gift certificate from Carbon Offsets To Alleviate Poverty (COTAP). Address her CO2 emissions and create wages for the world's poorest people at http://cotap.org/gifts/. A HuffPo article about COTAP can be found at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bryan-gobin/cotap-alternative-energies_b_1451498.html.