Imagine if your next amazing vacation helped underprivileged children receive arts education, if your dinner reservation increased funding for cancer research, or your concert tickets helped save our oceans. How about the necklace you choose for your wife also helping a family in Haiti survive? This Valentine's Day, the gifts you buy can change the world.
As consumers, we've grown increasingly conscious of our purchasing habits. We look for labels that confirm our purchases aren't harming our planet -- organic, sustainable, fair trade. We research our gadgets online for days. We shop around for the highest quality, the healthiest, the most coveted. But in the last few years, another class of shopping has emerged that deserves equal consideration -- items that raise funds for charities that are working hard to improve our world.
At Charitybuzz, we feature online charity auctions that bring incredible experiences to consumers, while raising millions for worthy causes like UNICEF, The RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights and Musicians on Call. For our Valentine's Day Auction, we are raising funds for more than two dozen organizations by auctioning off VIP packages with celebrities like Hugh Jackman and Prince William, resorts like Parrot Bay in Turks and Caicos, and brands like Mercedes, Loree Rodkin and Marchesa. Couture fashion, the best seat in the house, or a day on the set with your favorite star -- it is possible to do good by living well.
From the bottle of water you drink to the bottle of wine you buy, you can create change just by enjoying the things you love. There is an array of new products springing up that promote giving back. Some of our favorite "shopping for good" products this Valentine's Day include One Hope Wine, which donates 50% of profits to charities, Teleflora's beautiful charity bouquet for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and Satya Jewelry's gorgeous EB Butterfly collection, which was created with Courtney Cox and David Arquette to raise money for the EB Medical Research Foundation. Many forget that museum gift shops benefit nonprofits as well, ensuring that some of our finest cultural institutions can continue enriching our lives with art, history and music.
This Valentine's Day, during a time when funding for nonprofits is needed more than ever, a gift that gives twice can be the most worthy gift of all.