Heifer International

bagnshoofetish

Oh. Gee.
O.G.
Feb 12, 2006
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Heifer International is one of the most wonderful charities I've ever come across. Please check out their website - it is a wonderful gift to give especially for that person who has "everything" cause you can donate in anyones name. DH and I have decided to forego gifts to each other this year and pool our money together to buy as many animals as we can afford to give someone. We are hoping to make this a tradition. Of course, you can give any time of year but Christmas is a great excuse!

www.Heifer.org

just a sample of how they work:
Entire communities depend on wool and meat from sheep. Struggling families use sheep's wool to make clothes, or sell it for extra income. Sheep often give birth to twins or triplets and can graze even the hilliest, rockiest pastures unsuitable for other livestock.
Some Heifer families use managed grazing techniques or zero-grazing pens to protect the environment and collect manure for fertilizer, which improves soil and pasture land.
Warm in winter, cool in summer, waterproof and durable - wool is a valuable product that struggling families can use for clothing or sell for extra income.
All over the world, Heifer partners are raising sheep to advance the cause against hunger and poverty.
sheep.large3.jpg

In poor Filipino villages, water buffalo from Heifer provide draft power for planting rice and potatoes, milk for protein and manure for fertilizer and fuel. A farmer can plant four times more rice with a buffalo than by hand.
Water buffalo haul heavy loads to the market, where the sale of extra produce brings in vital income for clothing, medicine and school. By renting their buffalo to neighbors, Heifer partner families can earn money for home improvements.
Protein-rich milk, strength to till soil, manure to enrich the land ... so many benefits. And, in turn, water buffalo are happy just to graze on coarse grasses and other plants not suitable for harvesting.

waterbuffalo235X235.jpg

The Buzz About Bees
From Uganda to El Salvador, bees from Heifer International help struggling families earn income through the sale of honey, beeswax and pollen.
Beehives require almost no space and, once established, are inexpensive to maintain.
As bees search for nectar, they pollinate plants. Placed strategically, beehives can as much as double some fruit and vegetable yields. In this way, a beehive can be a boost to a whole village.
Although most Heifer partners keep bees as a supplement to family income, beekeeping can be a family's livelihood. Your gift can help Heifer provide a family with a package of bees, the box and hive, plus training in beekeeping.
Bees.Large.jpg


No need to post comments in this thread.
Please just go and check out the site.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa to all my TPF brothers and sisters!
 
^^^ the ark is one of the packages offered by Heifer. For $5,000, they send out:

2 cows
2 sheep
2 camels
2 oxen
2 water buffalo
2 pigs
2 beehives
2 goats
2 donkeys
2 trios of ducks
2 trios of rabbits
2 trios of guinea pigs
2 flocks of geese
2 flocks of chicks
2 llamas
 
I'd love to be able to give the Ark; too expensive for us. We give every year and mix it up. One year it was a llama, a goat, and a water buffalo. Last year I think it was sheep, pig and goat. Their philosophy is super.

While in China in May, dh met one of their directors. She was so happy to hear he knew about the organization and that we support it.
 
I'd love to be able to give the Ark; too expensive for us. We give every year and mix it up. One year it was a llama, a goat, and a water buffalo. Last year I think it was sheep, pig and goat. Their philosophy is super.

While in China in May, dh met one of their directors. She was so happy to hear he knew about the organization and that we support it.

that is so awesome! I'd love to do the ark too but I think we'd have to go into it with some people. Right now, we can't decide what to give - I'd like to give the animal thats going to do someone the most good but I guess its all good....
 
YES! This has been our holiday charity of choice for a number of years now. I think the philosophy of this program is ideal. I put a card on the tree for the kids to open after they "helped" me decide how to donate and we talk about that on Christmas day. Dh believes donating should be hush-hush and never to toot one's own horn and I agree for the most part, but I feel it is important to teach the kids how the whole idea of the holidays is GIVING and not how many packages they get to open for themselves.

Thanks for bringing this charity to the attention of more people, bagnshoo. It does a world of good.
 
The personal stories in their catalog and magazine really get to me. One was how a goat enables a girl to attend school because the family can sell milk; the family is healthier with the milk and cheese produced; the offspring from breeding is shared with other families in the community.

It's a charitable gift that keeps on giving, the best kind. I'm thinking of getting their book, Beatrice's Goat, for our grandson. He's 2 and loves animals.
 
Dh believes donating should be hush-hush and never to toot one's own horn and I agree for the most part, but I feel it is important to teach the kids how the whole idea of the holidays is GIVING and not how many packages they get to open for themselves..

I think what you do is a great idea. something that will be ingrained in them forever. :tup:
 
when i was in middle school, my entire school raised money for this charity. every homeroom teacher sold pins for $1-$3 that you could put on your backpack to show that you donated, and every cent went to Heifer (they provided the pins free of charge). it was very popular, they raised several thousand dollars :smile:
 
^^^^great idea! At our previous church, the youth (h.s.) group did something similar to "buy a heifer". Getting children involved in the concept of giving whether to Heifer International, Salvation Army, or whatever, is a good stepping stone to raising a child who has awareness of others' needs.
 
There are so many wonderful charities, and this is definitely one of them. I've given to this charity a few years ago (buffalo) but perhaps it's time to bring this one into the rotation again. Thanks for bringing it up, bagnshoo! :tup: