Gifts That Give Back

These days everyone I know is racking their brain on how they can give back. Whether its through donations, signing petitions on issues they care about, or volunteering within their own communities - people just want to make a difference anyway they can!

Here at LMP, we’ve been donating a portion of our Little Miss Party in a Box sales to various charities. At the beginning of the pandemic, we worked with Food Bank For New York City and more recently, we’ve been donating to the NAACP. We also did a week of meal donations through various restaurants in our area to feed health heroes fighting on the frontline (you can read all about that here).

As the months have gone by, we’ve all had various gifts that we’ve needed to give. Seri did an interview with some tips & tricks for virtual birthday parties recently, and she mentioned the idea of making a donation in the guest of honor’s name in lieu of gifts. Whether it be for a missed graduation, quarantine birthday, or arrival of a new little one - it always feels better to give a gift that has a positive impact in some way. With all that said, below we’ve rounded up a few websites you can feel good about shopping on.

Bombas - Every purchase on their site donates socks to those in need. So far they’ve donated over 39 million! On their site they also have a directory to help connect you with local Bombas Giving Partners so you can find opportunities to serve your community.

Katz’s Deli - A New York Staple and one of Seri’s favs - Every day they are donating 200 pints of matzoh ball soup to senior citizens and low income housing residents in our community. For every $5 donation they receive, they will serve an additional soup to those in need!

Kind Culture Co - Every purchase made directly benefits a child in need! They have a few different collections to shop from on their website, The Doll Kind specifically donates another doll to orphanages, hospitals, and shelters.

One Hope Wine - Through the sale of every bottle, ONEHOPE has donated $5 million+ to causes around the world. Specifically, the bottle pictured above helps fund a helpline for LGBTQ youth in crisis. Now you can feel good about giving the gift of booze!!! Plus the bottle is super cute.

Phenomenal Women - The Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign, inspired by Maya Angelou’s “Phenomenal Woman” poem, brings awareness to social causes. Some of the organizations they work with include Black Futures Lab, Native Voices Rising, Essie Justice Group and so many more. Another thing I love about this site is that you can make a book through their partnership with We Need Diverse Books that helps bring books about diversity to school districts and to students in need. All books are also purchased from local bookstores!

Pura Vida - This jewelry brand lets you choose what type of cause you’d like to donate to (Animal, Humanitarian, Cancer, etc.) and then from there you can select a style. Each product listing tells you what organization your purchase will go towards!

State Bags - For every STATE product purchased, they will support American children and families in need. Whether that's donating fully-packed backpacks at our bag drop rallies, to funding special projects supporting partner schools and organizations. 

Uncommon Goods - This website was one of my favorite finds in my search for gifts that give back! Every item on their website does one of the following things: serves a purpose, solves a problem, is handmade, or is made with recycled materials. They also donate $1 from every sale to a non-profit organization of the customer's choice (causes include forest conservation, anti-sexual violence and natural disaster relief).

PS - Since we obviously all shop on Amazon, be sure to always enter smile.amazon.com into your web browser so at check out you can choose from a wide variety of charities they give back to! It does not cost extra and then you don’t need to feel bad about your impulse purchases :)

Happy shopping!