By Clare BruceTuesday 3 Dec 2019Social JusticeReading Time: 7 minutes
If you’re not keen on the over-commercialisation of Christmas, “alternative gift” catalogues offered by Christian charities are a great solution.
By making a donation that gives someone the gift of sight, or vocational training, or clean water, or the tools to feed their family—you change lives. And by popping your chosen charity’s “Goat” or “Chicken” or “Cataract Surgery” card in your sister’s or uncle’s or bestie’s Christmas gift bag, you’re also raising awareness, and encouraging others to consider supporting a good cause, too.
Here’s a list of some of the great faith-based organisations that are offering charitable gifts this Christmas.
Compassion Australia’s “Gifts of Compassion”
Compassion Australia is the internationally renowned aid organisation that works to lift families and communities out of poverty, through child sponsorship by Australian individuals. They offer many “Gifts of Compassion” in their Christmas catalogue, such as toothbrushes for kids in poverty ($7); a chicken to help families produce eggs for sale ($15, with Colin Buchanan card); a cow for a rural family ($300); a mosquito net for children ($10); health care for a child ($115); and large items such as a toilet block ($5,000) or a business start-up ($1,000). See the Catalogue
CBM’s “Meaningful Gifts”
CBM, formerly known as Christian Blind Mission, is a large and respected international Christian organisation focussed on supporting people with a disability who live in poverty. Their Meaningful Gifts catalogue this year features items such as: A walker for a child after a foot operation ($100), sight-saving eye surgery for a child ($230), wheelchairs $150), small business loans ($850), glasses for 10 children ($35), and prosthetic limbs ($80). See the Catalogue
Open Doors’ “Gifts of Hope”
Open Doors is a Christian organisation that supports the persecuted church worldwide, with Bibles, leadership training, and practical support. Their Gifts of Hope catalogue includes items such as support for Children’s Ministry ($7), training for a Youth Evangelist ($10), Survival Packs for secret believers in North Korea ($50), Food Packs for a Christian widow who has lost her husband due to persecution ($125), and handmade toys that you can purchase as a gift for a loved one here in Australia ($65). See the Catalogue
Baptist World Aid’s “Big Hearted Gifts”
Baptist World Aid partners with aid agencies to fight global poverty, and promotes ethical living and consumption in Australia through initiatives like the Ethical Fashion Guide. Their Big Hearted Gifts catalogue contains beautifully illustrated cards you can purchase, each representing a different kind of donation. Examples include a beehive for a family in Nepal ($40); child-friendly spaces for kids in high risk areas ($300); emergency shelter in national disaster ($1500); a veggie patch for a family ($20), hand soap for a child in Cambodia ($5); and safe birth care for women in poverty ($60). See the Catalogue
Opportunity International’s “Gifts of Opportunity”
Founded in Australia, Opportunity International takes a multi-pronged approach to ending poverty – including microfinance, health, education, and safety. Each gift in their “Gifts of Opportunity” Christmas catalogue represents common items that families living in poverty can purchase with small loans from Opportunity, enabling them to grow their own businesses, and begin to leave poverty behind. For each item you buy, you’ll receive a gift card to give to your gift recipient, telling them all about the difference you’ve made together. See the Catalogue
International Justice Mission’s “Gifts of Freedom”
IJM fights sex trafficking and slavery around the world, through child rescue, restoration programs, legal support, and strengthening of justice systems. Their Christmas “Gifts of Freedom” include a range of jewellery items and water bottles to give as physical gifts to friends and family, as well as printed cards that represent the value of rescue and justice initiatives. Some of these include: anti-slavery lawyer support ($100); counselling and trauma-therapy for cybersex survivors ($20); slavery rescue ($550); sex trafficking rescue ($35), and trial fees for victims of sexual violence ($145). See the Catalogue
Caritas’s “Global Gifts”
Caritas is the international aid and development organisation of the Catholic Church in Australia, working with church and charity partners around the world to fight poverty and injustice. Their Christmas Global Gifts Catalogue has a very simple offering of three unique items: “The Gift of Water”, “The Gift of Food”, and “The Gift of Sustainable Livelihoods”, with suggested donation amounts. See the Global Gifts
TEAR Australia’s ‘Really Useful Gifts’
TEAR Australia was founded in 1971 and works in partnership with local Christian organisations around the world and with Indigenous Australians to help them address root causes of poverty and marginalisation. It was founded on Jesus’ call to love our neighbours, regardless of background or belief. TEAR was in fact the pioneer of the Christmas Charitable Gifts concept, when CEO Steve Bradbury first dreamed the idea up in 1994 after being frustrated at the commercialisation of Christmas. Many charities have since followed. Their Really Useful Gifts catalogue includes items like Chickens ($5), Pre-school Classes ($5), Build-a-Village – School, Garden, Health or Business ($15), Toilets ($70), Stoves ($100), and Disability Access ($30). See the Catalogue
Barnabas Fund’s “Barnabas Gifts”
Barnabas Fund is a Christian ministry focussed largely on supporting Christians and churches suffering persecution, often in Muslim-dominant parts of the world. They also advocate for the persecuted Church, to Christians around the world, as well as to governments and international bodies. They meet both practical and spiritual needs. Their Christmas gift catalogue outlines many ways a donation can make a difference – such as food and clean water for suffering Christians, liberation for enslaved brick-kiln workers, the rebuilding of destroyed churches, education for persecuted children, training for pastors, and legal support for victims of terror, violence and injustice. See the Catalogue
Scripture Union and Hope 103.2’s “Kids to Camp”
Hope 103.2’s Kids to Camp in conjunction with Scripture Union is an appeal sponsoring kids and teens from drought-affected families in rural Australia, to attend a Scripture Union holiday camp of their choice. Downloadable gift cards are available for those who wish to “give” a sponsorship as a Christmas gift to a friend or family member, explaining how your sponsorship gift is making a difference. Sponsor a Child for an SU Camp
Samaritan’s Purse’s “24 Gifts of Hope”
The organisation best-known for their annual ‘Operation Christmas Child’ shoebox drive, Samaritan’s Purse is an international aid and development organisation headed by Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham. The 24 gifts in their catalogue range from the very small (baby chicks for a family in need, $7, food for a hungry baby, $9) – to the significant (reading lessons for a child, $40, refugee care, $125, livestock training for poor families, $350) – to the very large: “Drill a Village Well” ($10,000). See the Catalogue
GFA World’s Christmas Gift Catalogue
GFA, formerly called Gospel for Asia, is a missions organisation founded in 1979 by Dr KP Yohannan, the head of Believers Church, an indigenous church in South Asia. GFA shares the love of Jesus to the poor in Asia, through community development, emergency aid, child sponsorship and evangelism. Their Christmas catalogue includes animals for family food security, outdoor toilets, water wells and filters, and vocational items to establish the poor in business – such as carts, rickshaws, fishing nets, tools and sewing classes. They also list items for ministry and evangelism. See the Catalogue
Voice of the Martyrs’ Christmas Care Packs
The Voice of the Martyrs is an interdenominational Christian missions organisation, that supports persecuted believers around the world who suffer for their faith. Each year at Christmas time, VOM works through its global network to reach kids from persecuted families in hostile areas, with special Christmas Care Packs. The packs, tailored to the needs of children in each region, contain illustrated children’s Bibles, toys, school and hygiene items. See the Packs
Bible League’s Christmas Gift Catalogue
This international organisation is dedicated to spreading God’s word to hard-to-reach areas, through Bibles and Biblical teaching resources. The Bible League’s Christmas Gift catalogue is short and simple, with eight specific items available for sponsorship – including Bible packs for people in prison, Bibles for specific areas such as Africa and the Middle East, and Children’s Bible-Based Literacy programs. See the Catalogue
World Vision’s “Change a World” Gifts
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organisation that provides short and long-term assistance to more than 100 million people worldwide, through development, relief and advocacy work, and by tackling the root causes of poverty. Their extensive Christmas Gifts guide includes items like: a dairy goat ($40) to provide nutrition for a family in poverty; a bicycle for a young girl ($100) helping them attend school safely; a fish farm ($30) to give a family an ongoing income; comfort toys for traumatised children ($20); and early learning for Aboriginal kids ($30). See the Catalogue
Uniting World’s “Everything in Common” Gifts
UnitingWorld is the aid and development organisation of the Uniting Church in Australia. Their ethical gifts catalogue is called “Everything in Common”, a reference to Acts 2:44 in the Bible. Each gift in the catalogue represents a life-changing project that is helping people across the Pacific, Asia and Africa. Options in their catalogue include packs of Christmas Cards for use in Australia, including some that can be coloured in; Chickens for a family in Bali ($10); “Goat Poo” ($15) to fertilise a farmer’s coffee crops in Bali; and “Magic Beans” ($10) – a supply of soy and kidney beans for a West Papuan family, providing nutrition as well as income when sold at markets. See the Catalogue