Helping Hearts, Blog of Anne Sanders

  I started this in 2011 when I started my blog. It’s a list for Black Friday of Christmas gifts that give three ways: to the recipient who gets a gift, to a charity who gets a donation and to the giver who feels good for giving to charity. Since then a new tradition has started with Giving Tuesday. After Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, spend some time Tuesday giving to the charity of your choice. Now, here goes: the list of $50 and under gifts that give three ways for 2014. 1.        As a Relay for Life lover, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one from the American Cancer Society’s website and almost everybody needs help with this—eating right to be healthy and prevent all kinds of cancer and other diseases. So, here’s the link to ACS’s healthy eating cookbook for $24.95. http://acs.bookstore.ipgbook.com/the-american-cancer-society-s-healthy-eating-cookbook-products-9780944235577.php?page_id=32&pid=acn 2.  ...

Today is Valentine’s Day. Yesterday I had to stop at the store and I saw a guy coming out as I went in with a big box of chocolates under his arm. Then I saw another perusing the red nighties and flowers looking for something his loved one might like. Big pink and red hearts are everywhere and usually filled with chocolate. That’s my kind of heart. Well, not really. My blog and website are called Helping Hearts. If you look under the title on my website, there’s a passage from the bible. Proverb 4:23. “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” It’s packed in a wisdom-giving part of the bible just before admonitions to Keep your mouth free of perversity;       keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25  Let your eyes look straight ahead;      fix your gaze directly before you. 26  Give careful thought to the [ c ] paths for your feet      and be steadfast...

Top 11 Last Minute Charitable Christmas Gifts Christmas is getting closer but it's not too late to do something to make a difference this holiday. The unique items below can be given with the best intentions—to help others. There’s still time to get a notification card sent to the recipient but even if you wait, you can send the notice of the present by email or in many cases, you can print out your own card to hand to your friend or family member.  1.        Alternative Gifts International - $11 pays for a share of a yak for orphaned and destitute children in the Tibetan regions of remote western China . 2.       Spend $25 or more to free forced labor slaves with International Justice Mission . 3.       A llama from Heifer International  - A share is $20 while a whole llama is $150. Heifer provides all kinds of animals from chicks to water buffalo to families that can use th...

Have you ever thought of yourself as an angel? Angels are messengers from God who sometimes intercede for Him. One Christmas I was such a messenger. It began one night after work when we got a list of children. We drove to where each one lived and delivered something very special. You see it was Christmastime and these children were without their parents. Either one or more of their parents was in prison. We had bought presents for one little girl ourselves and got to deliver them, too.   We drove to a dilapidated, dirty, old apartment complex where our brightly wrapped presents seemed out of place. We knocked at the dark brown door and an older woman opened it. She asked us to come in and inside was a girl about six years old sitting on the floor in her pajamas. Her eyes lit up when she saw what we had for her. Her grandmother, for that was who answered the door, told us to come in. So, we chatted for a little bit about the weather and Christmas while the girl’s eyes...

It’s Black Friday and shopping is on the mind of many today. So, as usual, I am releasing my Gifts That Give List just in time for the holidays and I’m keeping each item under $50. It’s a way to let you know how many retailers are making it easier to be charitable than ever before. You can give a gift that makes you, the receiver and a charity feel good. 1.       Made With Love: The Meals on Wheels Family Cookbook for $29.95. With recipes from Paula Deen, Barbara Bush and Martha Stewart, you will truly enjoy this cookbook while helping Meals on Wheels. Just out in October, you can find it at many book retailers such as Amazon, IndieBound and more. 2.       Forever Frogs Lunchbag for $35.00 embroidered. Custom design your own lunch bag by picking the cloth, handle, and even the zipper color and then adding your embroidered initials. Started in the name of a girl who had childhood cancer and loved frogs, all Forever Frogs prod...