‘Tis the season! This week on Intent, we want to hear how we can celebrate the spirit of giving this holiday season. Whether you have great gift ideas for loved ones, eco-friendly ways to send greeting cards, a list of charities to give back to, or some unique volunteer opportunities to do on Christmas Day, we want to hear in every way possible how we can give this year for the holidays. 
Gotham Chopra wants to raise $3,333.00 for ENCOMPASS, a California-based organization that benefits art in children’s education and provides students the tools and creative platform to engage in conflict resolution. This blog post from Tonic describes how for Christmas Alyssa Milano of Charmed fame is aiming to raise $75,000 for charity: water, a non-profit organization which brings clean and safe drinking water to developtiong countries. I am still elated from my first holiday-birthday party (I’m a December baby) just this past Saturday benefiting a cause–it was hardly anything fancy, but I asked all my holiday-birthday party guests to donate money on my behalf to the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, an organization which is now raising money to build dormitories for a seondary girl’s school in Sudan.
Let’s not also forget the many holiday gifts you can buy this year that directly benefit a cause or charity. As a unique gift, consider giving people Kiva.org gift certificates, where recipients can choose an entrepreneur from a developing nation to lend a micro-loan to. Olivia Khalili launched a Twitter awareness campaign on gifts that give twice. Read her blog post "Choose Gifts That Give Back and Make Your Gift Count Twice" for resources and ideas on how you can get involved.
Do you have a fabulous list of gift ideas you are dying to share with the rest of the community? Please share them with us! If you want to give great presents and stay green, Tommy Rosen, founder of the Eco Gift Festival, shares with us 6 ideas for giving environmentally friendly gifts for all occasions.
Certainly, as the Forbes sisters eloquently remind us in this recent blog post, we can ALWAYS give the gift of mindful presence to the people around us rather than worrying about getting our to-do list done. At the end of the day, we are the ultimate gift we give each other–in loving attention, compassionate listening, heartfelt hugs and nurturing relationships.
Join Intent’s mission this week to inspire others with ideas, activities and tips that will inspire us to practice wellness for the holidays. Tag your blog posts "holiday giving" and we will be featuring the best weekly content at the end of the week. If you simply want to share a quick idea or tip in the comments below, we want to hear that as well. We can’t wait to read your contributions!
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