Beginning in July of 2004, we started donating a portion of our sales to various charities. Two percent of our sales on every Wednesday for a month are donated to the named charity. If you would like to add a dollar (or several dollars) to your order you can do so here. Research has been done on each charity to make sure they are legitimate and have the lowest administrative costs possible. Below is a list of the charities that we have donated to, thanks to your orders.

July 2007 - Sept. 2007 The Joyful Heart Foundation, for victims of sexual assault and for prevention was founded by Jayne Mansfield's daughter, Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order SVU on NBC.  100% of funds donated go back to the program. You may read about the Foundation at her website http://www.mariska.com/,  and the foundation's website. http://joyfulheartfoundation.org/.

April 2007 - June 2007 Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (http://www.msfocus.org/) The foundation provides support to improve the quality of life for patients struggling with the disease, as well as funding research and providing information and support to both patients and health care providers.

January 2007 - March 2007  Many of us have been affected by mental and/or emotional illness in friends and loved ones.  For this reason, we have selected the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) as  our charity of the quarter.   Their emphasis on research, finding both causes and effective treatment for depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other mental illness can make a difference in so many lives.

October 2006 - December 2006  Make a Wish Foundation - Make a Wish grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy.  Help us make wishes come true.

July 2006 - Sept. 2006 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - A hospital that treats children with cancer and other catastrophic illnesses. No out of pocket expenses are expected from the parents, therefore donations are a necessity.

April 2006 - June 2006 - Casa - Improving the lives of women and children.

For 25 years CASA has been offering services and education to the women of San Miguel de Allende, in the Mexican highlands.

After years of complaints about the non-existence or poor quality of care and the lack of dignified treatment they had received in their towns and neighborhoods, CASA began to consider the creation of their own health facility capable of providing professional services at prices which the recipients of CASA’s services, primarily indigenous poor, can afford.  In 1994 the CASA Family Health Center and Maternity Hospital opened in the working-class neighborhood of San Rafael, in San Miguel de Allende.

In 1996, CASA opened the first (and only) government accredited midwifery school in Mexico.  CASA midwives serve a broad spectrum of women: the rural poor, working and middle-class townswomen, and holistically-minded foreign women. CASA's aromatherapy project enables midwives and midwifery students to share high quality essential oils with their clients prenatally and during childbirth.

January 2006 - March 2006 - Heifer International - Heifer's strategy to end poverty and hunger is simple..."pass on the gift." Rather than helping a starving family by giving them some money or a little food, they give the family the skills and tools to help themselves. For instance a family in Zimbabwe might be given a flock of chicks.

December 2005 - Oprah's Angel Network - Helps to build homes for Habitat for Humanity; donates scholarships to the Boys and Girls of America; supports many efforts in South Africa that you can read about here. (100% of donations go to the cause).  Because of their 0 administrative costs, we decided to make Oprah's network our Christmas Angel this year.

November 2005 - Toys for Tots raises funds to purchase Christmas gifts for children who would have to do without. This year the Toys for Tots organization has set aside $500,000 for Christmas gifts just for the children who were effected by the Hurricanes that hit this summer.

October 2005 - Americares Hurricane Relief Fund and ASPCA's Disaster Relief Fund. We decided to continue our double donations to Americares and ASPCA for another month.

September 2005 - Americares Hurricane Relief Fund and ASPCA's Disaster Relief Fund. After Hurricane Katrina left it's mark on the gulf coast, everyone here at Nature's Gift wanted to help. Half of us wanted to help the animals who are so often forgotten in crisis situations. The other half wanted to help the people affected by the disaster. We decided to double our donation for the month so we can help both charities. 2% going to Americares, and another 2% going to ASPCA.

August 2005 - International Rescue Committee-The Lost Boys Education Fund - In 1987 20,000 young boys, many six or seven years old,  fled Sudan due to civil war. They walked more than ten thousand miles over a number of years before reaching a refugee camp in Kenya. They had no adults to help guide them, feed them, or nurture them. They relied on themselves and each other to survive. When they had nothing else to eat, they would eat sand to stay alive. Half of them died before reaching safety.

In 2001 the United States started allowing the "Lost Boys" to come here to stay with "foster" families until they could live on their own. Most of the boys have a strong yearning for education. The IRC has set up an Education fund for these, now young men. The funds are separated evenly amongst the boys who are enrolled in school.

Please help the Lost Boys by donating directly to the IRC, donating through us with this link, or simply by placing an order through our shopping cart on any Wednesday in the month of August.

July 2005 - National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression - NARSAD's mission is to raise funds for psychiatric brain disorder research for scientists worldwide, in an effort to find the causes, better treatments, and eventual cures for these disorders. NARSAD's role is crucial because for the first time in the history of medical research, there is real hope for conquering the devastating disorders of schizophrenia, depression and other psychiatric illnesses. (100% of donations go to the cause)

June 2005 - National Resources Defense Council - NRDC is the nation's most effective environmental action organization. They use law, science and the support of more than 1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things. 

May 2005 - The National Breast Cancer Foundation - NBCF's mission is to save lives by increasing awareness of breast cancer through education and to provide mammograms to those in need.

April 2005 - The Miracle League - The Miracle League removes barriers which keep mentally and physically disabled children off the baseball field and lets them experience the joy of America's favorite pastime. The association serves children between the ages of 3 and 19 who suffer from any physical or mental disabilities, which causes them to be excluded - whether intentionally or not - from conventional youth baseball leagues. (100% of donations go to the cause)

March 2005 - ASPCA - (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) ASPCA offers national programs in humane education, public awareness, government advocacy, shelter support, and animal medical services and placement.

February 2005 - Alzheimer's Association - The world leader in Alzheimer research and support; a voluntary health organization dedicated to finding preventions, treatments and, eventually, a cure for Alzheimer dementia. Their mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research and to enhance care and support for individuals, their families and caregivers. They provide reliable information and care consultation; create supportive services for families; increase funding for dementia research; and influence public policy changes

January 2005 - Red Cross International Response Fund (Tsunami Relief) - The Red Cross has and will continue to provide food and safe water, family supplies, mental health counseling, and healthcare and disease prevention to the areas affected by the December 2004 Tsunami.

December 2004 - Make a Wish Foundation - Make a Wish grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy.

November 2004 - St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - A hospital that treats children with cancer and other catastrophic illnesses. No out of pocket expenses are expected from the parents, therefore donations are a necessity.

October 2004 - Red Cross Disaster Relief - Each year, the American Red Cross responds immediately to more than 67,000 disasters, including house or apartment fires (the majority of disaster responses), hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hazardous materials spills, transportation accidents, explosions, and other natural and man-made disasters. We chose this charity to help support the hurricane victims in Florida.

September 2004 - The American Cancer Society - A foundation that funds programs of research, education, advocacy, and service, which are leading us toward the ultimate goal—the elimination of cancer. 

August 2004 - The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. The Elephant Sanctuary, founded in 1995, is the nation's single natural habitat refuge developed specifically for endangered African and Asian elephants. It operates on 2,700 acres in Hohenwald, Tennessee - 85 miles southwest of Nashville. The Sanctuary exists for two purposes.   First, to provide a haven for old, sick or needy elephants in a setting of green pastures, old-growth forests, spring-fed ponds and a heated barn for cold winter nights. And second, to provide education about the crisis facing these social, sensitive, passionately intense, playful, complex, exceedingly intelligent and endangered creatures.

July 2004 - Oprah's Angel Network - Helps to build homes for Habitat for Humanity; donates scholarships to the Boys and Girls of America; supports many efforts in South Africa that you can read about here. (100% of donations go to the cause)