As you're planning your holiday shopping in the coming weeks, I'd like to suggest that you check out the Hunger Site .  Their shop has a variety of items: cards and stationary, apparel and jewelry, as well as housewares and folk wares from around the world.  If you have a greenie or altruistic young people on your shopping list you may find just the thing, as they have many items from communities who make their stuff in an environmentally sensitive and sustainable fashion and that benefit their local economy.  When you buy from their online shop it goes to a variety of charities, including Doctors Without Borders.  The purchase price of an item funds 25 cups of food or the purchase of a book for a literacy program in Nepal (pictured), Afghanistan, or Africa, or the purchase of a low fuel high output, locally made stove for Darfur refugees, to name just a few.  I like the idea of underwriting the education for two girls for a year in Afghanistan for only $20.  You can also donate the monthly salary of a teacher there, or a bit more pricey, pay to heat an Afghani school.  For the price of a sweater at K-Mart or a Coffee Maker at Fred Meyer you can purchase a pair of goats to increase a poor family's health and wealth, or enough seeds to put in a season's garden that will feed a whole family. Give it a peek if you shop online.