8 gifts that give back this holiday season

Right now one thing is abundantly clear: the world could use a little more peace, love and understanding. If you read the daily headlines and wish someone could just step in and make things better, we have good news: this holiday season you have the opportunity to do just that! Rather than buying hundreds of dollars’ worth of trinkets and gadgets that will just sit on a shelf, purchase something that could save a life this holiday season. Or use this list for ideas on how you can give back this Giving Tuesday.

These 8 gifts are designed to not only address the immediate needs of refugees, but help them rebuild for a better future.

1. School Supplies

Books, pencils, pens and paper. These essential learning tools are often out of reach for refugees who’ve had to leave everything behind.

Starting at just $21, you can provide school supplies to a student eager to return to class — and build a brighter future.

2. Glasses

Losing one’s glasses is often an easily remedied inconvenience. But impaired vision can keep refugees from caring for their families or doing well in school.

Starting at just $40, you can help refugees see a brighter future with a new pair of glasses.

3. Vaccines 

Vaccinating children gives them a better chance of survival, which is why it’s a top UNHCR priority in a humanitarian crisis.

Starting at just $50, you can help protect refugee children from fatal diseases like polio, measles and cholera.

4. Solar Lantern

Light from a solar lantern provides safety for women, allows children to do their homework at night and helps entrepreneurs run their businesses.

Starting at just $45, you can give this essential tool and help life continue after sunset for a refugee.

5. Therapeutic Food

Children who flee often don’t eat for days on end and arrive to camps malnourished.

Starting at just $35, you can provide a supply of therapeutic food and help a severely malnourished refugee child recover.

6. Water Filter

A water filter can protect against diseases like cholera and dysentery, which can become deadly to refugee children who are weak from their journeys.

Starting at just $30, you can keep clean, safe water flowing — enabling families to stay healthy and rebuild their lives.

7. Mosquito Net

Every two minutes, a child dies from malaria. Refugees, weakened by their journeys, are even more vulnerable. A mosquito net is a simple — and lifesaving — solution.

Starting at just $40, you can provide five mosquito nets to displaced families at risk of contracting malaria.

 8. Winter Survival Kit

This holiday season, we would like to provide winter survival kits to as many refugee families as possible — particularly for the thousands of Syrians who have fled recent violence in the northeastern part of the country and have been left without basic necessities. 

Each winter survival kit includes five thermal blankets, three mattresses, winter clothes and a plastic sheet to insulate their tent. 

For just $127 per kit, you can provide critical winter supplies for a family with only a tent to protect them from the cold. 

There’s more!

Nothing on this list piquing your interest? There are dozens more items you can purchase to help refugees. Visit our gift catalog to see the full inventory.