...the little bit of idealism that's still in me makes me want to pass the following on from a college friend who's definitely making a difference in this world.  Thanks Hari.   Actually, I had no idea, but he even has a page in Wikipedia.org dedicated to him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hari_Sreenivasan  I googled him & this came up.  Didn't know you were this famous Hari....
 
holiday shopping can be a jungle
 
and its bigger than amazon.com
 
i'm encouraging you to try a socially responsible gift over the holidays.
 
To find a retailer or etailer that deals in fair trade gifts
http://www.fairtradefederation.org/memol.html
 
two gift sites whose founders i've interviewed are
http://www.appreciate.org/ss
 
http://www.worldofgood.com
( a note and 15% discount from the ceo)
Through our sales this year we will not only help thousands of women in the US look more beautiful but we will also help 6,000 women in 31 countries live better lives!  I hope you will forward this email to as many of your friends and family as you can.  We invite you to use our discount code FANDF06 at checkout.  Thank you for all your enco  uragement and support in building our dream!  
- Priya

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if you'd like to give something other than a gift- perhaps donate to a charity- some organizations i've personally run across or whose CEOs i've interviewed are (in alpha order only)
 
http://www.ceowomen.org
support immigrant women start small businesses in the u.s.
 
http://www.donorschoose.org/
support a school or classroom or part of a project in the U.S. based on pitches the teachers make
 
http://giveindia.org
find a trusted non-profit in India by cause or region
 
http://globalgiving.com
find a trusted non profit in several countries around the world by cause or region
 
http://www.heifer.org/
a fascinating model where livestock are in the center of the giving. read for yourself.
 
http://kiva.org/
lend money to an entreprenuer in a developing country based on their elevator pitch to you.
 
 
there are tons of these sites out there- just didnt' want you to spend all you money in one place
happy holidays.
 
 
h