Monday, October 23, 2006

The funny thing about philanthropy

The funny thing about philanthropy...

Heifer International has a gift registry at their site. Instead of countless appliances and bits of silver that you'll never use (at least, most people won't -- I have a silver tea strainer that is a regular part of my recreational activities) you can have livestock shipped to a foreign country. You can even have your own donation page with a picture of the happy couple and a message to friends and family...

I think that's a great idea!

But I looked at the featured websites expecting a whole collection of Sunday Paper style happy couple photos. Instead, there were a lot of couples in wool socks, birkinstocks, and had knit hats in very beachy or woodsy settings. It would seem that the type of people who would give up gifts wrapped in silver and gold paper in favor of their favorite charity, also don't believe in waxing and pedicures.

Do you think it's a prerequisite?