By now I’m sure you’ve heard of SHARE Charlotte – we’re lucky enough to have them as Smarty partners and regular contributors to CSP. I am continually in awe of the amazing things they’re doing in our community – from their incredible database of nonprofits where you can find the perfect way to donate your time, talent and treasure to their part in the #GivingTuesdayCLT campaign where they raised $4.2 MILLION last year in the height of the Christmas shopping season, SHARE Charlotte truly is a one-stop shop for giving back in the QC.
Speaking of shops, did you know that SHARE Charlotte has one? Not a shop to buy SHARE Charlotte chotskies, but an actual online shop where you can buy items for a SPECIFIC non-profit (if you missed SHARE’s post introducing it a few months ago on CSP, click here). They call it the “Give Shop,” and it’s seriously one of my favorite discoveries of the past year.
You know how good it feels when you’ve bought a sercie for your bestie, and you drop it off at her house? All day you think about how excited she will be when she opens the box at her front door, right? That’s exactly what it feels like to shop the SHARE Charlotte Give Shop. It’s just so AWESOME to know that, when you can’t give your time to a particular non-profit, you can be so precise about how you give in other ways.
Buy a computer for Lydia’s Legacy, pillows for A Child’s Place, Neosporin for the Carolina Raptor Center, cat food for the Humane Society of Charlotte, laundry detergent for Urban Ministries. You get the idea. The possibilities are endless – and so is the need in our community.Do it all through your computer and Amazon – it’s so incredibly easy. Each non-profit has created a registry; you purchase the item the exact same way you would any other Amazon purchase; Amazon ships it directly to that non-profit. Pick, click, done. The registries include all price-points, so any budget is sure to find something perfect.
Stumped for an idea of what to get a friend for her 40th? Give something to her favorite non-profit in her honor from the SHARE Charlotte Give Shop.
Cutting back on your own online shopping? The Give Shop will give you a bigger shopper’s high than any other online shopping you’ve done. (Trust me. I’m kinda an expert in online shopping.)
Looking for a way to teach children lessons about money and volunteerism? Have them do a lemonade (or hot chocolate ;-)) stand to buy supplies for a non-profit that means something to your family.
Stumped for a group gift idea for your boss? The SHARE Charlotte Give Shop might just be the answer ;-).
It’s like being Santa – without the pressure – 365 days a year. And, it’s online shopping with a purpose. Happy shopping, Smarties!
