Posts tagged giving thanks
The foyble holiday gift giving guide for givers
Dec 16th
It is holiday time! We all know what the holidays are about- family, food, gifts. Many of you may know someone who is devoted to giving- this post is for those folks. Here are some ideas on what to give the giver in your life.
To begin, we think you first must recognize the human nature (character) of a giver. They are unselfish, empathetic, recognize the world is all sorts of shades of grey, prefer action over inaction, and holistic. Believe in the good and that they can make a difference. Even if none of our ideas seem like the one for you, remember these traits as you hunt for that perfect gift for the giver you know.
On to the list:
- Find our their favorite charity and make a modest donation. Better yet, try to get lots of your friends to donate with you.
- Offer to tag along the next time they go to volunteer. Even better, agree to recruit two people to bring along to the event on the day of their choosing.
- Make a donation in their honor to heifer international. Heifer.org offers the possibility to give a gift that keeps on giving!
- If the giver in your life does a lot of hard work volunteering (habitat for humanity, volunteering at races, etc) consider getting them a massage or some other rejuvenating service. When you do it make sure to acknowledge their hard work.
- If the person you know saves money in order to have more to give, consider getting them something that allows them to enjoy the finer things- a gift card to a coffee shop, some Belgian chocolate, a few days in that time share you’ve got.
- Make a coupon book with favors that help the recipient keep on giving. Our friend Dan told us about how his Mom used to participate in a 24-hour cancer walk-a-thon every year. What a great opportunity that would be- make a coupon book for a foot massage, or to get a pedicure, or to participate with her!
- Agree to participate in a charity walk/run with a race that is important to someone. This could be an even more meaningful gift if fitness is not something that you normally do as a hobby.
- Try a global giving gift card. Available in eco friendly and convenient e-card format.
- Don’t like our list? Try this one. <—click this link. The list is REALLY good.
- Want more inspiration? There are nearly 250 foybles over at foyble.com for you to browse!
The key is that you need to be mindful of what the person is passionate about and then ensure that you convey that you are willing to sacrifice on their behalf. You may not be as passionate as they are but that you support their commitment enough to sacrifice yourself.
Happy Holidays from foyble!
Posted by Brian
Things we are thankful for
Nov 22nd
It feels like late September outside here in Chicago, but the calendar says it’s time again to give thanks. Here is our list of people and things we are thankful for. Please add yours in the comments. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
- As of this post 352 users have shared 228 foybles on foyble.com
- The act map- it allows you to see all those great foybles. It’s really neat!
- All of our friends and family who have contributed their ideas, energy, and money to helping us get the site going. We have not heard a discouraging word yet.
- Everyone at Cafe Del Mondo for helping us with the Cafe Experiment. That was really fun.
- Leo Babauta of Zen Habits for taking the time to give us feedback on this very blog.
- Our wives, for letting us all have two jobs, knowing the second one wouldn’t pay us a dime.
- The Wellington School in Upper Arlington, Ohio for encouraging your students to use our tools to post their acts of good will.
- Anyone who has sent us feedback on the site.
- Justin, TJ, and Poppy for getting the ‘What is foyble’ video made. Wow.
- Bill Nadvornik, a user on foyble who has submitted no less than 14 foybles to us, and who has provided some very clever feedback.
We launched the site in June of this year. In less than six months we’ve managed to get on the news, have two profiles written about in magazines and newspapers, and we’ve gotten nearly 400 people to sign up for our service. We are trying to create a social network, which is an extremely daunting prospect. The amount of time and resources it will take to achieve our vision is incalculable. But doing so will require us to inspire the world one person at a time, and even though our task is daunting, or vision is simple: start the GIVE. The people we’ve mentioned above are just a few of the folks who have inspired us this year with their selflessness and trust. We owe a debt to every single person who has signed up and shared their story with us. And we plan on repaying you by devoting ourselves to giving you the best tools we can think of to reach your network, your friends, or complete strangers to inspire the give.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Posted by Brian
