Last Thursday, we received a flyer in the mail that has really affected me and made me rethink my gift-giving this coming holiday season. The flyer was from Plan Canada, complete with lots of simple ways to, as they so aptly put it, “Give a Gift of Hope”. For under $100, there are lots of ways to make a difference, like providing mosquito nets, livestock or a source of clean water, with many gifts being matched dollar-for-dollar by government and organizational donors. In support of giving girls equal rights and building their self-confidence, some of the gifts also support Plan Canada’s Because I am a Girl program. I haven’t decided which gifts to get/give yet. They’re all such terrific ideas!

I also just heard about Efren Peñaflorida’s story, having just received the CNN 2009 Hero of the Year award. It moved me to tears to read about how he rose up from a life as a street youth in a gang in the Philippines, to an advocate for bringing education to kids in the slums by way of a traveling cart filled with books, bathing supplies and even a big chalkboard. It’s no wonder his Dynamic Teen Company program was also a featured story in Oprah’s Angel Network.

“Each person has a hidden hero within. … Look inside you and search it in your heart.” – Efren Peñaflorida

This season, whether or not it’s to that person that has everything, I know where I’ll be doing most of my shopping. Besides, the mall thing is so last year.