Tis the Season for Giving (Part I)

I like to encourage my children to give back in little ways, like collecting items to bring to our local Goodwill or charity, helping kids with toy donations, simply depositing a coin here or there to help institutions like the Ronald McDonald House (because I personally know parents whose children were helped by them), or the Humane Society (as we participate in pet rescue).

Christmas, to me, is about giving and spending time with family more than anything else, so this is the perfect time to talk about worthwhile causes for your family's donation choices.

And sometimes, those donations come with additional gifts.

Like Oceana's Adopt a Creature program.

Oceana's valuable work includes promoting good fishing practices, putting an end to the pollution of our seas, and protecting the marine creatures that inhabit them. You and your children can help by adopting a sea creature this holiday season.

Choose a hammerhead shark, killer whale, dolphin, seal, or all four to adopt this holiday season, and you will receive a special gift!

With a $35 donation, you will receive a personalized adoption certificate and a cookie cutter in the shape of your sea creature.

A $50 donation earns you a stuffed plush animal with your personalized adoption certificate.

For $75, you will have the adoption certificate in a wooden frame along with your stuffed animal, or if you choose the cookie cutter option you will receive an additional two hot pads.
For $100, you can have the entire set of SIX cookie cutters (dolphin, octopus, penguin, polar bear, shark and sea turtle), the personalized adoption certificate, framed, and two hot pads.

And for a $150 donation, you can opt for the full set of FOUR stuffed plush marine creatures, (including hammerhead shark, dolphin, seal and killer whale) along with your framed adoption certificate.

There's also a special adoption kit for sea turtles honoring Casey Sokolovic.

A Greenville, NC resident, Casey Sokolovic was a finalist for Oceana’s 2009 “Ocean Heroes” award (www.oceana.org/heroes). At age nine, Casey became an environmental steward and role model for others her age when she began a sea turtle conservation campaign called L.A.S.T. – Love A Sea Turtle. She has raised over $3,000 for a North Carolina-based sea turtle rehabilitation hospital, in part by selling sea turtle-shaped sugar cookies.

With your donation, you allow Oceana to carry out our important work to protect the oceans from overfishing, habitat destruction and pollution.

“It is so exciting to help Oceana protect turtles. Sea turtles are in a lot of trouble. They are in danger of disappearing and that is sad because they are so important to the oceans.” - Casey Sokolovic.

Casey's special honorary adopt-a-sea-turtle gift set, $200, includes all of the items below:

• 22" Sea Turtle plush
• Sea Turtle cookie cutter (tin, 4.25")
• Oceana oven mitt
• Personalized adoption certificate (wood frame, 4" x 6")
• Original sugar cookie recipe, provided by CakeLove (4" x 6")
• Sea Turtle fact card with a special note from Casey
• Complimentary gift wrapping

You will need to place your order with 2-day priority shipping at this time when you make your donation and adopt your sea creature.

I received a complimentary adopt-a-sea-creature set with a plush killer whale from Oceana for this post. Because I believe so strongly in what they are doing, I also adopted an octopus at my own cost.