I suppose I should be embarrassed, but I have no gift shopping to do this year, and have not for years. With no children to buy gifts for—such is the state one reaches after a certain age—the major reason for the Christmas giving season is for me past. My intimate circle is now limited to those of an age like myself that just do not need any additional “stuff.” So several years ago we decided to each make a cash contribution to a pool that will be donated to a charity. In a round robin fashion each year one person gets to pick the charity. I am not always happy with the choice people make as a prefer not giving anything to a charity with religious affiliation. That and I want as much of the money to go towards the charitable objective of the organization, as opposed to marketing and employee compensation. As a general rule the better known a charity is the worse it does with respect to the latter criteria. This year the friend who once serve in the Peace Corps got the choice and picked this;
http://www.heifer.org/