Green Options

New housing programs target specific populations or neighborhoods that have been dislocated by the sequence of events initiated by Hurricane Katrina and which are critical to getting the New Orleans economy thriving again.

During the moments I take to write this blog entry, Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity and an international beacon for the poor and the do-gooding prosperous alike, is finding his final resting place at Koinonia Farm in Georgia. He died earlier this week at 74.

Millard Fuller impacted my life profoundly — lastingly — as he did countless others.

Eleven years ago, as a college student, a young American from the Midwest, I traveled to Honduras on a Habitat for Humanity International building opportunity. It was my first experience outside of my home country. It shed light on worldly truths I had never before been able to so accurately imagine.

When giving gifts for the holidays, we try to follow a couple of guidelines.

Homemade or hand-made items always outrank mass-produced. If we have to buy something that is mass-produced, we go to an independent business, not a chain, because spending our cash locally makes a difference in our communities. We try to think of others who aren’t as fortunate as us, so organizations that teach and help people to sustain themselves get our vote.

I’d like to share my list of 6 gifts that make a difference. Maybe you’ll see something that calls to you as a gift for that someone that has everything.

Heifer International

Heifer’s mission is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the earth. For more than 60 years, Heifer International has provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. And since 1944, we have helped 48 million people through training in livestock development and livestock gifts that multiply.

You can give the gift of honeybees, a goat, a llama, or a flock of ducks to a family or community in need. These gifts aren’t charity, they’re an investment in people and villages all over the world.

If you’re like me, you never need an excuse to visit New Orleans, even post-Katrina. Between the food, the music, the architecture, the history and the people, the Big Easy always beckons.

But here’s a new and nifty reason to plan a Crescent City getaway: the Marriott’s “Care Concierge” vacation package.

Now through Nov. 15, travelers who book a stay at one of New Orleans’ Marriott or Renaissance hotels will receive email recommendations for local groups that welcome visitor-volunteers who want to help the city rebuild. And $50 of the package rate (ranging from $159 to $259) will be donated to Habitat for Humanity, which is working to return New Orleans’ flood-ravaged neighborhoods to life.