This Christmas

This Thursday, we Americans will sit down with our families and tuck into a turkey dinner that provides enough calories for two full days.

Maybe at your table, someone is missing this year. For us, it's my grandma. She was 82 and died of a stroke in May of 2009, and our hearts broke. She made our world go round.

But far away at another table, someone is also missing. This someone didn't get to live to the age of 82, have a family, become a grandparent. Maybe this child never even got to go to school. Maybe she never even took her first steps.

On September 11th, 2001, we lost approximately 3500 Americans in a very tragic way. Every single day, ten times that many children starve to death. I'm not saying it's wrong to mourn the loss of our countrymen, not at all, but who mourns the loss of the child in West Africa, where there is currently a huge famine? Who cares about that child? Are they no less valuable?

I'm not asking you to donate to charity, although if you feel led, please do. I'm asking you to get your Christmas gifts from a place that counts this year. This site is one of my favorites. All the animals we save from euthanasia, all the cancer we cure, all green we go is for naught if our people are dying and can't enjoy it.

You can make a difference for someone. If you can't afford to make a direct donation to help a person in need (and you get to choose exactly where your money goes, from stuffed animals for orphans to school breakfasts to providing chickens for a family), consider buying just one of your Christmas gifts from a Fair Trade source like The Hunger Site. If you're not ready to purchase, just go to the site and click the big yellow button, and a sponsor will donate a small amount of food. It can't get any easier.

God Bless, and Merry Christmas.