A Year of Giving: February

This post is part of my Year of Giving series. You can read the background here.

In February we focused on economic exploitation. Rather than donation, I decided to make a conscious effort to do business with those who refuse to exploit, with business people in need of micro loans, and with refugee businesses.

I switched from Folgers to fair trade coffee. My first bag was from Nicaragua, and included support for Save the Children. The second was from Southern Mexico. I rarely make it to a high-end grocery store, so I just bought the Archer Farms organic fair trade coffee at Target. I may try Trader Joe's next, since there is one near where my husband works.

I made a $25 Kiva loan to Juana in El Salvador to help her buy clothes to resell.

I bought a gift from Hill Country Hill Tribers. According to their Etsy profile: "Hill Country Hill Tribers is a collective of artisans who were forced to leave their homes in the hill country of Burma and are establishing new lives in the Texas hill country. By creating beautiful traditional and handmade goods in their homes, they are honoring their past. Through participating in classes that teach English and entrepreneurship, they are transforming their future. Proceeds from the sale of each item return to the woman who made it. For more information about this organization, visit www.hilltribers.org."

In keeping with my plan to "give as opportunities present themselves", I helped with Loretta's Pay It Forward for Lent benefitting Eagle's Healing Nest. My grandmother, Loretta Giroux, passed away on February 7th. I've written about it a bit here. Later in the month, I helped my mom run a Facebook page for the fundraiser.

I didn't finish the blanket I began in January. This month has been particularly hard for me, and getting those seams in (all of the crocheting, minus the outer border, has been finished for some time) just hasn't happened yet. I'm more than halfway done--the first three strips of four patches each have been sewn and the first two strips are sewn together--working on attaching the 3rd one, now. Ultimately my goal is to finish that blanket as soon as possible and then make two small baby afghans by the end of March. That might not happen, but either way, I've learned something useful: no more patchwork afghans. Ever. Hand sewing is just not my thing. I tried to hem another pair of Sam's pants a couple weeks ago and, well, the pants won. I gave up.

So that's been February. Shortest month of the year, but sometimes it feels like the longest. March isn't much better, but by the time we hit April I should be over the SAD hump, so to speak. I just keep that "hope for spring" in my head as much as possible.