Gift Catalog To Help Empower Girls And Women

The number of shopping transactions by and for women each day around the globe is mind-boggling. Meanwhile, millions of girls and women work tirelessly but still lack the minimal resources needed to protect themselves and to feed and care for their families. Of the 1.3 billion people worldwide living in extreme poverty, 70 percent are women.

With the new "Girls and Women Gift Catalog" from World Vision, Americans can purchase gifts to empower these hard workers while honoring friends, colleagues and loved ones. The new catalog, located at www.worldvisiongifts.org/girlsandwomen, offers twenty important ways to make a difference in the life of a girl or woman.

After choosing these important gifts -- such as new mother and baby kits, small business loans and income-producing animals -- you can designate them in honor of others and send personalized cards describing the gifts and their impact. The actual gifts purchased help girls and women in the developing world in the following year.

The new gift catalog was inspired by the success of the World Vision Gift Catalog created ten years ago. In addition to individual donors interested in alternative giving options, World Vision also welcomes the growing participation of schools, businesses and churches. Last year, more $10 million was raised through the gift catalog.

Choices in the new Girls and Women Gift Catalog include:

1. Help a girl or woman receive HIV testing ($50)

2. Purchase a pig for protein and extra profits ($55)

3. Provide a new mother and baby kit ($77)

4. Purchase a bicycle for a girl student ($85)

5. Training of young women as peer HIV educators ($100)

6. Train local birth attendants and provide delivery kits ($116)

7. Purchase a sewing machine and training ($270)

8. Purchase a greenhouse for a woman to grow and sell produce ($470)

By World Vision