What if there was one simple solution to all of the world’s problems?

Seriously…, consider the possibility.  Many of us donate to charitable organizations, especially around the holidays.

We sometimes think "I want to make as big of an impact as possible, but there's a limit to what I can give."

What if  our one donation could grow and multiply over time, to change the lives of 50 people? 100 people? What if one small donation could really help change the world? What if one small donation could in fact "end world hunger"?

Many of us invest in the stock market,  striving to make our investment funds grow over time. Why can't we do the same to leverage our charitable donations?

Some of us wonder where our aid is most needed.  We can help locally, nationally, and even internationally.  We can help children, adults, the poor, the sick;  but is it feasible to help everyone?

Perhaps the answer is, "Yes, it is."

We believe there is a wonderful and simple way to leverage our charitable donations over time, and to help a very diverse range of people round the world. We believe that Heifer International offers that way.

(If you already know of their program and want to support it, you can do so at our Team Heifer donation site.)

Heifer is a world wide organization that is founded on the core question, "Why give a person a fish when we can teach them to fish for themselves?"  While many charitable organizations ask us to donate a "fish", Heifer invites us to help teach people to support themselves,  giving them the resources to do it.

Instead of distributing food and clothing, Heifer helps those in need to start their own businesses in which they cultivate food gardens or raise animals.  They can then sell what they produce for food, clothing, education, health care, and whatever else they require. In the process, recipients receive more than material aid; they also receive hope and a huge boost to their confidence and self esteem.

Heifer International first educates and trains their recipients in the cultivation and care of their selected resources, then provides them with the livestock or seeds needed to begin supporting themselves and their families.

One small donation can snowball to impact entire communities.  One of the requirements for becoming part of the Heifer International program is that the recipient must eventually  "Pass the Gift".  If they are given animals, they are required to give at least some of their offspring to others in their communities and teach them to care for them.

This process continues as one gift helps more and more families over time.  If our gifts sponsor a garden instead of animals, then the seeds or seedlings will be passed from family to family along with the knowledge of how to cultivate them.

This "Passing of the Gift" is the core of the Heifer International program. It's the source of the leverage that enables just one pair of breeding livestock to enrich an entire village over time. It is a portion of the spiritual enrichment as well, in that as one villager passes the gift to others, they experience the feelings that come from helping others, as they had previously been helped themselves. The receivers become the givers, who then become givers, who then…

(If this appeals to you, you can choose to support the work of Heifer International at our Team Heifer donation site)

If you would like to know more about Heifer International, please keep reading…

Upwards of 60% of people living in poverty and hunger worldwide are women.*  Heifer strives to break gender stereotypes and help empower women to take charge of improving their lives, along with the lives of their children. Here are the stories of just a few people whose lives have been changed by this organization.

Prem's Story

Prem spent her whole life inside her home; she wasn't allowed to meet other people, or receive an education. She matured into a woman with low self-esteem and the lack of resources to change her life. She took care of her home and son as her husband struggled to find enough work to bring in more than a few dollars a day.

Then her husband fell ill.  Not only was the income he brought in gone, but the family fell  $2,100 in debt because of his medical expenses.

Prem was then invited to join a woman's savings and loan group in her village that was created and sponsored by Heifer.  Through the group she was able to socialize in ways she'd never been able to before, and to take advantage of the economic aid it provided.  Through the group she became trained as a para-vet and traveled around her countryside vaccinating animals, so that their owners didn't have to call the more expensive vets.  As a Heifer-trained para-vet, Prem has been able to earn $423 in just over one year just from her training.

With that income, as well as the new skills and confidence that came with it, Prem was then able to open a general store to further increase her income. Not only has she payed off her family's debts,  she can also support her family while helping her community. And she plans on doing even more…

"It has raised my self-esteem. Before, I didn't go out of the house.  Now I'm getting to know people and people are valuing me.  It gives me a sense of pride and I am very motivated to do more." -Prem, a Heifer recipient in Aamka, India

Ly Ty and Seng Sam

Ly Ty and Seng Sam are both fathers and amputee veterans of Cambodia's civil war,  where they fought on opposite sides of the conflict.

After the war they wound up living in the same town, struggling to support their families.  They faced the difficulties of famine in the dry season, along with discrimination that accompanied being amputees.

Ty and Sam eventually joined a group of men and women from their area who were given support from Heifer. Working together in this program, they were able to move beyond the past in which they they had fought against each another.

"We love each other like brothers.  We thought of our community progress.  We don't lay blame on each other.  We make joint decisions.  Since we joined the group we never thought about discriminating because that person was former Khmer Rouge or that person was a former government soldier." -Seng Sam*

Sam and his wife received one water buffalo, crop seeds, and training.  After five years they now have two buffalo, two cows, ten hens, 50 chicks, two ducks, 20 ducklings, and one pig.  They can now support their daughter and four sons, sending them to school, attending to their medical needs, and ensuring that they too will be able to raise their own families and contribute to the improving welfare of their community.

Ty now has two water buffalo, three cows, 50 chickens, five ducks, and one pig. He is able to support his five children, including his 16 year old son with cerebral palsy who needs constant care.

These are but two very recent stories from the hundreds of thousands of real people, with real families, who have been given hope, sustenance and self respect from the well organized programs of Heifer International.

We all have our chosen causes that we support year after year. And we all have great reasons for such giving. Kantor Consulting Group has been supporting the work of Heifer International for many years because of the leverage over time that their program provides.

Their model seems a great example of how to "Do Less – Deliver More" by creatively leveraging the universal strength of the human spirit.

If you share our view that such an approach can really change the world, then we invite you to consider joining our Team Heifer program by making a donation today!

Thank you for your consideration.

*Taken from Heifer International material.