Ornaments 4 Orphans: Buy An Ornament. Bless A Child.

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This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

All month long, I am sharing giving ideas and causes as part of The 30-Day Giving Challenge. The following is a guest post from Meagan of Frugal Fun and Fortune.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…” – James 1:27

Fact: Over 12 million children in sub-Saharan Africa are orphaned due to AIDS.
Fact: Over 50 million Americans set up Christmas trees in their homes each year.

Let’s just face it – Christmas has gotten turned upside down. A beautiful holiday that is supposed to be centered around worship, giving, love, joy, and peace…has turned into a holiday about shopping, checking gifts off a list, stress, commercialism, over-spending, going into debt, you get the picture.

What are we truly celebrating at Christmas? The birth of Jesus. The arrival of the ultimate love, peace, and joy. The One who gave it all, the One we adore, the One who deserves all of our affections and attention, the One we worship.

When it is somebody’s birthday, we usually celebrate by giving a gift to that person. So how will we celebrate the birthday of Jesus this year? What will we give to Him? How do we give to God? When I dive into the scriptures, I see a loving God who cares about people, demands social justice, identifies with the poor, and loves the children and orphans.

I see a God who whispers…

“loose the chains of injustice”
“sell everything you have and give to the poor”
“I was hungry and you gave me something to eat”
“I needed clothes and you clothed me”
“I was sick and you looked after me”

It’s safe to say that if we want to give a heartfelt gift to God this season in celebration of His Son’s birthday, we should start with the poor, lonely, orphaned, and sick…

That’s what Ornaments 4 Orphans is all about. You know those 2 big numbers in the facts presented at the beginning of this post? Ornaments 4 Orphans exists to help those numbers meet. That’s right – 50 million Christmas trees can somehow help the 12 million children in Africa orphaned by AIDS. And it starts with YOU. ME. US. EVERYBODY.

When you buy an ornament from Ornaments 4 Orphans, your money goes directly towards enriching the lives of beautiful Ugandan children. Each ornament is fair trade and hand-crafted in East Africa. There are many different varieties to choose from: stars, crosses, baskets, bells, etc. They even have unique nativity sets. All of the ornaments are $10 each. A small price for a beautiful ornament that can make a BIG difference. Buy one for your tree. Buy one as a gift for somebody else’s tree. Just know that when you buy an ornament, you’re giving a gift of true and lasting meaning this season.

If you’re interested in making an even bigger impact, you can sponsor an O4O tree in your church, school, home, or office. For more information, e-mail ornaments(at)pearlministries(dot)org.

My dear friend Jamie, U.S. director of Ornaments 4 Orphans, has offered to give away FIVE O4O ornaments!

Five lucky winners will receive a “lidded basket” ornament, woven out of natural grasses. The little lids even open to hide special things in your tree. How fun!

  • To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post. Share your heart, comment on this great organization, or go check out some of the ornaments and tell us which is your favorite.

The giveaway will end on Tuesday, November 30th, at 9pm CST. The winners will be selected at random and notified via email.

Meagan is the author of the blog Frugal Fun & Fortune, where she writes about saving money, giving to others, delicious Vegetarian recipes, simple living, and her life adventures. Her greatest passions include chasing after God wholeheartedly, social justice, being a good wife to her sweet hub, books, and music. Visit her blog to have FUN while saving money!

Comments

  2. Rebecca says

    I know the Nativities are not ornaments but my girls LOVE Nativity scenes, we have several and they want more. We even have a Veggie Tales Nativity.

  3. says

    Thank you for sharing this website. I’m adding these to my purposeful christmas shopping list. They will be great to decorate the outside of the gift with!

  4. Sharon says

    I met a pastor from Uganda when I was in high school and that sparked my interest in Missions. I recently found out that you can buy sandals to help Ugandan women attend college. I am hoping to buy a pair in the near future, but would love to win one of these ornaments in the meantime!

  5. jacque says

    What a great organization and one of a kind ornaments! I love the beaded star ornament. so pretty! Thanks!

  10. Gailanne says

    I’ve found so many wonderful blogs thru these giveaways,
    this one is esp special! Wonderful, unique ornaments…thanks for the chance to win one. Stay blessed!

  11. Laura says

    This is a great and easy way to remember the Spirit of Christmas. Love the ornaments, thanks for the chance to win one, will almost definitely buy one and tell others to as well. God Bless!

  13. Brooke says

    Thanks for all of the amazing posts on organizations that I might never know about except through you…. I just ordered 4 ornaments! May God richly bless you and yours at this most magical time of year celebrating our Savior’s birth!! 🙂

  14. Jan says

    The blue giraffe is adorable, but the basket ornament is so clever as a place to put a small gift. It’s hard to decide.

  16. Jeanne says

    Thank you for sharing this site… what a wonderful idea. I really like the dark blue glass bead star.

  22. marina says

    I’m particularly moved when I read about causes where children create something to raise funds for the cause. I pray they may be blessed/
    I love the light blue bead cross ornament and the giraffe ornament is also cute

  25. karen foss says

    this is a wonderful organization.. its great what they are trying to do. i love the white star and the elephant ornaments. they are very unique