Media Release

Good gift giving has never been easier in Australia, with the release of the 2010 Good Gifts Guide, just in time for Christmas.

The Good Gifts Guide, released during GiveNow Week 2010 (November 29 - December 5), includes dozens of great gift ideas that will deliver a warm inner glow to the giver, the recipient, and the community.

While other Christmas gift listings focus on one location, theme or charity, this one has it all:

• Merchandise/general gifts - where proceeds go to good causes. Find out where to buy cookbooks, exotic foodstuffs, aprons, jewelry, sweets, toys (for kids and animals), sun-smart accessories, clothing, scarves, bowls, bags, diaries, prayer flags, calendars, books, photo frames, body care sets and artwork - all sold to raise funds for great causes.
• Community development gifts - for causes you know your loved one would support. Buy a pair of footy boots or a camping experience for a disadvantaged Australian, a carabao for a family in the Philippines, a month's education for a student in East Timor, or a toilet for a family in Tanzania.
• Gifts for the planet. Got an old TV or computer that you don't know how to get rid of? The Good Gifts Guide tells you where you can take your electrical appliances to be recycled. Other environmentally-themed gift ideas include help for rainforests and for land restoration.
• Christmas cards: spread Christmas cheer and support a community group at the same time. The Good Gifts Guide lists loads of options to suit every budget and taste.
• Sponsorship & support - cash gifts to good causes. Give a cash donation on behalf of your friends and family to a cause you know they would support. From support for parenting education, to meals for the homeless, to fighting against factory farming - pick a cause that you know will suit their values.

The Good Gifts Guide is available for free download from the GiveNow Week website, which also contains tips on donating blood, becoming an organ donor, volunteering your time, and buying Christmas trees and puddings from a community group. The site also contains loads of sage advice on how to become a smarter giver.

GiveNow Week is an initiative of the Our Community Foundation, which runs the commission-free online donations service, GiveNow.com.au. Both initiatives are supported by Westpac.

GiveNow.com.au director Hannah Schwartz said there were more than 600,000 community groups across Australia, and each one could use more support. "GiveNow Week provides a great opportunity to highlight these great causes," she said. "Buy a gift from a community group, or just drop in and see what they do and how you can help."

More Information: www.givenow.com.au

Comment: Phone (03) 9320 6800 or email to donations@givenow.com.au.