Collection Gift Guide: Gifts that Keep Giving

Christian Gulliksen

12/01/2006

When the producers of the television show Malcolm in the Middle asked actress Jane Kaczmarek what she wanted for Christmas, she said, “How about a water buffalo from Heifer International?” It wasn’t for herself—rather, she wanted it to go to a family in Southeast Asia that desperately needed a water buffalo on its farm.

Joining Kaczmarek in her support of Heifer International are her husband, Bradley Whitford, and fellow actors such as Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Susan Sarandon, and Goldie Hawn. Heifer has also received commendation from the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Walter Cronkite, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barbara Bush.

The Robb Report Collection first featured Heifer International in its gift guide a few years ago, and we are pleased to include the Arkansas-based not-for-profit once again. For more than 60 years, Heifer has distributed a wide range of livestock to communities around the world. During this holiday season, consider giving a gift to someone you don’t know with the help of a Heifer catalog.

The charity’s varied “inventory” includes everything from baby chicks and geese to llamas and the aforementioned water buffalo. And gift levels start at a cost even children on allowances can afford: A share of a $120 sheep, for instance, is only $10, and a share of a $500 heifer is priced like a video game at $50.

At the other end of the scale, Heifer’s ultimate package—a $5,000 gift called the Ark—contains numerous paired animals sent to countries all around the world. In simple terms, you can improve the day-to-day lives of a dozen families for years. Camels go to Kenya, where they transport agricultural and industrial materials; donkeys provide draft power for Tanzanian farmers; llamas produce wool for families in Bolivia; oxen pull plows in Uganda; water buffalo in Indonesia assist with rice production; and goats produce milk for Guatemalans. Flocks of geese, chickens, and ducks make their way to Africa and Asia. Assistance is not, however, limited to families in foreign countries—the Ark also includes a pair of beehives for families in Kentucky. (Click image to enlarge)

There is a pleasingly tangible quality to a Heifer gift: You know exactly what you purchased and where it went. And though the phrase is a cliché, a gift to Heifer keeps on giving. Families who receive livestock pass the gift along to other struggling families with their animals’ offspring. So make sure that—along with the catalogs from Neiman Marcus and Tiffany—you are receiving the catalog from Heifer International.

Heifer International
800.698.2511
www.heifer.org