Happy day after Thanksgiving! Maybe you’re out and about in the bustle of the crowds today. Or maybe you’re like me, clinging tenaciously to my covers and refusing to acknowledge that Thanksgiving break is ending and it’s time for the dreaded Christmas shopping.

I love Christmas. I love humble Jesus born in a stable to heal our broken world. I love my mom’s Christmas baking. (Hi, Mom!) I love decorating our tree with ornaments The Hubs and I have collected from our travels. I love the way O Holy Night breaks my heart every year at our candlelight Christmas Eve service.

I do not love Christmas shopping. At all.

Thank goodness for online shopping. Recently I had a conversation with one of our Vigilantes, Hannah. (Hi, Hannah!) Hannah chooses to support Vigilante Kindness by purchasing paintings from our artists in Gulu, purchasing jewelry from our artisans in Bungatira and by shopping at AmazonSmile to benefit Vigilante Kindness. I’ve known Hannah since she was a teenager and she’s my kind of girl, not only because she once taught first grade in a foreign country, but because she also likes her money to do the most good possible.

With her permission, I’m sharing parts of our conversation because you might be wondering some of the same things Hannah was wondering.

Hannah: Hi there! Happy Thanksgiving! I’ve been donating to Vigilante Kindness throughout the year via Amazon smile. Just curious, is that program worthwhile?

Me: Aw, thank you for picking Vigilante Kindness, Hannah. It’s worth it to us. We get 0.5% of purchases from people who choose us via Amazon Smile. Last quarter we got a check for $30, which might not seem like much, but that’s the equivalent of 6 new Acholi fable books for kids or 4 new solar lights. Since we’re a really small organization, every penny counts. What’s nice on the administrative side of things is that AmazonSmile’s donation process is truly seamless so the quarterly donations don’t require any extra time on our end, meaning I continue spending my time on the kids and families our projects serve. Does that answer your question? Thanks again for donating to VK.

Hannah: Yes, that absolutely does! I’m happy that it’s seamless on your end. I would love to one day go to Uganda and volunteer.

Me: It’s fun having companies come alongside us. Amazon is great. And Uganda is a beautiful country. Winston Churchhill and Ernest Hemingway both called it the Pearl of Africa and I couldn’t agree more. The topography, the people and the wildlife are lovely. Keep me posted as to what you might be interested in doing and what your particular skill sets are. You never know what projects might come our way that you’d be the perfect fit for. There never seems to be a dull moment in this work and I love that part of it.

So if you’re shopping on AmazonSmile today or Monday or any other day of the year, you can help support Vigilante Vigilante Kindness by choosing us as your charity of choice on AmazonSmile.

For those of you out braving the crowds today, I’ll be thinking of you as I shop while wearing my pajamas and some pretty fantastic bedhead.

-Alicia