What did one berry say to the other?

If you hadn’t been so fresh last night, we wouldn’t be in this jam!!

Okay, I dusted off that old groaner of a joke to call attention to a wonderful, wonderful new site called Hope, Health, Joy with an incredible story.

For years, Julia Butera enjoyed an enormously successful career in the Fashion Industry in New York (and as the old song goes, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere). I actually looked her up on LinkedIn, and you can see how for yourself how fast she moved up the corporate ladder in a highly competitive industry. But as happens to so many of us who are busy with careers, her job often took her away from her family. On her son’s 4th birthday in 2009, she had to miss it because she was overseas on business.

But just a year later, in November 2010, Julia was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. She underwent treatment at the Hackensack University Medical Center and went through a grueling ordeal of surgeries, hospital stays, chemotherapy, and steroid treatment. As of September 2011 her cancer is thankfully in remission.

Julia made an incredible decision. She decided to change her life and “find her joy” and not let a career make her miss the joys of life and family. An avid cook, she started a business called “hope. health. joy.” that sells jams and jellies (in case you’re wondering, jelly is made from fruit juice and has no bits of fruit in it; jam and preserves are made by boiling fruit and does have fruit in it).

I was fortunate enough to have sampled some of these jams, and I can tell you they are the real deal. To let you know what I mean, here’s the list of ingredients from a jar of grape jelly:

- Fox Grape Juice (Fox Grape is a species of grape–no actual foxes are harmed in the making of this jam).
- Pure Cane Sugar
- Pectin
- Citric Acid

That’s it. No fifteen-syllable words. These are preserves made the old fashioned way–completely naturally.

On her Web site, you can order the jams, and there are great suggestions on how to use them. For example, the grape jelly can be used as a glaze over any meat dish, warmed up over vanilla ice cream, or used to make the perfect PB&J sandwich.

There are other incredible flavors, including:

- Red Raspberry Jam
- Raspberry and Brandy Preserves
- Bordeaux Wine Jelly
- Peach Preserves
- Red Berry Special
- Peach Cobbler Preserves
- Peach Pecan Conserves with Cherries and Amaretto

And incredibly, each is available at the affordable price of $8–where 75% of the proceeds are donated to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

I got the chance to sample some of Julia’s jam. It is jaw-droppingly delicious. I mean, this is you-can-eat-it-right-out-of-the-jar jam. I remember as a kid hearing stories of kids in who ate spoonfuls of jam out of jars, and it grossed me out. After all, the only “jam” I knew of were Smucker’s Strawberry Jelly and Welch’s Grape Jelly, both of which tended to be sickeningly sweet. But when I opened my first jar of jam, the Fox Grape jelly, the first thing I noticed was that the jam was beautiful and had an almost jewel-like quality about it:

I took a whiff of the jar, and it smelled really, really fresh, like I was standing in a grape vineyard. And when I  snuck a taste of Julia’s Fox Grape Jelly, it was pure ambrosia. It had the consistency slightly thinner than Jell-O, and had a wonderful fresh grape flavor that made me shudder with delight. Unlike jelly you find in the supermarket, it wasn’t sickly sweet–there was just the perfect amount of sweetness that the grapes remained the star of the show.

I recently started to follow Julia’s Twitter account @hopehealthjoy, where she recently shared a link for a recipe for scones. I decided to bake some, and used some of Julia’s Fox Grape Jam, the Red Berry Special, the Raspberry and Brandy, and the Peach Preserves. Here’s what they looked like:

Of course, I snuck a taste of each of the jams and preserves as I opened them.

The Red Berry Special was an amazing blend of strawberries, blended with a mix of raspberries and cherries. The result is a rich, complex blend of flavors that catapult the flavor over regular strawberry jelly. This was thicker than the grape jam, and had chunks of real fruit in it.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with the Raspberry and Brandy Preserves, but I liked what I tasted. It was thicker, a dark red color dotted with raspberry seeds. There was, of course, the taste of fresh raspberries, but the addition of brandy gave it a sharp, tangy kick. Again, it was the perfect recipe where the brandy didn’t overwhelm the taste of the raspberries (and yes, I stayed sober, even though I ate more than one spoonful!)

The Peach Preserves was also thick, sweet, and again a beautiful amber color.

Here’s what the scones looked like after they were baked:

Okay, they don’t look quite like the picture in the scone recipe (this is a charity gift blog and not a baking blog, after all), but when I took my first bite of the Fox Grape scone, I was blown away. I kid you not–it was just about the best thing I’ve cooked in the last year. The jam actually took on a richer flavor as it cooked and bubbled on top of the scone. The scone itself was full of fluffy, buttery goodness. And the part of the scone that soaked up the fruity goodness was heavenly. If you’re a guy looking for THE perfect Valentine’s Day present (or birthday present, or present for your wife on Mother’s Day), nothing says you’re a real man more than putting on an apron and cooking up a bunch of these jam-filled scones and serving them to her for breakfast

I have a lot of other plans for this jam. Something else I’ve always wanted to try was to make Linzer Cookies. On the same site I found this great recipe, and of course I wanted to make use of the Raspberry preserves, the classic filling for Linzer Tortes. And of course, I have a date with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in my future. I’ll be sure to come back and update you on how those efforts go!

Of all the charitable causes I feature on this site, few give me greater pleasure to highlight than those of young entrepreneurs who have decided to use their business skills to help the world. I definitely encourage you to visit her site–and to share her news with the world with a reTweet of this post!

High-end fashion designer Alexandra Taylor has released an impressive collection of scarves and ties that help bring awareness and much-needed funding to an important cause: ending the scourge of malaria in Africa.

Here in the United States, we often forgot how blessed we are. We have scientists working on mosquito eradication programs in our cities. We have the top medical care. When an “epidemic” like the West Nile Virus hits, panic ensues on every news broadcast on all the 24-hour news stations and nightly news broadcasts. And yet despite all that, your chances of actually contracting the virus is 1 in 452,488.

It’s quite a different story in Africa. Every 45 seconds, a child dies from a mosquito bite. Every 45 seconds. The disease that’s carried is malaria. It’s a terrible disease characterized by high fevers, shaking chills, flu-like symptoms, and anemia. These are real children, with real friends and real mothers and fathers who love them. And yet a tiny mosquito can wreak such havoc on families.

The most cost-effective way of preventing malaria is an incredible simple one. Just $10 will pay for a net to be placed over the bed of sleeping children. The net is treated with a long-lasting insecticide which is safe for the child but which repels the mosquitoes, which feed at night, from biting them while they sleep.

The scarves themselves are what you’d expect from a high end fashion designer. They’re made of a fine silk mesh and are extremely lightweight and stylish yet still functional. They’re 100% silk, and 100% made in the USA. Here are two of the designs.

The designs are all inspired by African colors and designs. This design in particular is a work of art that’s sheer and see-through with a design that evokes the life-saving mosquito nets themselves.

With the purchase of every scarf, Alexandra Taylor will donate $10 to Nothing But Nets to fund the creation and delivery of mosquito nets.

Macy’s Heart of Haiti Collection has a unique set of handcrafted vases from Haiti, including the Heart of Haiti Charlotte 1 Vase pictured here.

If you bought your Bieber fever flowers (and if you didn’t, what are you waiting for?? ), this vase makes a great alternative to the glass vase that 1-800-Flowers gives you, and helps a great cause to boot!

Since the first music CD to help Haiti was released a few weeks after the earthquake, a whole bunch of other artists have come together to produce their own albums to help Haiti. There’s one to suit just about every musical taste, and the proceeds are still going to help. Here are some of the more popular ones:

 A Symphony Of Hope: The Haiti Project (Classical)

  Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti (Family)

Are You Listening (Gospel)

Everybody Hurts (UK)
We Will Lift You Up (FOR Haiti Relief) (Inspirational)

This Birds in a Breadfruit Tree Jewelry Hanger from the Macy’s Heart of Haiti collection is a great way to support artisans of Haiti while displaying all your hanging jewelry in a beautiful and practical way.

Made from recycled steel, this piece has a beautiful design of graceful birds in a breadfruit tree, a tree widely grown and used in Haiti. Your jewelry can serve as “fruit” for the tree; the more you hang the more beautiful it becomes. And of course, your purchase of this item will help the artisans who made it make a living to help rebuild their communities and their country.

Okay, who doesn’t have Bieber Fever these days? Wish the Justin Bieber fan in your life a Happy Valentine’s Day with this Bieber Fever Bouquet. It’s a bouquet of one dozen multicolored roses in a glass vase, along with a teddy bear wearing a Justin Bieber T-Shirt and a free 4-month membership to Justin’s Fan Club.

A portion of proceeds will go to Pencils of Promise, a nonprofit organization that is partnering to re-build schools in Haiti.

This Heart of Haiti Pot Holder and Oven Mitt in Blue is one of several we’ll be featuring this month from Macy’s Heart of Haiti Collection.

This successful program was among the first to provide sustainable work for citizens of Haiti after the earthquake that wiped out huge amounts of raw materials and left their already-poor country in insecure and unsanity conditions.

Proceeds from the initiative have helped artisans repair their homes, send their kids to school, and clothe their families. All while giving them the dignity and pride of creating these one-of-a-kind, high quality products.

The oven mitt and pot holder come signed by the artisan who created it. Because they’re hand-made, no two are alike. They are machine washable and made out of a sturdy cotton/polyester blend.

Today marks the two year anniversary of the devastating Haiti earthquake. Haiti is still a nation in need of a lot of help. For the rest of the month we’ll be highlighting gifts that will help.

The Haiti Heart at UncommonGoods is a beautiful piece that was created by Haitian craftsmen through the organization Aid to Artisans. More than just giving handouts, this organization helps communities in developing countries build profitable businesses. Giving people a hand up instead of a handout can have ripple effects that help the whole country.

This piece starts with a stone purchased from local quarries in Haiti, and then is hand-carved individually. The result is a beautiful piece of art that measures 3.5″ by 3″ by 1.5″.

A while back, the folks at Project7 reached out to me to talk about their great charity.  ”Project 7″ produces “products for good” are directs them to one of seven charitable missions, including:

• Heal the Sick
• Save the Earth
• House the Homeless
• Feed the Hungry
• Quench the Thirsty
• Teach them Well
• Hope for Peace

Overall, I highly recommend these products. If you happen to see a tube sitting at the checkout counter of your local Walmart, be sure to pick one up and you’ll be doing a world of good. If you like the mints, you can also order a bulk package from Amazon.

I’ve been an owner of the Kindle Keyboard 3G for years now. There are so many things I love about the Kindle.

e-ink vs. an LED display

Perhaps most of all, I love the e-ink technology and how it reads like smooth type on real paper (and how you can read it under direct sunlight). Even though I have an iPad, I still prefer using my old Kindle as an e-Reader–it’s just a pain to read a glowing screen for too long, but with the Kindle I can read and read for hours without straining my eyes.

I also love how my Kindle has 3G wireless built-in, and there’s no monthly fees to pay for this access. Granted, the main purpose of the 3G is to connect to the Amazon store to buy more stuff (you can search Google or Wikipedia and surf the Web, but the built-in browser is a bit clunky, probably by design to discourage people from using the free bandwidth too much).

I really like the bells and whistles built in. How I can adjust the side of the text I’m reading. How a little indicator on the bottom tells me what percent of the book I’ve read. I love how I can add notes and annotations.

One thing I really love is how I can read a book on my Kindle, but pick up reading where I left off from my iPad, my iPhone, or my laptop by downloading the Kindle application to all three of them. There have been times when I’ve started a book on the Kindle, read a little bit on my laptop during downtime at work, read a little bit more on my phone on the train ride home, and then continued back at home on the Kindle.

But the one thing that always annoyed me (and made me envious of owners of the Barnes and Noble Nook) was that I couldn’t borrow books from the library. But that all changed recently. There’s a company called OverDrive, Inc. based out of Cleveland which is bringing e-Book technology to public libraries everywhere.

Here’s how it works with my own library, the New York Public Library. But chances are your local library has or is bringing in this technology as well.

1. I log into my library Web site.

3. I can browse or search for a book I like. They give suggestions based on what the newest and/or the most popular books are. Note that there are usually a few options: Kindle books, ePub books (for standard e-readers like the Nook and the Sony Reader), PDF eBooks, and/or audio books.  Once I see a book I like I can click on the title to see more details or click  ”Request Item” next to the Amazon Kindle version.

4. Each library has a limited number of e-books available for download. If a copy is not available, you’re asked to enter your name and email address and you’ll be placed on the waiting list. When it becomes available, you’ll receive an email telling you to return to the site to add it to your eList and check out.

5. Otherwise, if the book is available it’ll be added to my ”eList” (an eList is OverDrive’s equivalent of a “Shopping Cart”). At my library, I can add up to 12 books to my eList at a time. Here’s what a screen looks like when I have two Kindle books in my eList. After I’ve found all the books I want, I click “Proceed to Checkout” from the bottom.

6. After I enter my library card number and password, I can select a lending period of 7, 14, or 21 days. If I pass this period and haven’t finished the book yet, I’ll need to check it out again (and if there’s a waiting list, I’ll need to wait my turn again).

8. Clicking this button will take you to Amazon.com, where you can click a single button to electronically transfer the book to your Kindle (or, using the drop-down menu, to a Kindle app on your laptop, tablet, or cell phone). If your Kindle is connected to the Internet through WiFi or the built-in 3G, the download will happen instantly–the next time you pick up your Kindle the book will be there for you to start reading.

Voila, you’ll have a Library book on your Kindle.

While this is the experience for members of the New York Public Library, chances are your local library’s experience is similar if they’re using OverDrive technology.

One thing I love about e-Books is that unlike real library books, you don’t need to worry whether any of the fifty thousand people who borrowed it before you had the swine flu, took the book into the bathroom, or did any of the scores of other things we don’t like to think about people doing with library books. It’ll be like a brand new book in your Kindle.

I actually like the fact that there’s a 21-day limit on books, as it’s gotten me to read books faster, especially popular books where not finishing could mean another month on the waiting list. But happily, if you don’t finish in time, when you check it out again from the library your place and all your notes and annotations will still be there.

And surprisingly, the selection at my library was huge. There were books that are on the current New York Times bestseller list. Most of the more popular ones had a huge waiting list, but then again, there are plenty of available books to read while you’re waiting for the popular ones to get free.

Now the question–why am I writing all this on Charitable Gift Giving dot com? Well, other than wanting to share my excitement about being able to borrow library books on the Kindle, I really like how Overdrive has solved the dilemma of convincing booksellers AND libraries that letting people borrow books “for free” isn’t going to hurt business.

You’ve probably noticed in the screens above that once you’re sent to Amazon, you have the option to buy books so you can keep them permanently. So like in a real library, borrowing a library book is a great way to “try before you buy”.

What OverDrive does is, for every book you purchase on Amazon during your library borrowing experience (or another affiliated retailer such as Barnes and Noble, Books On Board, or Powell’s Books), your library will get a percentage of the sale which they can use for expanding the EBooks, audio books, music, or video to their “virtual branch”. So it’s a win-win-win-win scenario–Amazon makes money from the sale, your library gets funding to add to its eBook collection, you get the book in your hand at a great price, and OverDrive gets their cut for making it all happen. In this sense, it’s an improvement over traditional library books, where if you like a book you’ve borrowed your library will never see any percentage if you decide to buy it in a bookstore. At a time when libraries are getting their funding slashed by governments, it’s a quick and easy way to help support them (in addition to giving directly, of course).

We’ve had a couple posts lately of great charities that celebrate reading, along with Kindle books that give to charity. Reading is definitely becoming a lost art, but it’s still the single best way to broaden your mind and expand your creativity, much more than poring over Tweets and watching mindless reality shows. If one of your New Year’s resolutions has been to read more, take it from my personal experience–buying a Kindle will help you do just that.

If you’re in the market for a Kindle, here’s what I’d recommend. All of these models have e-Ink (i.e., clear reading in bright sunlight, no glare), have built-in WiFi to connect to your local hotspot, have fantastic battery life which can last weeks.

In all four cases I’ve linked to the model with “Special Offers”. What this means is, normally when the Kindle goes into screensaver mode it’ll show generic pictures of authors, book plates, designs, and so on. With “Special Offers”, the price of the unit is reduced, and in exchange you’ll see advertisements instead of the generic pictures. That’s the only difference–the ads only show up on screensaver mode and never in your reading experience. Because of that I definitely recommend the Special Offers version. In fact, sometimes there’ll be amazing offers from Amazon which I (as someone who doesn’t have special offers) will be jealous of

Basic Kindle - This is the entry level Kindle. It doesn’t have touchscreen, just a five-way controller, so navigating the on-screen keyboard can be a pain when searching for books or playing games. It does have buttons on the side for you to turn pages with. Long story short, if you just want a basic reader, it’s not a bad choice. It has 2 GB of storage, which will store upwards of 1,400 books. The form factor is the most compact of all the Kindles at 6.5″ by 4.5″ and only 0.34″ thick , and it weigh in at a hair under 6 ounces.

Kindle Touch- This is the next step up. It’s a hair larger than the Kindle at 6.8″ x 4.7″ and thicker at 0.40″. It has a touchscreen display which to be honest I find a little clunky (if you’re used to an iPhone or iPad, you’ll feel it’s sluggish). You also don’t have the option of turning pages with buttons, which I personally am not a fan of but which other reviewers have said they prefer. It has 4GB of memory which will hold 3,000 books.

Kindle Touch with 3G - This is the same as the Kindle Touch, but has 3G wireless built in. In other words, no matter where you are you’ll have an online connection straight to Amazon. If you have constant access to hotspots there’s really no need for it, but if you do a lot of travelling or your Kindle is not always within reach of a hotspot you’ll find it a wonderful thing. If I leave my Kindle at the office but check out a library book at home, the book will be ready for me as soon as I go back to work.

Kindle Keyboard 3G - This is the latest iteration of the original Kindle. It’s about an inch longer than the Kindle Touch at 7.5″ x 4.8″, but interestingly it’s also thinner at 0.34″. Personally, I love having the physical keyboard–navigating a virtual keyboard with the Kindle or even with the Touch just doesn’t give me the same satisfaction as a real keyboard. And I find I use the keyboard much more than I thought I would, for shopping the Amazon store, for searching the Web, and for writing notes. While Amazon probably wants to deprecate this model, I’m still a huge fan. It also has 4GB and can hold up to 3,500 books.

There are also other Kindle models; the Kindle DX which has a gargantuan 9.7″ screen and the Kindle Fire which is Amazon’s foray into the world of Android tablets. In all honesty, I wouldn’t recommend either of these. The DX is just too large and unwieldy for my tastes, and the Fire is just not as strong as other Tablets like the Apple iPad 2, the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, or even the NOOK Color.

Hopefully this post has encouraged you to rekindle (no pun intended) your love for good books. Happy reading!