The best gifts are those that “give back” while making you (and your lucky recipient) feel happy.  Why not  “do good, feel good” as a bonus?!

At a holiday gift preview, I discovered a display of interesting and colorful, beaded bracelets. While they would be fun to wear and to give any time of year, organizations like the (non-profit)  Project Have Hope, make gift-giving easy,  affordable, and a way to do something positive for others.

Project Have Hope works with a group of 100 women in the Acholi Quarter of Uganda and helps them transform their lives and the lives of their families. Through the sale of their beautiful, handmade paper bead jewelry, the women can feed their families, send their children to school, and look forward to a richer future.   But I was even more intrigued by an initiative called “Hope Cures.”  Project Have Hope has a partnership with the Uganda Child Cancer Foundation (UCCF) and has launched another line of bracelets, called the “Hope Cures” collection.  When I first saw these lightweight colorful bracelets that are made from recycled paper I didn’t even realize that they were eco-friendly beads, I just thought they were very eye-catching.  But these beads are made from long triangles of paper that are rolled tightly to create the beads. Then the beads are varnished for durability. Each bead is slightly different, a true and original work of art.

   There is a silver charm suspended from each bracelet, that signifies the cancer cause you have championed through Hope Cures:  breast cancer (pink), ovarian cancer (teal).  Show your support for one ore more of these deadly cancers with Hope Cures bracelets, too: Cervical Cancer Awareness Bracelet (teal and white); Colon Cancer Awareness Bracelet (various shades of dark blue); Kidney Cancer Awareness Bracelet (various shades of orange); Leukemia Awareness Bracelet (various shades of orange); Liver Cancer Awareness (emerald green); Lung Cancer Awareness Bracelet (white); Lymphoma Awareness Bracelet (various shades of lime green); Melanoma Awareness Bracelet (Black); Prostate Cancer Awareness Bracelet (various shades of light blue); and HIV Awareness Bracelet (red).  There’s all a light lavender bracelet that signifies awareness for all cancers, too.  Each bracelet is amazingly,  just $15.00 (they look like they should cost a lot more).  These bracelets look great stacked, or pick the causes that mean the most to you or to your recipient. If you want to be a bigger spender you can get one of each.   Since the beads are strung on elasticized bands, one size fits almost everyone.  The bracelets are tethered to a little card that gives information of the Story of Project Have Hope.

Just in case you’re not sure when the cancer support months are, here they are:

The holidays are right around the corner, so it’s good to order early. There are other unique items you can purchase, as well.  Visit the website and learn how you can host a bead party or sponsor a woman or child, or even  how you can volunteer in Uganda. Check out the Project Have Hope web site and the  online store