Gifts that Keep on Giving

What do you give that person who has everything?
By Jonathan Ment

What comes to mind when you set to thinking about the perfect gift for the friends and family on your list?

It’s probably not a neck tie—that’s the territory of desperate shoppers, though there are some nice ones out there. A shirt? Only slightly more creative. Jewelry? Books? Toys? Electronics? Home decor?

These are all fine choices, but what about a gift for the one who has everything, space for nothing more, or is simply impossible to shop for?

For me, the gifts that have meant the most in recent years are those that keep on giving. More specifically, a few years back my kid sister introduced the family to Heifer International, a non-profit organization that works to end world hunger through the gifts of sustainable sources of food and income. Essentially, a gift to someone you care for is the gift of training and animals to children and families around the world, whom you’ve likely never met. I’ve embraced the organization, and support Heifer International for several types of gift giving and other occasions.

For $20 you can give the gift of chicks. Beginning at six months of age, they can lay up to 200 eggs a year. That’s a lot of protein for a child that might otherwise subsist on rice and other starches alone.

For $120 you might “give” a sheep, which in turn provides wool for use or sale by the family that receives it. You can also give a share of larger animals, such as sheep, llamas, water buffalo, goats and, of course, heifers. In the case of sheep, a share is just $10. And sheep often give birth to triplets. The gift keeps on giving. Get the picture?

Cards are available from Heifer International for those on your gift list to indicate the nature of the bigger gift. You can find more information about this excellent organization at www.heifer.org, and even shop online. Allow yourself a little lead time if you’d like them to sent those cards for you to forward.

Admittedly, this is rather conceptual stuff on some level. It’s hard for a child to understand that the fuzzy chick they’re receiving is actually half a world away. Some might actually prefer that lump of coal….

Ah, but what of keeping it local?

Here are a few suggestions for gifts that keep on giving, long after the holidays (or birthdays, or anniversaries, or whatever) have passed. You can find them just about anywhere, and in most cases, one size fits all. You can even combine these with gifts such as those from Heifer International, and they won’t take up any space.

Best of all, the lives you change will be close to home.

The Gift of Food
Wherever there are farms, there are CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Farms, which offer memberships to those who receive their bounty on a fixed schedule.
In Greene County, organic vegetables are grown for the 600 members of Deborah and Pete Kavakos’ Stoneledge Farm. Many of those members are local, although the majority are in Westchester, New York City and Connecticut. At each of 10 “drop sites,” owners of CSA shares come for pick up on a specific day each week throughout harvest season. Some memberships are paid for by family and friends much farther away.

“This is our eleventh year,” says Deborah Kavakos. “We distribute through 10 different sites. … The vegetable share is our certified organic produce. There’s an optional fruit share. Some of that is berries we produce. Most of it comes from orchards across the river and is not organic.”

Members, or those giving memberships, pay around $450 for 24 weeks of fresh, locally-grown produce from May through October. “There’s a local family whose daughter lives in Florida and purchases a share for them every year here in Greene County,” says Kavakos. “People from the city will call and give it to their (families) here.”

The gift of a CSA membership also keeps on giving by supporting agriculture. Kavakos says 95 to 98 percent of Stoneledge Farm’s income comes from the CSA. The couple also participates in the annual farmers and artisans market at Catskill Point.

“Because we’ve done it for so many years, we know how many members we are going to grow for,” says Kavakos. “We know how much to grow of each crop—a good variety of vegetables each week for our share members.”

To purchase a share in the Stoneledge Farm CSA for pick up in Greene County call Lynn Kramer at 518 945 3641. For a drops elsewhere find their delivery points and information on other CSA farms at www.localharvest.com.

A healthy diet, now that’s a gift that keeps giving. In the case of a CSA membership, it’s also a gift that reminds the recipient of your thoughtfulness weekly for half the year.

The Gift of Well Being
Another gift that’s bigger than the box is the gift of fitness or well-being, whether it’s a gym membership, or classes at any of the region’s specialty studios.

Yoga instructor Darnita LeSure has been teaching in Margaretville, Delaware County, for about six years. Her studio is now on the second floor of The Commons.

“What I try to do here is create not just the physical limb of Yoga, but create that link between diet, exercise and meditation,” says LeSure. “We try to overcome your disabilities. Once you learn the techniques, it’s something you can take with you and have with you for the rest of your life…because you change your lifestyle,” she says. “You change old habits, release the mind and release stress.”

Individual classes at LeSure’s Ujjayi Mountain Yoga Center are $15. A five-session package is $65. A 10 class package is $120. For more information call 845 586 1888.

In the Dutchess County town of Rhinebeck, Pilates instructor Elaine Ewing recently purchased a five-year old studio with capacity for five students. Group and individual classes are purchased in advance and gift certificates are available for any number of classes.

“Pilates is a mind-body workout based on the principles developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 1900s,” says Ewing. “Every exercise is based on working from your core to strengthen your core muscles. It’s a flowing workout…with flowing transitions between exercises.”

“Men and women of all ages can benefit from Pilates,” she continues. “It’s not powering through exercises and bulking up. It is mindful movement with an emphasis on flow.”

Pilates is also great for people of all athletic abilities. “If you’re an athlete, it can improve your performance,” says Ewing. “It improves your posture which then improves your quality of life with added flexibility. It’s a great way to learn about your body—how you move and how you should move.”

Pilates is an excellent approach to stress release, and several of Ewing’s students have recognized that it’s similar to exercises they’ve used while recuperating from injuries, she says.

“As a gift, you’re giving the gift of better health and longevity. It’s not finite,” says Ewing. “The idea is to take it and keep it in your body so that the rest of the day you feel it in your body. Your posture is improved Your spine is elongated, your abdominal muscles are more toned, legs strengthened and you’re stronger overall.”

She jokes that after beginning Pilates more than a decade ago, she grew two inches. “You don’t actually grow, but you regain your true height,” she says.

Private classes range from $20 to $80. Group classes also start at $20. Find more information about Rhinebeck Pilates at www.rhinebeckpilates.com or call 845 876 5686. Ewing teaches at her studio, Rhinebeck Pilates, and elsewhere, including Columbia-Greene Community College, home to more than 100 noncredit courses during each of five semesters annually.

The Gift of Education
As at community colleges everywhere, non-credit classes are open to the public, are affordable and cover a wide range of interests and disciplines from arts and crafts, like painting, drawing, beading, knitting and digital photography to more technical subjects such as investing, business classes and software instruction.

“These (classes) run the gamut from enrichment classes…to professional development,” says Robert Bodratti, Director of Community Services at Columbia-Greene Community College. “We do a wide variety of things and try to focus on what people want and also what they might need to improve on the job. We participate in different community auctions, where we’re asked to donate a class and people bid on them,” says Bodratti. “When you look at a community college, perhaps at first blush it’s kids getting degrees or people coming back for skills to get a job. But there’s also the noncredit courses, plays, special events and community use of the buildings.”

“I don’t remember anyone…saying I’m going to give a class as a gift but I think it could be a great idea,” says Bodratti. “Let’s say for someone who’s received a camera as a gift and always wanted to take up photography, here’s a chance to sit down with someone who really knows photography and learn about the interplay between light and a subject. Perhaps you always wanted to try watercolor. Here’s a way to try it without having to worry about testing. You’re free from the burden.”

“You can do it in a way that’s fun and doesn’t have the weight of education and credits over your head,” he says, adding “You can take it as far as you want. … It’s a place to get started for bigger things.”

Non credit courses may take place during a single session or over a number of weeks. Enrollment fees start as low as $5. How’s that for affordable? Find the current schedule at www.sunycgcc.edu or call 518 828 4181.

The Gift of Giving Back
If feeding the world, or feeding your family and friends, aren’t right for everyone on your list, and exercising the body or mind just doesn’t click, how about helping to save the Earth through gifts of memberships in organizations that work to protect the environment and natural resources?

“We’ve been giving a gift of this wonderful place and it’s our opportunity to give back,” says Deborah Meyer DeWan, community specialist and environmental planner at The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, a membership organization created in 1969 to improve economic opportunities and quality of life in southern Albany, Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan, Otsego and Ulster counties.

Executive Director Tom Alworth says the old model of approaching conservation and development was “you’re either for it or against it. We are overall (for) a holistic approach to protecting the environment and a smart building environment, guiding the built environment so that its growth does not compromise the natural environment,” says Alworth. “Any membership in a (group) that supports the environment is a gift that gives back.”

Membership in the center starts at $25 for individuals. Family and household memberships are $35, and the recipient will receive a window decal, the center’s newsletter and discounts on events and merchandize such as regional books, maps gifts and more. More importantly, membership brings the gift of helping…maintain healthy ecosystems and vibrant communities,” according to the center.

Visit www.catskillcenter.org or call 845 586 2611 for more about the center and membership information.

Need more ideas for gifts with staying power?

Put your mind to it. After all, it’s the thought that counts.