Moving from Bling in Erin to Learning in China

I am in in the world's best Book Club. The 9 of us have been together for more than 5 years. It's not mostly because of the food (which is fabulous), or the books (which are mostly fabulous) or even the company (always fabulous) -- it's the loot bags. Shelley's company makes promotional gift items -- mostly cosmetics, funky purses and things. Her contribution to our monthly potlucks is presents! For a girl who uses the same blush brush I splurged on in university, this opens up a whole new world.

Shelley's generosity extends far beyond gifts to her girlfriends. With many of her company's products coming from China, Shelley and her family and employees found a way to give back to some of the people in that country. So this week, international week here at Just Giving It, I'm going to join her in supporting Hope School in Guiyang. The donation will help to provide things like a hot lunch program, warm clothing and school supplies at the school Shelley was instrumental in starting. You can read more about it here.

I'm sorry you can't join our Book Club -- there's a waiting list and spaces rarely open up. You can read what we're reading though! This month it's Terry Fallis' Best Laid Plans, courtesy of the recommendation from Canada Reads (I'm a huge Jian Ghomeshi fan, what can I say?). You can download it free as a podcast from iTunes. You can also join us in other ways, by figuring out how you are going to give back, with style and creativity and generosity like Shelley does at Orchard International. Thanks for the suggestion, Shelley!