Make Christmas Matter - which launches on 5th November - makes giving easy, but effective by giving you the opportunity to buy alternative gifts - gifts that actually change lives for good. With the knowledge that just one small gift can make a significant difference in the lives of others who have very little, it's worth making a note of Make Christmas Matter on this year's Christmas shopping list.

Created by GreaterGood South Africa and sponsored by the Cadiz Foundation, Make Christmas Matter is an innovative campaign that makes giving easier, as well as more considered. The novel online shop offers carefully-selected gifts, like vegetable seedlings for a community food garden, or a mobility cane for a sight-impaired person. The gifts range from R50 to R1000 and by buying one, you're making a meaningful investment in a social development project in South Africa.

Building blocks for life

In the rural Umzinyathi district of KwaZulu-Natal, lies an isolated community called Mbuba. Elderly women manage the households while absent parents seek employment in the cities. Community leaders estimate that less than a quarter of the remaining adults are employed and almost half of families live below the poverty line. With only one pre-school, a primary school and no high school, children have limited access to learning and development opportunities.

The Make Christmas Matter project will install and equip an educational toy library in a secure container, improving the quality of play opportunities and providing children with constructive leisure time activities. The library will include a covered play area where facilitated play sessions will introduce educational toys, games and the library concept. Over 200 local children will be able to borrow toys from the library and teachers will have access to the equipment to complement their lessons in class.

Sowing the seeds for learners

As part of the National Curriculum, schools are expected to include environmental topics but many lack the resources, skills or information to do this. The Eco-Schools support project aims to increase awareness of the natural environment among all sectors of the community in the Midlands Meander area.

The project aims to nurture capable, confident, curious children who are sensitive to environmental issues, who have the resilience to cope with a changing world and are able to contribute positively to their communities. Make Christmas Matter gifts will provide environment and conservation learning opportunities to 122 learners and 5 educators at Dargle Primary School; establishing a food garden, a recycling programme and taking learners on conservation field trips to areas of local natural significance.

The gift of a sparkling new kitchen

There's an extraordinary nursing home in Pinelands, Cape Town, called St Josephs, who provide 24-hour nursing care to 145 chronically ill and disabled children who cannot be nursed at home. St Joseph's addresses the overall needs of each child by providing physiotherapy and formal education up to Grade 7.

This project will allow the home to upgrade their kitchen, fitting new stainless steel worktops, shelves and sinks to bring the home back into compliance with the most recent government health regulations. It will also ensure that the children in St Joseph's care receive the very best in terms of hygiene standards in food preparation.

Priceless independence

There are over 724,000 people with sight disabilities in South Africa. One of the biggest challenges they face is poverty and the lack of resources to afford the tools and helpful devices they need for daily living. The South African National Council for the Blind (SANB) provides tools such as mobility canes and Braille paper to disadvantaged people with visual impairments across the country.

This project will provide mobility canes, signature guides, and liquid level indicators to 96 visually impaired people in the Free State, restoring their dignity and independence.

Choosing worthy causes

Make Christmas Matter uses the GreaterGood SA intensive assessment and evaluation process to select the projects that will benefit. This way, donors can rest assured that their money goes towards effective, sustainable solutions to South Africa's problems and that the donated money will be properly spent and accounted for. All organizations funded through Make Christmas Matter have to submit detailed reports on the progress and completion of their projects. Highlights from these reports are posted onto our news pages, so that our donors can track how their gifts have helped to change lives.

So far, Make Christmas Matter has raised over R2 million for 22 development projects ranging from a family planning programme in the Northern Cape to an environmental project that manages the rehabilitation and release of animals back into the wild.

Avoid those last minute trolley dashes and frustrating queues and buy gifts online that change lives, without even leaving home. And for those who don't celebrate Christmas, you can still make a difference all year round by buying gifts on gifts4good.co.za for any special occasion.