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        Your holiday endeavors do not have to end when the wrapping paper is torn and the greeting cards forgotten. Many local organizations are providing items that allow your greetings to keep giving long after the holidays are gone.

        This is the season for “cards for a cause,” greeting cards which benefit charity, and now is the time to order.This year, many charities are offering gift items in addition to cards.

        For example, Sarah Center sells jewelry crafted by economically challenged women in our area.

        “Our purpose is to help provide supplemental income at the end of the month.” says Sister Jeanette Buehler, director of outreach ministries for St. Francis Seraph Parish.

        But financial assistance is not the original motivation for the Sarah Center clients.

        “Being together and finding support among one another is just as important.” says Sister Jeanette.

        You can support local charities with everything from traditional American Lung Association Christmas Seals to a lifelike mouse ornament sold by Intuitive.

        Meowmart raises money to benefit the Scratching Post, a cat shelter. The store is very busy during the holidays, says volunteer Carol Dorrance.

        “I don't have exact figures, but, it certainly helps a lot,” Ms. Dorrance says.All the profits from the store go to support the shelter because the workers donate their time.

        No matter which card or gift option you choose or which holiday you celebrate, you can be sure the warmth of of the season will extend well into the New Year.

        Here's a sample of the greeting cards and gifts being sold in the Tristate this year to raise money for charity.

        • Alois Alzheimer Foundation. Holiday cards designed by people with Alzheimer's disease. $10 for 12; $20 for 24. Proceeds benefit the foundation, which raises awareness about Alzheimer's disease, supports education and research programs. 605-1000.

        • American Diabetes Association. Catalog of cards, decorations, ornaments, calendars, plates, collectibles, books. $5.95-$24. Also paper bricks that can be added to the “ Building A Cure for Diabetes” wall. $1. Call (888) 342-2383 or (513) 759-9330, or write, 8899 Brookside Ave., Suite 102, West Chester OH 45069.

        • American Lung Association (ALA). Christmas Seals (donations accepted) and a 2000 ALA of Ohio Golf Privilege card ($30 before Dec. 31; $35 after Dec. 31). Add $2 for shipping and handling. The card provides golf discounts at 150 participating Ohio courses, along with other golf-related savings in Ohio. Available after Nov. 15. Christmas cards also available. Proceeds benefit ALA programs. Call (800) 586-4872 or 985-3990.

        • Auxiliary of Bethesda Hospital. Holiday card features a print of John Ruthven's original painting, “Cardinals.” $10 for 20 cards. Notecards are also available $5 for 10 cards. Proceeds benefit Hospice of Cincinnati, which provides palliative medical care to the terminally ill in their home or in a 40-bed inpatient facility in Blue Ash. To order by mail, call Jerri Spurlock, 569-6369. Cards also may be purchased at Hospice of Cincinnati, 4310 Cooper Road, Cincinnati 45242.

        • Children's Home of Northern Kentucky. Cards featuring holly leaves and a Christmas tree, designed by children of the home, with help from Lukey Design Service. $10 for a package of 20. Imprinting can be arranged on request. “Merry Christmas” postcards. $5 for a package of 20. All proceeds go to care for abused and neglected children. Sold through the agency,(859) 261-8768, ext. 3070, and at Kentucky Haus, 421 Monmouth, Newport. (859) 261-4287.

        • Children's Hospital Medical Center is online this year with their holiday cards. Ordering is as easy as going to www.cincinnatichildrens.org — and clicking on the holiday card icon. Their cards are $1 each until Oct. 19 and $1.50 thereafter, and they benefit CHMC. The cards can also be ordered by calling the hospital development office at 636-4561.

        • Hillel Jewish Student Center, 2615 Clifton Ave., Clifton. The center sells house jewelry pins, created by jewelry designer Lucinda Yates of Portland, Maine. Proceeds go toward Hillel's Campus Ministry Association Breakfast Program, which has been feeding the homeless in Over-the-Rhine since 1986. Pins are $12. Available at the center or by mail with a $1 handling charge. Also, the center is selling Hanukkah gift wrap, cards, stickers and bows. These items are only available on the UC campus; call the center for times and places. 221-6728.

        • Intuitive, 913 Vine St., downtown. Cat jewelry and cat toys. Exclusive line of cat coasters and notecardsdesigned by local contest winners. $1-$40. Gift wrapping Thanksgiving through Christmas. All proceeds go toward Cat SNIP, a spay-neuter program that provides low-cost spaying and neutering through area veterinarians. Cat SNIP is a program of the Scratching Post, a non-profit cat shelter and adoption center in Silverton. 721-6772.

        • Kindervelt No. 4, a fund-raising auxiliary for Children's Hospital Medical Center (CHMC). Cards with four different designs: Wise Men, Xmas Tree, Decorated House, and Golden Trees. $31.50-$39.75, without the name printed, plus tax, for box of 25. Bulk orders available. Proceeds benefit adolescent medicine research at CHMC. 793-2615.

        • Meow Mart, 6958 Plainfield Road, Silverton. Assortment of cat-related items to benefit the Scratching Post. Among items are handmade cat toys (50 cents to $3). and entertainment books, $35. 984-3312.

        • The Pampered Chef. 20th anniversary heart-shaped cookie mold, dated, with floral design, available through Feb. 28 $8. One dollar from the sale of each cookie mold is given to the FreeStore-FoodBank through Second Harvest. 761-9419.

        • Parachute: Special Advocates for Children of Butler County. Christmas and Hanukkah cards designed by children, to benefit programs for abused and neglected children; 20 styles available. $15 for 20. 887-3880.

        • Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati. Cards depicting the Nativity. $5 for package of 10 at 1802 W. Galbraith Road, North College Hill. If mailed, cards cost $6.50. Proceeds benefit mothers and their unborn and newborn babies. 522-0820.

        • Sarah Center. Earrings and necklaces made by urban women. $5-$45. This year also featuring hand-crafted items from similar groups across the country. Sixty percent of the sale price benefits the woman who made it. Forty percent is used to buy additional supplies and cover costs of craft shows. Jewelry may be purchased 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays year-round at the center, 1600 Vine St. (corner of Liberty and Vine, next to St. Francis Seraph School). A holiday sale, “Gifts that make a Difference,” featuring jewelry, soaps, body lotions and other craft items, will be held at the center 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 30 and 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 1. 651-1532.

        • Tom Geiger Guest House. A package of 12 cards is $12. Proceeds go to the house, which provides transitional housing for homeless women and their children. Cards are sold at the Geiger House office, 2631 Gilbert Ave., Walnut Hills. 961-4555.

        • Wellness Community-Greater Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky. Note cards featuring views of Cincinnati. Photos were taken by Wellness Community trustee Tom Schiff, $10 for a box of 15. Also a coffee table book, “Panoramic Cincinnati,” ($49.95; $39 if bought before Christmas) including 95 different photos by at the Wellness Community, 8044 Montgomery Road, Suite 170, Kenwood, and Legacies, the organization's consignment shop, 3449 Michigan Ave., Hyde Park. Proceeds benefit Wellness Community programs and services. 791-4060.

        • UNICEF. Cards benefit the United Nations Children's Fund. At AIMS bookstore, Mount Healthy; St. John's Unitarian Church and New World Bookshop, both in Clifton; Pipkins Fruit Market, Montgomery; Little Professor Book Store, Milford, West Chester and the Open Book in Finneytown; Western Hills Photo, Western Hills; Crazy Ladies Book Store, Northside; the Blue Marble, Oakley; Hair Handlers, Kenwood; the Raven of Mount Adams, Mount Adams; Le Cezanne,Hyde Park and Wyoming; Century House, Glendale. For additional outlets and information about other gift items, including calendars, children's games and puzzles, call 875-3146 or 521-4745.

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