If you're not quite ready for the holidays to be over yet, if you want the spirit of giving to continue just a little while longer, or if you haven't found the perfect gift for someone quite yet (or you have a little extra holiday money of your own that you are looking to spend), then we have a suggestion for you:
Every year, Pat Rothfuss, best-selling author of The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear (among other things), spearheads this amazing fundraising effort called Worldbuilders, where he raises money to support Heifer International. Many scifi and fantasy authors donate books (many of which are signed); you can bid on auctions for the rarer prizes, but many of the other books are prizes in the general lottery. For every $10 you donate, you are entered once into the lottery, where you can win hundreds of fabulous books and other prizes. So you can do good and get something for yourself!
In the five years that Worldbuilders has been happening, it has raised over $2 million for Heifer International--a charity that works with communities in poverty to created sustainable methods of income and food production. It's an amazing effort, and a fantastic example of what a community can do if we all work together. I know that we've talked about this fundraiser in past years, but it's definitely worth mentioning again.
You can read more about Worldbuilders at their website or at Pat's blog. Happy donating!
By Jen Miller
