The Joy of Giving: A Holiday Gift Guide

People can give twice with their holiday purchases by supporting local nonprofit organizations, such as Brenner Children's Hospital, that sell items that can be given as holiday gifts. Here is a list of some of the organizations and the items that are available this season:

□ Brenner Children's Hospital and local artist John Furches are selling holiday cards to benefit the hospital. The cards can be bought at Dewey's Bakery locations at Thruway Center, Robinhood Road and Harper Hill and also at the Development and Alumni Affairs office of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, at Piedmont Plaza One. This year's card is titled "Holiday House." Cards cost $10 a pack or $8 a pack for 10 packs or more. Each pack has 10 cards and envelopes. All proceeds benefit Brenner Children's Hospital. For more information, call 336-716-7985.

□ Crisis Control Ministry helps meet the emergency needs of people in financial crisis by providing assistance with such things as utilities, fuel, housing, food and prescription medicine.

It is selling Holiday Honor Cards, designed by William Mangum, that give the gift of time -- let them send out your holiday cards for you. Crisis Control Ministry will sign, address, stamp with a holiday stamp and mail the cards. Mail card orders, along with a recipient list and a check, to Crisis Control Ministry, 200 E. 10th St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101.

For credit-card orders, go to www.crisiscontrol.org and click on "Honor Cards." Honor cards are also available at all Wachovia branch locations.

For more information, contact Judie Holcomb-Pack at 336-724-7875, ext. 1040.

□ The Enrichment Center, an arts-based nonprofit organization that provides services to individuals with developmental disabilities, is selling packaged and individual holiday cards featuring artwork by the center's visual artists.

The cards, which can be bought in the center's Gateway Gallery, are $10 for a package of 12 or $1 each.

The gallery features original art, pottery and handcrafted gift items ranging from $1 to $100. New this year is a Holiday Dedication Tree, which features ornaments by the center's artists. When an ornament is bought for someone special, that person's name will be placed on the tree. For music lovers, the Enrichment Center Percussion Ensemble's latest recording, Ten Songs, is available for $12.

All proceeds from sales benefit the center's artists and arts programs. Gateway Gallery, at 1006 S. Marshall St., is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Visit www.enrichmentarc.org or call 336-777-0076, ext. 238.

□ Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County will offer donors who give $20 or more an ornament handcrafted by Habit volunteers Cameron and Sue Kent along with their children, which consists of a birdhouse with a holiday embellishment. Donors can pick up their ornaments at Habitat's office at 339 Witt St. or have their ornaments mailed, at no additional cost. For a contribution of $10, donors can get a holiday card in honor or in memory of someone. Cards and ornaments can be ordered online; go to the "Holiday Giving Store" at www.habitatforsyth.org. Orders should be made by Dec. 15 to ensure holiday delivery. The proceeds will help Habitat serve more families in 2010. For more information, call 336-765-8854, ext. 115.

□ Hospice & Palliative CareCenter is a nonprofit organization that provides medical, emotional, spiritual and social support to patients with a life-threatening illness and their families. This year, it is raising money through its Light Up a Life Ornament Celebration. People can make a donation to hospice in honor or in memory of someone and receive an ornament to give as a gift. For a donation of $15, the donor will receive a lace ornament with a tag attached bearing the honoree's name. For $50, the donor will receive hospice's handmade porcelain ball inscribed with the honoree's name. For a donation of $100 or more, the donor will receive a porcelain ball inscribed with the name. Gold-toned stands used to display the ornament are also available for $5. For more information, call 336-768-3972.

□ The Piedmont Land Conservancy is selling honor cards and a coffee-table book of local protected land to raise money for land conservation. The cards feature local landscapes, flora and fauna and are available for $10 each for a giver to honor or memorialize someone; the book, Forever These Lands, is $20. The Piedmont Land Conservancy is a nonprofit land trust that helps protect natural and scenic land, farms and open space across nine counties to enrich the quality of life for communities and future generations. Visit www.piedmontland.org or call 336-691-0088.

□ Reynolda Gardens will sell holiday flowering plants throughout the holiday season. Different foliage and flowering plants will be available, such as paper-white narcissus and amaryllis grown in the greenhouse, cyclamen, poinsettias, and orchids from $12 to $36. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the greenhouse. Proceeds will benefit Reynolda Gardens' educational programs and garden maintenance. Call 336-758-5593.

□ The Ronald McDonald House will sell luminarias through Dec. 24 to raise money for the house, which provides a home away from home for families who bring sick children to Winston-Salem for treatment. Luminaria kits are available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Sunday at the Ronald McDonald House, 419 S. Hawthorne Road, and at several locations, including area Lowes Foods.

For more information, including other locations where kits are available call 336-723-0228, ext. 60. Each kit sells for $5 and contains material for six luminaria (sand, candles and white bags).

□ Exchange/SCAN is a child-abuse prevention agency that serves Forsyth, Stokes, Surry, Yadkin and Alamance counties. The holidays are a stressful time for the agency's clients as they often cannot provide necessities for their families, much less Christmas presents for their children. Money is needed to buy gifts for children as well as clothing and food for families; send donations to Exchange/SCAN, 500 W. Northwest Blvd., Winston-Salem, NC 27105. Sponsors of families are needed; they can shop for items on a wish list or provide gift cards. Volunteers are needed to wrap gifts. Donations of new toys and books can be dropped off at the agency, which is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Volunteers are needed to wrap gifts. For more information, call 748-9028.