Gratitude with Intention - 2025 Edition
(2 minutes read)
Originally published on Substack
As Thanksgiving and gifting season approaches, I’ve been thinking about gratitude, not just for what we have, but how we show love to the people who matter most. This season, I want to challenge you to embrace a new kind of generosity—not just in the moment, but for the long run. I want giving to mean something lasting.
But the reality of holiday gifting often looks more like this: frantic online orders, tracking numbers, “will‑it‑arrive?” stress, and then… clutter, return boxes, trash.
When Gifting Means Chaos
In 2024, U.S. businesses reported that 15% of all shipments were delayed — just as holiday demand ramped up.
A holiday‑season survey found that 75% of Americans say delivery delays ruin their holidays, and 12% admitted it “ruined the season” entirely.
Meanwhile, all that shipping and packaging leaves a heavy footprint. The e‑commerce industry generated 3.8 billion pounds of plastic packaging waste in 2022 alone, and that number is still climbing.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a large portion of that packaging ends up in landfills, contributing significantly to overall waste and pollution.
So this holiday season, every “just‑in‑time” gift order carries hidden costs: stress, uncertainty, waste, and environmental damage.
But Giving Can Be Different
What if we flipped the script? What if gifts didn’t arrive late, get lost under a couch, or add to landfill clutter? What if generosity looked like this instead:
Contributions built toward long‑term goals (education, home down payment, investments)
No shipping, no packaging, no delivery anxiety
Real value that grows over time; not short‑lived objects
That’s why we built Endowe: a gift registry designed for intention.
With Endowe:
You don’t have to worry about couriers, lost packages, or shipping delays.
You don’t send more trash into landfills or add to global packaging waste.
You invite friends and family to give something truly meaningful; money that becomes opportunity.
This Thanksgiving, Let’s Gift Differently
As we gather this week, whether over turkey, Zoom calls, or text threads, I want us to think about generosity beyond the shopping cart and the wrapping paper.
Let’s give gifts that don’t get lost in the chaos. Gifts that build. Gifts that grow. Gifts that matter.
Happy Thanksgiving! And here’s to giving with intention!
With lots of love,
Your Godmother Ada
