Dealing with a newborn, especially your first, is a challenge and a half. Thank goodness for doctors, midwives, moms and books to guide us through those first few months.

But what about those who don’t have access to that much needed information? The Information Blanket is a newborn blanket with basic info on size, feeding, and illness warning signs. Buy one for yourself, and they will send one to a country with a very high infant mortality rate.

So while we are sleep deprived and exhausted, we can feel good knowing we are helping out a fellow mom who isn’t as fortunate as us. —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

US$40USD for a blanket for you and a blanket for Uganda, http://theinformationblanket.org

You’re well-read, now get, well, red.

Penguin in collaboration with (PRODUCT)RED has created a line of red-covered classics like Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Dostoevsky’s Notes From the Underground and Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, to mark World AIDS Day today.

Fifty percent of profits benefit the Global Fund. That makes The House of Mirth actually merry.

$13.68 at Chapters.

How is killing three birds with one stone considered compassionate?

When the birds are summer trends (nautical stripes, espadrilles, wedges) and the stone is a shoe by TOMS.

Their new wedge with its jute rope accents and striped canvas upper fulfills all the requirements of a cute summer shoe. And the very fact that it's TOMS means buying a pair also puts shoes on a child in need of some.

It’s a win-win-win.

Red/white stripe and black styles ($85) at Twigg & Hottie, 3671 Main St., Vancouver, 604-879-8595, www.twiggandhottie.com or all styles online at www.tomsshoes.com

Shopping has its merits, but shopping at Philanthropy has that much more.

The new concept store by pop-up retailer The Latest Scoop sells products sourced by them, as well as items donated by the likes of Harriet Grey jewellery, New Balance, Christine’s Lingerie and Kiss & Makeup that directly benefit local children’s charities. Occupying the old Duthie Books location in Kits, the outpost only stays open for a few more weeks, but receives new merchandise regularly.

Retail therapy just got a whole lot more therapeutic.

Philanthropy by The Latest Scoop, 2239 W. Fourth Ave., Vancouver, www.philanthropybyscoop.com

Wearing one dress every day for a year may sound like a nightmare, but in the hands of an everyday fashionista it’s uniformly enlightening.

The Uniform Project documents Sheena Matheiken, a Indian-American doppelganger for Amélie, as she practices style, sustainability and philanthropy. Using a dress designed by her friend that’s made to be worn forwards, backwards or as a tunic, she changes up her look using only accessories donated, already owned or pre-loved from eBay. While she’s at it, she sets aside a dollar a day to fund the education of one child living in the slums and encourages others to do the same.

It’s Gossip Girl meets Slumdog Millionare, and it has us looking at our wardrobe, among other things, in a whole new way.

www.theuniformproject.com

So what if Frank Lloyd Wright invented the carport? We still love Modernist architecture in all its forms.

Vancouver is lucky to have built out during the height of the movement, with stunning examples of post-and-beam homes from the British Properties to Southlands to Burnaby Heights.

So if Douglas Coupland hasn’t invited you over to check out his Ron Thom-designed spread, you can get an intimate glimpse of the style during Heritage Vancouver’s annual Mid-Century Modern bus tour that takes you inside five private residences. This year’s lineup is reported to be the best yet, with the highly-guarded addresses including an Erickson, a Thom, and three gardens designed by the legendary Cornelia Oberlander.

The last residence will host a wine tasting for guests (hopefully in a sunken living room with floor-to-ceiling windows).

After all, the open-plan living room is another of Wright’s legacies.

Saturday, October 4, 1 p.m.-6 p.m., $100 per person ($50 tax receipt). Seventy seats only. www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org

The holiday season is the season of giving.

And not giving up.

Vancouver's Ethical Bean has your time-strapped, guilt-ridden self in mind with this holiday deal.

Buy a pound of their fair trade, organic coffee in December (from $14) and Ethical Bean will donate a dollar to Child-Aid, a non-profit organization that helps send children to school in Latin America.

So now unfortunate children are going to school, you feel like a million bucks, and you'veg ot the perfect hostess gift for Christmas breakfast or Boxing Day brunch.

Giving doesn't get much better than that.

Last year's fundraising efforts purchased books, tuition and uniforms for seven Guatemalan children. This year, Ethical Bean aims to school 25 children. A year's education costs just US$100.

Learn more at www.ethicalbean.com and www.child-aid.org

Purchase Ethical Beancoffee online at Small Potatoes Urban Delivery www.spud.ca and Stongs www.stongs.com

Also available atChoices Market. View store locations at www.choicesmarket.com