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In an effort to help everyone out, I'm giving you a two-part gift guide. Part one covers those pesky gifts for the community-conscious people who have it all or really don't need more stuff. Next week, I'll offer suggestions for the people who insist they do indeed need more stuff.

I'm obsessed with the Sundance Channel's Iconoclasts. The other day, the episode came on with Ashley Judd and Madeleine Albright where they talk about everything they do for the world (in a totally humble manner). Watch it; I dare you to not feel guilty about your lack of activism. I'm pretty involved in the community, but I always feel like I'm not doing as much as I could and should be doing, and that show didn't help. In my efforts to do more, I give people donations as gifts. The older you get, the more difficult it becomes to find the perfect gift. This way, you are giving two gifts in one to help someone who really needs it. Here are a few suggestions:

Straight donations. Find out what your friend or loved one is passionate about. The more effort you make in choosing a charity, the more it will mean to the recipient. In most cases, the organization will send the recipient a card saying that you made a donation in their name (without disclosing the amount you spent). If your loved one has these interests or fits into these categories, here are a couple options: environmentalists - Baton Rouge Green, history buffs - Foundation for Historical Louisiana, art gurus - Arts Council of Baton Rouge or museums like LASM, LSU MOA or lover of all things culinary - Baton Rouge Food Bank.

Honorarium or in memoriam donations. The holidays are always difficult for anyone who has an illness, a family member with an illness or has suffered the loss of a loved one. By giving a donation to a charity in honor or memory, you're telling your loved one that you're thinking about them and remembering their struggle is sometimes the best gift you can give. I personally do this every year for my family in memory of my uncle and grandfather to Hospice of Baton Rouge, who helped my family through difficult times. Again, tailoring the donation to the person makes it all the more meaningful, but knowing they are in your thoughts is pretty helpful, too. Some other options are Unlocking Autism, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Canter, McMains Children's Development Center, O'Brien House, Arc Baton Rouge or Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area.

Non-monetary donations. If you and your friends make a decision to purchase gifts for other needy people, you can easily find a wish list at Volunteer Baton Rouge. They list the charities in the area and give you a handful of big and small items each one needs. You aren't making a monetary donation and you may not get any acknowledgement, but you're still helping someone. Another option, while it's not in Baton Rouge, is to purchase items for several of the homes being rebuilt in the lower Ninth Ward. While I'm not generally interested in endorsing celebrity causes, Make It Right (organized by Brad Pitt) is a pretty cool project working to rebuild with local and national folks using a ton of green materials. You can sponsor something as small as a showerhead ($40) or as large as the whole house ($150,000). Just think, you can have a part in the residents of New Orleans possibly being in their own home by the time the third anniversary of Katrina rolls around.

All of these suggestions are by no means everything in our community that you can do. Visit Volunteer Baton Rouge or the Capital Area United Way for more charitable ideas. Since it's the thought that counts, these gifts will be more appreciated than a useless gadget that will be obsolete in a month. Plus, you're taking a tiny step to help someone else, which is what the holidays should really be all about.