Looking for a unique gift to give teachers, colleagues or friends? Want a super easy way to help support charities during the holiday season? Or would you just like to try great restaurants in Beijing that you’ve never taken the time to visit?
The Little Gold Book serves all these needs and more!
I know that this sounds like an advertisement, but it’s really not. It’s just an enthusiastic endorsement of a way-cool item available right now — good to use all year long in 2012!
Created by a brother-sister team from New Zealand who wanted to start a social enterprise in Beijing, the Little Gold Book provides great savings and philanthropy, all packaged neatly in a simple – but substantial – book of coupons. It’s a compilation of vouchers from over 70 international restaurants in Beijing (Hatsune, Alameda, Assaggi, and more!) with 50% off deals, buy-one-get-one offers and much more. There are even vouchers for cooking classes and specialty items such as cupcakes. Good for the entire calendar year 2012, this gives people an excuse to go out on the town a little bit more often.
And here’s the kicker. These Little Gold Books are primarily sold through charities, non-profits, and community groups, and they get to keep 30% of every book they sell! Priced at RMB 240, that means RMB 72 per book sold goes to the charity selling them! Be sure to look for these Little Gold Books at all of the holiday bazaars coming up – CISB Gift Charity Bazaar, German Charity Bazaar, BSB Winter Fayre, WAB Charity Bazaar, and more. A few participating restaurants will have the books available for sale, and you can also get them online at www.littlegoldbook.net – again, 30% of the cost will go towards charity.
Some retail locations such as the Bookworm, April Gourmet, Jenny Lou’s and others sell the books, too. Between 10-20% of the cost will go to charity when purchased via these venues.
Coming from the U.S., I was aware of this type of fundraiser with area restaurants, as it was always a popular item to buy as a gift, or even for yourself! So I was quite curious to see how it would work here, in a place that doesn’t seem to have or use gift certificates often. It was great to see that not only is this a fantastic compilation of coupons wrapped up in a wonderful little book, but that a wide variety of charities can benefit simply because we all like to eat good food. It’s a win-win. Add to that that it’s available for purchase and use all year long, and it’s a gift that gives for a very long time indeed. And guess what? The vouchers are in English on one side; Chinese on the other. So if you want to thank your ayi, driver, Chinese teacher or any other person who may only know Chinese, this is a perfect solution!
Be sure to check out the Little Gold Book website for a complete listing of participating restaurants, conveniently sectioned off by area. The website helps to answer all of your questions about how the fundraising works, where you can find the books, and even how to get included in next year’s edition.
My own personal list of “Now, who can I give this to…?” grows every time I think about it. And I might even put one in my husband’s stocking this year as a subtle hint for more date nights!
