As always, donations can be made to the Hope Scholarship Fund in place of a gift. The money in the fund goes towards educating children in Africa and China. One of the schools covered by the Fund is the Dandelion School in Beijing. The children who are gaining an education are children I know personally, and as always, their education is as important to me as my own.
Instructions for donating are available at: http://www.hopescholarshipfund.org
Please send me an email at robin.donovan@uvm.edu if you do decide to take this course of action. Also mark "For Robin's Birthday" in the memo line of the check.

Rules about jewelry are available here.