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What: Jimmy V Collection neckties.

Price: $35, available at most major department stores.

This collection is a merger of smart business, sports, fashion and philanthropy. Early this year, a New York-based necktie manufacturer, Stonehenge Ltd., began producing limited-edition ties designed around drawings donated by sports celebrities, and 4% of the net sales were earmarked for the foundation for cancer research set up by Jim Valvano, the late college basketball coach.

Since the release of the first collection, $300,000 has been donated to the V Foundation. A second collection has just been released and a third is planned for early next year.

In the second collection, John Madden, Bobby Orr, Wayne Lukas, Peggy Fleming, Bob Costas, Eric Davis, Bill Cowher, Joe Paterno and Mark McGwire have contributed drawings.Stonehenge has managed to incorporate aspects of each simple drawing into something pretty stylish. Their designers, after all, know that a tie plastered with a full diagram of a power sweep (Paterno’s contribution) might not sell. Of course, one man’s style is another man’s eyesore, so a tie’s a risky gift. But you can always buy one you like as a Christmas gift and if it bombs, keep it for yourself.