Charity

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Bag it Forward with Elmer’s and Adopt-A-Clasroom Program

Monday, September 6th, 2010

As an educator, I love programs that support students and teachers in classrooms. Many people do not realize how much time and money are put into classroom supplies by the professionals teaching your child day in and day out. I know that when I was in the classroom, I did not blink twice and just bought what I needed since it would benefit the kids.

Thanks to Maricris at Zensible Mama, I found out about a great new program from Elmers glue and Walmart. She sent me a virtual bag of school supplies like the one below.

Now, it is my turn. The reason I am participating is the fun and fabulous cause. Each person that writes a blog post or puts a note in Facebook earns $10 for charity. Elmer’s will donate up to $10,000 to Adopt-A-Classroom when you participate through Elmer’s Virtual Bag it Forward.

HOW CAN YOU JOIN? It’s easy. – {copy here} –

Participate in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward by giving away a virtual bag of school supplies and creating a blog post or Facebook note with specific rules described below.
Elmer’s will donate up to $10,000 to Adopt-A-Classroom.
You can give as many virtual bags as you want.
The Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward will officially begin at 12 AM EST on July 22, 2010 and end at 11:59 PM EST on September 10, 2010. Blog posts submitted to Elmer’s Virtual Bag it Forward before or after that time period will not be counted.
The blog post link has to be submitted in the comment section below for your participation to be counted.
In addition copy and paste the following text into your blog post:

ELMER’S VIRTUAL BAG IT FORWARD RULES – {to here} –

Copy and paste these rules into your blog post or Facebook note.
Create a post giving a “virtual bag of school supplies” to other bloggers or write about your Back to School shopping trip at Walmart.
Link back to the person who gave you a bag of school supplies.
Let each person you are giving a virtual bag of school supplies know you have given them a bag.
Leave your link in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward comment section. You can also find the official rules of this virtual #bagitforward program there.
Elmer’s is donating $10 for each blog participating in the Virtual Bag It Forward Donation to Adopt-A-Classroom (up to total of $10,000 for blog posts written by September 10,2010).
Please note that only one blog post per blog url will count towards the donation.

So now it is my turn to give some virtual supplies to people. Here is my gift to all of you:

So now I am asking for a little help from my blogging friends. Should you opt in (if you have not already) by the end of the deadline and post on your blog or Facebook let me know and I will stop by. Here are some of the people that I am asking to join in:

This list was in no particular order and if you want to join in let me know and I will link you up. Thank you for helping out a great cause.

It’s time to Wear Pink for Cora

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

July 30th is only a week away and I have a question for you. Will you be wearing Pink for Cora? (Please note my Aloha Friday question is below) If you are unfamiliar with Cora, you can learn more about this precious angel and the work her courageous mother Kristine is doing in her memory.

Kristine, her husband Ben and Cora are helping to save lives. In June, I wore pink on the 30th for Cora.

As word is spreading, more and more people are wearing pink all over to help raise awareness about CHD. Simply put, Cora is helping to save lives.

Recently, Kristine set up another website called Wear Pink For Cora.

Here she focuses on the amazing things that people have done on the 30th while wearing pink for Cora. As Kritstine puts it, the 30th of the month is a day to do good, have compassion and spread Cora’s love and beauty.

So my question for you this week is inspired by Kristine, Ben and Cora:

What good deed will you try to do next week on July 30th in honor of Cora?

Please join me next week and wear pink, so something special and help to spread the word. Let’s show Kristine how much her little girl can help to change the world one good deed at a time.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #109

Wearing pink for Cora – 7 months

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Do you see that beautiful baby girl above? She is saving lives as an angel. With the help of her brave Mama, Kristine, they are spreading awareness about CHD and having babies pulse oxygen levels tested at birth. I have written about Cora, and her mother has been my one and only guest blogger here with her poem to Cora during CHD awareness week.

Today is Cora’s seven month birthday. This is the day that Cora’s Story asks people to wear pink and help to spread the word about CHD. I purposely kept the one and only pink shirt that I own for today. When the boys and I went to the park with Nana, I took my picture. My mother asked why and I responded – this one is for Cora.

Sweet Cora, I read your Mama’s wishes the other day and had tears in my eyes. If only I could grant her wishes, especially the one that would bring you back. I do know that I am sending her something special in the mail. Some things to pamper herself and another item to help your charity. I know your family is helping to save other babies.

Kristine, one of my wishes is to give you a great big hug in New York City in a little over a month at BlogHer. You my friend are a hero. Never forget that you are an absolutely amazing and brave Mom.

Help Fight Ovarian Cancer & Try to Win Electrolux Appliance

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Do you dream of a guilt and fat free Banana split? Well thanks to Kelly-Confidential and Electrolux you can make your own virtual Banana Split that helps a great cause. When you make your own Banana Split at www.Kelly-Confidential.com they will donate $1 to Ovarian Cancer research.

Did I catch your attention? Here is more information about the program:

Kelly Ripa and Electrolux are joining forces once again to celebrate the launch of Electrolux Appliance’s new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer – that’s right, the familiar duo has split up., And to sweeten the celebration, they’re bringing in the "Emperor of Ice Cream" Stephen Bruce, owner and founder of Serendipity 3, the landmark New York City restaurant and dessert spot, into the mix.

Kelly and Bruce teamed up earlier today to make banana splits for a cause. And now we want you to dig in, with your virtual spoon! Starting today, at www.Kelly-Confidential.com, you can build your ultimate banana split using virtual ingredients from classic whipped cream to caramel sauce to rainbow sprinkles. For each "split", Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund as part of its $750,000 commitment to help fight ovarian cancer. (From 6/29/10 – 9/7/10, Electrolux will donate $1 to OCRF for each banana split made, with a minimum of $35K and a maximum of $40K)

So what are you waiting for? Head on over and build your very own banana split! I already made mine here:

Everyone who logs on to the site and builds a split will be automatically entered for a chance to win the daily prize – $50 towards sweet summer treats – and the grand prize: the new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer from Electrolux. Good luck and have fun enjoying your guilt free treat!

Disclosure: I did not receive any compensation for this post from Electrolux or MomSelect. In posting this I am entered for a chance to win a prize. Since I support this cause and love the creativity I would have posted without the entry to let you know how to help and try to win.

Frosty for a good cause on Father’s Day 2010

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Last year, I heard about the Wendy’s Father’s Day Frosty Weekend thanks to a blog tour that I was a part of. I also wrote about it to let all of you know about this fun and delicious event that goes to a wonderful cause.

With Father’s Day weekend just around the corner, Wendy’s is trying to get the word out that they are doing it again. Here is more information:

Over the past four years, Wendy’s has started a tradition on Father’s Day weekend. They have what they call Father’s Day Frosty Weekend where they donate 50 cents from each Frosty sale to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Once again, this Father’s Day weekend (June 19-20), they will be holding this event at all Wendy’s. The money that is raised will go to the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program. This fund assists full-time adoption recruiters at local agencies across the United States. These recruiters them help to pair up parents with foster care children that need loving homes.

Other ways you can help:

Make your own Frosty Card here and for every FREE card created, Wendy’s will donate 50¢ to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (DTFA). NHL and I created one that we will share below. It was a lot of fun and we will make more to send to other specials Fathers in our family.

From now until June 20, you can also help with Twitter. Each time a user tweets from the Treat it Forward application found at www.facebook.com/frosty (Treat it Fwd tab), or uses the hashtag #TreatItFwd a donation will also be made to DTFA.

For those on Facebook, you can also send users a Virtual Frosty as a gift and help to spread the word via the Treat it Fwd tab on the Frosty page above.

Anyone that uses Foursquare and ‘check-in’ to a Wendy’s restaurant during Father’s Day weekend (June 19-20) will also have a donation made to DTFA.

Here is NHL’s card to my hubby:

With any luck, we will head to Wendy’s this weekend and I will certainly be sharing the information via Social Media. Always nice to get a tasty treat and have a donation go to a wonderful cause.

Will you be doing any of these? Let me know what you plan on doing.

Disclosure: I was reminded about this great cause by an e-mail from a PR representative and decided to share the information with my readers. All opinions are mine from previous experience with the Father’s Day Frosty Weekend.

Thank a teacher – Bing Teacher Appreciation Tour

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

As a classroom teacher, I spent a lot of my own money buying things for my classroom, students and beyond. It may have been a little here, and a little there, but it adds up quickly. Did I mind? Not one bit. To me it was part of my job and helped to make the classroom experience better for the kids.

Many people ask me why I became a teacher. It’s easy, I was inspired by my teachers. I loved how they spent each and every day trying to make us the best that we could be. They were the ones that taught me to read, write and have a fascination with the world around me. Although I am home with my boys right now, I am still a teacher at heart. When we go places, I am constantly thinking about lessons that could be taught. As I take photos, I inventory them for future use when I go back to teaching.

Right after I decided to stay home with my boys, I heard about DonorsChoose.org. This is an organization that works with teachers in the classroom to set up projects that need funding. Teachers submit plans for items that they need, you pick a classroom in need and donate money to them. DonorsChoose.org buys the requested items for the classroom with the money donated and kids and teachers benefit. One of my teaching friends, CityStreams, did a DonorsChoose.org project and wrote about it here. The possibilities are endless. Each teacher can submit an idea and donors help them to make their lesson plan a reality.

If you could take a minute to thank a teacher from your past or one that your child has now, would you? Would you do it if it meant you earned a $5 donation to DonorsChoose.org that you could put toward any project of your choice?

Now that I have your attention, let me tell you you can participate. Here is more about the Bing Teacher Appreciation outreach with DonorsChoose.org:

Starting on May 19th, Bing is encouraging students and parents to recognize teachers who have made a difference in their lives through a new philanthropic campaign focused on supporting kids’ education. Bing has committed to a gift of up to $500,000 and teamed up with DonorsChoose.org to provide both kids and adults with a way to express their thanks to a teacher and help another teacher or school in the process.

Visit www.bing.com/education to post a comment or share a story about a teacher who made a difference in your life (or the life of your child), and Bing will provide you with a $5 donation to DonorsChoose.org, which can be applied toward any classroom project of your choice. Each visitor can leave up to 5 comments, resulting in a total donation of $25. At the end of June, Bing will aggregate the comments and share them with each teacher in the form of a congratulations letter.

It really is that simple. You go to the Bing website, thank a teacher, and soon after receive a $5 DonorsChoose.org code to donate to any current project of your choice. So far I have sent thank you notes to NHL’s 1st grade teacher and the school Nurse Teacher. I will be doing an additional three to make sure that I get the $25 to donate by July 10.

Check out schools in your area. There are a lot in mine that are looking for donations. Right now, I am working with my son’s school to come up with a project. Why? Well, when I signed up for this Blog Tour I received a $100 code to use on DonorsChoose.org. I have donated with them before and seen projects that my teaching friends have accomplished thanks to them. I am looking forward to donating this $100 toward something that my children and others at our school will benefit from.

A big thank you to Bing for supporting teachers and all that we do in the classrooms to help the children that will be the leaders of the world in years to come. Now please do your part and thank some teachers to help classrooms that are in need. Let’s make sure that Bing donates the maximum amount to needy classrooms all over.

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Bing and a $100 DonorsChoose.org giving code to facilitate my review. Mom Central also sent me a thank-you gift certificate.

Thinking Pink for Cora

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

On November 30, 2009, Cora Mae McCormick was born and has become a hero thanks to the devotion of her loving parents. Cora passed away on December 6, 2009 in her mother’s arms from undetected congenital heart disease (CHD) while nursing. Cora never could have known how much her precious life has changed the world, but no doubt she is looking down at her Mommy Kristine smiling proudly. Back in February, Kristine was my first and only guest blogger to date. She wrote a beautiful poem called My angel forever for Congenital Heart Disease awareness week.

Today is Cora’s 6 month birthday. On this day, we celebrate and remember Cora by wearing pink along with Kristine and her family. This beautiful little girl is helping to spread the word about CHD and save other lives in the process. Although I do not own pink summer clothing, I will be thinking about Cora as I knit a special pink item for Kristine. You can read the letter to Cora on her 6 month birthday here.

When I send Kristine some special pink items, I will also be giving her a check. I want to support her non-profit organization and have my own Cora Bracelet. Here is where you can go to get your own Cora bracelets like the one seen below.

Please stop by to visit Cora’s Story to support Kristine and Cora in their quest to get the word out about CHD. Big hugs going out to Kristine for being such a wonderful mother.

U Taste We Donate Campaign from Pringles Multigrain

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

A lot of people may not realize that I am not a huge chocolate fan. Instead, I often crave salty snacks. Growing up, I remember begging to take Pringles Light Crisps in my lunch to school. My obsession continued into college, where I would often have a canister in my car for emergencies. They also were easy to pop into a bag for a hockey road trip back in the day.

These days, we are always looking for items that are multigrain and a little more health conscious fun for occasional snacks. Recently, I was asked by Mom Central to participate in a Blog Tour about Pringles Multigrain and their new campaign.

More about U Taste. We Donate.:

From the Press Release:

Pringles, America’s favorite stacked potato crisp, introduces consumers to new Pringles Multigrain, a surprisingly tasty twist on multigrain snacks. As the latest addition to the Pringles family, Pringles Multigrain is packed with multigrain flavor and crunch and comes in three mouth-watering varieties: Truly Original, Creamy Ranch and Cheesy Cheddar. As part of the nationwide rollout, Pringles and Celebrity Chef Tyler Florence are working together to make it easy for consumers to also make a difference while trying new Pringles Multigrain with the “U Taste. We Donate” campaign. Enter the UPC code from any can of Pringles Multigrain between March 15 through June 30, 2010 at www.PringlesMultigrain.com and Pringles will donate one dollar (with a total donation of up to $100,000) to Share Our Strength®, the leading organization working to end childhood hunger in America.

My family received each of the varieties of the the new Pringles Multigrain crisps to try. It was like a trip down memory road hearing the air release as I popped the top of the canister. The smell of the snacks was enough to get my mouth watering. I am a traditionalist and prefer the Truly Original, but the boys are fans of the Cheesy Cheddar. What really impressed me was they are Kosher. We often have a hard time finding multigrain flavored items that are marked as Kosher, so it was a very nice surprise. When we are looking for a special multigrain snack, we will definitely buy more Pringles for our house.

Of course, I also went to the website and entered the UPC codes from my packages of Pringles Multigrain container. The box to enter the UPC code is easy to spot on the first section of the website. Kuddos to Pringles for teaming up for such a great cause.

Confession time, do you like Pringles? If you do, have you tried the Multigrain variety and which one would you love to try to help "U Taste. We Donate."?

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Pringles Multigrain and received a tote bag with samples to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central also sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Hershey’s Better Basket Blog Hop at The Angel Forever

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

I must admit, at this time of year I get a little jealous. Those cute Easter baskets are something I have never had and always thought they looked like so much fun to make and receive. Thanks to Christina at Cutest Kid Ever, I received an amazing virtual Easter basket that even I can enjoy during Passover.

What is the Hershey’s Better Basket Blog Hop?

Do you have a blog? If you do, you could help to raise some money for a great cause. Hershey is donating up to $5,000 to the Children’s Miracle Network with this promotion – $10 for every blog that participates in the Better Basket Blog Hop. The post that you are reading right now is another $10 that will be given to children’s hospitals all over North America. An additional $5,000 to this charity would be the world of difference to many sick children.

In my post, I need to pass along a virtual Easter basket to some of my blogging friends. Here is what my baskey will contain for you. Please remember I am a nice Jewish girl that is dreaming big and has never received anything like this before. All of the items are ones that I like and hope you will enjoy along with me.

Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme Eggs
Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs
Movie tickets for your entire family to have a fun time out together
Eggs to color and design together (loved doing this with friends as a child)
A Nalgene water bottle to make sure you drink your water each day
Some hand knitted wash cloths to pamper yourself with
Vanilla scented body wash

Not sure how this stacks up with the basket that you are used to, but it sounds like fun to me.

Here are the lovely bloggers who are receiving this virtual Easter basket from me:

Nancy from Life With My Boys
Renee from Life with my Special Ks
Mommy Cracked
Holly from Topic of Mom
Cathi from Simply Cathi
If you would like you name here. . . just let me know!

Hershey’s Better Basket Blog Hop Rules

Copy and paste these rules to your blog post.
Create a blog post giving a virtual Easter Basket to another blogger – you can give as many Virtual Baskets as you want.
Link back to person who gave you an Easter Basket.
Let each person you are giving a Virtual Easter Basket know you have given them a Basket.
Leave your link at BetterBasket.info/BlogHop comment section. You can also find the official rules of this #betterbasket blog hop, and more information about Better Basket with Hershey’s there.
Hershey’s is donating $10 per each blog participating to the Better Basket Blog Hop to Children’s Miracle Network (up to total of $5,000 by blog posts written by April 4th, 2010).
Please note that only one blog post by each blog URL will count towards the donation.

Have fun and please share what you put in your basket with me.

Betty Crocker Fruit-Flavored Snacks Win & Give (Giveaway)

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Right now, the world economy is in a tough spot. Even during these penny pinching days, people all over are working hard to help others. Thanks to MyBlogSpark, I learned about the new project that Betty Crocker is working on. They have joined efforts with One Lap Top per Child to help provide laptops for children in Africa.

Participating is easy thanks to the Win and Give campaign. With this new program, children can help in an easy and fun way.

More about the program:

With specially marked boxes of kid favorites – including Fruit Roll-Ups, Gushers, Fruit by the Foot, and Stickerz & Shapes – your child could win one laptop to keep and Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks will donate another to a child in Africa.

Each day from now through May 30, 2010, one laptop prize will be awarded to a U.S. winner. For every laptop won, one laptop will be donated to an African child through One Laptop per Child, an organization that creates educational opportunities for the world’s poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning. For your chance to win, simply enter the unique online code printed on participating Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snack packages on www.WinOneGiveOne.com.

We were sent two boxes of Betty Crocker fruit snack. The boys enjoy them and they bring back fun memories from my childhood. One of my all time favorite snacks growing up were the strawberry Fruit by the Foot. There is just something fun about them, plus are a low calorie snack.

Giveaway:

Thanks to MyBlogSpark and Betty Crocker, one lucky reader will win two boxes of Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks and a $25 donation to One Laptop per Child will be made on your behalf.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Answer one of the following questions: What have you done to encourage your children to help others? -or- What is your favorite experience that has been with helping others?
1 Bonus Entry – What is your favorite flavor fruit snack?
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and Betty Crocker Win and Give Giveaway in the Tweet. Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use): Win Betty Crocker fruit snacks and have $25 donated in your name to One Laptop Per Child from @TheAngelForever http://bit.ly/bMHKBy
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of January/February/March. Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done only twice per person.
3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and leave a link with the location. Be sure to give yourself 3 comments for credit.
5 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the giveaway. Be sure to leave 5 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today March 7th and ends at 10:59 EST on March 21, 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. residents only.

Disclosure: I received two packages of Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks with the Win & Give game pieces on them. In addition to this, $25 has been donated in my name to One Laptop per Child. No other compensations was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own feelings about the promotion.

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