Give Back Saturday Part V

This is the last Give Back Saturday for this Holiday Season.  I am so happy my family and I made a vow to give back every Saturday before the New Year!  We started our first give back Saturday on the last Saturday in November after Thanksgiving and we're concluding this Saturday, the last Saturday before the New Year.  This has been such an humbling experience, It has challenged me to think of others besides myself.  I plan on carrying on this tradition every year with my family and hopefully my girls will continue the tradition when they have their own families.

 

For this last Give Back Saturday, I made a donation to United Way.  Every year I give to the United Way through my profession as a teacher.  My School District adopted United Way as a Charity, and encourages its employees to donate to the Foundation.  United Way mission is to provide leadership, resources and focus to change lives in our community by creating sustainable improvements in education, income, and health.  Through donations and volunteering efforts of the community, United Way is able to support measurable solutions, to ensure children enter school ready to learn, students stay on track to graduation, families achieve financial stability and people have the tools to lead healthy productive lives.

I made a donation to United Way in the area of Education.  When you give to United Way, you can choose a program you want your donation to go.  The options are Education, Income, or Health, or you can allow United Way to choose the program for you.  Their are also other ways to give through United Way.  You can volunteer by reading to four year olds, mentor at-risk students, help families manage their finances, or collect callers to assistance.  However you choose to donate, it will be greatly appreciated!  Here is how you can donate:

Click on the national website http://www.unitedway.org/content/splash_holiday2014

Click the drop down box and choose My Local United Way, it's going to prompt you to type in your zip code.

Once you type in your zip code and press enter, it will direct you to your local United Way where you can make a monetary donation. 

If you will like to become a volunteer, visit http://www.unitedway.org/take-action/volunteer and fill out the form.

Thanks to everyone who has participated in #givebacksaturdays or who has given back to their community this Holiday Season.  Giving does not have to stop because the Holiday Season is ending, but should continue on through out the year.  Let me know how you gave back this Holiday Season.

Give Back Saturdays Part IV

 

 

It's that time again, a very special day in the week that my family and I have set aside to give back to our community.  Every Saturday we have been giving back to our community, and this Saturday marks the fourth Give Back Saturday of the Season.  Last Saturday, my family and I donated blankets to a homeless shelter through my church blanket drive, for more information on how you can participate in a blanket drive click here. 

This Saturday, my family and I are participating in a Shoe Box drive also sponsored by my church.  A Shoe Box drive is a mission dedicated to providing men and women who live in a homeless shelter toiletries for every day use.  The shoe boxes are packed with toiletries like bath gel, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, etc. and are given to a homeless shelter so it can be distributed to both men and women. I really like this mission because toiletries are necessities that everyone needs to be properly groomed and it's something that you can't have too much of.  I packed a box specifically for men and a box specifically for women, I purchased the items based off this website.    If you want to donate shoeboxes please visit the National Coalition for the Homeless Directory to find your local homeless shelter.

Give Back Saturday Part III

I do not want the day to end without posting about one of the most important things I'm doing this season, and that is, giving back every Saturday!  The First Saturday in December, I gave back by participating in the Angel Tree Program and last Saturday I gave back by making a donation to St. Jude's Children Research Hospital.  For more information on how you can give to these organizations click here. 

This Saturday, my family and I decided to participate in my church blanket drive.  The church that I attend is having a blanket drive for those who are homeless.  A lot of people typically donate food, clothes, and money to homeless shelters which is so important.  But I never thought about blankets until my church came up with this mission for us to participate in.  It makes perfect sense to give blankets to the homeless because during the Fall and Winter, the temperature drops, and it gets colder.  There are a lot of people who sleep outside without shelter, so they are subject to the cold weather each and every night.  Blankets can provide warmth to so many men and women who are having sleepless nights because of the weather.

There are many shelters who are accepting blankets and toiletries donations for the Winter Months.  Here is a link from a Shelter, informing us of what the shelter is need of, click here.  If you do not know where your local homeless shelter is click here for more information.  Let's continue to participate in #givebacksaturday and make a difference one Saturday at a time!

Let me know how you are giving back this Holiday Season!

Give Back Saturday Part II

Today marks the second Give Back Saturday for the Holiday Season!  Last Saturday, my family and I gave back to our community by picking names from the Angel Tree.  If you want to read more about our experience click here.  Today I purchased the items on the wish list of the little girl I sponsored.  I hope she loves them! 

For this Give Back Saturday, I wanted to do something for kids who have illnesses.  Every Christmas, I get these pretty mailing labels from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  I also see commercials with celebrities who speak about the importance of giving to St. Jude to help save little children lives who are battling illnesses.  Every time I get the labels in the mail or see the commercial my heart aches for those precious little children.  I know that it is important for me to give what I can to support finding cures for diseases.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric and research facility that treats children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.  The mission of St. Jude is to advance cures, and means of prevention for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. No child is denied treatment based on race, religion, or a family's ability to pay.  Because the majority of St. Jude funding comes from contributions, they can focus on saving kids lives regardless of their financial situation.

On their website, they have several ways to give.  One particular way to give struck my attention.   They have Holiday cards that you can receive for a donation, and I always buy Christmas cards every year.  I thought to myself, wow what a creative way to give back!  Each card is unique, they have Christmas cards that have illustrations that was created by the children, photos of some of the children on the cards, and some other cute Holiday cards.  You can either donate for a E-Cards, Mailing Cards, or Printable Cards.  You can donate from $25 up to $500 and more!  The card that I donated for has a cute picture that was drawn by a patient at St. Jude.  Here is a picture of the card below!

 I chose this card because of the Patient Art and I love how it says from the children of St. Jude (the recipients of my cards can see where I got the cards from, which may cause them to give!)

 

I hope you will join me and give back to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  Here is how you can donate.

 

If you are interested in donating for Mailing Holiday Cards you have until December 9th to receive them before Christmas.  But, you can also donate for E-Cards or Printable Cards! Click this link for more information http://shop.stjude.org/GiftCatalog/index.do

 

You can also give in other ways, click this link to find out how you can help http://www.stjude.org/waystohelp

 

Let's do what we can to make sure that all children have smiles on their faces! #givebacksaturday



 

 

Give Back Saturdays Part 1

On my Thanksgiving post, I mentioned that my family and I made a vow to give back to our community every Saturday this Holiday Season.  Well, today marks the first Saturday my family and I made an act of kindness for someone else that's not family or friends.  I am a giver by nature, and I never brag or let other people know when I sow into someone's life.  But this holiday season, I want to do more, by shedding light to the power of giving!  I want people to know different ways they can give back to their communities and become a blessing for people who are less fortunate.

When I think about people who are less fortunate than myself, I don't picture people who are lazy and down and out.  I picture ordinary people, who have had some series of unfortunate events, that has placed them in tough times.  I believe that any of us could be in their shoes if it wasn't for the grace of God. 

I remember when I was a child, my father would tell my siblings and I to get the Toys R Us Ad and circle the toys that we wanted.  My siblings and I would present our list to my dad, and he would get almost every item that we asked for.  On Christmas morning, my dad would separate everyone's toys on their own sofa, and we would scream and sing my mom and dad praises.  But one particular Christmas, my dad fell on hard times.  My dad was the sole provider of our family (my mom was a stay at home mom) and he had a series of unfortunate events that year that caused Christmas to be a burden for him.  I remember my dad telling us that money was tight, and we wouldn't get a lot this year.  But in my heart, I didn't believe him, I just knew I would get everything I asked for.  On Christmas day, my sibling and I woke up to find not many items under the tree or on the sofa. I became so upset, I remember saying, this is it? Where's my CD Player? I don't like this outfit! My dad was so upset with me, I remember him saying, you are ungrateful! You don't know what  sacrifices I made to get these items!  The only sibling that said thank you, was my baby sister.  I felt so horrible, I felt like a spoiled brat.  My dad left the living area upset and went to his bedroom. My mom told my siblings and I that we should be thankful because their are some children, who didn't get a Christmas at all, and that gifts is not what Christmas is all about.

I learned a very important lesson that year that has stuck with me in my adult years, to be thankful for what you have and to be blessing to others who do not have.  These are the lessons that my husband and I are teaching our daughters and I was so happy to start a tradition with them today!  So on this Give Back Saturday, my family and I visited the YMCA to pick from the Angel Tree. 

I found out by the Angel Tree program from the Salvation Army website.  The Salvation Army partners with businesses who provides trees with wish list from children who names are anonymous.

 

Each paper has a wish list from a boy or girl.  It tells you what they are in need of and what toys or books that they are interested in.  Once you get the wish list, you purchase the items on the list and give the items back to the business you got the list from (I would give my items to the YMCA).

 

My older daughter chose a wish list from the tree.

 

My younger daughter also chose a wish list from the tree.

 

It was such a great experience giving back as a family!

 

I am so happy that I am teaching my children the Power of Giving! Please join my family and I by participating in #givebacksaturdays let me know how you and your family will give back to your community:)

 

If you are interested in the Angel Tree program and you live in Northeast Florida, Please call (904) 301-4782 for more information about what businesses are participating in the Angel Tree program. You can also visit their website at http://salvationarmynefl.org/waystogive/christmas-cheer/

If you do not live in Northeast Florida, please visit the national Salvation Army website at http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/ type in your area code or city and state and find your local Salvation Army.  Look under ways to give, and see if the Angel Tree program is available at your local Salvation Army.