Children's Hospital Needs Drive and Spring Cleaning

If your spring cleaning includes getting rid of some of those old video games and movies that the kids don’t use anymore, please considering donating them to our needs drive for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.

If you haven’t heard already, Stevie has been selected to serve as the Child Ambassador for Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt at this year’s Steeplechase event in May. Although this title requires no fundraising of any kind, Stevie thought it his honor and responsibility to give back to the hospital that has helped in his cardiac care by organizing a Needs Drive from the children’s hospital official wish list.

All donations are needed and welcomed, particularly those that serve older and teenaged patients that are often an overlooked population in charity drives. Some of these items include gently used (still in working order) video games, (for all systems including handheld devices like Nintendo DS) video game systems, (all types) and DVD’s. New items like underwear, T-shirts, earbuds, current magazines and art supplies are also welcome and encouraged. The full list is found below and on their website. http://www.childrenshospital.vanderbilt.org/interior.php?mid=1166

It is our family’s sincere hope and wish that you never have to experience a children’s hospital firsthand, but if you have, you know what an immeasurable asset it is to not only a community, but to children’s health nation and worldwide. Miracles--small and large--are performed here everyday.

Please consider donating some of these items if you are able. If you are local, collection sites will be at Father Ryan High School, Bridgestone Arena and our home. (We will even pick them up for you!) For anyone out of town, you can email me for our address and send them via mail. We will be collecting items through the month of April.

Thank you in advance for your consideration and support. Even a little can go a long way for a child’s hospital stay.

Because we hate cancer and love the playoffs

Beard-a-thon, Baby!


Some good has to come out of this beard thing-- vote for Sean's beard and/or pledge some $ to help fight cancer if you can.

P.S. If you love the playoffs, hate cancer and have a particular fondness for Yukon Cornelius, then make another vote for the Intern's beard.....

http://www.beardathon.com/predators/dannyb/profile.aspx

B Kind 2 Earth Day--April 22

Coming from a place of green alligators and long-necked geese, we are more than a little curious as to what native critters are in these parts.

In addition to the coyote I know I saw driving home late one night, (either that or dogs are really big here and they have lax leash laws) there are a lot of birds, squirrels, and horses. (Which I’m not sure are technically “native” but act like they own the place, so there you go.) There are also a number of trees, flowers and plant life that look vaguely familiar, but it’s been a decade since I’ve seen a tulip growing in the spring.

That’s why to celebrate B Kind 2 Earth Day on April 22, the kids and I will be visiting our local nature center at Warner Park to learn more about and appreciate our local flora and fauna.

Liking the B Kind to Earth Day page on Facebook is your way of making a commitment to be kind to our planet in your own way. It can be a trip to the nature center, or riding your bike or cloth instead of paper or plastic. Filling a bird feeder or planting a garden or whatever your family chooses to be conscious and kind to our earth on this special day. There are many fantastic partners in this cause, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to make a difference.

So like it, love it and be a part of it.

Text this

Please consider texting "WILDLIFE" to 20222 to donate $10 to help oil-infected wildlife through the NWF. I just did.

Here's more info from the
NWF.

Another help outlet for Haiti

Save 10% on your order at AllAboutMeCompany.com!

I know everyone is doing what they can for relief efforts in Haiti. You've texted the Red Cross, you've given to local church and school efforts and in dozens of other personal ways. But if you are going to shop for Valentine's Day or any other occasion anyway, then I just wanted to alert you to a local company who is also pledging funds toward relief efforts:

All About Me Company
will donate 5%of our sales to the
American Red Cross
from January 19, 2010 to February 19, 2010 to help with the
Haiti relief & restoration.

No coupon necessary

Every little bit helps.

Giving away goodness this week

I know you're thinking that with all of this partying and blog avoidance that I haven't been working, but you're so wrong.

I've been working incredibly hard giving things away. Make sure you enter all of these current contests to score some swag:

See's Candy (2 readers will recieve gift cards for $25 delicious dollars worth of sweet goodness)

Michael Buble's new CD (5 readers will receive sweet sounds of goodness)

A Journal from Energizer and Susan G. Komen for the Cure (to make sure we are all spreading the goodness.)

Make sure you're entered...

Picnic with A Purpose

A home for runaway girls in Virginia Beach. An abused women’s shelter in Atlanta. A soup kitchen in Detroit. A resort for terminally ill children in Orlando.

A boy’s home in Safety Harbor.

These are just some of the small charitable organizations around the country that are benefiting from Hebrew National’s “Picnics with a Purpose” this summer.

Actually, our Picnic with a Purpose actually had a dual one. To kick off the summer with a family BBQ with our friends, but also to benefit Attention Home--a local group home for disabled boys and young men. For almost 30 years, they have taken in some of the victims of Florida’s worst cases of child abuse, giving them not just shelter, but a home.



My family and I have worked with Attention Home for almost ten years now. Once we heard their stories and met the boys, turning away wasn’t an option. We have helped organize toy drives every year since, but their need truly knows no season. On Sunday, we gathered with our friends for family food, fun and games, but instead of asking our guests to bring the potato salad, we asked them to bring a new summer toy instead. Nothing expensive--a pack of sidewalk chalk or a new playground ball. We also got a park bench that we decorated, and invited some of the boys over to enjoy the day with us--playing games and making crafts.



It wasn’t a benefit gala or a silent auction raising millions, but supporting a charity doesn’t have to be on that scale in order to be hugely effective. On the contrary, small local community events like a simple outdoor picnic can be the most meaningful way to support a charity that is important to you and your family. We’ve compiled a kit of all of our party instructions, games and recipes to host your own “Picnic with a Purpose” on TheMotherhood.com, but you could certainly get creative with your own. Couple a Sunday BBQ with a summer toy drive or Memorial Day with a canned food drive. And the next Girl’s Night Out could be an opportunity to collect toiletries for your local homeless shelter.



The gestures don’t have to be large to make a huge impact, especially now.

We had a really wonderful day together enjoying the simplest of summer’s pleasures. 2009 will not be defined as what we give up, but rather what we give back.

No words, but pictures!

I am still searching for the right words to adequately describe this weekend. All of the ones that I thought would apply--wonderful, awesome, fun-filled--seem inadequate now. Our Hebrew National "Picnic with a Purpose" to benefit Attention Home was indeed all of those things, but so much more.

So while I look for more awe-inspiring appropriate superlatives, I'll give you pictures.

Picnic with a Purpose

I refuse to define the summer of 2009 as what I give up, but rather what I give back.

That’s why I am honored to partner with Hebrew National to host a "Picnic with a Purpose," this Sunday.

Actually, it’s a picnic with dual purposes. One is to kick of the summer with good friends as we focus on quality time together--getting the kids together to play some games, make crafts, and of course feast on the quintessential quality summer classic--Hebrew National hot dogs.

But we’re also going to give back some summer love. You’ll remember from my annual pleas for Christmas toy donations, that Attention Home, a group home here in Pinellas County for disabled boys and young men, is a special place very near and dear to our family. We began working with Attention Home almost ten years ago when we first moved here after we heard about the wonderful work they do to care for some of the worst child abuse victims in the state.

Every Christmas since, we’ve helped to organize a toy drive for the boys, but their needs are truly year round. So as our guests gather this Sunday for some summer fun, each will be bringing a new summer toy to donate to the home. I’ve also invited Attention Home residents K. and B. to join us, and we will also be able to present them with a new park bench that they can use at their new lake property. They have been working every weekend for a couple of years to get the place ready for the big move.

I’ll be talking about the picnic plans all week, but the very best part of this whole project will be that all of the activities, recipes, and ideas (including hot dog cupcakes!) will be available to download from TheMotherhood.com so you can host your own Picnic with a Purpose this summer. Choose a charity that means something to you and your family, and then share the joy with your friends.

Together, we can make this summer one about giving back instead of giving up.