I work for the LDS Church in their philanthropic department. Though there are lots of projects in need of support that the LDS Church is sponsoring. The following are primarily other causes that I become aware of.
(P.S. Before you make any donation make sure you learn more than what I have posted below. I am just trying to inspire you to get up and get helping others.) :)
9/21/2011: Today I found a number of great examples of philanthropy and generosity. Here they are in no particular order.
9/21:2011: Natalie over at "Natthefatrat.com" wrote about a campaign called "Milk+Bookies". This organization provides books to underprivileged children. Natalie in her post suggests making a donation or throwing a Milk+ Bookies party. Sounds like fun and a great way to make a difference. Thanks for sharing Natalie.
9/21/2011: "iammorethanjust.blogspot.com" is promoting Stand up 2 Cancer. Iammorethanjust explains her push this way. Good luck I hope you can raise a lot of money for cancer research.
9/21/2011: This next story is about the sacrifice of time several individuals have made to provide humanitarian aid on board the USNS Comfort. You have to go read this article to see the amount of service that is provided but it is impressive. Some volunteers have given five months of their life to do this. How much of your time are you giving to help others? Could you afford to give more? What a great gift and a great example these folks on the USNS Comfort have provided for us.
9/21/2011: I ran into this story that wasn't intended to be philanthropic per say but it did have a good suggestion. Eco-novice.com recently posted on 10 ideas for a Greener Celebration. Among the many good ideas to make your celebrations greener there was a suggestion to consider giving your birthday away and asking people to give to charity rather than buy a gift for you. Hey, I like this idea both because it is green and it is a fun thing to do. Why don't you give it a try sometime. I tried it two years ago and raised $3,000 for humanitarian work in Peru. It was fun!
9/21/2011: Here is a story about a recent breakfast/fundraiser in Salt Lake City for Operation Smile an organization that provides free reconstructive surgery to children born with cleft lip or pallet. At the fundraiser they were able to raise $125,000 that morning. Bishop H David Burton the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the keynote speaker and highlighted the Church's ongoing support and partnership with Operation Smile. The Little Heroes Foundation was also at the event. They provide aid to children in need in Russia and other parts of the world. For me it is great to see charities coming together to solve problems. I think there is a lesson there somewhere.
9/21/2011: Here is a fun story from Amy over at "Superhealthykids". She wrote about a challenge to her readers. She is giving away a chance to get a soccer ball signed by Brandi Chastain if you take the Gatorade pledge to help young athletes. The goal is 10,000 pledges and Gatorade will donate $10,000 to the Women's Sports Foundation.
9/21/2011: The other day I featured a couple stories about helping kids become philanthropic. Here is another I ran into today. It comes from Kim over at "Prairie Mama". She has created a job jar and a system including my two favorite features, 10% into savings and 10% to charity. Go read the whole post to get the whole plan. Way to go Kim!
9/21/2011: Here is a story from the LDS Church on their efforts in Japan. The church has donated supplies to local fisherman and they have been working to help restore a Shinto Shrine. Nice to see on faith helping another.
9/21/2011: I found this story today about a young lady who gave something interesting to help others. Laney Peacock (20) died while hiking on August 13th. The accident surprised many especially because she was so young. She left something behind that has turned out to be a gift to her loved ones. She was an avid journal writer. Her mother began going through her journal after her passing and found several comforting passages including a lengthy testimony she had written just a few weeks before her passing. Her testimony was read at her funeral and it impacted many here it is.
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true. That's all there is to it. It is true. No doubt about it. Pray. Read your scriptures. GO TO CHURCH. It may seem like the Primary thing to say, but aren't we supposed to be like unto a child? For real! If it is right, do it. If it isn't right, don't. It's as simple as that.
Take advantage of the fact that your Heavenly Father is ETERNALLY there for you. Pray to him in all times. GO TO THE TEMPLE!!! Always. Always, strive to be worthy to enter the temple! Keep that your goal!!
SHARE THE GOSPEL! Share it with everyone you know! Don't go to heaven and have your friend, neighbor, co-worker, anyone say "You knew the truth all along, why didn't you tell me about it?" SHARE THE GOSPEL. Go on a mission. They are for EVERYONE!!! Go. I promise you won't regret it. Taking the Gospel to people around the world is no sacrifice! It is a privilege. Treat it as such.
Read the Book of Mormon, over and over and over again. Never stop reading it. Gain a testimony and share it often! You never know who you could help.
DO NOT SETTLE!! You are a son or daughter of God. Not of just anyone, of GOD!! Humbly and without pride, act that way. You deserve more than the best and don't let anyone tell you differently.
LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES! Don't ever make the same ones I did. CTR, always. Love EVERYONE! Even that "weird" kid next door. Because everyone is weird. We all are! High school only matters in one respect, class. Go. Don't skip. Work, hard and be a Valedictorian. I wish I would've! High school is nowhere near the best time of your life! Not even close. It's definitely necessary. But life after is so much better. Forgive others. Forgive yourself. And treat everyone with respect; NO MATTER WHAT!
CTR
Signing off,
Laney Lynn Peacock
2011
20 Years Old
Happy as can be :)"
There are lots of ways to give including giving our testimony to others. Thanks for sharing Laney.
9/21/2011: Ok here is the final one for today. It is my favorite. Those who hold the priesthood do have the resources to give. They can give life, they can restore it. Your hands must be clean, they must have faith. The day will come when lightening will strike and the future will be in your hands please be ready to give.
9/15/2011: Today I made a longer post about a good friend who is trying to raise money. Go here to see it.
9/14/2011: Today I did not find any bloggers out promoting any fundraising but I did run into a couple stories/updates on the LDS Church related causes.
Here is a short article on the BYU Football Program and their Thursday's Heroes program. I also wrote about it on my blog.
I also found this update from Bishop Burton on the role members of the LDS Church play in responding to disasters.
9/13/2011: Today I found several new stories. In no particular order here they are.
9/13/2011: Jeanette @ "Kidzorg" posted a bunch of suggestions for raising money. She focuses on the special needs community but many of her suggestion would work for anyone trying to raise money either for themselves or for a large organization. Thanks for the suggestions Jeanette.
9/13/2011: Attention all Back to the Future fans. The moment you have been waiting for has arrived. You can now buy Marty McFly's shoes! Cheryl Perkings @ "Innovationedge" posted about this fun little story. Nike in concert with eBay has teamed up to offer the Nike 2011 MAG. eBay is holding an auction and part of the proceeds for go to Michael J. Fox's foundation to fight Parkinson's Disease. What a great little project, if you have the money and want the shoes go do some bidding and you will be helping a good cause in the process. Here are a couple great promo videos I found.
9/13/2011: This next story comes from Becca @ "Bluecricketdesign". She posted about her experiences up at Swiss days in Midway. She featured a number of vendors at the festival but the one that caught my attention was Anina K. From what I could learn from the post and a quick scan of the Anina K website it appears this organization makes handbags. Every time someone buys one of their handbags they donate a portion of the profits to a charity called vday.org an organization that helps combat violence against women and girls. Thanks for the tip Becca and thanks for the mixing business with charity Anina K. Good luck to everyone. One more note, I also happen to know because of my work with the LDS Church that Becca helped raise money for the Haitian Earthquake by posting the Church sponsored widget on her site. Thanks for doing that Becca! You can find that widget on the left hand side of my site.
9/13/2011: This next opportunity comes from Rachel @ "screamandhug". She featured what Walgreens is doing to give back. It is another Facebook campaign. If you click their like button they will donate flu shot vouchers to those in need. Here is the link to their FB page. She also talked about her own desire to raise money for her local school. I am sure many of you are also looking to do the same. She offers some good words of encouragement. Go take a look and don't forget to like Walgreens so we can get some flu shots given away.
9/13/2011: Here is a series of news stories from the LDS Church and its charitable work. Again if you would like to get involved head on over to their philanthropic page at ldsphilanthropies.org.
Here are the headlines, click on the link to read the full story:
In Japan, Victims Help Victims Following Typhoon
My Hero: The Story of Liz Powell and 9/11
Saints Continue Cleanup from Hurricane Irene
Missionaries in Japan help restore sacred Shinto shrine
Mormon Helping Hands Paint, Garden and Clean in the UK
Church Employees Volunteer in 19th Annual Day of Caring
More than 1,000 Homes Lost in Texas Fires
9/9/2011: Yet again my travel schedule has kept me from making any new posts. Here is another catch up session.
9/9/2011: This post I found on Dan Wotherspoon's "Mormon Matters" blog. He recently hosted a podcast in which he interviewed Charley Paul, Liz Shorphshire and James Faulconer spoke about the 9/11 terrorist attacks ten years on. Near the end of his post he invited his readers to get involved with a couple organizations the Shrophshire Music Foundation and the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy. Both organizations are promoting peace as part of their missions.
9/9/2011: I have highlighted this blogger in the past but now she is off to give of her time in Cambodia. Erin @ "Erinannie" has set her blog to auto post while she is away. The other day she posted about the project she will be working on. It is called Riverkids, an organization that works hard to prevent the sale and exploitation of children. And yes you can donate cash to them in addition to volunteering. Good luck Erin and way to be a great example of philanthropy through the giving of your time.
9/9/2011: Here is a great post from Alena @ "creatingchildhoodmemories". She and her husband wanted to teach their child more about finances. They found this cool little piggy bank that helps divide the money into categories and of course I was excited to that the piggy bank had a spot for donations! Way to go Alena, kids are inherently generous and providing a tool like this will help them to see that giving should be a part of financial planning.
9/9/2011: I ran across this plea for help on Candace Salima's website "Turning the Tide..." She and her family have a pretty amazing story. You will have to go to her blog to read it. Right now she has started a fundraising campaign to help her start a radio station to share her message with more people. She is using a cool little giving tool called "gofundme". If you would like to help her out head on over to her page a make a donation. Right now she has only $120 of her $6,400 goal. Let's see if we can't narrow that gap for her.
9/9/2011: This post was a difficult one to read. Maybe because it just gets me inside when I hear that a young mother has lost her husband and now she is raising a family on her own. I couldn't find the name of the blogger but her blog is called "11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven" The blogger lost her husband to suicide and knows well the pain of losing a loved one. In a recent post she talked about another mother of four recently widowed and in need of help. You can make a paypall donation directly to this family here. Thanks for the post and thank you for working so hard to help others who are in pain.
9/9/2011: Here are a few LDS Church related projects that I thought I should share as well. First there are a number of "Day of Service" service projects taking place all over the world. I found this story from a Ward up in Idaho. Our stake turned out 800 people last week and we painted several homes, clean up a number of yards, planted trees, bushes and cleared brush. Let me know if you see any other stories I would like to post them as well. Here is another project out of Africa and the LDS folks there.
The LDS Church also just recently featured the "Create.lds.org" site again on the Church News and Events page. This is such a fun little site. If you have musical or photographic talents why not share them with the Church through this site?
Here is an update on the Church's efforts after Hurricane Irene.
Here is an article on another group of LDS folks helping those not of our faith fix up the Provo Community United Church of Christ building.
Here is an article about the USNS Comfort and the time members of the Church have been donating to help with this ships life saving mission.
8/19/2011: After traveling for a few weeks I am back in the office and ready to feature a few more projects. I am so impressed with the number of great things that have been happening while I was away. I hope you enjoy the following stories.
8/19/2011: Jeanette @ "Kidz.org" wrote the other day about all of her fundraising efforts. Recently she has decided to start her own 501(c) 3 charitable organization. As she has done this she has been thinking a lot about fundraising and wanted to share with everyone what she has learned about the raising of money. If you are looking for tips, head on over to her blog and take a look. Her post is just the first of two posts on the topic. Way to go Jeanette and good luck raising money!
8/19/2011: Nancy @ "Random Things & Kite Strings" wrote the other day about a desire of hers to donate her hair to an organization called "Locks of Love". Locks of Love provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss. From donated hair they create high quality hair prosthetic. Well... after years of thinking about it she finally did it. Nancy donated her hair. Got some extra hair? Consider following Nancy's example and donating it to a good cause. Below is a young lady that was blessed because of the generosity of another women like Nancy.
8/19/2011: I found this announcement on "Somewhatsimple". It appears there is a new cookbook from 50 top bloggers. If you buy the cookbook between now and the end of the month of August the purchase price will be donated to the American Red Cross. Thanks for sharing Stephanie.
8/19/2011: For those who are LDS you may have heard the Elder Marion D Hanks recently passed away. Well he was a wonderful man and humanitarian. Roger over at "Tired Road Warrior" wrote a little tribute to him (via Peggy Stack's Salt Lake Tribune article) and highlighted a story that demonstrates the heart of someone who has caught the fire of philanthropy and is spreading it. Again, shamelessly taken write off the blog. "One year, Hanks and a rabbi rang the Salvation Army bell and collected donations in the big drum. His father [Elder Hanks] knew so many passers-by that he would say, “OK, Bob, put in a hundred. Joe, that’ll be $50 for you. And so forth,” Richard Hanks [son] said. “They made more in three hours than most other volunteers did in a month.” What a great story. When you have the passion and you have built person relationships with those you ask to help out, it can be powerful. That is fundraising 101, build relationships and ask with confidence. Thanks for writing about this Roger.
8/19/2011: Attention all those families with kids heading back to school. "Sweet Life in the valley" posted the other day about a new campaign. Elmer's (the glue company) is running their "Bag it Forward with Elmer's" campaign. It's another Facebook campaign. You go to Elmer's Facebook page and "like" the page. Once you have done this Elmer's will donate a product of theirs to a foundation that teachers from disadvantages schools can obtain free supplies. Sounds easy enough. Let the liking begin!
8/19/2011: Keeping with the back to school theme I found this post from Shauna at "Trying to Stay Calm". She wrote about a special JC Penney is running. It is called "pennies from heaven". You will have to go to their site for all the details but in essence you will be entering an online experience that will allow you to accumulate pennies, if in conjunction with other pennie winners you get to 100 million pennies JC Penney will donate $1 million to after school causes. That was a terrible explanation. Just go read the post. Some companies may be getting a bit to creative in their philanthropy. Feel free to ask Shauna how it works as well. She seems very excited about it. Good luck Shauna, happy shopping/giving.
8/19/2011: Several weeks ago I wrote about the LDS Church's reponse to the disaster in Joplin. Well I found this article about a new group that has appeared to help in Joplin. Natasha @ "The Mormon Therapist" shared the opportunity. "A Tree Grows in Joplin" is a charity who's mission is to re-beautify and restore Joplin. It looks like a great opportunity. It so impressive that such ventures pop up so quickly in this country. Take a look and see if this is something you would like to support. Thanks for sharing Natasha!
7/29/2011: Today I wanted to feature three stories from the LDS Church. These three areas I help raise money for so I am somewhat biased. The first is a post I made on my blog about the LDS Church's response to the flooding in Canada.
The second is a post I made reporting on the kind of young people who are benefiting from the Missionary Fund. You may remember President Monson encouraging us to find a way to increase our contributions to this fund. I hope this story will serve as inspiration to fulfill that request.
Finally, I wrote a post the other day about BYU Hawaii. This is a unique and diverse school. Students come from all over the Pacific and Asia to attend. It is a beautiful location with a mission to "bring peace to the world." Walking around campus I was amazed at how diverse a place it is. Though no one nationality dominates there is a distinct feeling of brotherhood across nations and cultures. The post I wrote is about a mentoring opportunity that can be done from a distance utilizing technology most of you would be familiar with. If we have an hour or two you could donate to advise a student from another part of the world, you should take a look at the post and consider getting involved.
7/27/2011: I have been out of the office traveling so I haven't updated this for a little while. Today you are going to get a number of great opportunities from the last week.
I wanted to lead off with a opportunity I learned about from a family member living overseas. They have some friends that are doing some pretty amazing things. I don't normally write this much about a project but I thought their letter to their supports was well written and might serve as source of inspiration to all of us to get out and do something meaningful.
This has been an unforgettable year for our family. We arrived back in the United States a couple of weeks ago after more than 8 months in rural northern Ecuador. We came to know and love so many people there, and they will forever remain in our hearts. Our host family, Carlos Lopez and Susana Perugachi and their 5 children were more loving and accepting than we ever would have thought, and made our stay not only possible, but enjoyable. We are also grateful for our kids' teachers, whose patience and hard work brought our kids through the hard initial months and are the main reason they learned Spanish so well.
Our service project, building a library for the Ulpiano Navarro school in the small town of Quichinche, was by any measure a resounding success. The students are tremendously excited to have so many books to read, and the teachers and administration worked hard to make use of their new facility and integrate it into their classes. The director surprised us by how early she took ownership of the project and ran with it, creating a better facility than we ever would have imagined.
We have posted a blog entry detailing the evolution of the project on our blog we kept while in Ecuador. Please check it out at http://leflerecuador.blogspot.com/2011/06/library-for-ulpiano-navarro-primary.html.
Our heartfelt appreciation goes to those wonderful folks who gave their time and resources to this project. We recognize that your gift was a sacrifice and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Please know that what you gave has made a huge difference in the education and school experience of over 400 children. We also appreciate HelpOneFuture and all their behind the scenes infrastructure and support.
And since we are sending out a mass email, we might as well let you know of our plans. True to form, life has been unpredictable and we are returning to Hong Kong at the beginning of July. We are so excited to reunite with all of our friends. Amy will be continuing her education with a masters degree in comparative education and development at Hong Kong University. I will be at the same place, teaching law at the business school. Our emails remain the same - please keep in touch!
All the best,
Beau and Amy"
Take a minute and go check out their site, get involved if you can.
7/27/2011: Emily over @ "isthisreallymylife" featured a charity she likes to support called "Cleaning for a Reason Foundation". The charity provides cleaning services to women who are undergoing cancer treatment. What a cool idea. I can only imagine the relief these women feel known that at least they can come home to a clean house. Check out Emily's post and make a gift if you can.
7/27/2011: Here is a fun little opportunity I ran into from Amy @ "superhealthykids". She posted about promotion/fundraiser Tropicana Pure Premium is doing to encourage healthy living. They are calling it "Take the Fruit & Veg Pledge". If you go to their Facebook page and take the pledge they will donate an 8 once glass of orange juice to schools in need through the US Department of Education. Sounds like an easy no cost way to get more OJ into our schools. Thanks for sharing Amy.
7/27/2011: Marie @ "makeandtakes" shared a project called "30 Strangers" from Justin Hackworth, a photographer raising money for the Center for Women and Children in Crisis. Here is how the project works. Justin takes the month of April and invites 30 strangers to come to his studio. He then provides for them a portrait session for free. In exchange he asked those getting portraits to make a donation to the Center for Women and Children in Crisis. This year Marie was one of those photographed. So, thank you to Marie for sharing this opportunity and for your donation and thank you to Justin for coming up with such a cool idea to help others. Go take a look at Justin's site to sign up to be one of his "strangers" for next year.
7/27/2011: Here is a touching story from Devon @ "ventsuperman". Her son suffers from SMARD a disease that progressively destroys the cells in her sons body that control motor function. In her blog the other day she featured the heroic efforts of Gus La Casse a 10 year old boy who is climbing 25 Maine mountains to help SMARD research at The Jackson Laboratory. You can go to Gus's Facebook page to involved. Thanks for sharing Devon we wish you and your boy the very best.
7/27/2011: Azucar @ "jetsetcarina" posted about a fun-fundraiser called the "Tractor Raising". Here is a summary. Two great Utah County restaurants, Communal and Pizzeria 712, (hat tip to the owners, personal friends of mine), are trying to help the local Clifford Family Farm (organic growers) buy a tractor. They will be holding a special dinner on August 1st. Tickets are $20 and further donations are welcomed. Should be a fun time. Sounds like a great date if you are in Utah County. Let's get out there and help them get a tractor.
7/27/2011: I found this great act of service from Cheri @ "mormonmommywriters". She has a friend who is fighting breast cancer. This friend is having trouble covering her medical bills and Cheri has stepped in to help. She is an LDS author and is donating the sales of her books and ebooks to her friend. Cheri you are a great friend. Thank you for trading your income as a gift to help another. I know, from the donors I work with, that you will be blessed many fold for such sacrifices. Looking for a book, go buy this authors and you can feel good knowing that all the money went to help pay another's medical bills.
7/27/2011: Bev @ "Bev's Country Cottage" wrote a post last week about how she has been supporting a young lady in her philanthropic efforts. Both enjoy making things and had joined efforts to collect preemie booties and blankets. The young girl will then be giving these to those in need. All of this is to help her get her Girl Scout Bronze award. Way to go Bev. Thanks for encouraging others to do good.
7/21/2011: Naomi @ "Seven Cherubs" posted last week about a cool fundraising idea for schools. The service is currently being used in Australia where Naomi is from. Pretty simple idea. I will let this video do the talking. I just wished we had something similar in the states. Maybe someone knows of a similar product.
SchoolBuy Introduction from SchoolBuy on Vimeo.
7/14/2011: So, Natalie @ "The Bobby Pin" is back at it again. If you look below you will see I have already featured her. Today she is promoting a cause that is attempting to "take back beauty". She ran into this cause from her friends Lexie and Lindsey Kite @ "Beauty Redefined". To be more specific Natalie is a donor to the cause in addition to promoting it on her blog. The campaign is really pretty cool. This group is buying up (through donations) billboards throughout the state of Utah and placing adds that promote women and girls in a more respectful way. They have 12 billboards that will be showing up soon and they plan to expand across the nation. Good luck ladies I hope you raise lots of money and are able to purchase many billboards. Way to make a stand for your values!
7/13/2011: This morning I found the website of Dr. David Pigott, a Professor of History at Brigham Young University-Idaho. A couple years ago he started a non-profit called Enough and to Spare, a charity that focuses on humanitarian relief for school children in Uganda. He has involved his university students and they are out actively trying to raise money to help more people in Uganda. Take a look around his site and if the cause is something that peaks your interest consider making a gift.Way to go Dr. Pigott!
7/12/2011: Today I found this post from Lisa @ "For Kicks and Giggles". She is originally from Minot, North Dakota, which has been experiencing some terrible flooding. This has prompted Lisa to start a fundraiser to help those who have lost their homes. She is making bows (go to the site to see them) and selling them. 100% of the proceeds from her sales will go to those in need. Way to Lisa and good luck. I hope you sell a bunch of bows.
7/11/2011: Well it was a busy weekend for those out there being philanthropic. There were a number of folks I want to highlight today. First, I ran into a blog called "Somewhat Simple" run by Stephanie. She has started a series she is calling her "Summer of Service". She has been asking other bloggers to help her share ideas of service. Here are the four she has already posted about. Send birthday cards to Foster Kids, Service Auctions, Hotel Toiletries Idea, Giving Nature a Good Cleaning, and her most recent post on Goodies for the Homeless. Stephanie, way to go! Keep the great ideas coming!
7/11/2011: The next opportunity I found was from Danyelle Ferguson, Author of (dis)Abilities and the Gospel and blogger @ "Queen of the Clan" She is encouraging donations to the Christian Youth Theater in Kansas. I guess this fundraiser is nationwide and a portion of your purchases at Barnes & Noble are going to the effort. You will have to read her blog for all the details but in essence if you use the Book Fair ID# 10512580 a portion of your purchase will go to the Christian Youth Theater. Thanks for bringing this opportunity to my attention Danyelle and good luck with your book signing event. I hope you sell lots of books and reach your $2,000 goal for the folks at Christian Youth Theater.
7/11/2011: I found this great story of service render to help folks that have suffered down in Joplin. It comes from Nadine @ "The Albrecht Squad". They are an army family that also love the scouting movement. Over the weekend Nadine wrote about her husband and sons and their time they volunteered to help out. You don't always have to give money to make a difference you can also give your time and here is a great story of a family doing it together. Way to go Albrecht's!
7/11/2011: Mahonri Stewart over @ "A Motley Vision" posted over the weekend about his dream to establish the "Zion Theatre Company." You can go to there website to learn more about what they are trying to accomplish. The tag line says a lot "Add More Meaning To Your Life." With dreams come the reality of funding those dreams and Mr. Stewart's post faces those realities. He is considering doing some fundraising but doesn't appear to have launched anything official just yet. If you are inclined towards theater or the work Mahonri is trying to accomplish I would encourage you to reach out to him, make a donation, help him get this thing up and off the ground.
7/8/2011: Today I came up empty handed trying to feature a blogger out there promoting philanthropy but I did find a great article from Mashable on getting involved without pulling out your wallet. I wrote a short blog post about it here.
7/7/2011: Tristi Pinkston @ "Tristipinkston.blogspot.com" featured a fundraising idea she is trying to promote. As an author she has been using her book signings as opportunities to encourage others to make a donation to one of her favorite causes. This year she has identified The Ssejinja Children's Foundation a non-profit that serves the needy of Uganda. Her goal is to encourage all those that come to her book signings (see calendar/locations here) to bring a pencil or two. She will collect all these pencils and then give them to the organization, who will in turn provide them to school children in Uganda. Way to make a difference Tristi.
7/6/2011: Today I ran across this post from Natalie @ "thebobbypin" blog. In the post she shares an opportunity to make a donation to the charity of your choice through a company called Plum District. I guess it is similar to Groupon. I guess you have to sign up, then pick a charity. As a result a $3 donation is made. Thanks for the post Natalie.
7/5/2011: Erin @ "Erinannie" blog wrote over the weekend about her increased desire to want to help victims of breast cancer. She has found a site where a simple click of a button generates a gift to cancer research. She also featured a friend Lindsey @ "the r house" who makes necklaces for cancer survivors. Way to go Erin and Lindsay!
7/5/2011: Here is a great post by Greg Taggart @ "Mintlife". He gives some sound advice on making charitable donations. As you look through the opportunities on my blog this post might be a good first read. I also have to say that I am glad Greg referenced Arthur C. Brooks work. If you want some good reading on charitable giving and its impact on you and our country it is wealth worth looking at his work. Brooks does tend to be a little harsh if you are of a left leaning persuasion politically.
7/1/2001: Yesterday LDS.org posted a new section on their site promoting volunteering and donation opportunities in the church. Here is a link. I am partial to LDS Philanthropies but then again I work there. I have also been involved advising the Vineyard project so I would recommend it as well. Happy volunteering/giving.
6/30/2011: The "Mama Nut" over @ "5 Nuts in a Nutshell" posted this opportunity. I guess Gillette is doing a promotion/charity drive for the USO .(a private, non-profit that provides morale and recreational service to military personal.) According to Mama Nut, Gillette will donate $1 for every comment, picture or story posted on the Gillette Facebook Page this year. So head on over to 5 Nuts in a Nutshell or the Gillette Facebook Page and do some clicking!
6/29/2011: I learned today from "Lady of Perpetual Chaos" that you can donate coupons to military families. I had never heard of this. Imagine sending your unused coupons to our military families to help them make their dollar go further. Can't think of a better thing to get involved in during this 4th of July season. Thanks for the idea!
6/29/2011: Here is a great event taking place this Friday night in Spanish Fork, UT. I found it on Candace Salima's "In my opinion..." blog. The Twist and Shout concert will start at 7pm at the American Leadership Academy (1172 Del Monte rd, Spanish Fork, UT) The event is free but you can also make a donation to support the arts.
6/29/2011: This morning I ran across this plea for help online. It comes from Sheyann @ "Andy's Clan" blog. This couple like many others struggle to have children of their own. They are trying to adopt but again like so many couples find it difficult to come up with all the funds necessary to adopt. I can relate personally to this cause because my wife and I have had a very difficult time getting pregnant. We were in the middle of saving for adoption when my wife became pregnant with our first. We are now almost three years into trying for our third. We aren't done yet and adoption may still be in our future.
So, back to the story. This family is frustrated and is considering starting a "grant program". They are looking for help and advice on how to set something up. If you have expertise in fundraising or non-profit management, they could use some help.
6/27/2011: I found this article today in the Deseret News. It features the philanthropic work of Marilyn Hyer of Santa Rosa, California. This sweat 81 year old sister has just completed and donated her 1,100 blanket to LDS Humanitiarian Services. Way to go Marilyn!
6/27/2011: Today I ran across a blog by Cynthia @ "A Dream Adoption...Positively Twins". I was impressed with her post and the general nature of her blog. Many families, mine included have struggled to have children of their own. Cynthia has devoted this blog to her families journey to have children. As you look through the blog you will see that the family is in the process of raising money to adopt. Take a look around and help them out if you can.
6/23/2011: Today I found a story from Christina @ "from one momma to another". She posted on Tuesday about a pair of shoes that she bought. At first glance this doesn't appear to be a very philanthropic story but if you keep reading she has found a company "Toms" that for every pair of shoes that you purchase they will donate another pair to a child in need. That's not a bad match! Thanks for sharing your find Christina, my wife will soon find out about it as well and then she really will want to buy more shoes. :)
Here is a short video I found about Toms.
6/23/2011: Naomi Ellis @ "Seven Cherubs" highlighted yesterday the work of a couple of her friends Samantha and Lisa at "500 Hours". It was a great post about the happiness that comes from giving of yourself, your time and your talents to help others. 500 hours mission is to "do something about the decline in community connectedness. These ladies are focusing their efforts on the Kippa Ring State School where there are a lot of challenges with student performance. They have donated money and their time to the cause. Way to go Samantha and Lisa, and thank you to Naomi for bringing their work to my attention. If you want to get involved or make a gift visit the 500 Hours site.
6/23/2011: I ran into this little post on Alice Wills Gold site @ "I'm so Funny (Sometimes)". She posted yesterday about a friend and song writer Jimmy Hinson. I guess Jimmy has a sister Emily who just donated her kidney to her husband. You may have to re-read that to catch all those relationships. In any case as a song writer Jimmy has created a song which you can download for .99 cents. He is saying that all the money will go to help pay for Emily and her husbands medical bills. Both are still students and have very little resources. So if this story strikes your fancy go to this site and buy the file. Good luck Alice, Jimmy, Emily and Husband!
6/23/2011: Congrats to Lisa @ "A Crazee Chick's View of Life" Blog. She just completed the Easter Seals 24 Hour Relay and reached her fundraising goal. In total $1 million was raised and 852 kids will benefit as a result.
6/21/2011: Here is a fundraiser I found on Eric Stone's website. He is raising money for a friend who is battling cancer. If you can, lets get involved. Here is a widget that highlights the cause.
6/19/2011: Here is another great project underway to help a family create a "Flat Daddy"(Google it)for the kids to enjoy the company of their father while he is serving in the armed forces.
Daddy Bauman
This project is sponsored by Annette Lyon at "The Lyon's Tale" blog. Click the link and Annette will describe how you can get involved. 6/19/2011: Here is another interesting cause I ran into this morning. Some of you may have heard about the Zagg competition for an iPad 2. Each contestant is supposed to come up with a way to publicize the Zagg logo. The best idea will win the iPad. Well Heather L. Lawver at "The Heather Show" blog has come up with a win win win idea. Here it is.In Heather's own words...
"For my entry, I pledged that if chosen as a winner, I would create hundreds of bright, bold, colorful pillowcases for wounded soldiers in Afghanistan!"
Here is the pillow. If you like her idea give her a vote! Let's help Heather win an iPad, Zagg get their brand out there, and wounded soldiers get some colorful comfortable pillows. Voting ends June 24th.
Here are the instructions to vote. " Click here to go to the contest page! To vote for my proposal, go to Page 3 and look for "Sweet Zagg Dreams for Wounded Soldiers". That's mine! Click the big green "VOTE" button! And that's it!"(UPDATE: 6/27/2011---SHE WON!!!)
http://leflerecuador.blogspot.com/2011/06/library-for-ulpiano-navarro-primary.html
