One

In looking for what I wanted to post about this week I figured out that there are many things that could use our help right now, mainly because the House of Representatives has come together and voted on budget cuts and soon the Senate will be doing so. This week’s organization is One which is an amazing nonpartisan organization run solely on the fact that each voice, one voice, does matter. One raises awareness about many great causes and they get their followers to petition and help bring the awareness to others. You can read all about the many issues/causes that they support on their website. What came to my attention this week though was the petition to the Senators against the “poverty-fighting” budget cuts that the House of Representatives has put into place. All you have to do is sign the petition, name, e-mail, and zip code. Their goal is to have 100,000 people sign the petition and they are up to over 88,000! We are so powerful as individuals yet when we come together we can be even more powerful! Hopefully this will have an impact and help to continue to save many lives and educate many people. Happy raising your voice!

Until next week,

Annie

http://www.one.org/us/actnow/2011budget/

Kiva - Loans to help others

This week our helping others does take a little money. I know I said that the things I bring to this blog will not cost much, and this does not necessarily cost anything, but it is a great organization helping thousands of people around the world. This week’s entry is about Kiva which is an organization that gives loans to entrepreneurs across the globe. How the company works is people like us give money, say $25 (the lowest amount you can lend), as a loan to someone in another part of the world who wants to start their own company/shop/business but do not have the money to do so. They will then take the money they have received and turn it into something that will help them and their family prosper. The nice thing about it is that because it is a loan, your loan will be given back to you. After the entrepreneur pays the money back, the amount you first loaned will be returned to your account and you can either relend it to someone else or withdraw it via paypal. So for my readers who do not necessarily have the money to be able to donate but want to help you are able to if you can live without your money for awhile.

A fun thing about Kiva is that you get to search through the different projects that are up for a loan and pick the one that you want to support. You can search many different ways including, male/female run projects and also what type of business they are starting. Kiva has helped to bring many poor people into better living conditions and to also instill hope in them that there are people out there who care about them. The entrepreneurs are making improvements in their lives so that they can provide for their families and help their children receive an education. Happy lending!

Until next week,

Annie  

http://www.kiva.org/about/how   (watch the video, it explains things very well!)

http://www.kiva.org

Prom Dress Donation

This time of year for many Juniors and Seniors in High School usually means one thing, Prom is just around the corner. I’m sure you’ve already figured it out by that first sentence but this week’s entry has to do with Prom. Junior and Senior year I was always so excited to go to the mall and pick out the dress that I would be wearing for one of the most important nights in my high school history. However, this is not the case for many girls who cannot afford to buy a prom dress. Because of this, people, boutiques, and organizations all throughout the United States have stepped up and decided to collect used prom dresses so that others can wear them again. I know for most people the dress gets worn one night and then tucked away in the closet to possibly never again see the “night lights”. You can now donate your dress so that someone else can feel just as beautiful as you did the night you wore your special dress. I am including a site that offers stores in most states that collect prom dresses, and other accessories, and then also some sites that I found for different cities. If you have already donated your dresses, that’s awesome, now go and spread the word ... guys be sure to tell all your female friends! Let’s spread the joy by donating our prom dresses so others can have a special evening as well. Happy thoughts of walking down the red carpet! Until next week, Annie National site: http://www.donatemydress.org/donate.html Chicago site: http://www.glassslipperproject.org

Digiorno Pizza

This week’s entry is in honor of a little game being played on Sunday and is therefore only available until Sunday. Of course it has to do with food because how many of us are eating while watching the football game, probably most. Digiorno pizza has a page on facebook and until Sunday if you “Like” the page and then post a “high five!”to your profile, they will donate $5 to Feeding America. You can find the directions for posting the “high five!” in the tab that says “High-$5”. For those of you not on facebook, I apologize you are not able to participate in this week’s item, however, it gives you more of a reason to visit www.freerice.com and answer a few more questions with the time you would have spent posting a “high five” to your profile to help feed people all over the world. Happy Football watching and pizza eating!

Until next week,

Annie

Labels for Education

This week we are going back to school, well at least our donations are! Labels for Education is a program very much like Box Tops however schools gain points instead of money. All you need to do is cut off the upc within the dotted lines with the Labels for Education logo. Make sure you have the upc code (shown above) because that is what helps with getting the points. There is a catalog that schools can pick things out of with the points they have acquired. A fun thing about Labels for Education is you can enter your zip code on their site and find a list of schools in your area that are collecting the labels. They each have a site that lists how many points they have and also items that they want. For someone like me who does not have children in school, I really like this because I can pick a school by me that I want to support. They also have a list of products that you can get the labels off of which I included below. This program really helps our schools and comes from products that many of us are buying anyway like campbell’s soup and pop secret pop corn. Happy clipping!

Until next week,

Annie

http://www.labelsforeducation.com/

http://www.labelsforeducation.com/assets/pdf/English%20Product%20List.pdf

Tropicana Juicy Rewards

This week we are not only going to be helping others, well the rainforest, but we are going to help get some vitamin C in our system! Tropicana has a rewards program that as of right now is only going on until February 28, 2011 so I wanted to get this to you as soon as possible. Hopefully they will extend it but who knows. There is still a month though which gives us plenty of time to drink some orange juice. On each carton of Tropicana juice you buy there should be a code (most likely on the inside of the cap). It is very easy to sign up for an account and once you do you can enter your codes. The codes can be redeemed for offers and items however they can also be donated to save the rainforest. I just donated the 33 points I had in my account and that saved 1,100 sq. ft. of rainforest. Its easy, it does cost a little for the orange juice but I have a feeling that many of us drink it anyway because it helps improve our health and keep away a cold! Happy cold fighting and rainforest saving!

Until next week,

Annie

http://juicyrewards.tropicana.com/