Only a few days into the last month of the year and donations are pouring in……………….

Two beautiful cardigans to fit toddlers were donated by Valerie in Southampton.

A box full of new and pre-loved baby clothes were sent by an anonymous donor.

Brightly coloured hats from Carol in Woodstock.

Gorgeous chunky cardigans and a teddy were sent in by Carole in Southampton

Striped hats and a golden-yellow cardigan came from Linda in Cheshire.

A wonderful collection of babygro’s and two white hooded cardigans were sent in anonymously. 

A mass of colourful hats and mittens were donated by Joyce.

A gorgeous collection of baby things including mittens, hats,cardigans and bootees came from Sheila.

Beautiful baby blankets, hats and a cardigan were donated by Marion who claims to be a ‘learner’ , clearly a very quick one as the items are gorgeous!

What a fantastic start to December – Huge thanks to you all!

INTERNATIONAL / AFRICA | December 06, 2009 Aid for Relatives Offers Alternative to African Orphanages By CELIA W. DUGGER Researchers and experts are strongly endorsing an experimental program in Malawi that gives money directly to destitute extended families who take in orphans.

MY TAKE:

Malawi, a small country in eastern Africa,  has  thousands of orphaned children. The question of whether to continue to house these children in orphanages or to provide cash grants to family members who care for these children is examined in this article. The issue is whether the children at either place will get the best nurturing, support and education to become well adjusted adults. Malawi is a very poor country  bordering Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia. Donations to the orphanages and families are needed to continue to improve the lives and health of these child orphans.

]]> http://bookbark.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/giving-back-giving-books/ Sun, 06 Dec 2009 02:11:35 +0000 L. http://bookbark.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/giving-back-giving-books/ http://live4lali.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/recent-donations/ Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:24:24 +0000 live4lali http://live4lali.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/recent-donations/

Saint Mary’s School, Buffalo Grove, IL – Drug Prevention Program

Did you know the USO has tons of ways for you to support deployed troops this holiday season?  From eBay sales through Mission Fish to electronic recycling through BoneYard to the Give A Click program (more info on this page), is always looking for ways to support our mission.

But we don’t know about everything!  Many stores, restaurants, and other retailers offer specific discounts or deals for the military, veterans, and their families this time of year and we’d love for you to share that information with our readers.  Know of dining discounts, travel treats, savings on shipping, or other great deals?  Let us know!  The more the merrier…

Several hundred mostly  International Trade  executives and movers  and shakers in the Foregin  Trade Assn. (FTA) packed  into the Omni Hotel today  (Friday, Dec. 4, 2009) to  celebrate the holidays and   install new officers for    2010.

Carol Rowen was provided with a check for $1,000 from a recent golf tourney and fundraiser by FTA members.

Carol Rowen was provided with a check for $1,000 from a recent golf tourney and fundraiser by FTA members. (l-R) FTA Treasurer Craig Pinkerton, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, Carol Rowen, ITEP and Tom Good, ITEP Bd Chairman (MAYO PR photo)

Chair Caroline Brown, Comerica Bank (l) receives award from 2010 Preisdnet Carolo DeAtougula, Western Overseas Corp. for FTA services. Photo by MAYO PR

2010 FTA officers sworning included: Chair Caroline Brown, Comerica Bank; President CArolo DeAtougula, Western Overseas Corp.; 1st V.P. Steve Pasienski, Toyota Motor Sales;2nd V.P. Daniel Benoit, OceanWind International; Secretary JoAnne Davis, Pioner Electronics (USA), Inc. and Treasurer Craig Pinkerton, PricewterhouseCoopers LLP.

More 100 members and friends of the Foreign Trade Association had a day of fun and raised money for a worthy cause on a recent fall day. The day began with a Shot Gun “Best Ball” golf tournament at Rio Hondo where close to 100 golfers had a great time catching up with colleagues and showing off their best shots. Everyone was a winner, but those taking cash prizes at the gala dinner following the tournament included the foursome from Horizon Lines with first place low net, Purolator taking second low net, and Avalon Risk Management in third. Long drive winners were Fred Woolfork, Worldwide Flight Services for the men and Nancy Hiromoto, Citizen Watch Company, for the women.

Closest to the pin winners were Heather Morris, Port of Long Beach, for women and Rob Romain, Puralator, for the men. The day held something for everyone with some fabulous raffle prizes including a Citizen watch, Pioneer DVD computer writer, walkie-talkies, iPOD Nano, gift certificates and gift baskets, books and TV DVD series.

The grand prize winner of a 24” LCD HDTV television was won by JoAnne Davis, Pioneer Electronics, USA. Congratulations to all the winners of golf and chance! A donation of $1,000 from the proceeds of this event will be donated to the International Trade Education Programs (ITEP) to fund programs that support higher education and preparation for international trade careers for high school students in our community.

The FTA and LACBFFA thank everyone who participated, especially our sponsors: Stericycle, Inc.; Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, LLP; Avalon Risk Management; Price Transfer, Inc.; J & K Fresh; The Janel Group of Los Angeles; Puralotor; Carmichael International Services; Grunfeld Desiderio Lebowitz Silverman & Klestadt, LLP; OceanWind; PCC Logistics; Plains All American Pipeline, LP; Roanoke Trade Services and Western Overseas Corporation. Thanks also to all our other raffle and goodie bag sponsors: AMH Customs Consultants; American Shipping Company; ChinaWest LLP; Comerica Bank; FIDM; Los Angeles Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Association; Mattel, Inc.; NRC Environmental Services; Wegener & Associates and William Thomas Gould, CHB.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), has implemented new regulations concerning blogs.  In order to comply with the new asinine regulations the N.U.G.U.N. Blog is making the following disclosure:

The N.U.G.U.N. Blog has no official or formal connection with any entity or corporation. I, the primary author and proprietor is an NRA Recruiter and a volunteer coordinator with the NRA-ILA. However, the N.U.G.U.N. Blog has received no favor or gifts in relation to it’s interactions with the NRA. Rather, the N.U.G.U.N. Blog views it’s mission and the NRA’s to be a common cause.  In full disclosure, I do receive a $10 commission on NRA recruitments.  However, these are donated to support the Gun Rights Radio Network (GRRN). An association of podcasters that offer free firearm related audio content and a great addition and resource to our community.

Those companies, organizations, for which have I have logos and links are those I have chosen to promote either because I like and use their products and/or because I have worked with them in the battle to support our rights.

In full disclosure, in working with the Friends of the NRA Banquet fundraisers, I received a number of donations. These includes books, holsters, targets and more. A number of the donors are linked to from the N.U.G.U.N. Blog.  I have done so because I view these entities as kindred spirits in the battle for our rights. In fact, most were already linked to before they provided donations.

The N.U.G.U.N. Blog has attended a number of Second Amendment related events and gatherings. These include the NRA Annual Meeting, Gun Rights Policy Conference, and others. At most of these events the N.U.G.U.N. Blog received free items from a variety of vendors and organizations. These items included shirts, hats, pins, bottle openers and other similar small trinkets.  However, such trinkets were common and given away to the public.  The N.U.G.U.N. Blog not receiving any special privilege, except from the community circle of fellow bloggers and podcasters of which I have received a few trinkets (patches, stickers, t-shirts, etc)  free for simply being a member of the community.   On occasion a company has provided promotional items (t-shirts, hats, etc) for new media as specific gatherings.

The N.U.G.U.N. Blog promises it’s readers that any reviews we provide will be honest reviews and not affected by any donation, gift, or trial item.  That said, as individuals we may have a fondness for certain products and brands.  I own a lot of Ruger firearms. I find them economical, reliable and comfortable.   That didn’t preclude me from writing some strong criticisms of my MKIII in regards to the cumbersome take-down procedure.

The N.U.G.U.N. Blog believes that not giving an honest review would be a disservice to it’s readers. Particularly the segment of the community that this blog caters to – namely the new shooter.  As such it is  N.U.G.U.N. Blog’s policy to be a positive addition to our community and a good resource for the new shooter.  As such, all of our reviews will be factual and not affected by outside interference.

Sincerely,
Jason and the N.U.G.U.N. Blog

So on myspace I’m friends with this group called” Supporting and Loving Our Troops” and they want every one to pass on a bulletin they posted. And I think this organization, LBEH.org is a great idea, and I think one of the great ways to give back, especially during the Christmas season, its all about giving…

So we got this message from a friend of our thats on this site. Lets try to help this company by donating some money since they need it. I think its a great thing for what they are doing. This is the message below:

I’m not sure if you have ever heard of it or not. Perhaps you have, but there is an Amazing military charity called “Let’s Bring’Em Home!”. You can learn more about it atLBEH.org. In simple terms, they bring garrisoned soldiers (actually, all service members-I say soldier outta habit) home for the holidays. Its only for junior enlisted servicemen only (E1-E4). They buy domestic plane tickets for service members to go home. I am one of the lucky beneficiaries who has received place tickets for my leave for Christmas. Thanks to this organization, I am going to surprise my family and spend Christmas with them for the first time in three years, and the last time before I go to Iraq. This program however is run 100 percent on donations. Its an actual charity too. the site gives the Tax Deductable number on its web-page.
The sad thing is because the site runs its operations to spend all its money on plane tickets, it has no advertising budget. And because I believe I’ve been blessed by the program, i feel its my duty to try and get word out, and I know you are a large military supporter, so if you can support it some how, maybe telling your local news papers about it, or if you know family or friends who would wish to donate to them, it could send more people home for the holidays. Because right now they are bursting at the seams with requests, but not enough donations, and again, they can’t really advertise. Again, check their website out. Its www.LBEH.org. Forward this message to all your friends or family. Its a blessing of a program.
Thanks.
—Scottie

Like many non-profit arts organizations, TDC, where Julian dances, has felt the hit of the economy. The company has been smaller than usual over the last few years, but, in fact, it must remain rather small for the program to be effective.  And the program is effective, turning out top-notch dancers that go on to Julliard and some of the other best-known and well-respected dance schools in the nation as well as into professional companies and onto shows like So You Think You Can Dance.  It’s a program that doesn’t stress competition but rather dance as an art form, offering its dancers an incubator of sorts where they can work together and with professionals to create an amazing energy that makes them strive to be the best dancers they can be…and helps them to achieve that goal.

All the money that comes in from tuition and fundraising is spent on the kids at TDC in one form or another. However, with a small company and the economy making it more difficult to get donations, TDC, like many non-profits, needs more financial support than ever. So…I’m asking my readers here to help in a way that doesn’t cost you any money at all. All it takes is a click…

If you are a Facebook user, please follow this link to the Chase Community Giving page:
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/search

You’ll be asked to join, or become a fan, and then you can type in Teen Dance Company of the Bay Area and vote for TDC. The non-profit with the most votes gets a $25,000 donation!

Julian and all the kids at TDC will really appreciate your support of their program. I will, too.

If you would like to make a direct donation to TDC, you can do that here: http://www.teendancecompany.org/support.html

Thank you!

I’m not very good at updating on a daily basis.  Life gets in the way.  I decided to share what was experienced these past three days and list what we intend to do the remainder of the days.  That way if something particularly special happens during our family project I can blog about those events specifically.  I should have done that to begin with, but you live and learn.

Day 2: Give the Gift of Smile

The idea behind this is that, generally when you smile at someone they smile back. You never know how this affects a person, but I’m sure that a warm smile and greeting could’ve been the one uplifting point in someone’s day.  I don’t think the kids fully understood the goal,  they were under the impression that all day we needed a smile on our face.  But hey it was fun in trying to that.

Day 3: Give someone a note or treat to show appreciation

Unfortunately, I didn’t prepare  ahead of time to do this one.  We were suppose to make paper mailboxes to put on everyone’s bedroom door.  The notes, cards, treats, or whatever the individual wanted to do was supposed to be left inside.  We ended up playing Drawn to Life and Super Mario Bros. on Wii for most of the day.  I don’t consider it a complete failure, because we rarely just take a day and goof off together.  If we take a school day off is normally to run errands, someone is sick, or because of outside enrichment activities. So this was fun and I consider it a treat for everyone.

Day 4: Bake Cookies for friends & family

Today, we will be making our favorite cookie recipes to give out to pre-selected family and friends.  The kids have been looking forward to this all week.  More so they can eat cookies for themselves, but they like making them, too.

So here is a list of other activities we have scheduled during our “25 Days of Service” project:

Days 1, 2, & 3 will be repeat twice

Deliver cookies

Yard work for a widow or elderly family or friend

Invite someone to dinner

Make dinner for a sick friend or family member

Make Christmas cards to mail

Knit or crochet hats for the homeless

Take donations to the local food bank

Take donations to local Goodwill or Salvation Army

participate in Angel Tree

Invite a family or friend to attend the viewing of the Temple Lights

Do something nice for the missionaries

Do a good deed for a family member

Make a care package for an elderly person at a nursing home

Some activities will take more than one day to complete. But typically there is a goal to do one thing for someone else everyday.  I hope that others will join in with us, if not this year, maybe next.

As an active group in the South Elgin community, SERG is interested in helping out those in need. This holiday season is no exception as there are many individuals and organizations looking for donations of time, money and gifts.Can you help this season?
If you are a member of SERG and currently looking for donations for a cause, please post your information. We are doing all we can to get the word out to everyone and to make it easy for others to donate to the cause of their choice.
If you are a local charity looking for donations, please post your information so that we can help you reach your goals.
Happy Holidays to everyone and best wishes for 2010!Do They Know It\'s Christmas?

I consider myself to be a believer of Karma. I feel good when giving back or doing something positive to make the world a better place. By saying this I am in no way implying that I am a good person or selfless in any way. The reason that I feel this way is for no other reason than my personal gain. It just seems that through the course of my life, the more I’ve gave, the better my life has been. I suppose that’s not entirely true. I do like knowing that in some small way I was have made some ones life a little bit better, but it’s probably Karma that pushes it from a notion to an action. However, a problem has presented itself that has left me all but terrified to help in the future.
During my first few months working full time I wasn’t paying my loans yet, and therefore had some extra money. I decided that because of this I would donate to the two charitable organizations that I hold a strong regard for; Habitat for Humanities and The National MS Society. I helped gut houses in New Orleans for Habitat and I have an aunt that suffers from MS, so I was happy to give. The problem is that I don’t feel comfortable with the way that these organizations are spending the money I sent them. At least four or fives times a week I receive letters from them requesting money. Sometimes, in addition to the mailings, they send magazines.
What I can’t comprehend is how they can afford to build houses and back scientific research to cure MS, when they appear to be spending millions on junk mail. I could understand if they sent me something periodically, once a month at the very most, but several times a week is too much. I have become apprehensive to donate to them based on this, which is completely the opposite of their intentions. I can only ponder if anyone else has felt this way. The environmental damage alone should be a cause for concern. We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of wasted paper on a daily basis. I would give anonymously to prevent this from getting worse, but if this is where my money is going why bother?

Hey Penguins,

Rockhopper is on his way to Club Penguin Island! If you go to the Beacon and check out the Telescope, you will notice that you can see Rockhopper’s ship, the Migrator is approaching. Here is what I saw:

Rockhopper will arrive to Club Penguin on December 11th, just in time for Coins for Change. I will have a Rockhopper tracker up and running when Rockhopper arrives. Wonder what the new free item all be? What is your favorite thing about Rockhopper? Mine would have to be being able to meet him!

Can you guess which room i’m in?

He tells cool stories about him and Yarr! Once Rockhopper, Some other Penguins and myself all had to play “Find Yarr” where we had to find Yarr! It was so cool! We searched all around the island for him, eventually we found him at the Pizza Parlor. Tell me any stories you have had with Rockhopper or any other famous penguins!

~Jamie~

The economy is hitting hard when it comes to charitable donations, especially during the holiday season. Donations at local food banks are down significantly and that has many people worried. For more on this story, BU10’s Grant Mukaï is live in Boston.