Decibels Foundation

This a great idea...it gets kids to do something fun and helps benefit a great charity. They pledge to wear the same shirt everyday for a week if they hit their pledge goal for the charity. This one benefits the Decibels Foundation, a charity that helps babies with hearing loss issues. 

The link is to help the daughter of an old college friend...please donate a few $$$!!!!

http://www.stayclassy.org/fundraise?fcid=234104

First Book

Anyone who knows me, knows I am a book junkie...can't have enough. They are an amazing resource not only for information, but to foster creativity, imagination and thought. Kids need books to help them develop these skills. This charity focuses on working with publishers to make books available to children in need.

http://www.firstbook.org/

Surfers Against Sewage

Having gotten sick many times from surfing in polluted runoff at surf spots around the world, I have been a big fan of Surfers Against Sewage. They are working hard to wage a war against coastal pollution and damn near anything else that threatens our coasts.

http://www.sas.org.uk/

A Liter Of Light

Useful, green, sustainable...all the things a good charity should be. This charity utilizes a .5 liter plastic bottle, water, and chlorine to create a 55 watt solar bulb.. The minds at MIT came up with it. Check it out...very cool.

http://aliteroflight.org/

Donors Choose - Teacher's "Kickstarter"

When the kids started school, it became very apparent that the teachers had very little resources for the materials they needed to do the best job possible educating the kids. Over the years I have heard countless stories about teachers spending their own money to out fit their classrooms.

This charity is kind of like a "Kickstarter" to help fund teachers needs.

 DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Public school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project requests on our site, and you can give any amount to the project that most inspires you.

Pick a project and help out!!

http://www.donorschoose.org/

National Parks Conservation Association

Now that the kids are a bit older, we have been talking more and more about visiting some of the national parks...I could not be more excited, as I have not been to as many as I would have liked to by now. These are truly national treasures, and as more and more open space becomes absorbed, they become even more so. Seeing the coyotes moving through the marsh this AM made me think about all the things we might see...

Help out if you can.

http://www.npca.org/

Springwire - Community Voice mail project

I like the idea behind this...helping homeless people stay connected with the support and family they need. It helps people without the means to afford communication to have a way to be reachable and accessible. 

Check it out.

http://www.cvm.org/

The Pajama Program

One thing my kids love to do is read and curl up in their pj's...especially in the cold winter months. This charity provides pajamas and books to needy children, so they can do the same. Great idea.

http://pajamaprogram.org/WordPress/

The Critter Connection

This one may seem a little odd to some, but I was amazed to find out what an issue it really is. I think a lot of times, all the focus is on the larger, cuter, more humanly connected animals. I know that when I grew up, there was always a guinea pig or hamster around, being babysat by one kid or another for a week or so...but where did these things end up?

This charity helps put some focus on these furry guys (and gals)...take a few minutes and have a look.

http://www.ctguineapigrescue.org/

Getting Back on Track...

Not sure if all that many folks are paying attention, but I'm sorry for the serious lack of posts lately. It amazes me how time can get away from you. That being said, I am going to work hard on getting caught up, and stay diligent to get this done daily.

Thanks!!!

Lucy's Love Bus

A really great guy I work with turned me on to this charity, which his daughter is involved in. It helps children with cancer deal with the pain of taking the cancer drugs. It's a grassroots effort, and my friends daughter is trying to raise $550 to help out...she is doing a 33 mile bike ride in Boston. Please check it out.

Here's a blurb from their site:

Lucy's Love Bus is a non-profit organization that provides comfort to children with Cancer through integrative therapies. Millions of dollars are donated to Cancer research each year with only 3% funding pediatric research. With such little money, drugs are often experimental and toxic. These leave harsh affects that no medicine is able to fix. To relieve the pain from these drugs, children with Cancer seek help in integrative therapies; Acupuncture, Massage Therapy, Reiki, Equine Therapy, and much more. These therapies are very costly for families who are also trying to pay hospital bills. That is why we write $1,000 grants, which can cover a year of therapy. Here is a testimonial from 11 year old Stacy Lacroix, who is currently battling Leukemia. Her only Christmas wish this year was for people to make donations to Lucy's Love Bus...

http://www.lucyslovebus.org/