charity Archives - MomStart

Celebrating Nurses with Gifts: Pampers Thank You Nurses

May 10, 2017 by Momstart 35 Comments

This is a sponsored post with Pampers. Momstart is a Pampers Baby Board Member

Thank you so much guys for helping us nominate nurses for the Pampers Thank You Nurses program. Remember back in January when I shared my daughter’s birth story, we also asked all of you to nominate a nurse to be recognized by Pampers? In collaboration with the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) and the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN), Pampers selected three nurses for the second annual Pampers Swaddlers Thank You Nurses Awards out of more than 3000 Labor & Delivery nurses, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit nurses and Postpartum nurse nominations from around the country. The nominations were heartwarming, beautiful, and inspiring. It was a difficult decision, but the panel has chosen a winner for each of the three categories: Laurie Milliken (Labor & Delivery), Elizabeth Giambrone (NICU), and Billie Warren (Postpartum).

I’m really excited because I also get to brighten the day of nurses in my community. Nurses play an essential role in facilitation relationships between newborns and their parents and I’m grateful to the nurses that helped me. I’m really fond of NICU nurses because my nephew was born two months ago and he was over a month early. I know the nurses were there for him and my sister.

Pampers gave me a stipend to celebrate the nurses at a hospital of my choice. I chose the same hospital where my children were born. Now I had no idea how many nurses work at my hospital. I called the NICU and asked how many nurses work just in the NICU and they have 87 nurses that rotate and they have 12 nurses on each shift. WOW!

I wanted to do something for each and every one of them so I purchased a TON of chocolate.

My daughter and I went to a local chocolate store and we bought boxes and boxes of different chocolate. We purchased sugar free, nut free and one of almost everything in the store. We also purchased some drinks, and crackers in case there are a few that don’t like chocolate. I was told that many times that people do something nice for the nurses they only do one shift and often times the night shift is forgotten. My daughter and I created some thank you gifts that I think they will really like. We’re stealing from a friend of mine (Summer, she also contributes here at MomStart). She is running off the Unicorn Frappachino craze. We made these.

Each cup has tissue paper representing the fun colors of unicorns. Then there is a cookie straw, with a gift card and a little note saying how much we appreciate how the nurses are daily using their gifts to make a difference.

We made 25 of these, 12 for the first shift, 12 for the second shift and one for the nurse manager.

I’m so thankful to Pampers for making it possible for us to work in our community and bring extra smiles to these NICU nurses!

Get Ready—Red Nose Day Returns May 25

April 17, 2017 by Momstart Leave a Comment

Red Nose Day USA, the non-profit fundraiser that’s working to end child poverty in the U.S. and abroad is getting ready for their return on May 25th. They have been working in the U.S. since 2015 and Red Nose Day has raised over $60 million. This money is granted to nonprofit partners running programs across the country that keep children and young people safe, healthy, and educated.

The festivities kick off today (Noses On!) and people across the country can visit their local Walgreens and Duane Reade to purchase an iconic Red Nose or take on an entertaining initiative of their own to support the campaign’s mission. This year, Red Nose Day will occur on May 25^th and NBC will air a primetime special dedicated to the cause, including an exclusive mini-sequel to the family favorite Love Actually!!

The Red Nose Day site has some great examples of how you can get involved. They have an amazing group of partners to aid in their cause to end child poverty. Below are just a few examples:

Boys & Girls Clubs of America: Fund 850 10-week summer camp programs to combat learning and nutrition loss among low-income youth.
Feeding America: Support child hunger initiatives at all of Feeding America’s 200 member food banks, serving every state and county in the US – and providing more than 10M meals to children at risk of hunger.
Children’s Health Fund: Deliver essential health services to thousands of vulnerable children in 14 states and DC who lack access to high-quality primary and preventive care.
Save The Children: Improve education outcomes for young children through impactful early childhood development programs in four key US states. (Early Head Start, Head Start, Early Steps to School Success.)

Have A School Fundraiser at Chuck E. Cheese

January 25, 2017 by Momstart Leave a Comment

Plan your Fundraisers and Fundraising Events @ Chuck E. Cheese’s.

Chuck E. Cheese’s Fundraising is extremely an turn-key option for raising money for your children’s school.
Kids LOVE Chuck E. Cheese’s. Fundraisers at Chuck E. Cheese’s won’t feel like the average “fundraiser” because the whole family will be having a blast at Chuck E. Cheese’s!
Chuck E. Cheese’s has donated over $14 million to schools and non-profits through fundraisers.
Register today to learn how your school can host a Chuck E. Cheese’s Fundraising event!

Giving The Gift of Sleep to a Deserving Foster Family #PeaceonEarth

December 19, 2016 by Beeb 32 Comments

Thank you to Pampers for generously donating a gift card to provide the gift of sleep! MomStart is a Pampers Baby Board member, and all opinions are our own.

The holiday season is a time of good cheer, sharing, and giving; a time to tell people what their presence means to us. That’s why every year, Pampers enlists the members of its Baby Board to become “Pampers Elves”, providing a gift card to pay it forward to a deserving family. I’ve participated in this project once before, and I was privileged to have the opportunity to do it again this year.

Pampers provided me with a $500 American Express gift card to give the gift of peaceful sleep to someone with a baby in need – be it a family, charity, or other community organization that helps infants. It was up to me who I chose and how I spent it, and I knew instantly the perfect recipient: My cousin, Shelby. Not only are she and her husband Luke active in their church community and busy parents of their 3-year-old son Judah, but this year, they also decided to become a foster family. I’ve been so impressed with how they’ve opened their home and hearts to foster children, and couldn’t think of a better place to put this gift to use!

Did you know that in Oregon alone, 11,238 children spent at least one day in some kind of foster care in 2015? Although there are a variety of complex factors as to why this happens, the top reasons for entering foster care include neglect and parental drug abuse. For kids in stable homes, the Christmas season means getting excited for gifts, Santa, and family fun; but sadly, there are many children in our community who do not even have their basic needs provided to them.

To answer this need, Shelby and Luke became foster parents and started providing emergency respite care. When children are removed from a situation that is immediately dangerous – for example, abuse is occurring, or a parent is arrested – emergency respite care is arranged for a day or two while the state assesses the situation and determines placement. Respite care is also used as babysitting for families who need a break. There is an extreme lack of respite care options in Oregon at the moment, which has resulted in children spending the night in DHS offices or even in hotels. Shelby’s family is doing what they can to help these kids and provide some sense of safety and comfort in an unfathomably tumultuous situation.

In addition to providing a temporary safe haven for children through respite care, Shelby’s family also takes in longer-term placements. Earlier this summer, they took care of a child for many months who was then successfully reunited with their mother. 56.1% of children leaving foster care were reunited with their families in 2015, so the idea is to show compassion and give hope to, ideally, fix the issues in the home to make it safe for the child to return.

When I reached out to Shelby to tell her about my project, she told me that it was perfect timing because they had just gotten a new foster baby the day before – talk about serendipity! Their family had just moved into a new home over the summer, so I told her to make a list of some things they might need around the house to rest easier, and we made a date to go shopping together so she could pick out exactly what she needed.

We had a fun family day out planned to grab lunch, hang out, and do some shopping. I piled in the car with Shelby, Judah, and her newborn foster baby, a sweet little girl. We were joined by Shelby’s stepmom, brother, and his girlfriend, and it was so much fun! This was the first time I’d seen Shelby’s new home, so we took a look around and brainstormed some ideas for what to get at the store.

Shopping with Shelby! Photo by Kim.

First, we stopped at the local Grocery Outlet to pick up a mattress topper to make Shelby’s bed more comfortable. We also picked up a set of cube organizer shelves, so that Judah would have a nightstand in his bedroom.

Judah helps us shop!

Next up, we went to Target to do some serious shopping! First, we stocked up on Pampers diapers and wipes – as you can imagine, the family goes through a lot of those, and Shelby told me she loved Pampers because she finds they never leak. That definitely helps the whole family rest easier!

Our next pick was a Baby Brezza Formula Pro. I would liken this machine to a Keurig for infants, because it automatically mixes and heats a perfect bottle every time. In Shelby’s home, the crib is next to her bed upstairs, so when she and her husband get up in the night to feed the baby, they have to walk down a long set of stairs and wind through the house to the kitchen. Inevitably, they end up making this trek several times a night to re-heat water for the bottles. She is going to put this Formula Pro in their bedroom to eliminate walking all over the house and fumbling with bottles in the dark. This is going to help everyone sleep better!

Another item we picked up to help with those nighttime feedings was an adjustable lamp to put by their bed. We picked out a lamp with three bulbs that can be aimed to provide soft, unobtrusive light. This way, they can see what they’re doing in the night without blasting everyone with the overhead light and making it harder to go to sleep. Shelby also mentioned that many of the foster children that have come to her home actually prefer to sleep with lights on, so a soft lamp can provide some peace of mind and make it easier to rest.

Picking out lamps in Target

Shelby is used to focusing all her shopping and attention on the kids, so I insisted that she pick up some cozy pajama pants and slippers for herself. She said she felt almost guilty getting all of these things, since she’s not used to “Splurging” on herself – which is exactly why she deserves it so much!

Once we got home, we set the items under the tree and thanked Pampers for the wonderful holiday gift they had enabled by providing this shopping trip!

Photo by Chara Renee Photography

Then we unpacked the shopping haul and got the new furniture set up!

Cozy new bedroom with soft lamp, mattress topper and jammies!

Judah’s room – the crates will be replaced now that he has a new nightstand!

Judah puts away the diapers

Our whole family is so grateful to Pampers for their generosity in this project. Getting the chance to be a “Pampers Elf” and take Shelby shopping with the gift card they provided was the most fun Christmas memory for all of us! Everything we picked out will be a incredible help to help everyone get a better night’s sleep – from cozy and practical items to help these busy foster parents sleep a little more easily, to diapers to keep their children drier overnight, to lamps and formula makers to help give their foster children comfort and peace during their moment of need. People like Shelby and Luke make the world a better place for children, and I truly thank Pampers for helping them in their important mission!

Shelby and the kids

Click here for more resources and information on foster care in Oregon. If you’d like to help a foster child but don’t know any foster families personally, you can create a Welcome Box for a foster child to be distributed by Embrace Oregon. Thank you again to Pampers for supporting this important cause!

Support St. Jude With The Giving Hat #GivingTuesday

November 29, 2016 by Beeb Leave a Comment

Hats gifted to me as a surprise to spread the word and pay forward!

This Giving Tuesday, pick up The Giving Hat as a fun holiday stocking stuffer for just $5, and support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at the same time! This hat is part of a wonderful line of items created as a partnership between Kmart and St. Jude. For every hat sold through December 31st, $1 will be donated to St. Jude with a minimum guaranteed donation of $50,000.

Touring St. Jude in person was an experience I’ll remember for the rest of my life, and I am proud to be a supporter of this incredible organization. I can’t wait to give these wonderful beanies as Christmas gifts, they are so cute and bear a great message in support of St. Jude! Get yours today at Kmart.

Say Goodnight To Hunger #GivingTuesday

November 28, 2016 by Momstart 1 Comment

We love sharing things for brands that give back to the community. For #GivingTuesday, Omni Hotels & Resorts is reminding charitable donors that they can effortlessly give back this season by simply booking their holiday travel. Through Omni’s Say Goodnight to Hunger campaign, the company makes a donation to Feeding America^® for every online booking at omnihotels.com to help provide a family of four dinner for an entire week.*

As of this day (Nov. 11, 2016), the luxury brand has provided nearly five million meals toward its goal of helping Feeding America provide more than 18.2 million meals each year for food banks to feed kids, families and seniors in communities across the United States.

For more information here: https://www.omnihotels.com/about-omni-hotels/say-goodnight-to-hunger

Buy A Pair of Carter’s PJS Give A Pair of PJS #carterssweetdreams #GivingTuesday

November 27, 2016 by Momstart 20 Comments

This is a partnered post where all opinions are our own.

We’ve been fans of Carter’s clothing and PJ’s forever, they are one of my favorite brands for kids. When my kids were babies they were in Carter’s all the time. As they grew up we stayed loyal the the brand continuing to have them in clothes from there. Their PJ’s are always comfortable and adorable. They keep my kids looking age appropriate which I LOVE. Plus I love how they are giving this holiday season. When you buy one pair of pjs at any Carter’s retail store or at Carters.com, Carter’s will donate a pair to the Pajamas Program. They will donate up to 100,000 pairs. So you have the opportunity to give more sweet dreams to children in need and more jammies for every little one! YEAH! #carterssweetdreams

We usually have PJs for the kids from Carter’s but this last summer they both grew three inches so I had to go to the local Carters and pick up some more pjs for my kids when I heard they were giving a pair for every pair purchased. Here’s Zoe in her look.

And Miles in his look..

My daughter and I decided to go check out the entire selection of Carter’s PJ’s at our local Carters store. She had a blast looking at all the different styles. I loved the selection and wished that my two littles would stop growing because I want them to be able to wear Carter’s forever.

Our Carter’s even has a collection bin at our local store for you to put pj’s in if you want to donate extra pairs.

Go Out and Buy A Pair to Give a Pair on Giving Tuesday!

Help Eradicate Cancer with The Aflac Balloonicle and Duckprints #Duckprints #AD

November 23, 2016 by Momstart 31 Comments

This post is sponsored by Aflac. I was compensated for writing it, but all opinions are 100% mine.

I love this time of year and one of our favorite activities is looking at all the parade floats for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. One year we all had the opportunity to preview the floats and try on some of the costumes. I love the creativity that goes into the entire parade. This year marks the 90^th anniversary of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and it is the Aflac Duck’s sixth year as a part of the festivities.

The Aflac balloonicle features the Duck skating into town, complete with a blue hat and scarf. A balloonicle is a combination balloon and self-propelled vehicle, so there are no strings tying the duck down. The Aflac balloonicle is one of only three balloonicles in this year’s parade.

Aflac has passionately supported the fight against childhood cancer for more than 20 years and this year we can help through its #Duckprints campaign. Aflac has created an online game, “Build Your Own Ballonicle,” where we can create our own Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloonicle, featuring the beloved Aflac Duck. Every game experience shared on social media with #Duckprints will generate a $2 donation toward children’s cancer (up to $1.5 million). You can also get involved in the fight against childhood cancer any time of year by simply taking to social media and using the hashtag #Duckprints. For any Duckprints-related social media activity, Aflac will donate $2 to the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, in support of childhood cancer treatment and research (up to $1.5 million).

Visit www.aflac.com/parade today to build your own balloonicle! Let’s do our part and help in eradicating childhood cancer.

In addition to being a partner of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, this is the 16^th year that Aflac and Macy’s have teamed up to offer a festive holiday plush of the Aflac Duck, with 250 Macy’s stores participating across the country. The net proceeds from each plush Holiday Duck sold are donated to the participating children’s cancer facility nearest to where it is purchased. To date, Aflac has raised over $3 million through the Holiday Duck program.

This year, Aflac introduced Duckchat, an Aflac app where you can get custom Aflac Duck emojis and GIFs. The app can be downloaded on either the Apple iTunes App Store or the Google Play Store. Aflac will also donate $2 (up to $1.5 million) with each download of Duckchat.

So there are many ways to help raise money for childhood cancer.

FOLLOW ALONG SOCIALLY:

Follow the Aflac Duck on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@AflacDuck) or visit www.aflacduckprints.com for more information.

To find out more about Aflac, visit www.aflac.com.

Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus and American Family Life Assurance Company of New York.

Z161288C 11/16.

Children are Victorious at Victory Junction! #VictoryJunction #ad

September 27, 2016 by Beeb 8 Comments

This is a partnered post.

Every child deserves the chance to play and have fun. Unfortunately, for children with chronic medical conditions, this isn’t always possible. And that’s why Victory Junction was founded: To give every child that chance to be a kid, no matter what their circumstances may be. This non-profit provides camp experiences to seriously ill children at no cost to their families. Victory Junction is a part of the SeriousFun Children’s Network, a worldwide network of camps for children with serious medical conditions that was founded by Paul Newman in 1988.

The Best Week of Their Life from Victory Junction on Vimeo.

Victory Junction was founded in memory of Adam Petty, a fourth-generation NASCAR driver who lost his life at 19 years old. Adam had visited a SeriousFun camp in Florida with his dad, Kyle Petty, and the experience moved him so much that he dreamed of opening a camp in his home of North Carolina. Adam began to develop plans for the camp and save money towards his goal, but tragically, passed away only one year later. The Petty family decided to honor Adam’s life and legacy by making his dream a reality, opening Victory Junction in 2004.

Based in Randleman, North Carolina, Victory Junction is a NASCAR-themed camp situated on 84 acres and offers a plethora of fun activities in a safe and medically-sound environment. Campers aged 6 to 16 can make new friends and enjoy things like a water park, horseback riding, arts and crafts, mini golf, zip lining, and so much more.

I was diagnosed a few months ago and this was the first time I was able to forget about my illness.” -Emma, 16

Victory Junction provides a huge morale boost for children facing serious medical conditions. Some of the illness served include neurological disorders, cancer, Cerebral Palsy, Sickle Cell Disease, gastrointestinal disorders, physical disabilities, lung disease, and Diabetes. Children dealing with chronic illnesses find themselves facing very serious, adult situations on a day-to-day basis, so Victory Junction gives them the opportunity to not only get a break, but also to experience new things that boost their confidence. The Yale Child Study Center has partnered with the SeriousFun Children’s Network over the last 5 years to study the long term impact of the camp experience, and the findings showed that 74% of campers reported an increase in independence, with 64% reporting an increased sense of belonging, not to mention 77% reporting increased self-esteem. These children not only get to have the fun they so deserve while they’re at Victory Junction, but also improve their quality of life afterwards.

Since opening its doors, Victory Junction has served more than 22,000 campers. This wonderful 501(c)(3) not for profit charity is supported by donations in order to bring this experience to children with no cost to them or their families. To learn more, please visit VictoryJunction.org/About and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Fundraising Ideas for Schools That Want to Have Fun and Make a Difference

September 6, 2016 by Momstart 19 Comments

By: Wayne Elsey

Fundraising ideas can be a lot of fun. You don’t believe me? Well, I’m here to tell you that I’ve been in your shoes. I’ve had to sell candy and cookie dough. When my daughter was young, I happened to be in sales in the footwear business. Let me tell you something, I didn’t want to do it – and I knew how to sell!

My life was destined to change. And, ultimately I had the chance to help thousands of schools, youth groups, boosters, music bands and others. My journey started the day of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. I saw a single shoe wash ashore on the television news. That single shoe and the life it represented haunted me.

It’s been more than a decade since that natural disaster, and others. In that time, I’ve led efforts that have shipped over 17 million pairs of shoes to disaster areas and developing nations. I found my calling.

All those experiences taught me something. I learned from my daughter’s schools and clubs that there was a need for creative fundraising ideas. And later when I became a global philanthropist, I learned about “donor fatigue.” I came to understand that people wanted to support a good cause, but it had to go beyond being asking for money over and over again.

All those lessons are the ones I’ve poured into Funds2Orgs with my dedicated team of professionals. We live and breathe shoe drive fundraisers – each day. And, it’s our commitment to excellence and service that’s helped us earn an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. You don’t have to take my word for it. Please check out what others have to say about us.

Our shoe drive fundraisers have helped thousands of schools and youth groups raise money. All they’ve had to do is collect gently worn, used and new shoes. The formula is simple: More shoes = More money. We issue a check with 24 hours of the shoes being received and processed at the Funds2Orgs depot.

I’ve been in the philanthropic sector for a long time. I know how cash-strapped many organizations are, and that’s why I made sure there were no out-of-pocket costs with our shoe drive. I also know we’re the shoe drive experts, so we made sure to give everything necessary for success.

Ø A team of fundraising coaches to work with you from start to finish.

Ø The shoe collection, marketing and promotion materials.

Ø Pick up of the shoes from your location.

Ø A check issued by us within 48 business hours of processing the shoes.

Our team at Funds2Orgs operates on three core principles that help shape our work.

1. Our shoe drive fundraiser is a creative way to help our partners raise money and engage people. We believe when schools and others partner with us that they’re joining our shoe drive movement.

2. In the years since I started, I learned micro-entrepreneurs (small business owners) all over the world want a hand-up out of poverty. Charity is good, but the need is so much deeper. We provide a solution for them out of poverty.

3. A shoe drive helps all our communities be socially responsible. Over 600 million shoes are discarded in landfills. That’s only in the United States. We have to do better for the sake of future generations. Our shoe drive fundraisers are a start.

Do you think the time is right to spend a few minutes to see what our creative fundraising ideas from Funds2Orgs are all about?