Volunteer Match

Did you know that there is a website that will match volunteers to their criteria listed? Simply go to www.volunteermatch.org, put in your information and hundreds of opportunities will come up for you volunteer at. It is amazing!

Tomorrow I start collecting shoes for Haiti victims. Did you know that children in Haiti cannot attend school without a pair of shoes? If you are interested in helping me in the cause, please feel free to ship your shoes to me or check out my last blog.

Thanks for listening!

Sheryl

Soles 4 Souls

Today I went into my DVR and began watching Extreme Home Makeover. Beside the fact that I cry every week when I watch that show, this week was especially touching for me. The mom Delores is one heck of a woman! I don't understand how people let their houses get like that but Delores was not only attempting to fix up her house but also other houses in the community. This is a woman who really cared about others just as much as herself and her family.

Delores grew up in Jamaica and had to walk 8 miles to school every day with no shoes. So this week on Extreme Home Makeover a group called Soles 4 Souls came in and basically what they do is collect shoes and send them around the world to those in need. I went to their website www.soles4souls.org and found out that they have donated over 7 million pairs of shoes to date. Also on the website you can find local stores in your area that participate, you can donate, fundraise and even volunteer to travel with them to hand shoes out!

It is amazing what we take for granted each and every day. Check out this site and see what you can do to help!

Thanks for listening!

Sheryl

More ways to HELP HAITI

If you are interested in donating money to the victims, you can do so in several different ways:
1. Text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross which is also aiding in the efforts.
2. Obviously if you are aware of any charities sending money to the victims, these would work as well.

Here is a long list of organizations participating in Haiti as of right now, so if you have the money to spare, please give what you can to help these people.http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/01/13/haiti.earthquake.how.to.help/index.html?hpt=T2

UPDATE: Actor Ben Stiller has just announced that ALL donations given through his charity StillerStrong (http://www.stillerstrong.org/) will go directly toward the disaster relief in Haiti. This is just another excellent way to show your support for the Haitian people.

IMPORTANT: If you are searching for relatives or friends who may have been in Haiti at the time of the earthquake, go to http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/WFL_HTI.NSF/DocIndex/locate_eng?opendocument. It is an excellent site that hopefully will reunite you with anyone that may be missing.

I would just like to take this chance to explain some things that I've been noticing in the wall posts. This event is in absolutely no way limited to just wearing red as a show of support. In fact, I would encourage EVERYONE to donate, no matter how much or how little they can manage. Obviously only wearing red is going to send no tangible help to the citizens of Haiti, but what it WILL do is draw more attention to the cause, hopefully ultimately resulting in greater donations to the disaster relief. Will wearing red solve this crisis? No. But directing a greater scope of attention to the situation is extremely important, and THAT is the core purpose of this event.

Ways to HELP HAITI

While we all have to be careful not to give to the wrong group, we still want to be able to help out. During times of tragedy, some people see a "light" and take advantage of the situation. I have done research and here are some legit groups and ways to HELP HAITI.

* American Airlines is taking doctors and nurses to Haiti for FREE. Please call 212-697-9767

* Through the Red Cross you can text "HAITI" to "90999" to automatically donate $10

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/1-million-in-donations-for-haiti-via-text-message/?ref=technology

* Donate for FREE each time you search the web

http://www.goodsearch.com/nonprofit/amer-haitian-bon-zami.aspx

* Send items to Haiti

http://www.ahbz.org/donate.php

* St. Louis Peeps

http://www.umocm.com/festival.htm

Thin Mints for Soldiers

Another way to support the Girl Scouts in our lives and the Soldiers who are fighting for our lives. A friend of mine was in the Navy and she sent me this, "Operation Thin Mint is great as well. When I was in the Navy they sent a box of Girl Scout Cookies to every single person in our Battle Group (about 7000 people). It was one of the greatest day ever! I still remember savoring my box of Tagalongs. Here's the link...http://www.facebook.com/l/70484;www.sdgirlscouts.org/operation-thin-mint/

Let's do it and help them out!

Thanks for listening!

Sheryl

Stock Food Shelves

Here is a really simple way to help and it only takes 5 seconds: KARE 11 & Land O'Lakes are donating $1 for every person who clicks on their web site. Go to the website listed below and on the right side of the screen there is the green area where it says: You Click, We donate. It's that easy. Please pass to all of your friends. 1 in 8 Americans is struggling with hunger. You are already on the computer, so just do it! We know that the food shelves are really hurting this year. Click on the green box in upper right hand side! http://www.landolakesinc.com/company/corporateresponsibility/foundation/

Thanks for listening!

Sheryl

Girl Scout Cookies

I received an email from a very good friend of mine the other day letting me know that her daughter is selling Girl Scout Cookies. Is it that time of year already? Of course I am willing to support others, after all I was a Girl Scout myself, however I really don't want those cookies in my house. First of all, it is the new year and a lot of people have make resolutions to eat better. Secondly, I have been working very hard for the last year and a half to lose weight and get in shape. And I have conquered that. So I simply told her that I would send her a check for some cookies but they are to stay there with her and be for her kids. After a bit she sent me a message. She learned that there are many people out there like me. So what her daughter's troop is doing, is giving the purchased and unwanted cookies to a local nursing home.

I encourage you this year to support the Girl Scouts. Ask them if they have a program like this and if not, put one together. It would only take a few moments to set it up. This way the Girl Scouts win, the recipients of the cookies win, and you win for not eating them while you are on your resolution. Although I must say, she is only the first of many that I know I am going to have to dodge and pass up those Thin Mints! Dang those Thin Mints! (fists in the air)

Thanks for listening!

Sheryl