Do you ever find yourself frustrated that the charities that you give to keep a huge portion of your donation to themselves to cover “overhead” costs?  I know I feel that way a lot, so when I come across a charity that gives 100% of your donation to the kids, I want to scream about it from the rooftops.

This is where the Child Foundation Charity comes in.  They are foundation that helps children with physical birth defects get the surgeries they need to look normal again.  They help children from all over the world.  Each one of these surgeries costs around $30,000, and some children need multiple surgeries to fix their birth defects.  As a mother of two little ones, my heart certainly goes out to these children. I remember how cruel children can be to one another and even how society can be towards you if you look different.

Now, I said that 100% of your donation goes to the kids.  It does.  They have a donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, who covers the operating costs of this charity.  Every cent you donate goes towards these kids surgeries’.  For me, that is huge.  You can directly help a child.  Granted, most of us do not have the $30,000 to help with the surgery, but a little here and there can definitely add up.  You can even see some of the kids they have helped and those still waiting for surgeries.  When you read their stories and look at their pictures, I can’t help but tear up.  This could very easily be one of my children needing this.  I am just happy that there are charities out there willing to help these children.  If their stories touch your heart, you can even send these kids an e-card to help brighten their spirits. Now, if you know some one who is in need of this, please send them their way.  Their motto is “giving children worldwide the quality of life every child deserves”.

The Child Foundation Charity was founded in January of 2007.  Up until now, they have been able to help 6 children live a normal life.  Their goal?  They would love to be able to help 10 - 15 kids a year!  However, they need help from you to be able to do this.  If you would like to donate, they have a page set up to walk you through the process (you can even use Paypal!).  Another way you can help is to post about this charity and get the word out.  The more people who know about this, the better!  A third way you can help is if you are in the Miami area.  They are having an inaugural fundraising event on September 27, 2008 at The Rusty Pelican in Key Biscayne, Florida. It starts at 7 pm and includes complimentary cocktails provided by Bacardi. Afterwards, you will enjoy the house specialty of filet mignon and lobster, followed by a night of dancing to a live band, and a silent and live auction.  The ticket prices are $125 per person or $1,000 for a table of 10. Lastly, you help by donating to the above event by donating items to be used for the live and silent auctions, by purchasing an ad in the Event Program for the night, and donating promotional or sample items from your company to be included in the gift bags for our guests. As you can see, there are so many things you can do to help!

I know this ended up being a really long post, but there were so many important things to tell you.  Let me sum it all up for you.  If you want to help kids with physical birth defects live a normal life and have 100% of your donation go towards their surgeries, then the Child Foundation Charity is for you!

As many of you may know, the Alzheimer Association is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. I know too many people that have had such a horrible disease. It truly steals who you are right out from underneath you. My mom figures that her dad (my grandfather) had it. I have several great aunt and uncles that have had it also. More recently, Bill’s grandmother had it. Bill and I have been together 12 years, and I never got to know her before she got Alzheimer’s. She passed away about a year or so ago, but I missed out on meeting one remarkable lady. She was blind; yet, she didn’t let it stop her. She had 5 children and she ran the Chicago division of the Guild For The Blind. She wrote many books too. I also have an uncle now that they aren’t sure if it’s Alzheimer’s or dementia that he has. His kids (my cousins) had to put him in a nursing home since he can no longer stay by himself. As you can see, this is a disease that certainly has hit close to home here.

Again, this year, the Alzheimer’s Association will be having their Memory Walk. This is the nation’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research. They are putting the call out for people to walk and be team captains this year. The Alzheimer’s Memory Walk should be taking place in the fall somewhere close to you (they have walks scheduled all over the nation — 600 communities total). The walk is about 2-3 miles.

Please consider being a captain or a walker for such a great cause. If you are unable to do that, please consider donating to a walker who is walking for such a great cause!

Now, if he can bust a move, so can you! Snuggle and So You Think You Can Dance have partnered up together to offer an awesome contest.  All you have to do is submit your video showing your Happy Dance moves. Basically, they want you to show the nation how the freshness of Snuggle just makes you want to jump around and dance. Now, during the results episodes on Thursdays, you can watch viewers showing off their very own Happy Dances.  Not only can your video be shown nationwide, you could also win a trip to Los Angeles to see the So You Think You Can Dance finale!  Who wouldn’t like to be a part of this?

Now, if you think you are going to look silly, watch this video:

Don’t you feel better now? I want to see your video on there sometime this season. Good luck and happy dancing!

“The opinions expressed on this site are those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by FOX, 19, Dick Clark Productions, or Snuggle”

If you kill a spider in the bathtub, please wash it down the drain. I don’t like a morning surprise when I go to climb into the shower. You know I am deathly afraid of spiders. This goes for the sinks too.

Thank you!

Lisa

(Can you guess what happened at my house this morning?  Anybody else afraid of creapy crawlies in their tub?)