If you are a regular reader here, you will know that I am working with Champions For Kids to make kids lives better in my area. At Christmas time, I worked with them to create a stocking full of Disney products. Now, I am working with them and Abbott Nutrition to help those who don’t have enough foods.

The charity I choose to donate a Snack Pack to was the Catholic Charities here in Chicago.  The food pantries in the southwest suburbs of Chicago serve approximately 2,800 people a month (and this is 2010 – 2011 statistic. I can guarantee that it is much worse now.) The supper programs that Catholic Charities serve gave away more than 9,000 hot meals in the southwest suburbs. The Catholic Charities summer lunch program provided 282,000 meals to children that summer.  Since the economy tanked, the need for this food pantry didn’t double – it tripled!  It just makes me ill that there are people in my own community that are food poor.

Here is my shop for this campaign and what we were able to buy and donate to Catholic Charities:

As you can see, we were able to put together a pretty good assortment of snacks to donate. Catholic Charities was also very grateful for our donation (Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take any pictures of them. They just allowed me take a picture of their food pantry). I just wish I could have done more. What are you doing for your community?

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias

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As our kids head back to school this month, we find ourselves shopping for new school supplies.  I luck out that I can order them directly from Madison’s school, so I’ve actually had Madison’s supplies since May.  That being said, not everybody can afford to get their kids the school supplies they need.  A lot of school’s list require you to spend a lot of money, and in this economy, not everybody has that (especially if you have more than one kid).  That is why I am both happy and proud to be part of the Bag It Forward with Elmer’s.  All you have to do is pick up an extra bag of school supplies and donate it locally in your community.  Yes, it is that easy.  This is the shopping trip I took:

The charity we choose is the Apple Tree Program. It is run by the Worth Township, and these supplies go to kids who live in my township. The second reason we choose this program is that my kids go to camp, and Madison went to preschool here. I know the women who run the program, and it really helps kids in my area.  You can pick any program or just give some supplies to a child you know needs them.  You can upload photos of the items they Bagged Forward on http://www.bagitforward.org and see what others have donated.  We donated two bags — one for each of my kids.

Also, from July 25 through Sept. 1, for each “like” on the Elmer’s Facebook page, the company will donate a product to the Kids in Need Foundation’s national network of free stores, where teachers from disadvantaged schools can “shop” for free for school supplies. Products to be donated include a variety of glues, foam board, project supplies and pencil sharpeners. If you already like the page, they’ll make a contribution on your behalf, but you can donate again by watching a video on the Elmer’s Kids In Need Facebook tab and sharing it with your friends and family.

Elmer’s is also a Upromise partner and that every time you purchase an Elmer’s or Krazy Glue product with your registered drug or grocery card, a percentage of your purchase will be put into your Upromise account.  We picked up an Elmer’s Glue Pen, Elmer’s Disappearing Purple Glue Sticks, and School Glue.

Join us in the #BagItForward movement and give someone you know a bag of school supplies! Together we can make a difference.

This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Elmer’s #BagItForward #collectivebias.  All opinions are my own.

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Most of you probably don’t know that I attended college as a very non-traditional student. I went as a full time student for one year and the rest of the time I was going a variety of ways. I’ve done the community college thing, I’ve done the part time student thing, I’ve done the non-traditional weekend college thing. I’ve pretty much went to college any way you can think. (I’ve even taken online classes before anybody even offered online classes).

Since many online students are non-traditional students that favor a flexible school schedule, American Public University (APU) has stepped to the plate to allow these student to get a degree. APU offers classes on a monthly basis (versus semesters) with accelerated programs and flexible courses that enable students to earn degrees while balancing family and work demands. APU courses are 100% online, allowing students to obtain degrees from anywhere in the world – on their time, their schedules. They have over 100 online degrees and certificates in subjects ranging from homeland security to management and liberal arts to help students gain the knowledge and skills they need to advance their careers. APU’s tuition is among the lowest in the country for accredited online universities too:

• Undergraduate: $750 for a 3 credit course
• Graduate: $900 for a 3 credit course

They also allow you to transfer credit to them! If you are looking at going back to school, APU should be on your list of colleges to check out. I’ve gotten jobs just because I have a college degree (it sometimes doesn’t even matter what it’s in!). In this economy, a degree is a must and this is a great way to achieve that.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of American Public University. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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I had some great experiences shopping this year before and after the holidays.  Now, I am still not sure where there is a local TJ Maxx by me.  However, I did some shopping at the one in Wisconsin by my family after Christmas.  It is was just liked I remembered — great items for low prices.  With the economy the way it is, we all need to start shopping at places like this.  You get the same quality items — just at a way better price!

Now, the one of the best shopping experiences I had this holiday season was at Marshalls.  We had a holiday party to go to on December 20th.  Now, I personally hate shopping in the month of December, because well, it sucks.  However, my wonderful little girl outgrew her Christmas dress!  It fit at Thansgiving, and it looked like she grew 2 inches from then!  Instead of panicking, Madison and I headed over to Marshalls.  Now, this was high holiday shopping time, and I was impressed.  They had a great selection of kids clothes that were marked, so it was super easy to find what we needed.  The fitting rooms were clean and large enough for me to go in the room with Madison.  On the way to the fitting room, I found shoes.  I was able to try on about 20 different pairs that I liked.  I loved that they had the little foot stockings at the end of each aisle for you to use when you forgot to bring socks.   Being the weekend before Christmas, I was seriously concerned about checkout.  However, they had a great system going and every register was open.  (Nothing irritates me more when you go to a store that is really busy and they only have one or two registers open, and they don’t open any more).  We had a great experience on Marshalls, and I will definitely be going there for more presents and items for my kids.

What are your favorite places to shop and why?

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Does your home feel like a circus too?  I know mine does.  There are many changes I am hoping to do in 2009 that will make it even less of a zoo here.  First, I am hoping to become more organized.  Right now, we have paperwork from one end of the house to the other.  Instead of just stacking it and then filing it when I am good and ready, my goal is to actually file it right away.  Then I don’t have to worry about losing it.  Next, I am hoping to save more.  This will be interesting and hard.  With Bill’s new car and possible school tutition for Madison, that may wipe us clean in a crappy economy.  However, we’ve made it this far. I already cut coupons and if need be, we will start cutting the extras like cable and my daily newspaper.  However, I am keeping my hopes and I think 2009 will be a great year!

What are your plans to make your life less of a circus in 2009?

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