Share a Photo of Something Good for Charity to Support Proper Eye Care for Children! (#EyeSawGood #MC)

I participated in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Alcon. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating. All opinions expressed are my own.

I got my first pair of glasses when I was 9 years old and my husband got his when he was 6.  Now two of our three children wear glasses at the ages of 6 and 9.  We are lucky that our children's school administers eye exams because, unless a child is squinting often during class, any vision problems can easily be overlooked.  Our 6 year old son already struggles with learning, so it was imperative that we not add unclear vision to his list of obstacles.  I know first hand how costly it is to buy glasses for children, especially when you need to keep one pair at home and one pair at school.  I shudder to think how many families are unable to provide proper eye care for their children even after a vision problem has been identified.

Through Alcon's #EyeSawGood campaign, you can help to raise up to $50,000 to go towards providing eye exams and glasses to children of families in need across the United States.  All you need to do is share a photo of something you deem as good on Twitter using the hashtag #EyeSawGood to prompt a $1 donation from Alcon to this worthy cause.

To learn more about this cause, visit www.theeyesolution.com.  My #EyeSawGood photo is at the top of this post.  What would be the subject of your #EyeSawGood photo?

For the 13th Year, the Office Depot Foundation National Backpack Program Equips Children in Need for Back-to-School

Thank you to the Office Depot Foundation for providing sample products for us to donate to our elementary school community.  All opinions expressed are my own.

I've share about the Office Depot Foundation National Backpack Program during previous years and am happy to report that 300,000 backpacks will be provided to children in need for this back-to-school season.  I am always happy to support a retailer who gives back to the community, especially when it is in support of education because every child deserves an equal chance at succeeding in school.

To tell you the truth, when I think about charitable programs that support education, I always think they are doing good somewhere.  I don't associate such programs with my own community because our school is not a high-poverty school.  After a brief conversation with our school principal, however, I learned that there are many families in our school who cannot afford to buy basic school supplies for their children.  How can a child succeed in school without writing utensils, notebooks, and something with which to carry their books back and forth?  My family is quite far from being wealthy, so I am very conscious of how much it costs to equip 3 children with everything they need to start off a new school year.  I am very thankful to be able to donate 3 sackpacks complete with filled pencil cases, provided by the Office Depot Foundation, to our school.  Hopefully they will make going to school a little bit easier for 3 children this fall.

To learn more about how you can support the National Back Program and other Office Depot Foundation projects, visit OfficeDepotFoundation.org, as well as their pages on Facebook and Twitter.

The UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation is Currently Accepting Applications for Children's Medical Grants

As a family of five trying to make ends meet in this struggling economy, we understand too well what hardship any unplanned medical expenses can cause.  Even though we are covered under my husband's medical insurance through his employer, anything that is not routine is not covered 100%.  Even if the coverage is 80% for non-routine medical attention, tests, and procedures, that 20% of a large medical bill would likely be more than the average family can afford, even when paid in installments.  The frightening idea of something like this happening is always in the back of our minds along with an overwhelming feeling of helplessness.  As parents, we might consider putting off medical treatment for ourselves, but we would never think of doing that for our children.

Thankfully we have yet to go through such an ordeal and certainly other parents who have would have useful advice to offer.  I would, however, like to share about a source for financial assistance for child-related medical bills that parents may not be aware of.

Since 2006, the UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation has been awarding grants to families to assist with their children's medical expenses that are not covered or fully-covered by their insurance plans.  Over the course of approximately 7 years, this non-profit children's charity has awarded more than 5,000 medical grants to families in need.  Each grant awarded can be up to $5,000 and can help to pay for child-related medical expenses, including (but not limited to) the following . . .

• Physical, occupational, and speech therapy
• Counseling services
• Surgeries
• Prescriptions
• Wheel chairs
• Orthotics
• Eyeglasses
• Hearing aids

Although UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation grant applications are being accepted ongoing, here are some guidelines for knowing if your family is eligible:

1. Child with the medical condition must be 16 years old or younger
2. Family must meet certain economic guidelines
3. Family must reside in the United States
4. Child must be covered under a commercial health insurance plan
5. Application must be completed by the child's parents or legal guardians
6. Expenses covered by the grant must have been incurred within 60 days prior to submitting the application (Note:  Grants awarded will also cover related medical expenses incurred in the future.)

Visit www.uhccf.org to submit your grant application or if you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation.  Please know that all donations are used towards grants to help families in the same region from which the donation was received.

Giveaway: Cheerios 100,000 Book Giveaway [CLOSED]

Thanks to Cheerios, First Book, and Jon Scieszka (author of one of my son's favorite storybook series about the residents of Trucktown), five states will each be receiving 20,000 books for community-based children's programs. Which states will be the lucky ones? You can help to determine whether your state will be one of the five.

My kindergartner has a great love for books, but I know that now all children are lucky enough to have a variety of age-appropriate books at their disposal. If you feel the same, then you just need to visit The Cheerios 100,000 Book Giveaway to vote for which state you think should receive the books. You may cast one vote for every trivia question you answer correctly. The questions are all about various children's books. Be careful . . . it's addictive. After awhile, voting became secondary and I was absorbed in just trying to be right (how unlike me).

If you know of a community based program that benefits children, you can suggest that they register their program with First Books so, if your state wins the voting, the program could possibly benefit from the book donation. You can track how your own state is doing by going here. To recruit your family and friends to vote, you can send them a Cheerios 100,000 Book Giveaway invitation.

I received the Cheerios, prize pack, information, and giveaway from Cheerios through MyBlogSpark, who also provided the prize pack for this contest.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a Cheerios Prize Pack containing the following . . .

• 5 softcover children's books
• a box of Cheerios (the variety the winner receives may vary from the type of Cheerios pictured below)
• a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card

Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.


How to Gain Entries:
Leave a comment telling me why your state should receive 20,000 books. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2) For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND Cheerios 100,000 Book Giveaway. Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4) Friend me on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 2 extra entries, share the link to this contest post on Facebook. Then leave TWO separate comments with the link to your Facebook profile.

6) Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

<br /> <a href="http://www.3garnets2sapphires.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd206/Busymonkeez/Graphics4Me/NEWBlogButton125x125.jpg" /></a><br /><br />

(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:
This contest will be closed on Thursday, December 31st, 2009 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Giving Through Oxfam America Unwrapped

This is the time of year when many people from all walks of life begin to think about which charities they would like to gift to this holiday season. If you are fortunate to have enough to give to more than one charity, I think it is a great idea to choose at least one cause that is local and one cause that is international.

Personally, having an idea of where my money is going makes it easier for me to give. For example, if I had $15 to give, but I see that it would cost $18 to give honeybees to a small farmer in a poverty-stricken country, then I would certainly be able to find the extra few dollars to make that happen.

The gifts available on the Oxfam America Unwrapped website is organized into simple categories . . . Animal Gifts, Green Gifts, Women & Children, Education, Making a Living, and Emergency Essentials. These gifts come in all price ranges. A donation of $18 could provide children with either books or some basic toys. A donation of $30 plants 50 trees. A donation of $100 could provide a farmer with either a donkey or a donkey cart.

There are so many options, so I encourage you to take a look through Oxfam America Unwrapped. Instead of buying someone that bottle of wine this year, why not give a charitable gift on their behalf instead? You will receive a card with an explanation and an image of the gift, which you can present to your friend or family member. What a perfect gift for someone who already has everything!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Oxfam America Unwrapped and received a credit for a gift on the Oxfam site.