Lindsay Interiors Event to Benefit Children's Memorial Hospital

Please help us make the holidays brighter for a child at Chicago’s Children’s Memorial Hospital. Throughout the month of December, Lindsay Interiors will collect both toys and monetary donations to help the patients, family, and programs at Children’s Memorial. New, unwrapped toys as well as cash and check donations will be accepted. Checks should be made out to Children’s Memorial Hospital.


To Express our gratitude for your generosity, Lindsay Interiors is offering $15.00 off Home Decorating Consultations and 20% off Drapery Orders in the months of January and February to those who donate.

Even the smallest gesture will bring a smile to a child’s face this Holiday Season!
Lindsay Interiors – 630-567-7474 Located in Plainfield IL call for more details.

What a Wonderful Time of Year!

 

As we approach Thanksgiving we are reminded of all that we have been blessed with.  A time for everyone to come together and celebrate.  Despite our color or creed we take this opportunity to share with others.  

As I continue with this Blog it is amazing to see how my eyes are now more open to seeing all of the wonderful volunteer opportunities there are.  It could be that this time of year is when people are especially generous.  To me it is just amazing how many wonderful volunteers we are surrounded by.

In the mail , at the health club, the local library, and even the grocery stores you can find barrels for food donations, boxes for gloves, flyers inviting you to volunteer, it is just wonderful to see so many helping hands and to see strangers come together for a common goal.  To Make Someone Smile :)  

Here are some of the ideas that others have shared with me:

SOS Children's Village- this is an organization that is located in Lockport, IL and it is the largest non-denominational children's care provider in the world!  This is where full-time, professionally trained Foster parents commit to living on the premises of the property.  There are 18 individual single family homes, 4 of which are vacant with up to 5 children in each home.  They try to keep siblings together to maintain some kind of stability, which they so lack in the real world.  The ages of the children range from 4 mos- 20 yrs old.  Today there are 450 villages in over 125 nations, housing more than 60,000 children.  They are looking for people to donate gifts for the families to give to their foster children or volunteer monetary donations, or give of your time.  For more information please go to their website www.SOSIllinois.org 

Holiday Mail for Heroes

From the front lines to the home front, the American Red Cross provides service members, their families and veterans with the care and assistance they need.
The Red Cross is partnering with Pitney Bowes this holiday season for the Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign. For the second year in a row, we’re collecting holiday cards to distribute to American service members, veterans and their families in the United States and around the world. Pitney Bowes is generously donating technology, resources and postage to make this holiday card program possible.
Our goal is to collect and distribute one million holiday cards to spread holiday cheer and facilitate thanks to these brave individuals and families.
Please send cards to this address, following the guidelines listed below:
Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

For more information on other ways you can help visit their website at:

http://www.redcross.org/email/saf/

Pennies for Peace educates children about the world beyond their experience and shows them that they can make a positive impact on a global scale, one penny at a time.
Our best hope for a peaceful and prosperous world lies in the education of all the world’s children. Through cross-cultural understanding and a solution-oriented approach, Pennies for Peace encourages children, ultimately our future leaders, to be active participants in the creation of global peace.
To participate in the Pennies for Peace program, please start by going on their website and registering
http://www.penniesforpeace.org/home.html

What is the Power of a Penny?

The penny, 1% of a dollar, is symbolic of the '1% of Gross Domestic Product' goal set by the United Nations. The goal was for wealthy countries to give foreign aid to impoverished nations each year.
Pennies for Peace teaches children the rewards of sharing and working together to bring hope and educational opportunities to children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. A penny in the United States is virtually worthless, but in Pakistan and Afghanistan a penny buys a pencil and opens the door to literacy.
The mission of Central Asia Institute (CAI) focuses on community-based education, especially for girls. A 5th grade education for girls improves not only the basic indices of health for her and her family, she will also spread the value of education within her community. Literacy, for both boys and girls, provides better economic opportunities in the future and neutralizes the power of despot mullahs and other extremist leaders.

If you know of an organization in need of volunteers or donations feel free to contact me via e-mail at: Leslie@LoveToPromote.com and I will gladly add them to this Blog.

Please pass this Blog on so that we can get the word out...

Thank you,

Leslie Prohaska

Inspiring Children Work Together For A Good Cause

As mentioned earlier on in this Blog one of the main reasons I started this blog was partly due to my neighbors oldest daughter Catherine showing her true giving spirit she and a few of her friends from a Homeschool group named Girls Monkey Club worked together for a great cause -Club Advisor - Connie Leturno said that the coat drive successfully collected 100 coats for a local charity read more about this wonderful coat drive that was written about in the Suburban Chicago Newspaper.  CHARITY ARTICLE

If you have an inspiring story feel free to send them to Leslie@LoveToPromote.com we would love to feature them on this Blog!

How to Teach Your Children to Be Charitable

• Spending time with your child by going through their clothes from the previous year can be both fun and charitable. Make it fun with the little ones by playing a shopping game have them go through their clothes that you have pre-sorted and know that no longer fit your child and have them pretend to buy these clothing items for someone in need. Have play money handy and a shopping bag. You can have them count out a certain amount for each bag and designate which bag will go to Charity A, B, or C. Teach your child that though these clothes no longer fit they will fit another child that might need them.
  
  
• Go through the cabinets with your child and collect canned fruits and vegetables or other non-perishable items that can be donated to a local food bank or pantry. Again if you have younger children this is another opportunity to play a game and have them shop in your pantry for someone less fortunate. Letting your children know young or old that their are families that struggle to put food on the table and that by giving food from your pantry you will be feeding a family and making them feel loved and cared for.
  
  
• Take your child to the local toy store and have them pick out an item for a less fortunate child. Many programs that work with children, including shelters and mental health centers, accept new toys year-round. Or donate a toy that you have purchased to Toys for Tots for more information about this organization click on this link. www.toysfortots.org
  

Talking to your children about charities and let them decide which one they are most interested in some charities help other children, and some help animals though each one is different the common denominator is that they are volunteers helping other people.

Small Things Matter!

Quite often people think they have to devote tons of time, or tons of money to make a difference or to qualify as a volunteer.  Here are a few ideas for those of you who can not commit to a ton of time or a ton of money but still want to do something that can make a difference.

GO GREEN- adopt a park and commit to keeping your park clean

Play Bingo - with your local Senior Citizens at a nearby retirement home

Start a Shoe drive and donate them to Soles4Soules(TM) Inc.,

Donate School Supplies to a local school

Donate blankets and food to a local humane society

Be a mentor

Call your local church and ask how you can help the community

Start a Can Food Drive and donate the food to a local food bank

Pass this Blog on so others can be inspired and send us your ideas

Leslie@lovetopromote.com

Good deeds never go unnoticed