That’s me!!! Doing the happy dance and it is all because of YOU! I will say it every month until I am blue in the face–I have the best followers!!! This month I chose DonorsChoose.org as my Comments for a Cause recipient mainly because I found a wonderful local teacher who wanted a simple tablet to use in her classroom with her special education students. Mrs. Amanda Hill had written up a great request and once I found her and had exchanged a few emails I knew that this was the perfect thing for August. Earlier this week I checked to see her progress and lo and behold she was already over halfway funded so I finished out the donation so I would not lose the chance to help her out.
This month I got a whopping 484 comments here on the blog (thanks a lot to being featured August 2nd on SITS Girls) and also netted another 43 on Facebook to bring the whopping total to 517. That means that Amanda gets $263.50 towards her project!!! I already donated $186.34 to finish out her request through DonorsChoose.org so that leaves another $77.16 to give to her to use for accessories and apps!!! Way to go!!! And good luck. Amanda, on a fabulous year with your students!!
A couple of weeks ago I found my next Comments for a Cause when a church member at my sister’s United Methodist Church in Columbiana, Ohio, organized a hugely successful Diaper Drive. I got in contact with Jen Beach who spearheaded it and got some info from her about who she was working with. Come to find out there is this wonderful organization called the National Diaper Bank Network. These folks are amazing!!! They are a huge resource for moms and dads who do not have adequate diapers for their babies and toddlers. Did you know that some moms limit the intake of what they feed their babies so that the number of diapers needed is reduced? That made me so sad to read that fact and it also made me think about how many cute little baby butts are having to sit in soggy or dirty diapers just because there is not enough money to go around for the necessities. The week of September 10-17 is Diaper Need Awareness Week and it seems fitting to highlight the National Diaper Bank Network this month ! There is not a diaper bank close by so I will be making a monetary donation at the close of September instead of doing an actual diaper drive. I would encourage all of you to go check out their website here and see if there is a local diaper bank close to you that you can donate to. And if you NEED diapers they can help direct you to a diaper bank close to you!!! As always I will donate 50 cents per legitimate comment this month to the NDBN ! Let’s rock this !! (Take time to read the comment below from Jen—what a story and what a witness as to what a great ministry this is!!! Thanks so much for sharing, Jen!!! )
A little bit more about this great organization taken from their website follows below:
Diaper banks collect, store and help distribute free diapers to families suffering from financial difficulty. They obtain diapers through local diaper drives, from in-kind donations by manufacturers and retailers, and by purchasing diapers directly with donated funds.
Diaper banks come in many forms and sizes. Some serve a single neighborhood, others an entire region. Some are based out of churches and run by volunteers; others are independent organizations with warehouses operated by professional staff. What they all share in common is a dedication to combating diaper need.
Diaper banks rely on the generosity of volunteers and individual and corporate donors to accomplish their critical mission. Volunteers throughout the country organize diaper drives in their communities to collect diapers for distribution through their local diaper bank to families in need. Volunteers also staff many diaper bank operations, fundraise on their behalf, and raise awareness of diaper need in their communities.
Diaper banks also work with local and regional corporate partners to secure donations of diapers and fundingto support their work. Many regional retailers and distributors generously donate excess or mispackaged diapers that cannot be sold, but that can help families struggling to diaper their children.
Diaper banks are making a difference. Through their work and advocacy, diaper bank leaders have put diaper need on the agenda of philanthropic, political and religious leaders, winning crucial support to fight diaper need in their communities. Diaper bank leaders have also brought diaper need to national attention through coverage in major media outlets, such as TIME, People, and ABC World News Tonight. Together, they are creating a national diaper bank movement that will ensure that every child in America remains clean, dry and healthy.
