Update on Japan Relief Recycle Challenge...

Ok, so this week Dyl and I trekked to the recycle machines and emptied our weeks of bottle savings...in itself this was quite an experience! Apparently there are various machines to deposit your collections...a plastic machine, a glass machine, and a can machine. Upon learning this, we became a bit...scattered to say the least. LOLOLOL We were then confronted by the recycle "police" who carefully navigated us around the machines, and were helpful enough to teach us the "ins and outs of the joint"! A.K.A. what bottles are acceptable and which are not...Needless to say, we were clueless. But the real laughter did not come until this following moment... Dylan, always my helper, always wanting to be engaged and resourceful, asked (very innocently, and very sincerely I have to say), "But Mom, how do the machines get the bottles to Japan? and how does it help them?" And that readers, was the real moment that I know just how caring and beautiful my baby really is. If it meant shipping bottles to Japan to help them, BY GOLLY that's what we're going to do! LOLOLOL I LOVE MY KIDS! So, in conclusion, today I ordered our "We pray for Japan bracelets" from Lady Gaga's shopping site (all proceeds go to Japan relief efforts)and I can't wait to present them for great efforts! And Dylan rewarded me by sharing this idea with classmates and teachers in his school...Let's spread the word!

A Challenge to be Creative...Recycling for Japan...

Friday morning I was consumed by private issues, financial hardships and personal desires...Fast forward to first glimpses of the devastation suffered by Japan...Images of boats and cars floating together through STREETS in Japan. Images of natural destruction. As I'm sure many of you have read on Facebook, Twitter, and other blogs, the world was taught a lesson in humility. Like many others, I too was grateful for my family, my health, my home and my security (as superficial as it may be, as no one is ever really safe from what is out of our control). But the bottom line is that I was ok. And my boys were also OK.
It is never a good time for a natural disaster, but in times of financial hardships and future uncertainty it is even easier to be cynical about donating. When we are living check to check and huge corporations are falling around us, it is natural to hold on to whatever we have. But then the question arises, "How can we help?"
I racked my brain for a solution that would not impede on my financial situation but would also enable me to fill a cause and teach my children to be creative as well.
Enter the chain of recycling...For this week the boys and I will collect bottles and cans and donate our earnings to Japan. We will recycle to rebuild Japan. Saturday morning will mean a trip to a local distributor to change our collective efforts into some cash donation. I'm not challenging the world to donate, but I do challenge those who think they can't help, to be creative as well as to remain within their own means. So how are you going to help?
If you are unsure about where or how to donate, check out WPIX for their list of organizations and funds. If you hear of any others, please comment on them here to let a friend know!

Sharing details of my breakfast means helping someone get a free meal!

So it begins...I'm back and the opportunities are falling into my lap! Opportunities to help others...
I received an email from Kellogg's about their new breakfast program. By sharing photos or details about what we enjoyed for breakfast we are helping someone else receive a free meal! I did it and it only took seconds of my time! You can do it as much as you please, but by doing it even just once, you've already enabled a hungry individual to enjoy a meal.
Talk about your breakfast and fill a belly!!! Remember to let us know if you did it!
www.shareyourbreakfast.com

A Moment of Truth and Admission of Guilt

I lost flavor for my blog. I felt it was inadequate and non-productive. Didn't serve its purpose.
The reason why? I measured its productivity in headcount. How many people could I collect to do a good deed. How big of a group could I motivate. And when people failed to come, I felt a failure. As if the size of the group could take away from my endeavors. How wrong I was. Life happens; to everyone. What might be my calling today, may be yours tomorrow. But more importantly this blog was intended to entwine charity into my family and our life. Good deeds happen every day and in the smallest of ways. I had fun taking my children to events and planning events. I had a wonderful time bowling with family and friends; I even want to do it again! But in the meantime, I don't plan to stop doing, giving, and blogging!
So with all that being said and confessed,
Welcome to my life of giving, my blog, and MY DATES WITH CHARITY! You are more than welcome to read, join, and be influenced!!!! And as always, please share your dates and doings as well!!!!

From a book, on a train, to an animal???? HOW???

Hello blog!!!! I have missed you! And I have so many new and fresh deas to share! Welcome to 2011, let's have fun!
So, January...my birthday month, my fresh start month, the month of resolutions and promise...What better promise to keep than to give back and pay forward???? Or at least, to follow MY blog! LOL!

Ok, January event...
If anyone knows me, they are aware I am an avid reader and I simply love books! While I am considering the Nook Color product, I have to secretly admit that I am addicted to the smell of library books, and new books, and magazines, and everything wordy in this life!!! LOL!
So....this month I am asking that we all donate gently used books to our public libraries. I will be meeting up with anyone interested on Saturday at the 42nd st. Children's Library before we head over to my "other" favorite hang out, the Scholastic Store SOHO on Spring St., where we can catch up on our fave children's books AND participate in their free farm animal event. That's right; farm animals at the Scholastic Store on Saturday at 3pm!
If this is enough to entice you, please join us. Meet up time will be 1:00 at the 42nd street library. For those who can't meetup, but still want want to donate, please send me a pic, or link it to the page!!!! I'd love to see how we all find ways to help!!!!

How do you incorporate charity into your family life?

So, this week I was blessed to hang out with some friends and see some really reat kids doing their part for charity, and all because they thought it was FUN! The "Wrap and pack" was a beautiful idea by Big City Moms; it brought family and charity together without making it seem like a mundane task on the "to get into Heaven" list. And there were some amazing Santa's helpers in the crowd!

Recycled blessings...

"God doesn't comfort us to make us comfortable, HE comforts us to make us comforters"...
From my daily reading, let me think about this...
So, pretty much HE didn't put me in a beautiful home with a beautiful family and wonderful friends simply because, "I'm Becky"???? Annnnd I'm supposed to learn from the ordeals in my life so that I can one day help others with their own situations??? I get, so I can give back; and I cannot have more until I learn to give. How 2 fold is that? AMAZING!!!! Like recycling...LOL. GOD is green!
On a personal level, doesn't it ease some of the pain to know that one of the reasons we face obstacles is so that we can help others get through them as well?
It's easy to "reach the top" and forget how far you climbed to get there. It's even easier to become so consumed in your own battles that you don't share what you're going through, or how you dealt with it and lose the opportunity to help someone else...
I have been thinking of a new job search, but it occurred to me this week how this position has helped me, not only in my personal life, but also to give advice and insight to family and friends. I'm in a position to learn from what I do. Sometimes we end up in a place, not just for the current and obvious goal, but for a goal still unknown to us...