Monday, November 1, 2010

30 Day Giving Challenge (& Secret Giveaway)


I've gladly accepted a challenge to participate in the 30 Day Giving Challenge. I noticed a post by Simplified Savings and was intrigued. What a great way to celebrate the coming of the holiday season! Thus, I'll be doing something small (or big!) for someone each day. I won't just be giving gifts, but non-material items as well. I'll post each of my gifts on my blog to inspire others.

BONUS: For every gift that you match and tell me about, you will be entered to win a $10 gift card from Target. On November 30th, I will pick the winner from all the comments/stories.


Let's start. Today, November 1st, I am going to donate food to our local food pantry. During this month, if you also donate food to your local food pantry, leave me a comment and give me the details (where, what did you donate, what was the process like, did you get a good feeling, is there a large need in your area, etc.?) and that will be an try for Target giftcard!

November 2nd: I am donating a trunk-full of stuff to our local thrift shop that supports the underprivileged in our community and also local vets. If you are also making a donation to your local thrift store this month, let me know in a comment for your chance to win a giftcard to Target.

November 3rd: I handmade about 20 bookmarks which I will be donating to foster children. Will you use your craftiness to give this month?

November 4th: Goodsearch is the single-most easy way to donate money to charity. How many times a week do you use Google, Yahoo, or Swagbucks search engines? Well, when you take advantage of Goodsearch, every search you perform sends a little bit of help to the CHARITY OF YOUR CHOICE! I have this at work and change my charity every so often from Rescue Missions to Second Harvest. Will you GoodSearch this month?

November 5th: I'm bringing in a plethora of cookies for my work team today. Anything to bring a bright moment to a work day! Will you bring in a surprise treat to your co-workers?

November 6th: It's a good friend's 30th birthday. My giving this day is his birthday gift. Anyone else giving a birthday gift this month?

November 7th: Rescue Missions all over the country help people in the most dire of times supplying them with life's very basic necessities including food, shelter, and clothing. I am donating enough money today to feed 8 people this Thanksgiving. I encourage you to donate to your local rescue mission or similar organization.

November 8th: I donated money to our local American Legion. Anyone else contributing to a local vet organization?

November 9th: There is a teenager on my caseload that has been abused, rejected, then abandoned my her family. I visited with her and brought her a book filled with stories of children and teens who have survived abuse. I also brought her a encouraging journal from Journal Buddies. I can't wait to see how she uses the journal and what she might learn from it! Are you giving to someone less fortunate?

November 10th: I offered to do some work for a co-worker to make sure she got the time-off she wanted. Anybody else giving of yourself to a co-worker?

November 11th: Random Acts of Kindness are some of my favorite things to do. Today, I'm taking out my friend for lunch, for no reason other than because he is my friend. Will you commit a random act of kindness this month?

November 12th: I took a "newbie" under my wing today to help her learn the ropes of our job (which, I have to admit, no amount of training without being in the field is going to help).

November 13th: I will be sending a random post card to a long-lost friend back in graduate school. Will you reach out to an old friend today?

November 14th: One of the things I do for the people I care for is to cut out coupons for things I know they use. The strong majority of my friends and family do not bother with coupons because they find it annoying, but I love them! I happen to find some great coupons for formula, wipes, and diapers which I collected to give to one of my foster parents (total of 20 coupons!).

November 15th: I've collected Campbell's Labels for Education and Boxtops for Education all year long so I can donate them to my church! They will be in the mail tomorrow.

November 16th: My tithe to church. Do you tithe?

November 17th: I picked up a couple of Christmas craft kits for my two adopted sisters. I'm going to send them in the mail as a surprise. Will you give a gift of creativity?

November 18th: Secret Santa time! I'm sending out my gift for the "Surprise Me! Secret Santa Gift Exchange with Survey Junkie and Simply Stacey". Are you doing any Secret Santa activities this month?

November 19th: I had a giveaway on my blog by my own accord. I wanted to spread some holiday cheer and help a reader either dazzle up or get a jump start on their holiday gift list. I'll be (FINALLY!) sending off those gifts in the mail to the lucky winner. Better late than never, right Donna? Do you have a blog? Have you coordinated a giveaway with something you purchased or are passing on?

November 20th: I mentioned one of my teenage foster kids above in the entry for November 9th. What I did for her today was buy her a mini-wardrobe. Four pairs of pants and six shirts. I hope she likes them!

November 21st: I started working on Christmas cards today! Some may say I'm crazy, and some may say "I'm way ahead of you!" Have you started thinking about Christmas cards? Have you made the list of recipients, bought them, designed them, labeled them?? An extra bonus entry if you've already sent out your Christmas cards!

November 22nd: I made a donation to the Ronald McDonald House.

November 23rd: I've collected nearly 100 coupons, both recently expired and not, and am sending them to Operation Expiration. This is a program where military families can use our expired coupons. Read more about it at Cake Mom. Will you join me in doing this?

November 24th: I gave myself to work today. Left my house at 8:00 am. I got home about 30 minutes ago. (Don't worry, no math required, that's 13.5 hours). Did you go above and beyond in your job this month?

November 25th: What's better than Black Friday? Black Friday Eve! There were great deals at both Walgreens and CVS. With the money I saved (nearly $100!) I was able to buy 5 toys for children of our troops with Operation Homefront. Are you going to donate toys to children in need?

November 26th: I took my wonderful mother out to lunch today!

November 27th: I have birthday presents for three of my friends!

November 28th: And now I have a baby shower gift for a friend of mine!

November 29th: Oh how I love the holidays. One of the things that I look forward to is the merry sound of bells. It reminds me not only of cheer, but philanthropy, Reindeer, and angels getting their wings. This month I've donated to nearly every Red Kettle I've seen in order to support the great Salvation Army and their wonderful mission. Have you donated to the Red Kettles yet?

November 30th: I get to give away the $10 Target Gift card to one of my wonderful readers!

57 comments:

Karen said...

I always have the kids clean out their rooms about a month before Christmas and we donate all of the gently used items to the Rescue Mission :)

ktgonyea at gmail.com

sksweeps said...

Since I'm not going anywhere over Thanksgiving, I'll be cleaning out the closets and donating then!

sksweeps (at) earthlink (dot) net

Jennifer Wilson said...

The only food pantry I knew of in the area closed, but at the store today there was a box to donate to a food pantry in the next county, so I left some cereal I got cheap.

jenndiggy at gmail dot com

Shannon's Tales of Motherhood said...

Its so nice of you to do the kind things your doing.Im going to my little stock pile to give out some things to my neighbors.It feels good to give and your post reminds me of this.Thanks
shannpf1977 at yahoo dot com

Jennifer Wilson said...

I've used Goodsearch for some time. I support the Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue with my searches. :) Just did an extra one just because. Every bit helps!

jenndiggy at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

So many are in need this year and even if we only have kindness and love to offer that goes a very long way with those that need it. I volunteer at a women's shelter and the best thing everytime I go is spending time with the women and children and to see them smile.

Kim.M.
valkayries@yahoo.com

msrodeobrat said...

goodsearch might be the neatest thing i've ever heard of! i had no idea it existing but i am going to start doing my searches with that now!
addictedtorodeo at gmail dot com

clynsg said...

I recently had to clean out a rental property so it could be rented again, and was very surprised to find lots of very nice clothing left behind. Although I probably could have sold it by some method, I instead washed it all up, and donated it to Goodwill.


cgclynsg0 @ gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

I donated 4 bags of clothing to the Salvation Army this week.

skytoucher said...

this week i donated three days to accompanying a friend on a cross country medical trip to support her while she gets diagnosed with a movement disorder. last year i purchased a calendar with a picture of Christ and started to write down random acts of kindness and was surprised to see how much i was doing instinctively.

Karen said...

Count me in again please :)

ktgonyea at gmail.com

Jennifer Wilson said...

I told a friend about a photo contest. (She's a good photographer.) Part of the contest was using the company's product. I had some, so I took her one. She was thrilled I had extra! Just a small random act of kindness, but it made her really happy.

jenndiggy at gmail dot com

Karen said...

Count me in again please :)

ktgonyea at gmail.com

Betty C said...

There are several of us at work who share our coupons. I was able to give several coupons for totally free items to someone who could use the products more than I could.

Jennifer Wilson said...

I already gave a bunch of boxtops for education this month! The school I save them for has about 80% of the kids living in poverty and many can't even afford basic school supplies like pencils. They are also saving coke codes and I've donated there too!

jenndiggy at gmail dot com

LV said...

Each time I attend my church, I tithe.

Jennifer Wilson said...

Have a card (and a gift card in that as a gift) for a boy in our church who just turned 20. I know he's wanting a certain CD, and with his iTunes card, he'll be able to get that!

jenndiggy at gmail dot com

Jennifer Wilson said...

I took a bag of stuff to church for our thrift type shop we do at Christmas time.

wallindeb said...

I would love to win.

Roxann said...

I bought cards and have my list of recipients. I don't mail them out until the Saturday after Thanks giving.

Betty C said...

We always make sure to donate to the Salvation Army bell ringers.

wallindeb said...

I would like to win this contest.

Jennifer Wilson said...

I gave some fruit to a family at church I thought could use it! They recently hit a deer with their car and I think they are having a difficult time making ends meet with no vehicle.

jenndiggy at gmail dot com

Jennifer Wilson said...

I have my Christmas cards. I'm sure you know that. ;) I'm going to make a list this week and get them addressed as well as my holiday letter printed. I didn't get my cards out last year even though I had photo cards so I'll be mailing two cards in the same envelope to everyone this year!

jenndiggy at gmail dot com

Betty C said...

I have lots of coupons I won't be using. I'm checking out the military donation right away.

Anonymous said...

Awesome blog and thanks for the giveaway!
Would love, love, LOVE to win this!
=]

wallindeb said...

I would love to win this!

wallindeb said...

I would like to win.

wallindeb said...

I would love to win. Happy Thanksgiving!

Audrey said...

Wow, this is such a nice thing to do. I love giving, and I love helping with food drives around the holidays it is always so much fun. Thankyou :)

wallindeb said...

I would love to win!

wallindeb said...

I bought 3 pairs of little girls pajamas to donate at Church tomorrow for a needy family.

Linda said...

I didn't donate food but I got a game to donate to our local toys for Tots,
mintstatesportswear(at)juno(dot0com

Betty C said...

I have favorite cosmetics for 3 (and more) of my family members.

Anonymous said...

During the holidays, I like to donate food to our local food bank. And also enjoy Random Acts of Kindness as well :) - like you mentioned above. Last Christmas, I received a $25 gift card to Aeropostale. Back in my high school days and early college days, I loved that store but now that I'm older, the store/clothing lines isn't for me. My bf and I were walking around the mall, and we went to Aeropostale. I was planning on giving my gift card to a random stranger and I did just that. I looked for somebody buying something concrete (that will be put to good use/wear often) and I saw this girl buying a coat. I walked up to her and said Happy Holidays. There is $25 on this card and of course, caught her off guard she was like HUH? What....? And kind of gave me a weird look and I explained, I wanted to give this card to somebody who would put it to good use. She smiled said thanks, and it made me happy knowing I helped a random stranger out.

Renee
rmj80 (at) aol dot com

wallindeb said...

I am donating girls pajamas at Church today. I will put them under the gifting tree.

rosannepm said...

I am helping with the meal and gifts for a family our church provides for. Each neighborhood tries to get the gifts on their list for the parents and children as well as the meal. I have a hair product, hat for one of hthe children, food product and some makeup for the mom to give so far. We do this every year and it's my favorite part of getting ready for Christmas. We don't give it until Dec 15th so I still have time to add to it. rosans4@comcast.net

Alison A / tripsma at gmail dot com said...

Well, we've donated a LOT about a year ago. And since then we've sold a lot, as we're not doing so hot financially (unemployed, husband due to medical reasons, no jobs for two years now). But I'm having my kids go through their toys and we're donating them later today. A bonus for me and then other children as well. :)

THANKS. tripsma at gmail dot com

wallindeb said...

I am dropping off some used clothes at Catholic Charities today.

esldiane@gmail.com said...

I love the idea of your blog as I always try to promote community service and giving, all year in my family too. I teach English as a Second Language to adults and this year at our Thanksgiving party I asked my students to donate their children's gently used books. Each year I donate them to school in Detroit.
Diane Baum
esldiane@gmail.com

Betty C said...

I am knitting a baby blanket for one that is due in December.

Julie Vineyard said...

Cleaning out the closets.

Erica C. said...

I covered the cost of lunch for a friend today.

Barbarawr said...

I have 2 boxes in our garage - one for items to donate to the thrift shop where I volunteer, and one I give to a friend whose kids go to a very needy school and who does a lot of mission work at church. Anything we don't need when I'm cleaning out the house goes to the thrift shop (they take magazines, too! Do you know how many magazines I get that I never get around to reading!), and anything I happen to win that I can't use goes in the other box. I just brought the stuff from both boxes to the proper people, and I feel great!

Email address is in blogger profile

Al Henneberry said...

Every week I donate food to our Church food pantry for the poor and treats for the troops.

Tammy said...

I donated food directly to a family in need.

theolotto said...

We donated some food to a food pantry and donated some clothes to charity.

theolotto@yahoo.com.au

Jennifer Wilson said...

Wasn't exactly a baby shower, but gave diapers to friends who just had a baby.

jenndiggy at gmail dot com

Jennifer Wilson said...

Giving some toys I got cheap to give to a friend who won't be able to buy her kids much of anything.

jenndiggy at gmail dot com

slehan said...

I donate to the Jeffco Action Center Food Bank. I just take items to the front desk. There is a big need around here. Thanks for the contest.

slehan said...

Since I don't have kids I give my Box Tops to my neighbor for her son's school.

slehan said...

I gave my friend her birthday present today. Her Bluetooth was broken so I won her a new one.

stacy said...

I work in retail and there is a Red Kettle outside of my store, so I have been throwing in all of my change at the end of the day.

the imagine tree at aol dot com

stacy said...

GoodSearch has been my homepage for a few years now. I use it every time I search.

the imagine tree at aol dot com

Stacy said...

I sent in all my boxtops to my niece's school. I have been holding them since school ended in June.

the imagine tree at aol dot com

stacy said...

I gave a present to my sister-in-law for her birthday on November 23.

the imagine tree at aol dot com

stacy said...

I sent my niece a $25 movie theatre gift card last week because she wanted to see the new Harry Potter movie but didn't have the money. She wasn't expecting it and it felt nice to be able to do something for her since I live so far away.

the imagine tree at aol dot com