Thank You to Those Who Make a Difference!

Over the last few weeks, a lot of people have been doing things to make a difference for an organization that I care about a lot. It’s called Compass House. During my December challenge, Kate Ellis and Theresa Gray each pledged to make a difference for them, and I was really grateful when they told me they were making some great donations. Mrs. VanEtten’s seventh graders also did a HUGE clothing drive for them too, which was really impressive AND inspiring.

I know I haven’t been blogging a lot lately. I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my blog and with my service work. I’m learning more about the different ways in which people use blogs, and I have some ideas about what I want to do here for the next year. I like the idea of trying to use my blog as a way to share ideas for how people could do small things to make a difference for ANY cause.

Next month, I will be going to Idaho to take part in the Special Olympics World Games. There are so many great things that kids and grown ups can do to make a difference for this organization. I plan to use this month to blog about what I am learning about the Special Olympics. I also want to share some ideas that anyone can use if they want to make a difference for a cause they care about.

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December 5, 2008

 Laura:

Today I am grateful for Nina’s laugh and smile.

Nina has always cheered me up, especially with her laugh. Her laugh is really small, but it is really nice to hear. For some reason, it always make me feel warm and smile. When she laughs it’s kind of like cold medicine when you have a REALLY bad cold and like music after a deaf person becomes able to hear.

Her smile is really refreshing too. Nina’s smile is like when you finally get to see that pretty night blooming flower come out. I can’t stand it when she is unhappy. I like to see her smile, it is a pink blossom of light into a dark spooky room, it always will show.

So today, because Nina means so much to me, I am going to play doll house with her when I’m done tweeting and blogging for today because I know that she really wants to and I want to give the gift of happiness to he too.

 

Nina:

Today I am thankful for my friends.Today I helped one of them do the baseline for hot cross buns on recorder.

Surprise!!

Since today is Laura’s 11th birthday, I’ve snuck on to her blog today to surprise her with this little message: Happy Birthday Lu!!!!! We love you!!!!

Our morning was filled with balloons and flowers and long-awaited presents. Laura headed out the door this morning eager to see her friends at school. She is lookinig forward to celebrating with the cookie cake that she balanced in her hands as she tip-toed across the ice that last night’s storm left in its wake. I often wonder, though, who enjoys Laura’s birthday most? Being the mom is often quite a lot of fun on days like today. Giving is always a gift in itself, and putting a smile on your own birthday girl’s face is one of the greater rewards that parents get to reap.

When Laura decided to support Cheerful Givers this month, I could not have been happier, and today seems like the perfect day to spread the word about this wonderful organization. Cheerful Givers promotes gift giving for underprivileged children. What we like best about this organization is the fact that we are able to give locally. In order to be a “cheerful giver” you may work alone or with others to create birthday gift bags that you may then donate to a local shelter, food pantry, or other organization that services the needy. Gifts are then provided to parents who may not otherwise have the ability to purchase a birthday present for their child. Cheerful Givers provides guidelines that help ensure that the gift bags are filled with items that children will love and use, and they credit volunteers for their efforts by asking you to let them know how many bags you fill, how many volunteers you worked with, and where the bags were distributed.

The Efforts of One Brownie Troop

Laura and I have been in frequent contact with Karen Kitchel, the President of Cheerful Givers, for several months now. This week, Karen shared a great idea with me. In honor of her brother’s birthday, she made a donation to Cheerful Givers so that other children could celebrate their own birthdays as a result. Talk about paying something forward! If you are interested in celebrating a birthday in a similar way, you may make a monetary or supply donation here. There is also a birthday certificate pdf file that you may download and give to someone that you care about as well. Laura will be receiving one of these certificates from our family tonight after dinner, and I know that this last small surprise is certain to make her smile.

“Doing charity work is a wonderfully selfish thing to do,” someone mentioned last week, and I couldn’t agree more. There is so much good that comes from giving, and there is so much joy that it brings to the giver. Discovering this has been a tremendous gift for our family….better than anything that comes wrapped up in boxes with paper and bows.

This month, Laura will be using her bottle return money to create gift bags on behalf of Cheerful Givers. These will be donated to her friends at Compass House. Laura will be back tomorrow, writing about Compass House and Cheerful Givers. In the mean time, we have some cake eating to do!

Happy Birthday Laura! We love you!

Love,

Mom

Announcing the Winners of the February 25 Day Challenge

This month, I helped the Pajama Project and Project Linus! There were a lot of surprises during this month’s challenge, but one of the nicest surprises was hearing from Erin from West Seneca! Erin is a teacher, and she collected some pajamas with her students! I just found out about this last week, and it made me really happy.

Erin is the individual winner of this month’s challenge! She will be able to pick any charity or cause, and we will be making a twenty dollar donation to it! Just let us know where you would like your donation to go, Erin.

Lindbergh Elementary School won the group prize for this month. I am going to talk with my principal, Mrs. Parsons, about where this twenty dollar donation can be sent. I want to say thank you to all of my friends and the teachers at school for helping with this. I also want to thank Mrs. Parsons, too. It was fun doing a pajama drive!

My mom has spoken with Mrs. Cardena from the Pajama Program about collecting the pjs and books. And I actually got to meet and work with Christene Lewandowski from Project Linus. What was REALLY cool was visiting Compass House this month and SEEING all of the blankets there that Project Linus has donated in the past! That was really neat.

In March, I am going to be supporting Compass House and Cheerful Givers. I am really excited about doing all of this. I have some ideas for new contests too and some neat prizes this month, so please keep reading. A new month is starting!

Ways to Win Free Cards or a Charitable Donation

Already, I have several people entered in my first weekly giveaway contest. You can win too, by doing ONE thing to help spread awareness of my blog. Find out what you can do here. Those of you who have voted for me on the Bloggers Choice Awards you are automatically entered!! Voting is open until almost the end of the year, and I have been in a tight race for first place, so I really appreciate all of your votes!

Tomorrow, I am starting my pajama drive at my school to support the Pajama Program. I would like to say THANK YOU TO MY PRINCIPAL MRS.PARSONS for helping me. THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN ENTERED IN THIS WEEK’S CHALLENGE TOO!

Also! I am still collecting bottles this month! So far, I know that our neighbors, the Jungs, and my Aunt Kate and Uncle John have bottles for me. All of my bottle money this month will be donated to Project Linus!

Remember that there are chapters of the Pajama Project and Project Linus all over the place, and whether you support the Buffalo chapters with me or your own local chapter in some way, please let me know! You could win this month’s 25 Day Challenge!

Your Turn to Make a Difference: Win the February 25 Days to Make a Difference Contest!

This month, I am helping to support our local chapters of The Pajama Project and Project Linus! There is a lot that you can do to support your local chapters as well!

If you live in my area, you can organize a pajama and book drive, or fundraise and donate money directly to their organizations, or even simply SPREAD AWARENESS! Mrs. Cardena said that because her chapter of the Pajama Project is so new and the demand for pajamas is so high, she really needs to get the word out in our area about what she is trying to do! This is a great service project for groups, families, and even just one person!

If you don’t live in my area, there are local chapters of the Pajama Project just about everywhere! You can help your local chapter out too and still be entered to win a prize in my challenge.

This works the same way with Project Linus! You can help our local chapter by making and donating handmade blankets for babies, children, and teenagers. You can also make a donation directly to their organization! And there are chapters of Project Linus all over the USA!

The individual who makes the most difference for one of these organizations in February will win a $20 donation to any charity of your choice!

The group that makes the most difference for one of these organizations will also win an additional $20 donation to a charity of their choice!

I will also link to you on my site and list you on my sidebar too, so everyone who visits this page can see how you are making a difference too!

If you want to join in this 25 day challenge, please email me or leave a comment on this site so I know this!

To Kick Off A New Month

This month I am supporting the Pajama Program and Project Linus!!!!! The Pajama Program donates pajamas and books to local homeless shelters and other organizations that care for children in need. Our local Pajama Program is run by a woman named Ann Cardena. She just started our local chapter in OCTOBER OF 2007! She would really like help spreading awareness of the Pajama Program too! Even though Mrs. Cardena started out helping just four area organizations in need, she told me that in order to keep up, they need about 850 pair of pajamas per month!

Those who run Project Linus make blankets to donate to children who are very sick, homeless, or who have been abused. We have been talking with Christene Lewandowski from our local chapter, and she has given me some ideas for helping to support them!

I am supporting the Pajama Program at school by holding a pajama drive and asking everyone in my school to donate NEW pajamas that will fit babies, children, and teenagers. They can also donate NEW BOOKS. My principal, Mrs. Parsons, has been a really big help to me as I get ready to do this. Thank you, Mrs. Parsons!

Also, my daddy is supporting  the Pajama Program by also holding a pajama drive at his office too!! I am supporting Project Linus by going to Make a Blanket Day at a local firehall to make tied blankets all day on February 16. I AM REALLY PUMPED UP ABOUT THIS!!! I will also be holding another bottle drive this month and will be donating the money to the Pajama Project and Project Linus. SO PLEASE CONTINUE TO DONATE YOUR BOTTLES TO ME!

REMEMBER, I am holding a  contest this month for you to win handmade, blank Valentine cards. The contest is about spreading awareness of my blog, because when I get more readers, the charities I am trying to help get more support too! If you link to my blog, blog about my blog, put my badge on your blog, Twitter about me, or vote for me in the Blogger’s Choice Awards, you will be entered to win my handmade cards on February 7th! You can also do my MEME below. Just answer the questions here or on your own blog (and link back to me, please)! Make sure to leave me a comment or email me to let me know how you are spreading awareness of my blog, and you can win!

1. Did you have a special blanket when you were a kid (or now if you are a kid)? Explain what you liked about it.

A: Yes, I do have a special blanket. I call it Blankie ( it’s capitalized because that’s it’s name) and I’ve had it since I was a baby. I still sleep with it and love it very much!

2. What is your favorite pair of pajamas like?

A. My favorite pair of pajamas have colorful, fuzzy and striped bottoms and a light blue top. I like them because they keep me warm and they are comfy.

3. What is your favorite book(s)?

A. I would have to say Esperenza Rising and The Paper Bag Princess. Both of these books are filled with adventure and they both have strong characters who are girls! I like this!

Now, copy the questions and answer them below. Or answer them in your own blog! That’s all you have to do to be in the drawing to win the cards I’ve made!

Caught Making a Difference

Today, Mrs. Strong, my gym teacher, showed a lot of trust in my friends and me by telling us that we could use heart rate monitors whenever we are in the gym. I really like using the heart rate monitors, and they are really ixpensive. You have to wear a watch that tells you how many minutes you have been working and how fast your heart is going. One watch by itself costs around $250.00, and she said that if it falls on concrete it will break. I know we are lucky to be able to use them.

Mrs.Strong is a very pretty gym teacher who also coaches a volleyball team. She cares a lot about us and the sports we play. Also, she really trusts my friends and me. Trust means a lot to me. I think that it’s great that she trusts my classmates and me.

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An Update on Supporting my Cause of the Month: Ski4E!

Yesterday, I got an email message from Ethan Glaser’s grandmother. She told me some great things about Ethan! He sounds like an inspiring boy.

As I mentioned yesterday, Ethan needed to have a liver transplant when he was little! That sounds really kind of scary, but it hasn’t slowed him down at all. Ethan likes to ski and ice skate, and his grandma says that he has a really great sense of humor! Ethan calls his grandma “granny”, and I like that. My friends Sam and Kate call their grandma “granny” too. It’s a pretty name.

Today, I have begun collecting change so that I can make a donation to Ski4E at the end of this month! I also plan to return bottles and go on another penny hunt this month too. And don’t forget to PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR DASH’S CASH REGISTER RECEIPTS! These can really help the Children’s Organ Transplant Association.

I really want to say a big THANK YOU to my teacher, Mrs. Nabozny, at Lindbergh Elementary School! She gives me time to talk about my project in class, and she lets me encourage my classmates to participate. My classmates are great!

Please remember to support Ski4E and the Children’s Organ Transplant Association this month! Let me know what you do to make a difference, and you could win a prize from me at the end of this month and the opportunity to be named as a donor at the end of the month, along with me!

I’ve started saving for Ski4E! You can donate here! Let me know if you do!

Please Help Me Support The Children’s Organ Transplant Association!

Piper Walnicki is a baby who was born at South Buffalo Mercy Hospital last year. This is the same hospital that I was born in! Isn’t she beautiful? I love babies. I can’t wait to babysit someday. Right now, I get to practice by helping my neighbor take care of her granddaughter, AJ! AJ is a little older than Piper.

Piper is this year’s COTA child, sponsored by Ski4e. She has Biliary Artresia, which requires her to have a liver transplant very soon. I am going to spend this month doing some service work for Piper and for Ski4e. I am also going to try to raise some funds too!

Ski4e is an organization that helps to fund the Children’s Organ Transplant Assocation. It was founded in the name of Chad and Debbie Glaser’s son. His name is Ethan. Etthan had Biliary Atresia when he was born, like Piper, and his dad donated part of his liver to Ethan to save his life. Now, the Glaser’s work to help children like Piper.

I am going to do several things this month to try help the Glasers. First, I am going to collect Dash’s Markets register tapes, because 5% of of the total bill amount will be donated to help kids like Piper. If you are a friend or family member of mine will you please help me by collecting these too? Please give them to me at school, give them to my mom or dad, or mail them to my house even! If you live in Western New York and shop at Dash’s you can also send your tapes right to the Glasers!

Here is the address:

Ski4E

P.O. Box 14, East Amherst, N.Y. 14051

You can also organize a dress down day or become a corporate sponsor of Ski4E too! If you are interested in doing this, please take a look at the documents below. These might help you!

new-corp-sponsorship-letter.pdf

ski4e-2008-corporate-sponsor-levels.pdf

dress-down-day-new-letter.pdf

Please remember to let me know if you decide to do any of these things!! I am planning to give a small prize to those readers who make the most difference for COTA and Ski4E during this month! I would like to keep track of how you are making a difference! And if you are chosen, I will also name YOU as a donor with me at the end of this month, when I make my individual donation!!!!

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Speaking of making a difference, I “caught” someone making a difference for my family and for me today! Miss Pat and Mr. Gerry take really good care of me and Nina. Today, Miss Pat made me and Nina hot cocoa, and because she knows I like to cook, she watched Food Network with me and helped me pick out a recipe for onion rings that I would like to try. She also told me that she would save register tapes with me, and this means a lot to me.

I love you, Miss Pat! You are awesome!

A New Year of Making a Difference

Today, I’m going to begin a whole year’s worth of 25 day challenges! Doing this for a whole year is exciting. My mom asked me some questions, to help me think about what I want to tell you about the year ahead and how you can participate. Read on to learn more!

1. Why did you decide to devote a full year to this?

Because I really wanted to keep blogging all year round in order to make a difference. Even if I didn’t have a lot of people reading, I would still want to do this. But having a lot of readers has made me want to keep writing about service every day because blogging really does get more people involved in trying to do good things! I want to use my blog throughout the year to focus more on what other people are doing to make a difference too. If you read all of my comments, you can really get inspired.

2. How will the 25 day challenges work all year long?

This year, I am supporting a different cause each month. During each month, I will be serving the cause I have chosen in different ways. For instance, I might donate items, raise funds, or do some volunteer work for that cause.

I am also going to blog about it, and since the causes I have chosen have chapters in many places and websites too, my readers will be able to make a difference too! I am going to challenge my readers to support the cause I have selected, and I will remind them to leave a comment or send me an email at twentyfivedays(at)gmail(dot)com to let me know that I should keep track of them and how they are making a difference all month long.

Each month, the adult, the child, and any classroom who makes the most difference in supporting my cause will win a small gift box from me (which I will send via snail mail), permanent recognition on my blog (including a link to appropriate websites), and when I make my personal monthly donation, I will name the winners as donors along with myself.

3. Which causes are you supporting?

This year, I am really excited about helping Ski4e, Suneel’s Light, Our Local National Safe Place–Compass House, Project Snuggle, The SPCA, My School, The Pajama Program, Our Local Down’s Syndrome Parent’s Group, Project Linus, Children to Children, The Erie County Library, and World Vision.

More information about what I will be doing with these different causes will follow. I have been in contact with many of the directors of these organizations to see how I can help.

4. Why did you pick these causes?

I picked these causes because they mean a lot to me. They are all causes that help children or animals. Most of these causes are smaller, and they may not get as much attention as causes that are more well-known. My grandpa would have liked this. I also tried to pick causes that have local chapters all over the country and world, so a lot of people who are reading can also participate in their own communities.

5. What if people can’t participate for all 25 Days?

People do not have to participate in the whole 25 Day Challenge in order to make a difference in the world. I like to hear from other people who are doing little things to make a difference every day. Other readers like to hear these stories too. This is why I am going to focus every daily entry on someone else who has made a difference. I am going to call these entries Caught Making a Difference. I will share your stories about others and mine as well. So please send them along!

If you can’t participate in supporting my cause all month long, there are many other things that you can do to help. Visit my Please Help page to see what might interest you!

6. How does blogging help you make a difference?

Blogging helps me make a difference because nobody would have known about my challenge unless I blogged about it. Because I blogged about it, several important people who devote their lives to making a difference used their understanding of web 2.0 tools to spread the word about making a difference. I didn’t know anything about what web 2.0 tools were when I started doing this, but now my mom and I both know a little more about things like Twitter and Technorati and Digg and Stumble Upon because a lot of my readers have used those things to make people aware of my site. So, then more people do more good things! The things I do are really little, but my blog helps me spread the word and build a COMMUNITY of people who want to do good things too. I have learned that my blog can be like one little house inside a bigger neighborhood in this way. And all of us can make a difference. This makes me feel really excited because I don’t feel like one little kid who is alone in trying to make a difference.

7. How can people join the challenge for this month?

Email me or leave me a comment to let me know that you would like to be a participant in this month’s challenge. I am supporting Ski4E. More information can be found here, and I am also going to be speaking more with Ethan’s grandmother soon about how I can help! Look for a longer entry about this tomorrow!!

If you are a participant, please email me regularly to let me know how you are supporting Ski4E this month. Or you can BLOG ABOUT IT, which would be even better! I will link to your blog on my site if you do. Adults, children, and classrooms are welcome to participate! I will be announcing the winners of this month’s challenge on Januwary 25th! Please email me if you have any questions!

Happy New Year!

Making a Difference Throughout the Year

Laura has been eager to continue using her blog as a means of encouraging others to make a difference throughout the entire year. Over the last several weeks, there has been much discussion in our home about how she might be able to do this in a way that would inspire readers to take part, offer support to causes that are meaningful to her, and remain manageable for our family over the course of an entire year.

On January 1, 2008 we will be launching a year-long campaign to make a difference for a variety of selected causes. Everyone will be invited to take part with us in a variety of different ways. Your involvement can exist within the space of a moment…a week…a month…or an entire year. You can pledge to make a donation if you wish, but Laura’s first project was about promoting service, and it is important to our family that this remains at the heart of her project as it moves forward.

The purpose of Twenty Five Days to Make a Difference was to provide Laura with the opportunity to witness just how much doing “little things” might make a difference. Laura has learned a great deal about this over the last month. She has also begun to build a small community of people who are interested in doing good things as well. We’d like to call upon this community of readers as we move forward by asking you for some important recommendations.

Laura intends to feature and serve 11 different causes over the course of the next year. She will focus on a different cause each month through next November. Details about how she intends to support these causes will be shared on January 1, 2008. And in December of next year, she will embark on round two of her original 25 day challenge.

So, how can you help right now? Send us some ideas!!!!!

We have received some lovely emails from people who have begun supporting a variety of important causes. We’ve been invited to lend a hand to these people and organizations–and we intend to. As we move forward here, our family would like to continue helping in small ways that will make the MOST difference. While Laura has been happy to donate to larger organizations like Roswell Park and the Salvation Army, she is really interested in featuring smaller and perhaps, lesser known causes as well. In this way, the little things that she intends to do might make a larger impact.

Please help us by contacting us at twentyfivedays(at)gmail(dot)com. We would love to hear about how we might be able to help a lesser-known cause that is near and dear to your heart by featuring it here and devoting a month of service to it sometime this year. Laura would love to receive your suggestions prior to January 1st. She will be making her selections on New Year’s Eve.

And please continue to visit! Laura is very excited about her plans for the year ahead, and her family is excited to be a part of them!

A Little Something to Pass Along

Two days ago, I found out that Susan from Toddler Planet awarded my blog with this neat badge:

This is an award that bloggers give to other bloggers for building community online. I am really excited to be receiving this! Thank you, Susan! And everyone should go and congratulate her on her good news. Susan is battling inflammatory breast cancer, and she has been dealing with chemotherapy treatments for a very long time in order to make her tumors “operable” because they weren’t before. And now they are! Which is good news for Susan! I am happy for her and happy that even in the middle of all of this, she thought of me.

Because I won this award, I now get to pass it along to three OTHER bloggers who are building community too! And I had to think hard about who I wanted to give it to. But I have chosen three great people: Roger Carr, Jen Lemen, and Mrs. Lykowski.

Roger Carr’s website, The Everyday Giving Blog, is all about helping others. I know that Mr. Carr has built a HUGE COMMUNITY of charitable people there, because he sends a lot of readers who respect him to my site. I also like what his site is all about. The type of community he is building is something that means a lot to me.

Jen Lemen’s website sends me lots of visitors every single day. I admire Jen because she is an artist and she focuses her art on really positive things. Reading about things like this makes me feel happy inside.

Mrs. Lykowski is a teacher in Michigan. Her students are building community with a group of students from Columbia! They have a Wiki and podcasts that are really interesting to listen to. This is where Columbian students talk about what they think American students and schools are like. Michigan students do the same thing. I love listening to them!

So, thank you Susan for giving me this badge to put on my blog! I hope that the people I have passed it to will do the same. Each of them can also pass the badge along to three other people as well! If you have questions, you can email my mom at twentyfivedays(at)gmail(dot)com.

 

Drumroll, Please! Announcing the Winners!

 

Merry Christmas everybody! As you all know, today is the day I have been waiting for! I am about to announce the winners of the contests– the GRAND PRIZES, the BETTER LATE THAN NEVER PRIZES, and the CLASSROOM CHALLANGE PRIZE. Some people have been wondering how my mom and I kept track of the people who were participating. Well, that was easy. We kept a spread sheet on Microsoft Excel. Every night, we looked at my comments and secretly looked at your blogs to see what you did to make a difference. Then, my mom showed me how to cut and paste the things you wrote into our spreadsheet. People who didn’t blog e-mailed us everyday, saying what they did.  We have been keeping track all month long. Reading about all the things you’ve done has made my holiday the best one yet! This has been a wonderful learning experience for me, not only learning how to blog better, but learning that doing small things can make the world a very merry place! Reading about all of the good things that you did were great presents for me! So, I want to say thank you to all 60 people and 6 classrooms that took part in this challenge!

And now, drumroll please!!!

Thanks to everyone who matched my donations, we have $825.00 dollars to award tonight! This morning, my teacher, Mrs. Nabozny, gave me a very special Christmas gift by matching my funds. Thank you to everyone! I only ever planned to contribute my allowance for this month. It’s because of everyone else’s pledges that this got so HUGE!

There are two prizes for those who either joined later in the contest or may not have done all twenty five days. I have named these the Better Late Than Never Prizes, and I have picked one adult and one child winner. Each winner will receive a $100.00 donation to the charity that they name.

The adult winner is NEDRA. Some of the things that Nedra did included donating food to a food bank, buying supplies for a local classroom, using Roswell Park Christmas cards this year, buying clothes for needy children, feeding hungry animals, helping someone who experienced a death in her family this year, helping to run a holiday concert, and writing lots of notes of appreciation (among many other things)!  

The child prize is being awarded to the DUVALL FAMILY! Addie stayed late after her Brownie meeting to help clean up, she shoveled and dug a neighbor out of the snow, they donated supplies for soldiers overseas, emptied their piggy banks to contribute to a school fundraiser, gave money to the Salvation Army, and even shared the last of their favorite treats with their siblings rather than keeping them all for themselves!

There are also two Grand Prize Winners (one adult and one child). These winners participated right from the beginning of our contest! Donations in the amount of $250.00 (each) will be made directly to the charities that you name.

Our adult winner was Coco! Coco did so much this season that I can’t write it all here….but some of the highlights included making donations to the Salvation Army, donating clothes and books, starting online gift registries for the Salvation Army, visiting local fireman with homemade treats to thank them for their help all year long, donating food to food banks, donating toys to local hospitals, being kind to drivers by letting them cut in front of her. Supporting the Susan G. Komen foundation and joining Team WhyMommy. There is so much, much more…Coco has been really inspiring this season.

The child Grand Prize is being awarded to Lillian, Duncan, Hunter, and Drew!!! Some of the things that they did included donating books to a youth book exchange, helping their grandparents with a tricky home renovation purchase, creating multimedia holiday cards for troops overseas, donating free mammagrams, paying for a random shopper’s purchase at a Hostess store–because she was short on cash, and babysitting for those who needed it during the holiday season. These kids live in Utah, too–and they have shoveled more snow than any other person involved in this contest has. Again, they did more too, but these are just the highlights.

And finally, we have one winner of the Classroom Challenge. The winning classroom will win a $125.00 donation to the charity that they name as well as this very special prize from Susan and her husband at Toddler Planet:

 A 4 foot x 3 foot photo printout of the Martian landscape taken by the Mars rovers, a packet of solar system lithographs, and a special video conference call (or audio, if the school doesn’t have a webcam) with two NASA scientists.  We’ll give a talk and answer questions from the winning class. 

This winning classroom did quite a lot to make a difference using technology. First of all, the STUDENTS created a classroom WIKI, which will help to keep all of them organized and informed. The ENTIRE SCHOOL also participated in a “Free Rice Marathon.” Students were brought to the computer lab in 15 minute shifts all day long. They worked on over thirty computers and were able to “win” and “donate” 750,000 grains of rice through the United Nations to end world hunger. You can all play free rice (for free!) here. And the winner of the Classroom Challenge was Mr. Jones’s class! Congratulations!!!

Thank you, again, for making this holiday season so special for everyone!

If you are a winner, please email us by New Year’s Day to name your charity. Mr. Jones! You can let us know as soon as you are able to meet with your class again–no rush!

And if you are someone who has matched my funds, we will let you know via email which charity you can forward your donation to as soon as we have that information from our winners.

I will also be writing a post so that everyone who is reading knows exactly which charities benefitted from this contest and our generous contributors.

Writing this post was kind of sad for me, because I have really enjoyed doing this so much. A lot of people are asking if I will be doing this again next year, and the answer is YES. I will definitely be doing this contest again next year! I am also thinking about how I want to use this blog all year long. My mom and I are going to talk about that this week, while I am off, and I will announce my plans very soon! So, don’t leave just yet!

Congratulations, everybody!!!! And thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How I Made a Difference on December 24th: A Christmas Eve Prayer

 My Grandpa Stockman believed in praying for others and especially for people who he knew others were not thinking of. The way that I am going to make a difference today is by remembering people like this and keeping them close in my heart. I would like everyone who is reading my blog to try to do the same.

One way that you can remember the less fortunate at Christmastime is by lighting a candle in your home. My family is going to put one in our kitchen window today. But did you know that you can also light candles on the web? I would like to invite all of you who are reading to do the same at this page on the Gratefulness website. If you visit this page, you will see that I have lit a candle in memory of the less fortunate, who may be lonely or sad today. The name of our group is TFD for Twenty Five Days. It would be wonderful to see a lot of candles lit here in the next few days.

Although we know that not everyone does this, my family remembers people by praying for them, just like my Grandpa did. So this morning, my daddy and Nina and I worked together to brainstorm and write a Christmas Eve prayer that we will say at dinner tonight. I’ve written it below so that you can see it and say it too, if you would like.

We wish everyone who celebrates a Merry Christmas! Tomorrow, we will be announcing the winners of our contests, so please make sure to stop by again. ALSO!! PLEASE BE SURE TO LEAVE A COMMENT TELLING US ABOUT SOMETHING THAT YOU DID TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON THAT MADE YOU FEEL VERY HAPPY!! You can read my post from yesterday about this, or you can leave a comment here!

Dear Lord, On this Christmas Eve, we are thankful for the many blessings you have given us.  We are especially thankful for our families and friends, and the love and kindness we share with one another. We ask that you help us share that love and kindness with those who are alone, those who lack love in their hearts and lives, those who live in fear and despair, and those who live without faith and charity. We ask that you bless us all with your grace, and fill our hearts with peace and true love toward all your creation, as you showed us when you gave us the gift of your Son, Jesus. Amen.

How I Made a Difference on December 23,2007

Today I made a difference by putting together some old clothes, new toys and boots to donate to the St. Vincet de Paul society. Click here to see the link. My church encourages people to donate to St. Vincent de Paul all year long. They even have a clothing bin box behind the school. Tomorrow, my dad will help me out by taking me there to drop off all of our things! My church works all year long to collect and donate food to their pantry, too. It is a very special organization, and I imagine that at this time of year, they need as many donations as they can get!

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Christmas Eve Commenting!

The best thing about keeping this blog has been reading your messages to see what you have to say and what cool things you’ve been doing to make a difference. It makes me really happy, and I know that it makes others who are reading this happy too. I think it would be really fun if everyone who visits this site–whether you are a new reader or someone who has been participating since the beginning–answers the following question by leaving me a comment!

Out of all of the things that you did to make a difference for someone or something this holiday season, which one made you happiest and why?

I’m really looking forward to reading all of your answers. And remember, you do not have to be participating in my contest to take part. Just click on the comments box right under the title of today’s post to leave a message! I’m excited to see how many we might get! This will make for some fun reading on Christmas Eve!

Also, if you haven’t had a chance, please vist Lillian, Duncan, Hunter, and Drew’s blog! They did my meme! Thank you!!!! Also, you can do the Meme too… and I’ll link to your blog if you let me know (and your site is appropriate, my mom reminds me). Here are Duncan, Hunter, and Drew’s responses!

1. In your opinion, what does it mean to make a difference?

Drew: Making a difference could be something small like going and shoveling your neighbors drive way or it could be something big like donating $500 dollars to charity.
Lillian: Making a difference often starts out small and grows from there. One little thing done by just one person can have a snowball effect – or not. Sometimes it stays small but meaningful.

2. What is an example of a unique way to make a difference?

Drew: I think that a fun and unique way to make a difference is to do something as small as getting a little gift for an elderly neighbor cause even if it’s small it could make all the difference.
Lillian: I think every opportunity to do something for a specific person is a unique opportunity. There are many ways to be one person among many, but those are the general opportunities. It’s those little things that become not only unique but extra special.

3. Who has made a difference in YOUR life this week?

Drew: My grandma is making a difference in my life every day by giving and helping me with so many things that I do on a daily basis.
Lillian: SO MANY people make a difference to me every day! As we’ve been doing this I’ve noticed that I could make a list each day of what other people do for me. It is very humbling. Sometimes it’s also frustrating because I want to say, “Stop! Stop helping me and let me help you!”

4. If I didn’t have a blog, would you still be making a difference

Drew: I might but I don’t think it would be anywhere near to as big as it is with the blog.
Lillian: Probably, but we wouldn’t think about it nearly as much, and we would likely be much less diligent at looking for opportunities. This has been a fun and enlightening experience!

5. What is your favorite thing about the internet?

Drew: It lets me learn things and do stuff that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to do. Plus I can talk to my friends on MSN.
Lillian: Two things: 1. Information. When I don’t know something I know I can find it online! It drives me nuts when our internet service is down and I can’t take a few minutes to look something up. How did we ever survive without it? 2. Relationships. I have made some of my best friendships online, and continued or renewed others that would otherwise have been lost. Email, blogs, online gaming, IM, Twitter, and Web 2.0 sites like Facebook have given me vast opportunities to build and support relationships. I think it’s wonderful.