Do-Goodie Brownies
are delicious and fresh brownies from Greyston Bakery. They’re individually wrapped to seal in the gooey chocolatey freshness. You can choose assorted brownies, consisting of chocolate fudge, walnut fudge, expresso bean, and brown sugar, or you can choose all choocolate fudge.
All profits go to the Greyston Foundation, which supports jobs, childcare, healthcare, and housing. The brownies are made fresh by Greyston Bakery Brownie Artisans in Yonkers, New York.
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Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve probably heard about a new site called Groupon. This is a site where every day in big cities around the country they post a new deal for 50% off a restaurant, attraction, or service. A certain number of people need to accept the deal to “tip” it, and after a limited amount of coupons are gone, they’re gone forever.
I’ve personally used it several times and have eaten in some of the best restaurants in New York City as a result for fast-food prices. It’s an ingenious business model–what the small business gives up in profit for that period of time, they more than make up for with exposure and breakage. Groupon, of course, takes their cut of the profit and also benefits from a ton of traffic to their site. And they’ve benefited–in a very short time the company was valued at over $1 billion.
I’m happy to see that Groupon is sharing the wealth, so to speak. Today, they launched a deal where you can double your donation to the group DonorsChoose.org.
http://www.groupon.com/deals/donorschoose-org-online-national
This is a great organization where public school teachers post their projects, and the public can donate to make these projects possible. Given that so many of our public schools are struggling due to layers of government bureaucracy and mismanagement, it’s a great way for the public to reach out directly to the individual teachers who work directly with the kids.
It’s a great organization to donate to ordinarily, but now, your $10 donation can be double to $20, your $25 donation can become $50, your $50 can become $100, your $100 can become $200, and your $250 can become $500. And the money you pay, of course, is tax deductible.
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Disclosure: We participate in the eBay Partner Network (EPN) meaning we may earn a commission when users click on links to eBay and make purchases.
If you’re having trouble finding Troparocka in your local store, you can try Amazon
.
Congratulations to Bret Michaels for being the 2010 Celebrity Apprentice. Last week while walking through Manhattan, I saw the first crates of Snapple the Bret Michaels and Holly Robinson Peete created being rolled into a local Duane Reade drugstore. After tonight’s show, they’ll no doubt be flying off the shelves, so grab yours while you can. The drinks will bring awareness to the American Diabetes Association and the HollyRod Foundation to help kids with autism.
Diet Trop-A-Rocka™ Tea
Bret Michaels: “My new tea is taste bud tested and rocker approved. I chose to create a Diet Snapple because I am a lifelong type-1 diabetic and I know together we can find a cure for diabetes. And just like being a diabetic doesn’t mean I have to sacrifice having a rockin’ good time, Diet Snapple doesn’t sacrifice great taste. My Snapple-osophy is simple: awesome taste, the best ingredients and low calories. And now The Best Stuff on Earth is better for me.”
Compassionberry™ Tea
Holly Robinson Peete: “Did you know autism is a global epidemic affecting 67 million people worldwide? The HollyRod foundation helps families in the autism community access affordable treatment and compassionate care, and our mission is what inspired my new Snapple flavor. Compassionberry Tea combines passionfruit and strawberry with The Best Stuff on Earth, making the best stuff even better…and more compassionate.”
So the question is…who really won based on taste? Well, as luck would have it, I commute every morning through Penn Station in New York City, and this morning there was a Snapple truck and a whole army of Snapple employees in purple T-Shirts giving away free samples.
I took one of each and when I got home I put them in the refrigerator. They are chilled and I can give you my unbiased take. I learned all about wine tasting in a trip to Napa a few years ago, so I used the same principles to taste test the tea (swirl it to release the oxygen, sniff the bouquet, and swish).
First of all, they’re both the same color–a clear brown color, like iced tea should be. From watching the TV show, I’d forgotten that both of these were iced tea flavors–I’d assumed all along they were fruit beverages.
Compassionberry Tea: The tea definitely smelled like berries, like a fruity shampoo or soap set. The taste is definitely powerfully sweet and fruity. Curtis Stone’s influence is definitely there–the blending of the flavors is excellent, and the drink is definitely light and summery. As with any flavored ice tea, you can taste the subtle aftertaste of the tea leaves, but the very delicious fruity blend of passion fruit and strawberries on top of it makes it a delight to drink.
Troparocka Tea: I was really looking forward to trying this one. The vanilla aroma is definitely very strong, along with the smell of peaches and pears. When I tasted it, it definitely did not go down as smooth as the Compassionberry tea–can’t tell if it’s because it’s diet or because of the combination of the flavors. The overall taste was a little watery, and the aftertaste was a bit odd–the initial aftertaste is not that pleasant, but wait a few seconds you end up with a lingering kick of peach and cinnamon that’s actually quite pleasant.
The verdict? Well, it’s kind of funny, but if you were to run a blind taste test, Compassionberry would probably be the winner hands-down. But after seeing the process that Holly Robinson Peete and Bret Michaels went through to design the flavors, I think I had more of an appreciation for Michaels’ Troparocka. In fact, after my own little taste test, it’s the one I went back to and drank more of. Troparocka definitely had the more unique and intriguing taste, whereas Compassionberry tasted good probably because it was familiar and more traditional.
I enlisted my coworker Sandy, who has a much more refined palate than mine, to do a taste test. Here were her conclusions:
Compassionberry: Much too sweet. No spiciness or “edge” to it. Just a sweet, fruity drink. The sweetness is so overpowering you don’t taste the tea.
Troparocka: A little shocking at first. Definitely more flavors. The cinnamon is overpowering, and the pear and mango are very strong flavors. There’s a more lingering taste afterwards of pear and cinnamon. I prefer it; I can taste the “bitterness” of the tea that I like.
It’s funny how the drinks ultimately reflected the celebrities’ personalities. Bret Michael’s presentation and commercial also took a lot more chances while Holly Robinson Peete seemed to play it safe. At the end, Michaels won because he put it all on the line, literally, for his cause.
At the end of the day, both celebrities were winners. And of course, the most important thing is that it brought awareness to the American Diabetes Association (http://www.diabetes.org/) and the Holly Rod Foundation for Autism (http://www.hollyrod.org/). As much as Snapple donated to them, their donation was only a drop in the bucket to curing these devastating illnesses. It’s the continuing support of you that will make the difference. Please visit their Web sites to donate and to show your appreciate to these celebrities.
If you’re having trouble finding Troparocka in your local store, you can try Amazon.
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UPDATE: This subject has gotten a lot of attention after a lot of buzz (no pun intended) in the press. Unfortunately, as with many stories like this, it turns out to have been too good to be true. Engineers and NOAA experts heading up the Gulf Oil spill cleanup announced that the use of booms made of hair is simply not feasible. Commercial booms were shown to absorb more oil than hair booms, and hair booms were subject to sinking when waterlogged and/or breaking up, which could cause more damage than it could solve.
So, disregard the post below. It was a well-intentioned gesture, but at the end of the day, not practical. The question now is, what do they do with the half million pounds of hair they collected already?!
The best way to support cleanup efforts in the Gulf continues to be donating money directly to the best ecological and conservations charities serving the Gulf area.
If you have hair to spare, consider donating it to Locks of Love or Pantene Beautiful Lengths.
An ecological charity in San Francisco has come up with somewhat of a brilliant idea to try to help what continues to be a devastating oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico (which as of this writing is still not completely contained).
Most people who have taken a shower in the morning know that hair attracts oil like a magnet. Well, the same principle applies to petroleum oil too.
So, this organization is calling on salons, groomers, wool and alpaca fleece farmers, and individuals to donate their hair, their pets’ fur, waste wool, clippings, and nylons.
I should say, if you have long locks of beautiful Rapunzel-like hair, you should consider instead another kind of hair donation, such as to Locks of Love. But if your hair is nothing to write home about (like mine), this is a great way to put it to some use. And be sure to tell all your friends who are salon owners and/or alpaca farmers!
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For today only, the site Midnightbox.com is selling a box of used golf balls. The cost is $24.95 for a box of golf balls, all assorted well-known brand names.
And as with all used golf balls, because they’re usually lost by bad golfers like me, chances are they’ve only been hit once or twice before ending up in the weeds for collection.
Hurry and pounce on this one, because the sell-out meter is quickly creeping up!
Proceeds will go to Our Lady of Black Rock School in Buffalo.
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I tend to surf the Web looking for causes to promote on this blog. But for today’s post, the cause was very clear.
My girlfriend recently went through catastrophic liver failure. It was a situation where if she went without a liver for just a few more hours, she would not survive.
Somewhere else in our state, a young woman passed away of a sudden cerebral aneurysm while hiking. I will probably never know this woman’s name. I will probably never meet her family, or her co-workers, or her friends. But because this woman had the selflessness to declare herself an organ donor, she saved the life of another young woman, and perhaps up to seven other people waiting for organ transplants.
To this young woman and to her family and to her friends, I give my utmost thanks and my eternal gratitude. And I pray that God bless her soul for what she has done. The Bible says that greater love has no one than they give up their life for their friends. To give one’s organs so that others may live is likewise a great act of love.
Organ donation is a subject that we don’t like to think about. Signing an organ donor card is sort of like admitting to one’s mortality. And of course, most of us go through our daily lives in complete denial. No human being has ever escaped the earth alive. And yet somehow all of us think we’ll be the first.
But of course, your time and mine will come one day. There’s nothing that we can do about it. But isn’t it amazing that even after our lives are over, we can bring new life to others?
There are over 100,000 people on the waiting list for an organ donation. Please visit organdonor.gov or donatelife.net for more information on how you can enroll in your state.
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The pans can be used for baking pastries, of course, but also for making lasagnas, casseroles, and other delicious dishes. They include recipes from Rachael Ray.
The grips are made of silicone in Rachael Ray’s signature orange, and all pieces are dishwasher safe and oven safe to 500 degrees.
A portion of proceeds will be donated to Yum-o!, Rachael Ray’s charity which helps kids and families build healthy relationships through cooking.
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Hurry and grab this one while it lasts!
Kohl’s is having a clearance on Dr. Seuss books, including The Foot Book, Oh the Things You Can Think, If I Ran the Circus, and the book that caused a lot of us to “go green” before going green became a political thing: The Lorax.
Note that even though a stuffed animal is pictured, the clearance sale doesn’t include the stuffed animal.
Even without a clearance sale, there are great deals to be had by visiting the Kohls Cares for Kids Collection, including Toy Story plush toys, a country music album, and one book I’m tempted to get–Top Secret Restaurant Recipes–all for $5.
Kohl’s Cares for Kids donates 100% of the net profits from sales of these products to children’s health and education initiatives.
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There are only a few more hours to take advantage of this deal. As part of the Humble Indie Bundle, you can pay what you want–that’s right, what you want–for a bundle of five fantastic computer games from five great independent software developers. Independent basically means that there’s not the overhead of those bloated software companies, which results in better quality and lower prices.
These are all top-notch games for your PC or Mac which would cost over $80 if you bought them separately. But here, you can pay whatever you like for them.
The games are:
The deal is only on for a few more hours, so don’t miss out! Proceeds go to help some great non-profits, including Child’s Play and Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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It’s been years since I’ve watched an episode of Saturday Night Live all the way through and laughed harder at the last sketch than at the first. Last night’s SNL with Betty White changed all that with the Mother’s Day 2010 episode of SNL. 500,000 Facebook and Twitter users lobbied to get her as a host, and they got this one right. I’m seeing thousands of tweets a minute coming in, all saying what a great show it was. Congratulations to Betty White, Lorne Michaels, and the returning cast members Ana Gasteyer, Molly Shannon, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Maya Rudoph for a great episode.
One great way to show your appreciation to Ms. White for her great legacy of work, from Password to the Mary Tyler Moore Show to The Golden Girls to Boston Legal to yesterday’s Saturday Night Live, is by donating to the charity of whom she is President Emerita and a Trustee: The Morris Animal Foundation. This is a top-rated charity that is the world’s largest nonprofit foundation 501(c)(3) dedicated to research studies to protect, treat and cure animals around the world. From canine cancer to feline leukemia, to the development of vaccines which have saved thousands of pets, this is a great charity that looks out for Man’s best friends.
From their Web site, here are some gifts which you can buy to support the cause:
Cru Vin Dogs
Cru Vin Dogs is a direct to consumer wine company offering
exceptional wines, and founded upon the objective to donate a percentage of all sales to dog charities. Buy wine, find out more about Cru Vin Dog wines, or ask questions at: www.cruvindogs.com.
LuckyPet pet tags
LuckyPet pet tags provide pets with identification tags. Morris Animal Foundation receives $1.00 per pet tag sold. You can also get a special canine cancer dog tag to support our Cure Canine Cancer – MAF’s unprecedented effort to cure canine cancer within a dog’s lifetime.
Joy to the World Collectible Ornaments
Joy to the World Collectibles has created more than 100 ornaments in The Pet Set, 16 in the Wild Side and 16 ornaments in the celebrity/charity line for Morris Animal Foundation, all endorsed by Betty White. Morris Animal Foundation receives 10 percent of sales. For more information or to place your order, call 888.367.5889.
The Truman Collar
25 percent of every Truman Collar purchase will be donated to Morris Animal Foundation to help fund research on Hemolytic Anemia. For more information please visit The Truman Collar.
Global Save
GlobalSave offers outstanding wildlife art. Customers can designate MAF as the recipient of the $2 donation from each purchase. Order at www.globalsave.org.
Tom Sierak Paintings
Artist Tom Sierak is known internationally for his lifelike pastel paintings. He has agreed to give Morris Animal Foundation 50 percent of reproduction purchases made from the Morris Animal Foundation Gallery on his Web site. When placing an order be sure to e-mail your name with “MAF Purchase” in the subject line (or mention MAF when ordering via the phone).
Gulf Coast Pet Designs
Gulf Coast Pet Designs carries unique items for you and your pets. From tropical leashes, stylish carriers, trendy dishes to custom-made beds. Gulf Coast Pet Designs has agreed to give MAF 2 percent of total sales.
Quilt Pattern
Roberta Williams and Diane Gaudynski are selling a beautiful cat quilt pattern, 50 percent of the proceeds from this pattern will go to MAF. The pattern can be purchased on Roberta Williams’ site.
Kindred Spirits Gift Shop
Kindred Spirits Gift Shop specializes in pet-related gift merchandise and “soulful” gift baskets. 25% of the “Angels Among Us” gift basket is donated to the Meisha’s Hope AIHA/IMHA Fund #338 at Morris Animal Foundation. In addition, 5% of any order at the Kindred Spirits Gift Shop is donated to the Meisha’s Hope AIHA/IMHA Fund #338 at Morris Animal Foundation when you click on “Meisha’s Hope” during the checkout process.
HeartGlass
HeartGlass Studio creates beautiful glass art that incorporates the ashes of people or pets, allowing you to honor, remember and have a lasting keepsake of your loved one. HeartGlass has agreed to give MAF 10 percent of total sales.
Ben’s Fund Note cards
Ben Cote was an eight-year old boy who loved animals, but who succumbed to cancer and was never able to realize his dream of becoming a veterinarian. As a tribute to Ben’s birthday earlier this year, his family hosted an Art Show in which his young friends and family members produced paintings with the theme “Ben.” Ben’s family decided to convert the paintings into individual note cards that could be sold to benefit the veterinary scholarship fund in Ben’s name. 100% of the proceeds from the sales are directed to Ben’s Fund at Morris Animal Foundation. To learn more about Ben’s Fund or to order note cards visit http://bensfund.org.
Designing Poet
Designing Poet proudly introduces her new line of doggie note cards. These adorable cards feature Arlene Klein’s best friend Scout, as he reveals all the little things in life that are important to him. Designing Poet generously contributes 5% of total sales to Morris Animal Foundation’s canine health studies. For more information please visit www.designingpoet.com/doggienotecards.html, call 941.374.5749 or e-mail arleneklein@designingpoet.com.
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