Charitable Gift Giving

We surf the Web to find good products that help out a great cause.

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Win $1 Million or a Dream Home

November 2nd, 2007 · Naperville Rotary Charities

Okay, the title of this blog sounds like something you might read in a spam blog, but it’s actually a very legitimate and very neat idea.

Naperville Rotary Charities, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that runs an annual raffle. At $100 each, the tickets are a bit pricey, but the grand prize is $1,000,000 in cash or in the form of a new dream home, and other prizes will be given out too. The odds are pretty good of winning some prize.

And of course, there’s comfort in knowing that even if you don’t win, your money will be going to help others. After paying off the expenses to market this program, as well as the expenses for the prizes, 100% of the net proceeds go directly to great causes like Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. I’ve looked into this company–this is the 19th year they’ve done this, and it has definitely done good.

The drawing will be held on November 29, 2007. You can purchase tickets by entering here

Good luck! 🙂

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Read Memories from Baseball Greats

November 1st, 2007 · Alzheimer's Disease, Amazon

Baseball's greatest memories

Now that baseball season is over (actually, for us Yankee fans it ended a couple weeks ago), it’s time to settle in for the long, dark winter before pitchers and catchers report to spring training in February.

Here’s some great reading that’ll keep you company all winter. It’s a book by baseball writer Alan Schwarz. In this book, Schwarz interviews a number of notable baseball stars and other personalities with baseball ties, and documents their innermost memories of the game. Read how Derek Jeter told his parents at age 10 of how he’d play professional baseball. Hear Ernie Banks tell the story of how he coined the phrase “let’s play two”. Hear great memories from Yogi Berra, Kevin Costner, Reggie Jackson, Pedro Martinez, Cal Ripken Jr., Nolan Ryan, Charles Schulz, and more.

This book is available at Amazon. The Amazon listing doesn’t mention it, but on his own Web site, the author has committed to donate a portion of all proceeds to help Alzheimer’s research and patients.

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Beautiful Gerber Daisies: Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2007

October 31st, 2007 · Breast Cancer, Carol Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Giftback.com

gerber daisies to help fight breast cancerFor our final product of Breast Cancer Awareness month, we’ll go to one of my favorite sites on the Web: GiftBack.Com.

This is an amazing site full of gifts that give back: you can buy gifts for any occasion, and a full 10% of every gift you purchase will go to help a great cause. You can choose from over 200 charities to donate to.

This particular bouquet of gerber daisies goes to help the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

And so that does it for October. Starting tomorrow, we’ll be going back to finding products on the Web that support every type of charitable organizations and good causes!

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Fannie May Signature Chocolates in Pink: Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2007

October 29th, 2007 · Breast Cancer, Fannie May

Have you ever heard of Fannie May Gourmet Chocolate (not to be confused with the similarly-sounding mortgage company)? They’re huge in the Chicagoland area, and are just starting to get recognized nationwide. 

One of the things in Fannie May’s history that made them famous was that during World War II, they would not compromise their chocolate recipe at a time when ingredients were scare, opting instead to shut down several of their stores for the duration of the war.

What cool is, Fannie May has taken two of their signature chocolate designs and has produced “pink” version of them to support several Chicago-area cancer organizations, including The Cancer Wellness Center, Jennifer S. Fallick Cancer Support Center, Wellness House,Wellness Place and Gilda’s Club Chicago.

pink pixiesFannie May Pixies have been around since 1946 and are still going strong. They’re an incredible combination of chocolate, caramel, and crunchy pecans. Forget everything you’ve known about chocolate and caramel–this is definitely a different experience. These Pixies are glazed with pink to support breast cancer research, and come in a great gift box.

mint meltawaysFannie May Mint Meltaways are my favorite Fannie May chocolate. They’re normally in a light green mint shell, but for this cause they’ve been dyed pink instead of green. They still taste just as incredible–luscious chocolate encased in a minty shell. Also comes in a great gift box.

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Shower for a Cure: Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2007

October 27th, 2007 · Breast Cancer, Drugstore.com, Women's Cancer Research Fund

shampoo, bath, shower gelThis is a bottle of shampoo, bath, and shower gel available at Drugstore.Com.

100% of profits from this item go to the Women’s Cancer Research Fund, an organization founded by members of the entertainment industry dedicated to raising funds for breast cancer awareness and research.
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Cookies for a Cure: Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2007

October 25th, 2007 · Breast Cancer, Cheryl&Co.

cookies to support breast cancer researchMost residents of Ohio know and love Cheryl&Co cookies. For those of you outside Ohio, next time you need to send a gift, try Cheryl&Co’s cookie gifts–neither you nor the person you’re sending the gift to will be disappointed!

Cheryl’s Cookies for a Cure features their famous frosted cut-out cookies. If you’ve never had a frosted cut-out cookie, just think of a delicious freshly-baked cake with delicious frosting shrunked down to cookie form.

A portion of the proceeds go to help Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, two leading cancer organizations associated with Ohio State University.

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The World's Biggest Blog Party

October 24th, 2007 · Uncategorized

We interrupt this parade of pink products to tell you about something pretty cool. 🙂

The folks at TheWorldsBiggestBlogParty.Com came up with the great idea of contacting bloggers from around the world to join in and write back their favorite cause or charity.

From October 27 to November 17, that site will feature blogs about groups and people who make a difference. The fun kicks off at 9:00 PM on Friday, October 26, where for 24 straight hours, bloggers will be posting to that site.

If you have a cause that’s near and dear to your heart, and if you’re a fellow member of the blogosphere, head on over to that site and read more!

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Pink Hammer: Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2007

October 23rd, 2007 · Amazon, Breast Cancer, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

pink hammer Here’s a unique “pink” product: a Pink Hammer that benefits the Susan G. Komen, created by Tomboy Tools. Don’t let the color fool you–this is a serious hammer for serious work around the house.

It’s 13 ounces, meaning it’s lighter than most hammers, but it’s still tough enough to get the job done. The rubber grip lets you hammer in comfort. A magnetic nail groove lets you pick and and hold nails in place.

Best of all, $3 of each hammer goes to the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer foundation.

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Pink Bowls for a Cure

October 22nd, 2007 · Amazon, Breast Cancer, National Breast Cancer Foundation

pink bowlsIf you’re like me, you could always use a set of bowls for mixing, stirring, tossing, whipping, and serving.

Zak Designs has a great set of nesting bowls in various shades of pink. The largest bowl is light pink, and the six additional bowls darken until the smallest, a deep magenta.

The bowls are made of melamine, so they’re durable and dishwasher-safe (although not meant for microwave or oven use).  

The six bowls are sized as follows: 4.5 quarts, 2.3 quarts, 1.3 quarts, 22-ounces, 10 ounces, and 2.3 ounces. They nest together for easy storage.

For each set sold, Zak! Designs donates a portion of the proceeds to benefit the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

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Pink Tennis Balls: Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2007

October 21st, 2007 · Amazon, Breast Cancer

pink tennis ballsThis falls into the “cool” category. It’s a set of Pink Tennis Balls which look and act very much like any other Penn championship-quality tennis balls except…well, they’re pink.

Some of the proceeds from these balls will go to breast cancer research. While you’re at Amazon, check out other pink tennis-related items such as a Pink Tennis Racquet.

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