Day 99: Buy Products that Give Back

I discovered a product today called Project 7 that I bought for my Good Human Act . Project 7 is a company that sells "products for good." For every purchase of a Project 7 product, some good is done in seven areas of need – Feed the Hungry, Heal the Sick, Hope for Peace, House the Homeless, Quench the Thirsty, Teach them Well and Save the Earth. It has a great website that tells you how they are helping in each of the areas and where you can find their products, why they are doing it and it even has a volunteering group called 7 Day that is a "NATIONAL MOVEMENT TO ENGAGE AND INSPIRE PEOPLE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THE GOAL iS TO SHOW HOW EASY IT IS TO VOLUNTEER AND TO IMPACT THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH WE LIVE."  http://www.project7.com/

Day 84: Sign a Petition to Stop LGBT Discrimintaion

A wonderful lady we know, named Pam, posted a petition link on facebook to be signed to prevent LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) discrimination in schools. I signed immediately! No one deserves to be bullied!

Here is more information about the Petition:

PETITION: STOP LGBT DISCRIMINATION IN OUR SCHOOLS

Discrimination based on sexual orientation must come to an end, especially in our schools. That’s why Rep. Jared Polis introduced H.R. 998, the "Student Non-Discrimination Act" to ensure that we end discrimination based on sexual orientation in schools for good. The safety of American children should be a bipartisan priority, but from the looks of it, right-wing special interests are already fundraising to block this basic anti-discrimination measure. In fact, the arch-conservative publication The Weekly Standardsent out a bigoted email calling gay Americans "sexual deviants." Help us fight back. Sign our petition right now calling for an end to discrimination based on sexual orientation in our schools. http://www.dccc.org/pages/bullying

Day 82: Neighborhood Litter Patrol

I know I have cleaned a road before and cleaned up trash in my neighborhood before, but after 2 days of large cardboard and lots of styrofoam being in the road of our neighborhood I broke down and cleaned it up today. I kept hoping someone else would do it so I could get an original Good Human Act for today, but I couldn't drive past it another day and pretend to not see it, or not stop to clean it up. So, on the way to run errands with my family today I made my hubby stop the car and let me pick it up. Since we were going to the grocery and they have a huge dumpster we were able to drop the trash off without any extra stops, which made it really convenient and the road looks so much nicer again!

Road Cleanup.

Day 81: Be a Patient & Courteous Driver

It was my carpool day this morning and we were running a bit late, so I was a bit impatient. It always seems like when you are running late that is when traffic is the slowest and other drivers are the most obnoxious, and it is really frustrating. So today, as I picked up the kids who ride with us I decided to mellow out. I took a few breaths and pretended like we had all the time in the world. I didn't get in a huff when the light turned red just as it was my turn to go or get bothered when there was a traffic build up, that was going to put us even father behind, at the freeway entrance (due to an accident). Instead of letting all the traffic problems compound my agitation I decided to let it all go and actually had a pleasant and quick drive to school. I even let a few people in my lane when I normally might have sped up to block them. I kept up my driving goal of patience and courtesy when I was called by my son's school and had to go back and pick him up for not feeling well. Though I was bummed he was sick and wanted to get to him quickly I drove smart and cheerfully and the extra drive didn't bother me today. I think if more people just relaxed on the road instead of being impatient there might be less accidents and a happier atmosphere on the road. I will try to always be a patient and courteous driver, not just today for my Good Human Act.

Day 77: Return Shopping Carts

I didn't plan to run any errands this weeks since I did a whole bunch in a batch the other day. But Chad finally got put back on the shift at work that he has been wanting to be on for a year, so that called for a quick trip to the store for some celebratory champagne!! When we got there there were tons of carts out of the cart racks, I didn't have much time and I had all three boys with me so I tried to gather as many as I could that were close to us and corralled them up for my Good Human Act today.

Day 73: Doggy DooDoo Clean Up

There has been a large pile of dog doodoo on a sidewalk near our house for a bit of time now and noone has claimed it and cleaned it up, so for my Good Human Act I cleaned someone else's doggy poop to keep our sidewalks nice and clean, I should have done it long ago. Merry New Year!!

And I would like to thank whoever dropped a secret delivery of baklava by our house with a Happy New Year's note! It was delicious and so kind!

Day 69: Pledge to Not Text While Driving

My mother-in-law, Ina, sent me a link to pledge not to text while driving a few days ago and it wasn't until today when I got a few texts from people while driving to the Natural History Museum in Albuquerque that I realized I should be signing that pledge. I typically only text when I am stopped at a red light or in really slow traffic because I am not very good at multi-tasking but today I text, (with voice command...so hopefully that is not as bad) while driving on the freeway- which I really shouldn't have done. So, needless to say for my Good Human Act today I signed the pledge and when I did I found that for every person that signs AT&T is donating $2 to the National Organization for Youth Safety, which a great added incentive to sign the pledge to not text while driving.

Here is the link if you want to take the pledge and have $2 donated in your name from Causes.com:
http://www.causes.com/causes/639835-connect-for-good/actions/1475122?recruiter_id=47285525

And here is a little more information about the NOYS, that the pledge donation goes to:

NOYS is a collaborative network of over 65 national organizations, federal agencies and business and industry leaders that serve youth and focus on youth safety and health. Through this network, NOYS influences more than 80 million young people, ages 5 to 24 and adult advisors.

Day 67: Hold the Door Open for Others

A small act that I try to teach my boys to always do it to hold the door open for others. Today I was able to do this at my gym. After the class I was taking was a Silver Sneakers class, which is geared towards older exercisers, and as I was leaving both the classroom and the gym I was able to get the door for many folks coming into the gym or the room for the class. Sincere thanks and small talk passed quickly and it reminded me of how simple a Good Human Act can really be. I know that having a door held open for me, on many occasions has been an incredible help or just a reminder that there is simple kindness in people everywhere.

Day 62: Christmas Caroling at Assisted Living Facilities

Today we were lucky enough to be able to join our MOMS Club and go Christmas Caroling to two Assisted Living Facilities that are nearby. The places are called Bee Hive Homes and they are in residential facilities that give custom care to smaller groups of individuals. Both places were warm and welcoming and had really homey atmospheres. As a group we were able to sing 4 songs at each location and give the residents a small Holiday treat, that our President Leslie provided. The kids and I have been practicing our singing for about a week now and they were excited to go, and even more pumped when they found out they got to ring real jingle bells while we sang. When we actually got there they clammed up a bit and got a little shy- but they still had a jolly time singing :) It was a great experience and really made me appreciate more personalized care places like the Bee Hive Homes.

Here is a tiny bit more information on the Bee Hive Homes:
Beehive Homes assisted living offers the very best of assisted living care. At Beehive Homes we make every effort to bring the comforts of home into our assisted living home. Meaningful relationships, home cooked meals, healthy and rejuvenating activities are all a way of life at Beehive Homes. We invite you to come and visit our Beehive family and feel what truly makes Beehive Homes assisted living the next best place to home.

Day 55: Give Toys to Goodwill

Continuing our giving adventure before the holidays, today the boys and I went through their toys to donate to Goodwill, or "to kids who don't have any toys", they call it. We were able to fill a 13 gallon bag to the brim with everything from superheros to stuffed animals, balls to cars, monster trucks to dinosaurs, they really got into it! Goodwill is a great place to donate because not only do they allow people to recycle their old goods into other people's new treasure, but they also employ people other companies may not consider. Here is a little more information on Goodwill:

Goodwill

For nearly 110 years, Goodwill^®has been an entrepreneurial leader, environmental pioneer and social innovator of the “reduce, reuse, repurpose” practice.

Goodwill diverts more than two billion pounds  of clothing and household goods every year from landfills by recovering the value in people’s unwanted material goods. In the process, we create job-training opportunities as well as entry-level and skilled green-collar jobs for people in need of work.

Join the Donate Movement

Your donated goods have the power to make a difference in people’s lives, strengthen communities and create a healthier environment. In 2010, Goodwill launched the Donate Movement, a corporate social responsibility platform and public awareness movement that focuses on the positive impact donating has on the people and planet.

Visit http://donate.goodwill.org to learn more about Donate Movement partners and to calculate the human impact of your Goodwill donations.

Employment:

Goodwill® inspires hope and self-confidence, helping people from all backgrounds and walks of life to feel successful, valuable and dignified.

We help people earn a living, improve their lives, and strengthen their families and their communities.

Our network of 165 independent, community-based Goodwills in the United States and Canada offers customized job training, employment placement and other services to people who have disabilities, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges.

In 2010, Goodwill helped more than 2.4 million people train for careers in industries such as banking, IT and health care, to name a few — and get the supporting services they needed to be successful, such as English language training, additional education, or access to transportation and child care.

Every day, someone gets a good job, with help from Goodwill.

More than 170,000 people obtained meaningful employment in 2010 through their participation in Goodwill programs. These people went on to earn over $2.7 billion in salaries and wages, and contributed to their communities as productive, tax-paying citizens. Goodwills meet the diverse needs of people, including youth, seniors, veterans, immigrants, and people with disabilities, criminal backgrounds and other specialized needs.

Day 54: Donate Warm Clothes to a Homeless Shelter

My sons school is having a Shel Silverstein inspired Giving Tree that has been collecting food, blankets and warm winter clothes to donate to Joy Junction, Albuquerques largest Emergency Homeless Shelter. So, today my boys helped me go through our winter stuff and we were able to find 6 blankets, 2 scarves, 3 beanies, 1 ladies jeans, 6 kids pants and 5 kid jackets for him to bring to school to donate to the Giving Tree tomorrow. I love that his school is always having service projects, it is a great way to teach the kids to be charitable and thankful for what they have.

Here is the information the school sent out about the Giving Tree:

Giving Tree 2011

In the spirit of ‘The Giving Tree’ by Shel Silverstein, we welcome you to donate
to the Giving Tree to benefit the thousands of homeless people of all ages who
receive food, shelter, clothing and safety from Joy Junction every year.

We are collecting donations of: new or gently used adult & children clothing
(especially coats, gloves, hats, socks, and scarves), blankets and food (boxed or
canned). We will be placing the items under out Giving Tree in our front lobby area.
 For more information on this worthy cause, go to:
www.joyjunction.org

We thank you in advance for giving to local people in need.  
There is an immediate need for cold weather items & food for the ‘Lifeline of Hope’
vehicle which delivers the items to homeless people out in the elements during cold
winter nights.  No item is too small to donate!  Anything from individually wrapped
crackers & canned food to hats & blankets are much appreciated!  

Joy Junction is a place of refuge to those who have been forced onto the streets and is New Mexico’s largest emergency shelter. They are a non-profit organization dedicated to helping homeless men, women, children, and families in Albuquerque by providing food, clothing, shelter, and safety. Each year they are able to serve over 100,000 meals thanks to the generous contributions of citizens and businesses throughout the city— because they are a donations-only charitable organization, they receive no federal, state, or local funding.

Day 53: Donate Books to the Library

 Before Christmas we like to go through our house and donate as much stuff as possible to people in need. Today the kids went through their books to make a donation to the library, so lots of people will be able to share their stories. All 3 boys got in on it with me and they gathered 35 books to donate!

Boys lining up the books they chose to give away.

35 books to donate.

Day 52: Tip Well

Today for my Good Human Act when I went and got my hair cut I tipped really well and genuinely thanked my hairdresser for her time and skills. It is easy to go places and just pay the minimum tip to save a bit of money or forget to thank people because it is "their job" to help us, but they are choosing to be of service to the rest of us and for that I am grateful. Service jobs are not the easiest ones out there and it is a great season to spread the love (and maybe a bit of money) to let them know they are appreciated.

Day 51: Celebrate Your City

Last night was our city's Winterfest. Winterfest is a Holiday celebration with a parade, pictures with Santa, fireworks and other Holiday events, and this year it was in celebration of the city's 30th anniversary! Now, I went to the Holiday parade for the city 2 years ago and vowed to never go again. I had told our kids we would go and meet a friend there, but our friends kids got sick and they couldn't make it, my husband was stuck at work and couldn't come, we had never been so it took me 15 minutes to find a place to park, which turned out to be really far away, I stepped in cactus on our fast walk to the parade, I was pregnant and had two small kids that both wanted to be held because it was a cold and windy night, they both hated the sounds of the police motorcycles and cars that went off throughout the parade and it was the first year that candy was not thrown out to the kids so they were disappointed by that too, needless to say it was "zero fun sir". So, the thought of going out to the Winterfest again this year, even though it was for my Good Human Act, kinda had my skin crawling. But it was in a new location this year, we had friends who were coming over to meet us this year and the kids got wind of it and were excited, plus I really liked the fact that it was the 30th anniversary rather than just for the Holidays, so we ventured out to the Parade. There were tons of people out to support the city and it's efforts, there were 5 grounded hotair balloons doing a balloon glow and 10,000 luminarias around. It was much better than I expected and a million times better than last time. We had a prime parade spot and on the walk back to our car the fireworks show went off and we were literally underneath it, it was pretty awesome! The kids loved it and I would definitely give it another try next year. Plus, it was really nice to see the mayor and all the groups in the parade decorated to the theme of celebrating Rio Rancho and honoring it's 30th anniversary as a city! Yay Rio Rancho!

Ready for the Parade!

With the Intel Hot Air Ballon!

Day 50: Help with School Fundraiser

My son, Keston's, school goes to 8th grade and at the end of every year they take the 6th-8th grade students on a "Big Trip" as an extension of their curriculum and something they work towards all year.  Here is an explanation of this activity:

 "Over the years, middle school students have traveled to study the flora and fauna of the Channel
Islands as well as the unique geology of the Colorado Plateau at the Canyonlands Field
Institute and visited Cottonwood Gulch.  Last year the 6th-8th years spent an amazing five days
in the Cottonwood Gulch. This traveling classroom experience has become a highlight of
the middle school students’ years.  These trips involve fund raising as well as a commitment
to be responsible, mature citizens representing their school as they travel.  This year 6th-8th graders
are planning to travel to Cottonwood Gulch again."

Right now, to raise money, for their trips the middle school students put on a Snack Shack every Friday where they prepare and sell healthy snacks to kids at school. For our Good Human Act today, and most other Fridays, we support the kids and send Keston to school with a little extra money to get a snack. It is fun for him to "shop" by himself and he is glad to get to help out the big kids!

Day 46: Have Neighbor Kids Over to Play

It is easy to let your family be an island, getting caught up in your own family's happenings and plans that sometimes, especially in the colder, home bound months, you forget you have neighbors...at least I do. But yesterday our boys were invited to play at the neighbor's house, they haven't been to in a long time, and today we had the neighbor boy over here to play. It is a small thing but it is important to keep those relationships up, it makes a much stronger sense of community!

Day 44: Support Local Crafters, Groups & Home Based Businesses

Yesterday was so busy I never even got a chance to sit down and write about my Good Human Act. And what a fun act it was! I supported local crafters, home based businesses and a local Mom's Group called Bloom by vending, attending and spending at Bloom's 1st Annual Holiday Craft Boutique! The boutique was set up so adorably! It had all the booths matching to their cute theme, it had a marvelous hot chocolate bar and great raffle baskets that were made with a donation from every vendor! A few friends and I were lucky enough to be able to rent a booth at the boutique to spread the word about the doTERRA Essential Oils I am in love with! And by attending we were also able to shop and help support and encourage local crafters and other home based businesses! It was a terrific Boutique that I will be anxiously awaiting to attend again next year!

Day 42: "Adopt" a Child for Christmas

Happy December!! Our MOMS Club does many service projects throughout the year and for the Holiday season one of them is "adopting" some kids for Christmas, or giving gifts of clothes and toys to kids who are in need. We were given the names of 15 kiddos, from a local Church, that need toys or clothes for Christmas this year and our family is lucky enough to be able to provide the things on one little girl's wish list. We chose to do a little girl because I thought it would be fun shopping for girls' clothes, since we have three boys, but man was I wrong :)! Shopping is not my forte and girl shopping, wow, there are a trillion more choices making it so much more overwhelming.  At least I had Calon and Daxon with me, they were good helpers in making decisions for me and I think we came out of the store with some cute and useful stuff!! It is such a nice thing to be able to do, I have very fond memories of doing the same thing every Christmas growing up with my family and also at school. It is a great to be able to give!

Day 40: Food Bank Donation at the Grocery

When we went grocery shopping at Smith's this morning, a Kroger store, they had a Christmas tree with Bringing Hope to the Table Donation tags as ornaments at the front of the store. Each tag  had a different donation amount on it so you can choose one to fit your budget. Then you just bring the tag to the register with the rest of your groceries, at check out time, and they scan it and that amount gets taken out and given to a local food bank to help feed the hungry. The Smith's by us donates it's donations to the Road Runner Food Bank. We didn't choose an expensive donation tag today but it was still nice to be able to help someone else who needs  food while we were lucky enough to be shopping for all the food we need and want.

Here is a little more about the Kroger Company and their Bringing Hope to the Table program:

For 1 in 6 people across our country, hunger is a reality. 

          • 37 million Americans don’t know where they will get their next meal.
          • 14 million of them are children.
          • 3 million of them are senior citizens.
          • 36% of these households have one or more working adults.
          • 48% of these households are in rural and suburban areas.

More families than ever are turning to local food banks and hunger agencies for help.

The Kroger Co. family of stores is donating $3 million in funds and $1 million in product to help feed those struggling with hunger through Bringing Hope to the Table ®, our annual cause-marketing partnership with Feeding America. Our customers and vendors are strong partners in this effort. Since its inception, the program has directed $20 million in funds and food to local food banks serving the communities across the country where we operate.

You Can Help Food banks are struggling to meet this unprecedented need - we can all help. Make a donation, write a letter, hold a food drive. Go toFeeding America to learn more about the face of hunger in our communities and find the local food bank helping to feed hungry children and families where you live. Leading the Fight to End Hunger in America For nearly 30 years, The Kroger Co. has helped lead the fight against hunger in the United States. Kroger is one of the founding members of Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity. In 2009, Kroger contributed 50 million pounds of food and other product to Feeding America food banks, to assist hungry families in the communities we serve. Valued at more than $75 million, those donations translate to roughly 60 million meals. Our ongoing commitment to bringing as much food as possible to hungry families led to the creation of a new Company-wide food rescue program, thePerishable Donations Partnership. The program allows fresh, wholesome food such as meat, produce and dairy products to be donated directly from our stores to local food banks that are able to safely handle perishable foods. In 2009 – the first full year of the project – more than 36 million pounds of perishable food was donated to local hunger relief efforts All of our regional divisions work closely with more than 200 local hunger relief agencies, including more than 80 local food banks in the Feeding America network. These food banks provide food and other personal items to pantries, soup kitchens and feeding programs for children, families and seniors. Our people give their time and talent to this important cause. Kroger executives and senior managers serve on the boards of local food banks and the Feeding America national organization. Associates volunteer to sort donations, stock shelves and pack care boxes

Day 39: Save Yogurt Lids for Breast Cancer Donation

Yoplait Yogurt is having a "Save Lids to Save Lives" donation right now. They are donating $.10 for every lid collected and turned in by Dec 31st, 2011. For my Good Human Act today we started our lid collection and I am happy to turn in anyone else's lids who is willing to collect them. I can come get them anytime before Dec 28th, that way I will have enough time to get them mailed in by the deadline. You can also enter a code on the lid and turn them in online if that is easier than collecting them. My kids love yogurt so this is a tasty act for us to do! Thanks Celeste for the wonderful idea!