A trip to our local Fire Station!

With the warm weather in full swing around here we are spending more and more time outside and the boys are riding their bikes and scooters anytime they can. Honestly Jayden had an ill-fitting helmet and Liam didn't even have one, mind you he was always on a three wheel trike, but with him wanting to ride bikes with his brother I knew they needed proper helmets. Through Jayden's Elementary school I found out that our local fire department comes to the Elementary schools to fit and give any student in need a helmet for free. All of the helmets are donated by the firefighters so any donations are welcome. Since both of the boys needed new helmets we made our own trip to our local fire station so they could each get fitted for a helmet by a real life firefighter!!

 Liam getting fitted for his very own super cool red helmet!

 Look Mom it fits!!

 Jayden's turn, he had a lot of questions for the firefighter :)

 They even got some cool stickers and a lesson on always wearing your helmet.

A perfect fit for both! Having the firefighter tell them how important it is to wear a helmet was great, they have been seriously on top of the helmet wearing because a "real life firefighter" told them to!!!

Check with your local fire station and see if they offer something like this available, it was a great experience the boys are still talking about.

World Vision Beaded Artisan Necklace Review and Giveaway Holiday Gift Guide

This year I have been looking at charities that give to kids in need as a place to find holiday gifts. I can get a wonderful present and have the proceeds going to a program that helps people in need. With my new job I am finding myself in need of new jewelry and accessories and the ones I found at World Vision were great. They are colorful and handmade by people who are benefiting from the purchase.You can find many more items from the World Vision catalog such as toys and household gifts for the holidays.

A little background info on World Vision:

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.

World Vision serves close to 100 million people in nearly 100 countries around the world. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.

For my review I was sent the Artisan Beaded Necklace. The necklace is beautifully colorful and adds a great touch of color to a plain shirt. I have worn this several times to work and have been asked where I purchased it. Its nice to share the story on how World Vision helps people in need and they make products they can sell.  This glass-bead necklace is handmade in Thailand and can be worn several different ways — even as a multi-strand bracelet.

The World Vision store has many beautiful jewelry pieces you can buy for yourself or give as a gift. You can even make donations that will go directly to help families in need here in the USA.

You can shop the World Vision Gift Catalog Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/worldvisiongiftcatalog?fref=ts  and World Vision’s Pinterest page at http://pinterest.com/worldvisionusa/.


Enter to win a World Vision Beaded Artisan Necklace:


a Rafflecopter giveaway


 *Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts Nov. 21,  2012 and ends on Dec. 12, 2012 at 12:00 am PST. Winner will be emailed and has 72 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize. I was sent a product to review for this post.

Champions for Kids Post Bowls of Hope Simple Service Project.

~by Patricia

I am proud to be participating in the June Post Bowls of Hope Simple Service Project with Champions for Kids. During the summer months, millions of low-income children go without school breakfasts and lunches, and their families may have difficulty providing these meals.

The goal of this project is to supplement local food banks with breakfast and lunch items that families with children can use and receive. Post Cereal has partnered with Champions for Kids for this very important need.

I went shopping at my local Walmart to buy Post Cereals to donate to my local food bank. I will be having a family food drive and asking them to bring food donations when they come over for dinner. Giving to others in our community is very important, and teaches the younger children in our family to help others.

Post makes many different kinds of cereals that are part of a healthy breakfast. I thought this service project was a great idea, and the thought of providing children with a good breakfast to start their day really motivated me to participate.

I am hoping to collect donations like peanut butter and other things that kids like and are easy to make. Parents must often stretch already limited food budgets during the summer months when school is closed and their children cannot eat breakfast or lunch at school.

Fresh fruits are always welcomed at the food bank, and are great for a healthy snack. Bananas are also good to put on a child's cereal to increase it's nutritional value. Post makes lots of cereals that are both delicious and good for you.

Milk and other dairy products are very important items at the food bank. I love donating yogurt because it's something most kids like eating.

I will be donating to the Kingston Food Bank. They are in my community and it's director and volunteers tirelessly work to help out local families. I can't wait to make my donation here and help other families with children who need it.

I am very happy to be working again with Champions for Kids, and love being a part of helping others.
Thanks to Post Cereals for this project.


You can read my Google+ Story about my shopping trip to Walmart to shop for items to donate to the Kingston Food Bank for my Simple Service Project for Post Bowls of Hope and Champions for Kids.

*I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Champions for Kids #CBias #SocialFabric”  All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own. #CBias #SocialFabric #PostCFK

Give A Little To Help A Lot

I know that most of us don't have wads of money to donate to good causes, and our hearts would like to help more than our pocketbooks will allow. That is very true for myself.
 
I live in the Seattle area, and we are fortunate that it is here that we have people like Bill and Melinda Gates who have donated a staggering amount of their wealth to charity through The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

I used to think that it was so great that this money was being donated from right here in my own backyard, and it was enough so that I somehow felt relieved a little from having to donate anywhere myself. I also felt that my tiny donations of money or goods were so small in comparison to others, would mine even matter?

It turns out that the answer is yes, every donation has the possibility of helping to make someone else's life better, and that every act of giving can have meaning.

I was so happy to come across this great book called How To Be An Everyday Philanthropist. There are hundreds of ways to help others both locally and globally. The ideas and examples in this book will inspire you to make our world a better place. There is a chapter that shows you how to give back and help out by using your computer, without even leaving home.

Big or small, our daily actions can truly make a difference in this world. Reading this book gave me clear guidance on using what I have to offer, and that the size of my bank account does not determine what I can do to help. Find out how easy it is to make a difference, and how good you will feel when you do.

The Peloton Film Patrick Dempsey Challenge Raising Support for Cancer Care

Here at Frugal Family Tree we do our best use our voice to support great causes. We have supported charities like Champions for Kids and the Win and Give campaign. Now we would like the chance to share with you about a cause shared with us from a great company we have worked with, Rinck Advertising.

Patrick Dempsey aka McDreamy  has teamed up with four time cancer survivor Laura Davis (president of Rinck Advertising) and Ramsey Tripp who lost his mother to cancer to make a documentary called The Peloton Project.

The Peloton Project will follow nearly 40 cyclists  on a 2,500 mile ride from Alberta, Calgary, Canada to Lewiston, Maine where they will participate in the Dempsey Challenge. Cyclists will complete the ride in just 10 days, cycling relay-style day and night.  But, this documentary is much more than just a cycling event.

Woven throughout the team's journey across North America will be stories of cancer survivors, caregivers, and of a patient just diagnosed. Cyclists will be paired up with these "cancer warriors" and will be riding in their honor. Along the route, the cyclists and survivors will have the chance to correspond via video chats, which will be broadcast on the film's website: thepelotonfilm.com. The finish line to the film is the starting line for the Dempsey Challenge where the cyclists and warriors will meet in person for the first time. It's sure to be an amazing journey and could be just the inspiration a cancer patient needs to give them the strength to get through their battle. Director Ramsey Tripp may have said it best when he said this documentary will share the stories of "real people with incredible stories told about their humble lives, challenges, and a commitment to move forward-sometimes charging, sometimes crawling, but finding the strength to advance."

Patrick Dempsey and Laura the president of Rinck Advertising

Here is where you can help:

To get this film started they need to raise $20,000 by April 6th 2012 to get the starting funds. So far $14,655 has been raised with 4 days to go. Even if its a $1 every dollar adds up and they appreciate your support. You can donate at the KickStarter page for The Peloton Film. 

 Other ways you can help are: 
 -Sharing the Kickstarter page on Facebook, Twitter, their blog if they have one, etc. 
-Liking The Peloton Film on Facebook 
-Following @thepelotonfilm on Twitter

Thanks for taking the time to read this post, we wanted to help with this project in any way we can.

Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks “Win & Give” Campaign and XO Laptop Giveaway

I love when our blog can be used to help promote a good cause. Children's charities are important for us as a family to support. We have worked with several great charities since starting our site and we are happy to now help support Betty Crocker in their Win and Give Campaign.

One of the great ways to share with kids about helping other kids is through programs like this one. Many kids do not understand about how children in other countries may not have as much as they do and how a computer can connect them to the world and to a better education. By purchasing Betty Crocker fruit snacks you can begin the conversation about helping others in need. The value of giving to others is something we teach to all the kids at Frugal Family Tree. Plus what kid does not love eating fruit snacks! My son loves to have them with string cheese.

With the Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks “Win and Give” campaign there are a few ways to help give a laptop to kids in Africa. When you purchased Betty Crocker Flavored Fruit snacks you can enter your UPC codes on the Win and Give website and for every 100 UPC codes received in a day they will donate one laptop to a child in Africa. Specially marked boxes of Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks can be an instant winner for your child to win an XO laptop and one to be donated to a child in Africa.

Parenting expert Dr. Michele Borba is working Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks and the “Win and Give” campaign, a partnership with the non-profit One Laptop per Child (OLPC), not only to make it easy for moms and kids to give to others, but also to show that giving to others can be fun.

Dr. Borba recently traveled to Rwanda with Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks and OLPC to help give XO laptops to kids in schools. For her thoughts on the trip and the program itself, please visit www.MicheleBorba.com.  For more information, you may also check out www.WinOneGiveOne.com to see first-hand the incredible impact these laptops have had on the kids in Rwanda along with additional tips from Dr. Borba and videos of her speaking about the positive impact giving back has on the lives of children.

To help promote the Win and Give Betty Crocker Campaign we are hosting a Giveaway for one XO Laptop for one lucky reader and one will be donated to a child in Africa. How cool is that!!!


GIVEAWAY

Win a XO Laptop for your child and one will be donated to a child in Africa. Plus some Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks for you to share with your family.

 

To Enter This Giveaway: (mandatory entry before extra entries)

What type of giving do your and your kids do to help others in need?

*Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address if its not public in your Google account*

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on.

-Like Betty Crocker on Facebook +1
-Follow Betty Crocker on Twitter +1

-Tweet this Tweet once for the duration of the giveaway: +1

See how your child can participate and donate laptops to kids in Africa.  Together we can make a difference.  http://www.Winonegiveone.com

-Follow/Add to your circle  Frugal Family Tree on Google+ ( right hand side) +1
-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree +1
-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +1

-Share this giveaway on Facebook ONLY, using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +1 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

-Copy and Paste This Tweet on Twitter and leave me the link (to find the link click on the time stamp under your tweet. Can be done once a day for the duration of the giveaway)

#Win a XO Laptop and @BettyCrocker Fruit Snacks and one laptop will be donated at @FrugalFamTree #Giveaway ends 4/25 http://www.frugalfamilytree.com/2012/03/betty-crocker-fruit-flavored-snacks-win.html

 *Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts March 24, 2012 and ends on April 25th, 2012 at midnight PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize. The prize laptops will not be sent until after the program concludes in May and may take 4-6 weeks for delivery.

Truck Farm and Living the Country Life Magazine

I read many magazines on various topic. Business, Parenting, Working Moms, Home Decor, Music, Cooking and more. One magazine that I enjoy reading that is outside my own life is Living the Country Life. I live in the suburbs and a farm is no where near here. But its a dream of mine to live on one and grown plants and raise animals. It might be a far fetched dream but I have a love of farm life.

While reading this months edition of Living the Country Life magazine I read a small section about a non-profit organization called Truck Farm. Truck Farm is a fleet of pick up trucks that have gardens growing in the bed of the truck. Gives a new meaning to a flower bed lol.

Truck Farm is a organization that travels with the truck bed edible gardens to community groups and schools to bring the rural experience to urban environments. They have made a film about the story of Truck Farm and you can request to host a screening of the film. They are also trying to grow their fleet of trucks to reach far beyond the New York area through donations from communities like your own. They have obtained sponsors such as Ben & Jerry and Organic Valley and every bit of money helps.

I think this is a great idea for gardening and kids. Hopefully soon they will have a truck farm near you to share with your kids.

Donating to the Kingston Food Bank with All You Magazine and Champions for Kids

What an honor it is to be participating in the Champions for Kids and All You magazine simple service project. I have shopped at Walmart with my coupons and bought items to donate to an organization that benefits children.

I have chosen to make my donation to the Kingston Food Bank in Washington state. I have chosen this organization because no child should go hungry, and food banks play a vitally important part of any community.

My grandson went with me to shop for our donations, and here he is with a smile on his face and all ready to take our things into the food bank.

The food bank is run by Director Barb Fulton (she is the lady in the front row, on the right). Barb's parents started the food bank 55 years ago. Barb is generously devoted to continuing on the tradition of helping others in need.

These other marvelous ladies devote their time to helping out here, and helping to make sure that families can come to the food bank when they need to.

Kid's clothes, blankets and other items are always needed. Warm jackets and gloves in the winter are always welcomed and used.

Donated buckets and bunnies will help to fill Easter baskets for the children.

Thanks Champions for Kids and All You magazine! Our donations were very much appreciated and it feels so good to help others. I encourage everyone to to use coupons to help make their donation dollars go further. #AllYouCFK

Our thanks also to Barb Fulton and the Kingston Food Bank for all you do for the community.

Champions for Kids is a great way to get ideas for a Simple Service Project each month that anyone can participate in. Using coupons is a great way all year long to be able to give more and save more while helping kids in need. You can read more about Champions for Kids by visiting their website.

Website: http://championsforkids.org/
Twitter Handle: https://twitter.com/champions4kids
 Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChampionsForKids

 

You can see more of my shopping trip with my grandson to purchase the items we will be donating in my Google+ story.

*This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. 

All opinions expressed in this shop are my own and your experience may vary. #Cbias #AllYouCFK

Couponing for Good: All You Magazine & Champions for Kids

This month I am so proud to be participating in a Simple Service Project with an amazing organization called Champions For Kids.

This service project is all about using coupons to purchase items and donating them to an organization that helps children. All You magazine has teamed up with Champions for Kids to make this an easy and affordable way for us to give back to our communities.

I have chosen the Kingston Food Bank to make my donation to. Food banks are so important in a community and they help parents to feed their children when they need extra help in putting food on the table. Every donation helps, and non-food items are always welcomed as well.

I am shopping at Walmart where they always accept my coupons. All You magazine offers lots of coupons every month. I am going to use coupons from the magazine and others to make my purchases with.

Fresh fruit is always welcomed at the food bank, so I will buy bags of oranges and apples. Both are easy and healthy snacks for kids.

Any kind of baby food or baby products are always needed. I am using my coupons to buy healthy snacks for toddlers.

Pedia Sure is a drink that is a great source of protein, fiber and other healthy ingredients. I have coupons to buy two six packs.

Kids always need toiletries such as shampoo. I am also buying toothpaste, toothbrushes, first-aid creme and vitamins. I have coupons for these items and Walmart's low prices make them an even better deal.

I know that my small donation will help parents and their children. I will also be adding some more groceries to this that I purchased on another recent shopping trip. I will definitely be encouraging my friends and family to "Coupon For Good" to help others by donating. Even a small donation can help, and using coupons to shop with is a great way to make your donation dollars stretch even further.

 

To learn more about Champions for Kids and how you can get involved in a Simple Service Project you can visit their website, facebook and twitter pages.

Website: http://championsforkids.org/

Twitter Handle: https://twitter.com/champions4kids

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChampionsForKids

 You can see more of my shopping trip with my grandson to purchase the items we will be donating in my Google+ story.

*This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. 

All opinions expressed in this shop are my own and your experience may vary. #Cbias #AllYouCFK

Making Winter Care Kits with Energizer and Champions for Kids #EnergizerCFK

I love that through the power of my blog I am able to share ways to donate to the community around you. I have always done the holiday donations like most people and we do our best to give to food and diaper drives. Since finding the non profit organization Champions for Kids I have been energized to give each month a donation or my time. Champions for Kids makes it easy to know what to donate by each month giving you ideas of what to do and giving you a place to report back to. Its a great organization.

Earlier in the week I went shopping to make an Energizer Light Up a Life Winter Care Kit to donate to a local charity. I shopped at Walmart to buy batteries, flashlights, first aid items, anti bacterial items, winter hats and gloves, water, snacks and activities. The Winter Care Kits are geared towards what kids would need in an emergency. Here in California there is rain and cold that does knock out the power and during the summer months there are rolling black outs when the power grids get over whelmed causing the lights to go out. As a kid having your own flashlight, snacks and activities makes it easier to get through situations that can be scary.

I purchased Snoopy band-aids for my kit. Love the Peanuts characters!

I found many great emergency kit items in the travel section including this to go first aid kit.

Hand wipes with anti-bacterial are a must have. I like to purchase Wet Ones for the quality.

Batteries are a must have item for any emergency kit.

I found the cutest cartoon character flashlights made by Energizer.

These mini flashlights are good to have too.

I like to use rechargeable batteries in items. It saves money and the environment.

Any Winter Survival kit needs hats and gloves.

Your kit should also include extra regular batteries for times when your rechargeable are out and you have no way to plug in the charger.

Snack food items are important for survival but also to keep kids feeling like things are normal. I wanted to get granola bars and fruit snacks since they are kid friendly and not too high in salt. I included some yogurt bites in my kit for a tasty snack that requires no refrigeration. Dried fruits and raisins would be good too. Water is a must have and I purchased the junior sized waters that make it easier for kids to carry. I think water bottles are easier to use to keep track of your supply and less likely to spill.

My parents always found a way to make times during a storm much more relaxed with board games so I purchased a few decks of cards. They are small enough to fit into a bag and can be used for all sorts of card games. I also included glow in the dark bracelets for fun and function. I thought that a necklace might be a bit of a hazard in the dark but a bracelet would be fun.

I took my son with me to donate our Energizer Winter Survival Kit to a local charity that helps families with kids transition to a home with job training and life skills. I selected this charity since they help families who are homeless. It can happen to anyone who loses a job then their home, I want to be able to make transitional living just a bit easier with my donations. The manager will make sure my kit is donated to a family that lives there.

Giving our donation to the charity manager I was telling her everything that was included in the kit.

My son at Home Start donating our Energizer Champions for Kids Winter Survival Kit #EnergizerCFK

You can learn more about Champions for Kids and Energizer by visiting their websites:

• Champions For Kids Website:   http://championsforkids.org/simple/
• Energizer’s Website:  http://www.energizer.com/Pages/default.aspx
• Energizer’s Positive Energy Website:  http://www.nowthatspositivenergy.com/
• Champions4Kids on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/search/champions4kids
• Energizer on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/EnergizerBunny
• Champions for Kids on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/ChampionsForKids
• Energizer on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EnergizerBunny

 You can read my Google+ story all about our shopping trip and donation here.

*This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. 

All opinions expressed in this shop are my own and your experience may vary. #Cbias #EnergizerCFK #ChampionsforKids