Give a Day of Volunteer Service

This is something great and you get tickets ontop of feeling good and helping someone else out by volunteering!





Breaking news…as we just announced on Good Morning America, if you give a day of volunteer service to a participating organization, you’ll get one day of free admission to a Disney Park. It’s a first-of-its-kind program we’re calling “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day.”

And yes, it’s that simple — a free one-day ticket to a Disneyland or Walt Disney World theme park for guests who volunteer a day of service to a participating organization. We’re celebrating you and the good things you do for your communities.

Our program officially begins on January 1, 2010. When it’s live, you’ll be able to visit www.DisneyParks.com or www.DisneyParks.ca and search for an eligible volunteer project. After completing the volunteer work, an e-mail will be sent from Disney with a link to print out a voucher to redeem at a theme park for a free one-day, one-park admission. And if you’re unable to use the ticket, it can be donated to a charity designated by Disney.

With this announcement, we’re looking for 1 million people with a passion to make a difference. And we’re working with HandsOn Network to do it. They’re helping make sure you find the perfect volunteer work. And many of the program’s volunteer opportunities will be for the family.

Also, you’ll notice that we’re raising awareness for grass-roots community volunteerism in more cities than just Chicago. Disney VoluntEARS are joining local volunteers in cities across the United States and Canada today. Work projects involving more than 1,000 volunteers are happening in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami and across Canada — Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and Vancouver.

We’ll be posting more details about the program and how it may involve your city on the @DisneyParks Twitter account and right here.

Of course, there are some official details you should know about: Must pre-register and sign up for eligible volunteer opportunity at disneyparks.com. Ticket quantities for this program are limited. Must be at least age 6 to participate. Other terms and conditions apply. For details, see disneyparks.com in the United States and Puerto Rico. In Canada, see disneyparks.ca.


GIVE A DAY. GET A DISNEY DAY.


BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2010, when you sign up here to volunteer a day of service with a participating organization
(and your service is completed and verified) you'll get one day admission to a Walt Disney World® or Disneyland®
theme park, FREE! We want to inspire one million people to volunteer a day of service.

Sign up now to receive reminders and exciting updates about the "Give a Day. Get a Disney day."
program by clicking on "Get Email Updates" above.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/WhatWillYouCelebrate/index?name=Give-A-Day-Get-A-Disney-Day

Tis the season and the reason for giving!

Pay it forward!


I was listening to the Neal Boortz Radio show - and he had a great idea when a caller called into the show. In short he asked what the caller was going to get him (Neal) for Christmas - the caller seem confused and stated what do you want? Neal stated he wanted the guy to go to Wal-Mart and go to the toy department and find someone who looks like they are having trouble finding the right toys and maybe down on there luck finding it hard to buy and shop for their children this year! Then he stated to start a conversation with the person and found out what the children really wanted and go buy them that item! The caller said that is what you want for Christmas and Neal replied yes in other words pass on the gift of giving to someone down on their luck who has a hardship this year! I was thinking what a great idea I am going to do that this weekend (will report what happens) This has made me smile all day just thinking about it!

Pay it forward you may not be able to buy something great in dollar value but I bet you could find someone with very little need! Why not skip that pizza dinner, or skip that cup of Joe or even give up that something special that you thought you had to have! You will feel like a million bucks let me tell you it really does put a warm and fizzy feeling in you're heart when you help someone and again remember you never know that someone could be you!

Feeding America

I am proud to be a part of this wonderful commitment to our communities so if you see a food bank in need such as when you are at your local store buy an extra can good and drop it off most stores have large bins to help you participate. And you can always find the local food bank near you and make your drop offs and or help to volunteer a couple of hours with stocking shelves among many other things. Everyone working together helps! Thanks for the support as I have always said you never know if you are going to be the one in need!


As part of Bank of America’s commitment to provide meaningful support to individuals and families in need, the company is providing $2 million in grants to three organizations providing critical hunger relief services nationally and internationally: Feeding America, the Meals On Wheels Association of America and Save the Children.

“Now, more than ever, Bank of America is committed to supporting core human service needs such as hunger relief, housing and other basic services,” said Kerry Sullivan, president, Bank of America Charitable Foundation. “This is a crucial time for these three nonprofits because they are simultaneously experiencing increased demand and reduced resources. These funds will have a positive impact during the holidays and over the long term.”


-- Kerry Sullivan, president, Bank of America Charitable Foundation


The year-end gifts include a $1 million grant to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization, to connect low-income Americans with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the Food Stamp Program. The support will enable Feeding America’s network of food banks to improve access and provide pre-screening and application assistance for low-income clients seeking emergency food assistance, many of whom are eligible for SNAP but not participating. According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, only 66 percent of people eligible for SNAP received benefits in 2007.

Support to Meals On Wheels will help senior nutrition providers across the country prepare, deliver and provide meals to homebound seniors at a time when rising gas and food prices have significantly impacted the organization’s services. As part of a comprehensive approach to hunger, to address malnutrition’s fatal impact on more than 3 million young children annually, grant funding to Save the Children will support domestic and international programs delivering life-saving health care, emergency food relief and nutrition programs to children living in poverty.

Bank of America is taking a multigenerational, holistic approach to hunger relief by helping to connect low-income and underserved families with available benefits and resources while also helping them gain greater economic self-sufficiency and improve their health. The bank’s funding also increases the long-term sustainability of these critical anti-hunger and organizations.

Bank of America and its associates are longtime supporters of organizations assisting in hunger relief efforts and, in addition to these grants, provided over $3million in grants to nonprofits that addressed hunger and food-insecurity this past year. In 2009, nearly 2,000 Bank of America associates donated more than 12,000 hours to food banks and food nutrition related causes.

Did you know?

6 million seniors in America face the threat of hunger
Every $1 invested in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits generates $1.84 in economic activity

United Way 2-1-1

United Way 2-1-1 Phone System offers community access to health, social and human services. People living in a 9-county region of Northeast Florida can dial 2-1-1, the easy to remember, three-digit telephone number for free information and referral and access to health, social and human services. It is a non-emergency number.


Need a Hero: For more information on United Way 2-1-1 services, click here.


Be a Hero: United Way 2-1-1 is looking for volunteers. Click here for more information.

Warm Coats and Warm Hearts

The final months of the year not only usher in the holidays and a bustling shopping season but also some of the year's coldest weather.

Many adults and children across the country struggle during the winter months because they are unable to afford proper cold-weather attire. With so many people struggling financial because of the recession, your coat and clothing donations matter this year more than ever.


"Good Morning America," together with retailer Burlington Coat Factory and the nonprofit organization One Warm Coat, once again want to help those in need with the 3rd annual Warm Coats & Warm Hearts Drive.


Last year we collected 177,339 coats and the first year of the drive we collected 175,125 coats. All the coats were distributed free of charge to those in need. This year we'd like to spread the warmth even farther and wider.








This is the season and what another great way to give back so if you have any coats please donate it is easy use the website for a map of a shop/dropbox location near you!

Thanks for givng! I had 7 coats donated and will be taking them to my local store this weekend! And it just gives me reason to shop which I love to do and even better with a discount!


http://corporate.burlingtoncoatfactory.com/gmacoatdrive/

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

PEARL HARBOR — Harold O'Connor, 88, was a Navy Fireman First Class on the USS Thornton, a destroyer seaplane tender, in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked.
"All the torpedo planes were coming right off our fantail," O'Connor recalls. "I watched the West Virginia go up from two torpedoes that were dropped. All hell was breaking loose. I saw the bombs that hit the Arizona."

That's just one of O'Connor's World War II stories from the Pacific. The Hawaii man was again on the Thornton in 1942 taking Marines to Palmyra Atoll, when the ship ran aground on New Year's Eve. There he saw two torpedoes streaming toward where he stood.

"I said, 'Goodbye world,' and I hit the deck," O'Connor said. "Nothing happened. I got up, and here come two more torpedoes. They came right under where I was standing."

O'Connor's recollections go beyond Japan's 1941 attack on Oahu and so will the new $58 million Pearl Harbor center under construction for the USS Arizona Memorial here, says Daniel Martinez, chief historian for the emerging World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.

President George W. Bush set that change in motion last year when he proclaimed the Arizona Memorial and visitor center part of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, which includes nine sites: five in Hawaii, three in Alaska, and one in California at the Tule Lake Segregation Center, which was where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II.

The challenge for the National Park Service, which runs the Arizona Memorial, is to expand its exhibits to incorporate the new Pacific mandate, Martinez says.

"We're at the beginning of trying to interpret how we're going to carry this out," Martinez said. "There are other ways to communicate this story besides traditional exhibits, so we're looking at ways to do it on the Web, we're looking at ways to do it through interpretive programs, we're looking at ways to do it through education."

A visitor center had been planned long before Bush's announcement. The existing facility, which was built in 1980, was sinking. It was too small to accommodate the more than 1.3 million people who visit the state's No. 1 tourist attraction each year.

Visitors who arrive today at the center for the boat ride to Kilo pier on the Pearl Harbor Navy base — where a commemoration ceremony will be held —will be greeted by a circuitous path of 12-foot chain-link fences covered in black fabric batting, a construction barrier separating older buildings still in use at the visitor center from their new replacements.

The new facility will occupy 24,000 square feet and have nearly double the current museum exhibition space, according to the Arizona Memorial Museum Association. The campuslike design spreads new buildings and shaded walkways over a much larger area than before.

"You feel kind of confined here," said visitor Shannon Howland, 50, of Seattle, who was waiting last week in the visitor center courtyard for the movie and boat trip to the memorial. "The more open they make it, the better it will be — just for the flow of people on a busy day."

Construction began about a year ago, and the first phase, which includes an education center, restrooms, a bookstore and snack shop, is scheduled to open around Feb. 16, project director Tom Fake said.

The exhibits Road to War, Oahu 1941, and Attack and Aftermath will be part of the second phase, which is to be completed by Dec. 7, 2010.

The "attack" gallery will have an 18-foot mural depicting Battleship Row off Ford Island on Dec. 7, 1941. A one-third scale model of a banking Japanese torpedo plane will be hung overhead, and the roar of passing enemy planes will be heard in the exhibit, Martinez said.

An anti-aircraft gun that came off the sunken USS Utah, a 5-foot-by-9-foot riveted slab of the USS Arizona's superstructure, and an oscilloscope showing the radar picture before the attack, also are included in the exhibit plan, he said.

Today's events for the expected 2,000 people in attendance, will include a moment of silence, a "missing man" flyover, wreath presentations, featured speakers, a rifle salute and taps. The 7:55 a.m. attack killed 2,390 people.

XEROX is doing this again this year!

XEROX IS COOL

If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them.

This takes just 10 seconds and it's a wonderful way to say thank you. Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do. We can never say enough thank you's. you can do it every day!

Thanks for taking the time to support our military!

Judging American Coed Pageants

Having fun judging (seen here with other Judges) and yes eating a turkey shaped cookie!

Hope you enjoyed the Holiday - Thanksgiving meal is my all time fav. yummy We don't have any leftovers now - I am so sad!


Learn more about National American Coed pageant - http://www.gocoed.com/













The last photo is of the mascots for the American Coed Pageant(cute ones they were headed to a cookie party so I asked for a photo opt. before they hit the party for the contestants) - this seemed like a wonderful pageant this was my first time to attend and Judge so thanks to Ms. Patty for all the wonderful things you guys did for the Judges! Had a wonderful time!

Take care until next post!