#23 Petsmart

I feel like more and more stores are offering to add money to your purchase to donate to a good cause. Earlier this year I wrote about donating to Autism Speaks at TJMaxx. This is a really easy way to give to a charity you like without breaking the bank. Most donations are a dollar or more if you want and I've even seen where they just round up your tab to the next dollar amount. Pretty easy, eh?

A couple of weeks ago we had an incident where my dog, Ruger, got out of our back yard. Because he has allergies and is constantly scratching his ears and shaking his head, he doesn't always wear his collar when we're at home because of the annoying jingling of his name and rabies tag. Luckily, Ruger was found and returned to us after a few scary and devastating hours. I knew we needed to get a new name tag that attached right onto his collar and doesn't jingle in case that ever happened again. He is epileptic among other health problems so every hour he is gone is quite scary. This took me to Petsmart.

While checking out with my new dog tag, the gal asked if I wanted to donate a dollar to help feed animals in the animal shelter. I immediately had "Angel" by Sara McClaughlin playing in my head while visualizing some homeless, eyeless Shih Tzu, so of course I said "sure".

Again, a super easy way to make a small difference that took less than ten seconds. :)

#22 Lemonade Stand

Since this summer has been crazy-busy, I haven't been able to do too much volunteering of my time. I also know that a lot of you don't have time to give to other people as well, so it is good to have some of my Thirty involve other things.

Today's Thirty (that actually happened back in June. Whoops!!!) involves money, and not a lot of it. In the subdivision we moved to there is prime real estate for kids who have entrepreneur-ish ambitions in the way of lemonade stands and bake sales. On a day in late June, I bought my mom and I some lemonade to help a couple of girls have some spending money on an upcoming trip to Disneyland. They charged 25 cents for a large cup and I knew that my fifty cents wouldn't do much in the way of advancing their spending money (I'm pretty sure 50 cents would purchase them a piece of ice at Disneyland), so I tipped big.

Anytime you see kids selling stuff on the side of the road, you should stop and buy something. Even if you don't eat or drink what they're selling. I'm pretty sure that's in "Life's Little Instructions Book".

#21 Ellie's Run For Africa

This has been a long time coming and super late, but I wanted to do Ellie's Run some justice because I love it so much! Well, with moving and getting settled I realize that I need to just get caught up with my Thirty.

So I know I already did #18 on ERFA, but that was for raising money and being a Hero. Some of the pictures are more geared toward that, but this is more about being a part of the committee.

I got involved because I thought that maybe this was a type of charity I would like to take with me to Idaho. I knew how to run the 5k, but I had no idea of all the other behind the scenes stuff. Let me tell you, there is A LOT of stuff to organize and take into consideration when planning a charity run. I was placed on the Heroes Team because (I guess) of my "expertise" from last year of being the Hero winner when I won the Kindle Fire. As important as the runners are who pay the registration fee, Heroes is what brings in the money for New Dawn.

My group's job was to email or call schools and churches in the Nashville-area and try to get in flyers or potentially set up a time where one of the ERFA staffers can do a mini-presentation to bring awareness to the need for education in Kenya and hopefully intrigue people enough to sign up for the 5k and potentially sign up as a Hero. I'm not the most social person and I hate talking on the telephone, so this was a good challenge for me to step outside my comfort level.

Check out #18 to read more about my experience with Ellie's Run For Africa and, of course, go to www.elliesrun.org for more information about this charity and how you can make a difference. Keep your eyes open for next year!

#20 Red Cross

Looking for a way to help out with the tragedy in Moore, Oklahoma? Text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10. It's fast and easy and legit. Donating $10 is a small amount to do, but if everyone did it, the help would be tremendous!

#19 Locks of Love

 

I go through a cycle every few years of growing my hair out and then chopping it off. The chop is always inevitable so I decided to use it for one of my Thirty's and donate it to Locks of Love.

I did this once years ago but haven't the last couple of big chops because I didn't think they took dyed hair. Since my hair is an ugly dishwater blonde naturally (yes, I'm naturally a blonde), I lighten it up a bit. When I was researching to see if I could donate, I found out some requirements that I did not know. For example, you CAN donate dyed hair. You CAN donate layered hair but the longest length needs to be at least ten inches. They sell off the shorter pieces to accommodate the pricing of the making of wigs.

Locks of Love takes the donated hair and makes wigs for cancer patients out of it. I think this is really cool so I'm glad I get to participate in this again.  If you would like more information or are interested in donating, check out their website at http://www.locksoflove.org/

My man, Mason, doing his thing

All gone!

Before and After shots.  I donated 13 inches!

Horrible lighting, but that is what was taken off

#18 Ellie's Run For Africa HERO

Today's post is something that is so near and dear to my heart and something that I have supported for the last couple of years.  It combines three of my favorite things:  education, running, and Africa.  Settle in, folks.  This will probably be a very wordy post...

I had lived in Nashville for about ten months when B and I went to Sweet CeCe's for some frozen yogurt.  This is something we do a lot, but because of that day, I am changed.  There is a bulletin board in there that always has upcoming events that I always take a few minutes to peruse.  On that particular day, I was instantly drawn to a picture of Africa (like always).  I read about Ellie's Run For Africa on the flier and I told B that we HAD to do that 5k!  A couple of weeks later, I was wearing my sarong and beaded bands from Nairobi at the run.  After being at that event, I knew I wanted to take a more active role in Ellie's Run.

My first Ellie's Run!

Ellie and I!

Last year I signed up to be a Hero where I raised money through donations from my amazing family and friends.  I had purposely set my goal amount low because I didn't think anyone would really want to donate money and I didn't think I would be that good at asking for money.  I've never been good at face to face confrontation so I took to Facebook and email to just throw out there this idea that I had to help these kids in Nairobi get an education and some food and to help pay a teacher's salary.  I had surpassed that goal within a couple of days!  I was shocked!  I even won the adult Hero prize of a Kindle Fire for the money I helped raise!  It was an honor to wear my Hero t-shirt on race day with my sarong and beaded bracelets...and I'm doing it again this year!

B was working last year so E had to run with me.  It was her two month birthday that day. :)

I love getting to wear my Kenyan stuff!!!

Normally, I don't post one of my Thirty's until it is completed but since this is a fundraiser and I want to raise awareness along with money, I'm going to jump the gun a bit.  Below I have posted the link to what I have written on my Hero page and what was recently posted on the ERFA Hero blog that I was featured in last week.  Please take a moment to read about my heart. 

The Heart of a Hero  <------click there to read my story!!!

 

If you want to help out by donating money, GREAT!  Go to my Hero Profile HERE to do that.  If you want to sign up for the 5k if you live in the Nashville area, go to the website and sign up HERE.  The cost is only $30 for an individual with couple and family deals if you need them.  If you want to sign up to be a Hero, PLEASE DO!!!  Not only will you get an extra shirt with your first, non-personal, donation but you will help change lives!  You don't even have to live in Nashville to be a Hero.  There is a 12 year old girl (see her video HERE) that lives in Belgium that is kicking butt at collecting donations for New Dawn School.  Please take a moment to watch her video; it is awesome!  I don't even care if you donate to her Hero page instead of mine. Ha!  If you want to sign up to be a Hero, go HERE.  If you don't have the money or the crazy-passionate-about-this heart that I do, then please send prayers.  That is a huge way that ANYONE can help out and is always appreciated.

I know that there are a lot of links on here, but they are all worth the few minutes it takes to look through them. :)

For more information, go to https://www.elliesrun.org/

#16 & #17 Country Music Half Marathon

 


Again, I'm using a race for one of my thirty's. this race actual went to benefit TWO things which is why it is #s 16 & 17.



First off, the race itself sponsors St. Jude. There is a St. Jude in Memphis and they do some great things for kids. However, being the wife of a physician at the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital here IN NASHVILLE, I kind of wish they would support locally. Either way, kids are being helped out and in the end, that is all that matter. :)

 

The second thing I ran for today were the people of Boston and everyone touched by the devastating Boston Bombings. I donated some money per mile ran to wear the Boston Angel. This week leading up to the race, I read a lot of accounts on the Runner's World website and that really fueled me to RUN ON. We were even given commemorative bands to wear in honor of that tragic day.







 

 On the left was what I had planned to wear in honor of Boston. The right is what I ended up wearing because it was raining so hard. This wasn't a nice Northwest kind of raining. It was a good ol' southern down pour. If you've been in the south, you know what I mean. Flash flood warnings were happening and the whole bit! Ugh!

 

I found my friend among 35,000 people and she's in the running club I'm in. We ran together to hit PRs for both of us. :) She was who I ran with a lot of the time after I had Elie because I had to push myself to stay with her. I credit a drop in 26 minutes from my first half marathon to keeping up with this lady!

 

My watch doesn't show the hour, but that is 1:56:36. My goal for this race was 1:55:59 but because of the rain, I'm good with my time. Especially since it beat my best half time of 1:57-something, IN THE RAIN!

 

Overall, a successful day! A better run than I had hoped for in the rain and helping out two great organizations in the process. :)

****CORRECTION****I started my watch at the wrong time apparently! :) Goal accomplished!