Feed Your Good Dog

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charitable giving

Wednesday Wide Smile

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Congratulatons to 11-Year-Old, MaryMargaret, Who Surpassed Original Goal and Donates 250 MP3 Players to Area Hospitals

MaryMargaret Music for Life Fundraiser

On November 20, 2009, the Feed Your Good Dog Council, posted a story about the efforts of then 10-year old MaryMargaret O’Neill who continued to work tirelessly to raise enough money to eventually buy 150 MP3 players for kids in the hospital. Her hope is that the therapeutic quality of the music provided by the MP3 players will help kids endure the many and sometimes painful test they go through during their stay in the hospital. “When they are bored or scared, they can listen to their favorite music and feel better” she said.

MaryMargaret calls her project “Music for Life”. She ran multiple fund raisers at local malls and other venues. She reached out through social media outlets to collect funds. She braved the freezing cold weather in January at an outdoor fundraiser at night. Even though there were few people there, one frigid man walked up and handed her a $50.00 bill. “I came here specifically to give you this,” he said. He had seen the notice in the paper that she would be there.

Recently, MaryMargaret surpassed her goal of 150 MP3 players and purchased 250. She preloaded them with music donated by her Facebook and Twitter friends. They are all ready to use. They come in a gift bag with a Kids Are Heroes flyer and a personal letter written by MaryMargaret. She plans on donating half of them to Children’s Medical Center in Washington D.C. and the other half to Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

Stay tuned for more to come about the good MaryMargaret is sure to accomplish!

Sources:

KidsAreHeroes.com

Kids Are Heroes

and

Next Phase Music for Life

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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TGIFYGDF…Thank Goodness It’s Feed Your Good Dog Friday!

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HANDS TOGETHER HAS WORKED OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS TO HELP IMPROVE THE LIVES OF PEOPLE LIVING IN THE POOREST OF POOR CONDITIONS IN HAITI, AND, AFTER THE RECENT EARTHQUAKE, THEIR WORK IS NEEDED THERE NOW MORE THAN EVER

“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” ~Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King’s words are inspiration for the work being done by Hands Together, a non-profit organization that works to improve the lives of Haiti’s poor so they may live with dignity. Hands Together volunteers are, and have been, “boots on the ground” in Haiti in one form or another for the past 25 years. You will find a first hand account of what happened in Haiti on the day of the earthquake, Hands Together’s response to it and their recovery plan on the Hands Together website.

Hands Together was born of a single service trip to Haiti in 1985, when Father Tom Hagan, O.S.F.S., who was serving as chaplain to Lafayette and Moravian Colleges in Pennsylvania, led a group of students on a visit to Haiti. The history of Hands Together is rich and its accomplishments many despite the years of violence and natural disasters that have threatened to shut them down.

Its vision is the hope that not only will the people of Haiti benefit from the tireless efforts of its volunteers who work to help the poor become free and live dignified lives through education, clean water, and health care, but that the volunteers return to their own community with the ability to identify its needs with a renewed sense of compassion and desire to fulfill those needs.

One can not help but be inspired and feel moved to serve after reading the following Hands Together vision message:

We hope that members of Hands Together work passionately to build a more compassionate and human world; that Hands Together’s workers will be known for their tenderness and mercy, especially toward the poor; that people will visit our projects and experience the beauty and goodness of the people they encounter; that our volunteers will assess the needs of their own communities with a renewed sense of compassion, and search for ways to respond respectfully to help others; that the families who live in Haiti’s desert villages will be healthy, that the people in the slums of Port-au-Prince will drink clean water; that everyone in Haiti will have access to education; that in the poorest communities, Hands Together helps people use their resources so that they become free and live dignified lives; and we hope that the people of Haiti will be able to build a strong community with their friends from Hands Together and exchange ideas in order to improve their quality of life.

Following are concrete goals set by Hands Together to give you an idea of the work being done to carry out its vision:

    Education

  • 15 school campuses with 11,000 students
    Emergency Intervention

  • Spontaneous charity to poorest of the poor
  • Response to disasters
    Nutrition – Health

  • Daily meals to 11,000 students, staff and elderly
  • Canteens for children ages 2-7
  • Medical outreach through 2 clinics
    Sustainable Development

  • Water well and irrigation drilling
  • Agricultural promotion through Bassen Center & Clarke Farm & Environment Protection
  • Employment for 500 people

If you find some time to peruse the Hands Together website over the weekend, please do and think about donating what you can to this worthwhile effort. Hands Together has received a four star rating from Charity Navigator for the past four years. Charity Navigator is one of the leading Charity watchdog and assessment organizations.

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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Wednesday Wide Smile

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13 year-old Emily Kirsche heard of the great work being done by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to help children with cancer. She also heard that the hospital relies on donations to keep the work going. So soon after becoming aware of this, she started a fundraising effort. Half way through last October Emily started raising money for St. Jude by asking friends and family for spare change. In no time, she had collected $200.

Emily decided to step it up and reach out to her surrounding community. In a fundraising letter to a potential donor she wrote: I would like to start an organization called ‘Give A Dollar, Save A Life’. I was wondering if you would be able to help me with this by encouraging students to bring in just a dollar (or more if they wish) to help raise money to save the lives of children battling cancer? St. Jude Hospital is a nonprofit organization that treats children with cancer who can’t afford operations. They also have a research program that is trying to find a cure for cancer. It takes a great deal of money for the hospital to do these things. They rely entirely on donations to operate and I would like to be a part of that with your help. Even if only 50 dollars was raised, that would be tremendous.

Due to policies in place, the donor was unable to help. Emily understood and quickly came up with another plan. With the help of her family, she decided to throw a holiday party. By December’s end she had raised over $600. 100% of which will go to help children battling life threatening cancer now, and for research to help those in the future.

Emily sent the money she raised to St Jude’s, and ended her letter to them with this: This has been an amazing experience for me and I have learned so much from it. I will definitely continue to raise more and more money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital each year. I thank you for taking time to read this letter and I hope I have helped.

We think Emily’s effort will help indeed! Congratulations, Emily, on a job well done! You recognized a need and took action to help find a way to fill it. And, as evidenced by your letters, did it with grace and humility! Feed Your Good Dog looks forward to hearing of your future service efforts.

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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TGIFYGDF…Thank Goodness It’s Feed Your Good Dog Friday!

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TEN YEAR OLD MARYMARGARET’S MUSIC FOR LIFE WILL PROVIDE LOADED MP3 PLAYERS TO KIDS TO HELP ENDURE STAYS IN HOSPITAL

MaryMargaret Music for Life Fundraiser

Ten year old MaryMargaret O’Neill has raised $3,114.44 over the last year, through her Music for Life effort. The money she has collected will go to buy as many MP3 players (with adapters) as possible to give the gift of music to kids who are in treatment at the Children’s Medical Center in Washington DC. She and her family spent 10 rocky days there four years ago, and the experience has had a profound impact on her since she suffered through many invasive and painful tests.

Now MaryMargaret needs our help. She is looking for matching funds from a corporate sponsor to make the money she has raised over the last year go farther so she can give the gift of music to as many kids as possible enduring medical tests and procedures during their stays in hospital.

Based on her experience, MaryMargaret came up with the Music for Life project. She wants the kids to be able to enjoy the therapeutic qualities of the music. She knows that it will help them through the uncomfortable and painful tests and procedures they must endure during this difficult time in their lives.

The MP3 players will be prepopulated with music from Nicholas Giordano and Cowbell Digital Music. Nicholas is a 13-year-old hero who plays classical guitar and Cowbell Digital Music (@CowbellMusic on Twitter is an Australian company providing digital streaming music. They have offered as many free downloads as they need to populate all the players. As soon as the MP3 players have been purchased and preloaded the music, MaryMargaret will deliver them to Children’s Hospital.

MaryMargaret is looking for corporate sponsors to match the amount she has raised. While you are out and about this weekend visiting family and friends, please let them know of MaryMargaret’s efforts. You never know how far reaching these discussions will go. Let’s see if by spreading the word we can help MaryMargaret find a corporate sponsor. Let’s also think about our contacts at Sony, Apple, San Disk, Best Buy or CicuitCity.com that might possibly provide a meaningful discount on the players so MaryMargaret can purchase more of them and help more kids.

MaryMargaret, and her family, can tell you that a child’s stay in a hospital, especially while trying to figure out what is ailing them, is a very trying time for both the child and the parents — and they are hoping that they can make other kids’ stays just a little bit more comfortable. If you think you can help with this effort, please contact MaryMargaret, and her family, directly here. Thank you.

Sources:

KidsAreHeroes.com

Kids Are Heroes

and

Next Phase Music for Life

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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