One Good Deed

Saving Lives, one concert at a time

by Stacy on October 20, 2011

The Love Hope Strength Foundation is the world’s leading rock & roll cancer foundation, hosting concerts in the most extreme locations on earth in hopes of raising awareness on a truly global level.

Founded just a few short years ago (2007), their goal is to make sure all people, everywhere have access to early detection and cancer care. They’re off to a truly remarkable start sending radiation and mammography machines to Nepal, opening the first cancer center in Tanzania.

Their GET ON THE LIST campaign encourages concert goers to sign up to become international bone marrow donors. Over 10,000 people have signed up and 5 matches have already been made.

Each year the Love Hope Strength Foundation collects the names of people who have been touched by cancer to be turned into prayer flags. These prayer flags will be carried to high points all over the world. In 2007, they carried 40 flags to the top of Mt. Everest. In 2008, there were 400 prayer flags. 6,000 prayer flags made their way to the top of Mt. Kilamanjaro and last year there were 10,000!!! of them on Mt. Fuji.

Is there someone in your life who has been touched by cancer? Create a prayer flag in their honor here and watch it travel around the globe.

Disclaimer: This post is part of a series of sponsored post for Team Escalade Texas. All the research is my own and any profit garnered from this post will be donated to Kim of Hope Whispers.

If you’ve made it this far then you probably share some sort of connection to the Love Hope Foundation? If that is the case, then why not take a few quick minutes to help them win $150,000 from Cadillac? I should tell you now, they are way behind and could really use your vote.

All you have to do is visit the San Antonio Cadillac Facebook page and cast your vote

VOTE ONCE A DAY TILL THE END OF OCTOBER

Thank You!

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Texas Cadillac Dealers launch Team Escalade

by Stacy on September 23, 2011

Cadillac debuted the 2012 Escalade yesterday and made an unprecedented move. Instead of investing all their money in a huge advertising campaign, they took a different approach.

One that I am happy to be a part of.

Escalades are made in Texas, by Texans and since everything is bigger and better in Texas! They decided to use the launch of the Cadillac Escalade as a platform to raise some Texas sized awareness for six charities supporting the Texas community.

The participating Texas charities are:
CureDuchenne
Gift for Life/Taylor’s Gift Foundation
Love Hope Strength
Ronald McDonald House Charities (Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio)
Special Olympics Texas
The YMCA

I’ll be telling you more about each one over the next few weeks, but please don’t wait until then to start voting! One of these charities will win $150,000 at the end of October. Head on over to Facebook and vote for your favorite charity. There is a short video clip to introduce you to each one if you need more info about them, then please vote for the team you feel is the most deserving. If you have any special connection to any of these charities, please share your stories here. We would love to hear them. If you are interesting in doing a guest post sharing your story about one of these organizations, please let me know! I am happy to arrange that too.

INSIDER TIP: You can actually vote for your favorite charity 4 times a day by visiting each of the Cadillac Facebook pages for Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

My gorgeous blogger counterparts!, from l-r: BlahBlahBlogger, MommaDJane, Melissa Stuff, TexasHolly, pretty blonde I’m trying to ID and Smockity Frocks. We will all be working together to help spread the message and raise awareness for this voting campaign. There are several events planned in each city, so hopefully I’ll get to meet them at one or two of them.

Disclaimer: I was asked to join Team Escalade as the blog ambassador for San Antonio, my job is to help spread the word about this voting campaign. I am being compensated for my tweets and posts, but since this is a cause I would have happily supported for free. I am donating all of my earnings to my friend, Kim. The money will be used to offset her families tremendous medical expenses and to raise money for organ donation awareness. We are participating in a Donate Life 5K together next month and would love to have some team shirts made for our team. If you’re in teh lcoal area, I welcome you to join us and be a part of team Hope Whispers. Please support me in this effort by voting from time to time and listening to the stories I hope we’ll all share here. Thank You!

All Photos by TexasHolly

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Hello World, this is Kim.

by Stacy on September 21, 2011

I’ve met a lot of inspirational women since I first started blogging back in 2008, women I am totally and utterly in awe and pure amazement of. Kim, is one of those women. She is extraordinarily kind and her love for her two boys just shines right out of her. I’d like to give her a moment to tell her story, and then ask that you do something life-altering for you & 8 others and become an organ donor. Hers, is the face you could be saving.

Meet Kim, from Hope Whispers

If someone would have told me years ago I would be this thankful to turn 29, I would have laughed and made some smart comment about how that’s almost 30! But the truth is, I’m blessed to have made it this far. I’m married to a wonderful man, and our boys are healthy and full of life. We just bought our first home. My friends and family are the best.

But then three years ago, just two months after my 26th birthday I was diagnosed with Budd Chiari Syndrome. A very rare liver disease, and also with a blood disorder that makes me more likely to get blood clots. I was put on blood thinners and was told that I would need to have a liver transplant. I was 18 weeks pregnant at the time.

My whole world was turned upside down. I had so many questions. Scared doesn’t even come close to how I felt. I was beyond terrified. The big life that I had dreamt about, the life I had all planned out was being pulled right out from underneath me. I slowly lost the energy to play with son. I hated that part and he hated it more. And then there was medication. Every morning and every night I sat in my bathroom. Trying to convince myself to get get over it and give myself those dreadful lovenox shots. But at least now I’m not afraid of needles anymore. But I put on my smile and stood strong.

My pregnancy was very carefully monitored. There were months where I had Drs. appointments all 30 days. I got to see my baby every Friday when I had my ultrasounds and stress tests. Aside from all the worry, everything went fairly smooth. On January 12th, we celebrated the birth of our second son. He was perfect. As we all celebrated, deep down I remember being so afraid. I had just been given a miracle. And I was going to need another.

On May 25th 2010 one more name was added to the UNOS transplant list. Mine. It became real to me then. This was really happening. I needed a liver transplant. So I waited. And more than a year later, I’m still waiting. The option of a living donor is not an option for me. The damage is not only to my liver, but the vein that carries blood to my heart. And obviously they cant take that from someone who is still alive. So why am I still waiting? Because sadly there are not enough registered organ donors in the United States.

Every day an average of 18 people die while awaiting organ transplants because of a critical shortage of donors. Today there are 112,173 men, women and children awaiting heart, kidney, liver, lung and pancreas transplants. When you register to be an organ, eye and tissue donor you sign up to be a hero. Through the miracle of transplant you could save up to 8 people. And enhance the lives of up to 50 more. What reason is there not to!?

We don’t get to choose when our time is up. But we can choose to give life when ours are lost. Are you an organ donor? If not, please take a moment to become a donor. It only takes a few minutes and you could give someone a life time.

You can find Kim and her adorable boys on her blog, Hope Whispers. If you sign up to be a donor, please let her know — she’s got a goal for the year and I want to help her blow it out of the water!

Donate Life, Become a Donor

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Top 10 Gifts That Give Back

by Stacy on December 6, 2010

If you are like me, then you have found holiday shopping this year a bit challenging. Finding a meaningful gift in a time of abundance can be hard, but these gifts do double duty. Not only are they great to give, but you can rest easy knowing you & the recipient made a difference too.

Dallas Clayton’s Awesome Book & Awesome Book of Thanks
For every book sold, one is also given
This is THE best children’s book I have seen in a long time. After researching it
for this post, I bought one of each for my own children.
See for yourself, you can view the entire book online.
$16-17

Water for Christmas
A craft collaborative, all proceeds go to building wells in Africa
See Meg’s blog for details (you can even contribute crafts for this cause)

Earthwise Map Classics – TOMS Shoes
Each pair contributes to building 3 new clean water wells in Ethiopia
Or select from other TOMS styles with the give back options – buy one, give one, feed a child, support healthy school lunches, etc
$58
Psst, Now till 31 Dec, get $5 Off All TOMS Shoes Using Coupon Code: AFFTM5

Tub of Cubs – World Wildlife Fund
Adopt a species of your choice – Give a certificate & plush animal
(Other animals & price options available)
$50

PB Teen 100% Organic Pillow Covers
14 pillows to choose from, $5 donated to:
St. Jude, Boys & Girls Club, Student Conservation Association, Special Olympics, Trees for the Future or Do Something
$25

Socks for Happy People
For every pair purchased, a pair is given to a Mongolian child in need
£5 & up

The Working proof
Art + Charity: Each print is paired with a charity of the artist’s choice
Purchase this week & they’ll donate 20% to charity instead of the usual 15
$25-100
Wanderlust print shown – $30

Giving Tees – Tiny Revolutionary
Several styles available, amounts donated & charities vary
$25-35

Foundation Bracelets – Stella & Dot
Colorful bracelets for Women or Girls
All proceeds go to ACCION USA, buildOn and Girls Incorporated
$19-39

One World Futbol
An all-terrain soccer ball that needs no pins or needles, never goes flat even if punctured.
For every ball you buy, they donate a ball to an organization that works with people in need.
$25-40

This program hits home to me since I have personally delivered 100′s of soccer balls to children & young people in Africa. The poster below by Jessica Hilltout does a great job depicting what their makeshift balls looked like. Don’t think for a second these balls of rags slowed them down, made their games less fun or made them any less amazing. These kids had talent, and passion and enthusiasm no matter what they were playing with. Still, I have never seen eyes light up quite the way they did when we gave them an actual ball though. Families walked for days (yes, I said days) to come to our camp when they heard the news we were handing out free soccer balls. Truly a humbling experience.

Celebrated European photographer Jessica Hilltout created this poster featureing “rag balls” found all over the world where young people have a passion for soccer—but no soccer balls that last. Hilltout, featured in the New York Times last summer, spent 9 months traveling the back roads of Africa, documenting through photography the passion for soccer throughout Africa.

I would love to hang this poster ($25) in my office some day. What a lovely reminder to live life to the fullest, make do with what you have and that true happiness doesn’t cost a thing.

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Thanks and Giving

by Stacy on November 16, 2010

Have you heard about St. Jude’s Thanks and Giving Campaign?

Thanks and Giving is a national awareness and fundraising campaign that asks everyone to “Give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and give to those who are not.” Isn’t that an awesome slogan? I mean how could you not donate after reading it put that way?

After seeing that tag line, I just had to find out more. It turns out the Thanks and Giving campaign has been going on for seven years and sadly this is the first time I have heard about it (maybe it had something to do with me living overseas for most of that time, but in the off chance you have yet to hear of it I thought I would share).

It’s a collaboration between retailers, celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Robin Williams, and Morgan Freeman, and the media that asks consumers to give a little extra during the holiday season. This year Kmart, CVS/pharmacy, Kay Jewelers, Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Williams-Sonoma, AutoZone, Tumi, Old Navy, HomeGoods, Cornerstone Brands, Expedia and many others will be encouraging their customers to give to St. Jude.

Honestly, until today I knew very little about St. Jude’s. I’m happy to report that now I know:

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital opened in 1962. Its mission is to find cures for children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases through research and treatment.
St. Jude covers the cost of food, travel and lodging for patients and a family member.
In 1962, the survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer, was 4%. Today, the survival rate for this once deadly disease is 94 %, thanks to research and treatment protocols developed at St. Jude.
The daily operating cost for St. Jude is $1.5 million, which is primarily covered by public contributions.

There are several ways you can get involved in this campaign

- Follow St. Jude’s on Facebook & Twitter

- Take part in the Give Thanks Walk (a family 5K event) happening at 60 locations across the U.S. on Nov 20th

- Donate – either directly on the site, at one of the 50 participating retailers or by purchasing a few gifts for family of your own knowing a significant portion of the proceeds will go to St. Jude.

Here are a few of my favorite picks,

West Elm Mercury Birds ~ $12-16

50% of the purchase price of each Mercury Glass Bird will go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

PB Teen XOXO Organic Pillow ~ $25

PBteen will donate $5 to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital w/ the purchase of each XOXO Organic Pillow Cover

Pottery Barn Kids Oatmeal the Bear Ornament ~ $10

Pottery Barn Kids will donate $5.00 of the purchase price directly to St. Jude to help support the research and treatment for pediatric cancer and other life-threatening childhood diseases.

I don’t know about you but I think those gifts would work for just about every one on my list. I’d love to pass a few of those birds along to Sweet when she gets older, the pillow would go great in our playroom and I have a pretty good feeling each of my children will be hanging a bear on the tree this year - I’m going to add a cute little name tag for each of them. I’ll get some shopping done and rest easy knowing we donated $34 to St. Jude’s without even thinking about it.

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