GoodyBlog

Good Deed Friday: Fight Hunger

Here's two ways you can fight hunger: First, tomorrow (Saturday May 10, 2008), the US Postal Service is sponsoring a Stamp Out Hunger food drive and it's ridiculously easy to participate. All you have to do is leave a bag of non-perishable food next to your mailbox, and your mailman will do all the heavy-lifting and transporting for you (found via YumSugar). Easy as canned pie! Second, pick up one of these really cool THIS SHIRT SAVED A LIFE tees and Tiny Revolutionary will donate $20.00 to Africa Aid, an organization that provides a nutritious daily lunch to 213 refugee children in the Buduburam Liberian Refugee Settlement in Ghana. The t-shirts come in baby, toddler, and adult sizes, so you can buy one for everyone in the family and fight hunger and spread awareness together.

Dads Getting into the A-C-T-I-O-N!

I know it's our big Mother's Day celebration this week, but I just had to post these really cute Fatherhood Involvement ad campaigns that I saw on BB-Blog. Very adorable! Plus, such a great message:

A majority of Americans have identified the absence of the father from the home as the most significant family or social problem facing America—this campaign demonstrates the critical role fathers play in their children’s lives, and provides information on becoming a better dad.

I know modern day dads are already super involved and wonderful parents, but I guess it's always nice to see the spotlight on their very important role in kids' lives. Plus, dads doing cheerleading will always make me smile!

Recycle to Make DIY Watering Cans

Here's a green way to grow some green! Instead of throwing out your old, plastic soda and water bottles, pick up the Twist and Spout at re:modern—you just screw it to the tops of the bottles and voila... instant watering can (found via Coveiter). It's also got a nice, easy-to-grip handle so you or your kids can carry it around and water all your plants. Happy gardening.

"Big Give," Blog-Style: Mother's Day Mission

Here's something awesome that we must share with you: Our friend Classy Mommy is giving away more than $1000 worth of Mother's Day prizes to a mom who has been impacted by breast cancer. How amazing is that? She's still accepting nominations, so head over to her site to get the scoop on how to nominate anyone you know who's battling or has battled breast cancer and could use this lovely treat.

PS: Stay tuned for the GoodyBlog Mother's Day celebration, which kicks off next Monday with some special surprises. But first go to Classy Mommy and pay it forward!

Good Deed Friday: Plant Trees for Arbor Day

Since today is Arbor Day, I wanted to point out the great work NYC is doing to stay green (despite all that concrete). Last month, I found out through my daily Ideal Bite that Mayor Bloomberg announced plans to plant a million trees in the five boroughs over the next 10 years. Wahoo! I have a few trees on my city block, and I feel very lucky—they're especially beautiful now that everything's starting to bud and flower. So get on board—you can go online and either nominate the perfect location for a free tree, plant a tree yourself and have it count as one in a million, volunteer to care for the ones that are already planted, or donate to help the planting process. If you don't live in NYC, get into the action by checking out the Plant a Billion Trees campaign that's planting in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil.

Photo via.

Great Green Sale!

Just in time for Earth Day, drugstore.com has slashed up to 40% off the price of tons of their earth-friendly goods—and you'll even get a 10% credit back on every green or natural product you buy. Our pick from the baby & kids section: Seventh Generation's unscented baby wipes with aloe vera and vitamin E. This refill pack of 80 wipes is just $3.84. (I'm also loving the typo in the product description: "Unlike many traditional baby wipes, ours are not bleached with chlorine and do not contain alcohol or synthetic ingredients that can irate baby's skin." Well, I guess you would have an irate baby if his skin was irritated.) The sale ends on April 25th.

Good Deed Friday: Kids' Books for Earth Day

Earth Day is on Tuesday, April 22, and a great way to get your kids involved is to pick up an eco-friendly book to read together. Here's a look at my new favorite picture book:
Michael Recycle - Set in a grimy town that has been taken over by trash, Michael Recycle comes to the rescue yelling: "You've got to recycle! You've got to act soon! Before all your trash, reaches up to the moon!" Inspired by the "super-green hero," the town members react by creating a Be Greener Campaign that includes: recycling, growing their own veggies, and collecting rain for reuse. It's a beautifully drawn book with lots of bright, vibrant colors to get you and your kids excited. Plus, there's 2 pages of Michael Recycle's Go Green Tips at the back of the book with practical ways your family can help the environment.

For the younger set, check out the adorable board book Eco Babies Wear Green (found via Dr Vino).

Good Deed Friday: Every T Counts

I love shopping for charity—it's one of the few times I can actually feel good about buying clothes! The latest thing on my shopping wishlist is this Scary Douglas Tee designed by British fashion designer Luella Bartley. You can buy this shirt for $45, and $10 of each sale will be donated to The Global Fund for Children (GFC) as a part of the Every T Counts project at TONIC. Funds will provide free dental care to children through GFC’s grantee partner Fundación Simsa’s Healthy Little Mouths program which operates one-day mobile dental clinics for children in poor neighborhoods in Bogotá, Colombia. If you're not down with the bear, there's three other designs up for grabs that support different charities. So pick up a cute tee, and help out kids in poverty at the same time!

Good Deed Friday: Earth Day All Month

Now that it's April, it's also officially Earth Day month (yes... I just turned the day into a month. I am very powerful.). So I had to post about the adorable tees and onesies that I saw at the Darwin Design Clothing Company. I especially like the shirt that says "Be Green" ($22) with a Red-Eyed Tree Frog, one of the many amphibians in massive, world-wide decline. They have 6 different designs inspired by animals that are affected by global warming, and the company sells them to support their effort to "Start Global Cooling." The clothes are designed, manufactured, and printed in the US, and the company donates 10% of the proceeds to non-profits dedicated to making the world a greener place like Earth Island Institute and American Wildlands. So join me in celebrating the Earth all month long!

Good Deed Friday: Kid Kindness Towards Animals

Is your kid a natural animal-lover? The American Humane Association is celebrating its 94th annual Be Kind to Animals Week on May 4-10. To highlight the event, they're looking for nominations of kids, ages 6-17, who are working hard in their communities to improve the lives and welfare of animals. To enter you child, you have to fill out a nomination form (here) before April 15—don't worry, your 6-year-old won't be competing against a 17-year-old... that'd be kinda unfair. There are two categories, ages 6-12 and 13-17, and one grand prize winner and two runners-up will be selected from each age group. Grand prize—$2,000 in cash. Plus, it's a great way to make your kids feel good about all the love and compassion they show our furry friends.

Photo via.