What is happening at Monkey Do Project?

Monkey Do Project is one of my favorite non-profit organizations. I know the founder and members of the board and see how dedicated they are to helping the people of Appalachia. They give back because they feel strongly drawn to do so and they truly care about the people they are helping. At any given time Monkey Do Project has several different projects going to meet the needs of people in different parts of Appalachia. Here are the current needs:

Holiday Basket Fundraiser - The Christian Service Center food pantry in Clay County, WV had all of their food stolen in early September. This included food that they had started gathering for holiday meal baskets. Monkey Do Project has pledged to provide 200 holiday food baskets but they need donations to fulfill that promise.

Filling the Food Banks - Monkey Do Project has pledged to fill a food bank in Clay, WV, provides food for a weekend backpack program, and aided in starting a food bank in Dunbar, WV.

Daniel's Drawings - Daniel recently turned five but when he was four he was challenged to do something to raise money to help others. Daniel is a self-proclaimed "kid artist" and he is raising money with his "artings" (drawings) and giving it to Monkey Do Project.

Ella's Night-Night Do Project - Ella is an amazing six year old with a huge heart for giving and helping others. When she was four, she had a small blanket that she called her night-night. Ella decided that other kids needed the comfort of night-nights too so she created her own Monkey Do Project to give them away.

Backpacks for Ohio - For two years now I have helped fill 2,000 backpacks at Monkey Do Project headquarters. We gave each child toiletries, nutritious snack, and some school supplies. Monkey Do Project has pledged to continue bringing backpacks to the school health fair.

None of these projects can happen without financial support from individual donors. The needs in Appalachia are high as it is the poorest region in the United States. Please visit Monkey Do Project to find out more about the needs in Appalachia and how you can help.

Donate today to support these projects!

Monkey Do Project is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which means donations are tax deductible.

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Weather Reflections & How to Help Others

As January ends I've been reflecting on what a tough month it has been for many people. The weather has been CRAZY with Alaska being too warm and snow in the southern states. Snow and  extreme cold here in Indiana have caused school to be delayed or cancelled giving parents and kids a case of cabin fever. The impact of this weather has been huge in all areas of life. The school delays and closings have parents scrambling for childcare, businesses have closed due to cold or road conditions meaning lost profits and lost wages for employees, and people are getting sticker shock when they receive their heating bills. There have been power outages, traffic troubles, and cancelled flights. I'm not sure you could find someone who hasn't been impacted by the weather conditions in some way this month.

I've thought about how lucky we have been to be able to just stay home together as a family. We haven't lost power so the heat has stayed on. Our fridge and pantry are regularly well stocked with food so we only needed to pick up a few essentials. My daughter's preschool only closed for two days so we still had a reason to get out of the house. We are blessed in so many ways.

There are others who are not as fortunate. Monkey Do Project is a non-profit organization that works helping in the poorest areas of Appalachia. This is the most impoverished region in the country. One of their projects is purchasing food for a food bank in West Virginia. This food bank was literally empty when the founder of Monkey Do Project visited but through donations the shelves have been filled each month. Now though the weather is causing the need for food supplies to be even greater. Many of these families rely on the food programs at the schools for their children and since the schools have been closed so many days this month these kids have nothing to eat.

This is only ONE of the ways Monkey Do Project helps people.

Monkey Do Project can't continue to provide food, clothing, blankets, and other aid without help. Right now there are two easy ways that you can help:

1. Make a donation to Monkey Do Project. It doesn't have to be large - even $5 will help!
2. Vote for Monkey Do Project to win a small business grant from FedEx. There is no registration required, it only takes a click, and you can vote every day through February 23, 2014. Vote Here

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The Importance of 5

On Monday, we celebrated our oldest daughter's 5th birthday. I admit to having a bit of a mom freak out over this one. Five sounds so much older than four to me. It feels like we've hit another milestone in her life. I associate five with kindergarten even though she won't go until next fall. I'm not ready for her to stop climbing into my lap or even into bed with me when she is up in the night. Thankfully, she isn't quite ready to give up those snuggles either. I am glad I have been able to stay home with her and watch her grow for five years. I am happy that she is independent and confident playing with others at preschool. I am torn between wanting to keep her close and wanting her to explore on her own. I love that she is learning to read and that she enjoys discovering new things. I can't believe the grown up phrases she comes up with and I laugh when I remember the girl who didn't talk at all. It is hard to believe that my baby girl is 5!

Five is important for another reason this month. Remember in September when I shared with you about this empty West Virginia food bank? Monkey Do Project founder +Jacqueline Wilson realized that if each of her Twitter followers gave just $5 that would be nearly enough to fill the food bank for an entire year! Check out her post on Monkeytober13 to see her thoughts on the project and to see the amount donated so far. I think most of us could spare five dollars and I'm simply amazed at how much good that little amount can do.

I'm asking you to help celebrate my daughter's 5th birthday by donating $5 to Monkey Do Project.

Be sure to select MONKEYtober as the project designation so Monkey Do Project can track donations. My little monkey and I greatly appreciate your support!

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Help Fill A Food Bank with Monkey Do Project #monkeydo

Have you ever been hungry? I'm not talking the standing in front of a full fridge and saying there is nothing to eat kind of hungry. I'm not talking about the oh we haven't done grocery shopping this week so we'll just go out to eat kind of hungry. I'm talking about true hunger - when the cupboards are bare and you don't know where your next meal will come from.

Do you know where you would turn for help
if you truly couldn't feed your family on a regular basis?

Now imagine that you turned to a food bank for help and their cupboards were as bare as yours:

Empty shelves in a Clay, WV food bank.

This is the situation in Clay, West Virginia. The food bank there has NOTHING to hand out to people. Clay County is considered a distressed county which means that it is in the worst 10 percent of the nation's counties economically. This means unemployment and poverty rates are high while per capita income is low. These are families who need help and the organization that is set up to help them cannot do it alone.

Monkey Do Project has pledged to help fill the food bank in Clay, West Virginia but they need donations to do it. I am always amazed at how much good Monkey Do Project can do with small donations and how they add up quickly. If everyone reading this post makes just a small donation it will make a big difference in the life of a family in Appalachia.

Donate at Monkey Do Project

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion.

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Monkey Do Project Twitter Party TONIGHT #monkeydo

Would you like to find out more about the not-for-profit organization Monkey Do Project? Perhaps you see my regular monthly posts about the organization but still aren't sure what the needs are in Appalachia or how exactly you can help Monkey Do Project help others. Join me, some of the Monkey Do Project Board Members, and others interested in finding out more for a Twitter Party tonight.

Be sure to RSVP on the Monkey Do Project site

(a must do if you want to win prizes!)

and then join us on Twitter using the hashtag #monkeydo.

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion.

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Southern Ohio Medical Center Supports Kids #monkeydo

The Monkey Do Project still needs your help
to provide kids with filled backpacks at a free health fair.
Read more about the project and donate at Pave the Path with Monkeys.

Local businesses and organizations often see the needs of the community better than outside organizations. Stepping up to help meet these needs makes an organization a shining star in my book. Today I want to give a huge shout out and Thank You to Southern Ohio Medical Center for their generous donation to help Monkey Do Project cover the cost of 2,000 filled backpacks for kids in Adams County, Ohio.

Southern Ohio Medical Center (SOMC) has been serving the community of Portsmouth, Ohio with emergency and surgical care as well as other medical services since 1954. The 222 bed 501(C)(3) not-for-profit hospital was ranked first on Ohio’s Top Employers list in 2010 and has been on the list for five consecutive years. It was also on Fortune Magazine's list of 100 Best Places to Work in America.

It is the mission of SOMC to truly make a difference in the lives of patients, employees, and the surrounding community. The goals of SOMC encompass the mission and the organization’s five strategic values which include: achieving and sustaining exceptional results in safety, quality of care, service, relationships, and financial performance.

SOMC has received recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, earning their Magnet recognition status. This status recognizes excellence in nursing and is given to only 6% of hospitals nationwide! The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) awarded Voluntary Protection Program Star Designation putting SOMC in the top 1% of hospitals nationwide in safety excellence.

Please visit Southern Ohio Medical Center on Facebook and Twitter
and let them know that you really appreciate their support of the kids in Appalachia and the Monkey Do Project.

Thank You Southern Ohio Medical Center!

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion.

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Why do I keep asking for help for Appalachia? #monkeydo

I shared this video back in January when I introduced you to the Monkey Do Project but I think it is important enough to share it again. Please watch it and see exactly why the people of Appalachia need our help to provide the basic needs for their families.

Monkey Do Project still needs help to provide backpacks filled with books and healthy snacks to children in Adams County, Ohio. These backpacks will be given to kids when they attend a health fair where they can get routine check ups and health screenings. For some of these kids this may be the only healthcare they receive this year. Please read this post on the Monkey Do Project website to find out exactly what is needed.

I want to give a huge shout out to SOYJOY for sending boxes of SOYJOY bars to include in these backpacks!

Read more about how SOYJOY helped Monkey Do Project.

That is the good news. The bad news is that requests for donations for this project have been rejected by several U.S. companies because they are using their charitable funds for projects overseas. Currently, Monkey Do Project has not raised enough funds to purchase the backpacks or the books to go in them. So how can YOU help?

1. Visit Pave the Path with Monkeys and make a $26 donation to help fund this project.
2. Determine who in your company or organization would be responsible for making a corporate donation and share this project with them. (There are benefits for being a corporate sponsor!)
3. SHARE information about this project on all of your social media outlets! The more voices we have spreading the word about this project the better chance we have of being heard by people who can fulfill these needs.
4. Like Monkey Do Project on Facebook and follow on Twitter for the latest updates on this project and others.

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

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How Can You Help With $26? #monkeydo

How much value do you place on $26? For some people that is a drop in the bucket. An amount so small that it might not be missed at all. For others $26 may mean the difference between paying all of the bills or only some of them. For yet another group $26 may be all the money they have for a week, two weeks, or even longer.

Could you give $26 to help a child?

The Monkey Do Project has many ways that $26 can help people in Appalachia, one of the poorest regions of the United States. Many of these projects are ongoing but there is one with a firm deadline. The organization needs 2000 people to donate $26 each by July 1 in order to meet their commitment to providing backpacks with a book, healthy snacks, and school supplies to children in Ohio. This is a need that cannot be met without help! Please visit Pave the Path with Monkeys to donate directly using PayPal.

I know that money is tight for a lot of us right now. If you can't donate, please help by spreading the word. We need to get this need in front of as many people as possible to be able to reach the goal of giving out 2000 backpacks to children who need them.

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

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Money and Values #BlogFlash2013

Yesterday in my BlogFlash2013 post about water, I asked you to consider donating just $20 to help build a well in a community needing clean, safe water. In the grand scheme of our lives $20 seems like so little to give to give hope to so many.

Yet there are a lot of different organizations out there asking for donations for so many different causes. There are health organizations, human rights organizations, political organizations, and religious organizations. The list goes on and on and it is enough to make your head spin as you try to decide which organization can do the most good with what you have to give. You have to decide what causes you support and how to best demonstrate your values through your giving. My friend +Jacqueline Wilson wrote an amazing post titled Cats, Comics, or Kids which talks about where people are putting their money even in this economy. I would urge you to visit her site and read it as it is truly eye-opening.

I know that I am rethinking some of my spending habits because of organizations such as Monkey Do Project and The Thirst Project. Seeing what other people don't have is making me realize some of the things that I can do without in order to help someone else. Monkey Do Project has many infographics detailing what $26 could give to a child in Appalachia. Could you spare $26 to help Pave the Path with Monkeys and give a child a backpack with school supplies and healthy snacks?

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

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Keeping Kids Healthy - Can you help? #monkeydo

Can you imagine living in a place where transportation is such an issue that you cannot get to a job? A job that you so desperately need to feed your family because the only food that your children might get in a week comes from the food programs at their school. A job that, if you are lucky, might provide some kind of basic health insurance so your kids can have a checkup or go to the doctor and get medication when they are sick. Unfortunately, this is what many people in the Appalachian region of the United States face each day.

There are so many children all over the United States who need so much care - food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare. Basics that many of us take for granted. I wish that I had a way to help each and everyone of these children but that feels overwhelming and impossible. All I can do is focus on one project at a time and for this project I'm asking for your help.

The Monkey Do Project was asked to help with the Children's Health Fairs (August 2013)  in Adams County, Ohio. These health fairs are put together by a number of social services organizations within Adams County and give children an opportunity to get routine health screenings before the start of the school year.

The Monkey Do Project has pledged 2,000 book bags for the event but cannot provide this without help from people and companies.

Here is what is needed:

• Corporate sponsors to partner with  for the book bags and books (pictures books and chapter books). Corporate sponsors will be listed on our The Monkey Do Project website as well as on any marketing materials for the event. Also, Monkey Do Project blogger ambassadors will do posts on the sponsors and link to their sites.
• Corporate sponsors to partner with to provide healthy snacks and small bottled waters to include in the bags. Unfortunately, many of these kids have little to nothing to eat when they are out of school.
• Personal Donations (any amount helps! Please put "Adams Co Health Fair" in the notes when donating)
• $20 gift cards (Visa or Mastercard) to use as giveaways to the kids for school supplies.

If you or your company can help out with the Children's Health Fairs in Adams County, Ohio, in any way please contact Monkey Do Project.

photo credit: Alex E. Proimos via photopin cc

Note: All opinions presented in book and product reviews are my own. Opinions presented in posts authored by others reflect the view of the author only and not necessarily my view or opinion. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Amazon and Book Depository links are affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

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