Challenge Accepted

So...by now I assume everyone has heard of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  For those who haven't, here's the quickie recap:

The stunt goes like this: People make a video of themselves dumping a bucket of ice water on their heads, post it on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media sites, and then challenge friends to do the same within 24 hours or donate $100 to ALS (many do both). (per the NY Times)

My favorite ex-boyfriend challenged me on Saturday, and unfortunately it took until today to acquire a videographer.  I missed the 24-hour window, but did douse myself, so I'm donating $25 to ALSA.org.  I don't have any particular emotional attachment to Lou Gehrig's disease, but this seemed like a fun way to raise awareness and funds for a good cause.  Without further ado, here is my #icebucketchallenge video:

I challenged Jackie because I love her kids to death and thought they would enjoy the heck out of dousing Mom with ice water, I challenged my mom because I love her to death and I would enjoy the heck out of watching her douse herself with ice water, and I challenged Cat because - yes - I love her to death and I can't even imagine the crazy noise she'd make when doused with ice water.

I didn't challenge Scott, although I seriously considered it.  Instead, as an early birthday gift, I let him come over and video me dumping ice water on my head AND promised I wouldn't challenge him.  I know, I'm too darn nice.  I'm sure someone else will challenge him...why wouldn't they?

...and for anyone who believes the Ice Bucket Challenge is another example of "slacktivism," the ALSA would like to tell you just how wrong you are!

It's a 5K in my Neighborhood...and YOUR Neighborhood!

Last year, I read about a "virtual 5k" for Thanksgiving, and I thought it sounded like a ridiculous amount of fun.  Basically, they mail you a bib (race number) to wear, you run 5k wherever you want, and then they mail you a finisher's medal.  Like most actual 5ks, the event is for charity.  And since they're not paying for road closures, port-a-potties, etc., I have a feeling more money really goes for charity.

There's a girl named Alyssa training for the NYC Marathon as part of a charity group raising money for Alex's Lemonade Stand.  As a part of her fundraising, she has organized a virtual 5k/10k with an adorable medal.  I couldn't resist, and since her virtual race takes place the weekend of my first prescribed training run for the Space Coast half, I was already slated to run 3 miles. Now I have motivation to start running again before then so I can at least finish in under 45 minutes.

I thought I'd send out the information to my friends who are either already training for longer runs, or maybe just want motivation to walk 3.1 miles (or 6.2 miles) around the neighborhood. Whether you're local and want to shuffle along with me, or far away and plan to run or walk elsewhere, I hope you'll consider joining the fun.  Heck...maybe if any locals want to join together we can move the fun to one of the Disney resorts with a running path! (and then celebrate with an ice cream or an adult beverage?)

So what is Alex's Lemonade Stand?  According to the website, their mission is:

To raise money and awareness of childhood cancer causes, primarily research into new treatments and cures.

To encourage and empower others, especially children, to get involved and make a difference for children with cancer.

And Alex? (grab a tissue before clicking that one!)

ALSO...in September, the ALSF is holding a "Million Mile Run" fundraiser.  I have started a team and would love to involve anyone who is interested.  Thanks to my aforementioned training, I'm already slated to run 30+ miles in September.  Teams are supposed to run/walk at least 100 miles, and while sponsorship is encouraged, there's absolutely no registration fee.  As long as you have a comfortable pair of shoes and 20 minutes a day (way more than you should need to walk one mile), you could easily walk 30 miles of your own.  No fitness level required!

If you're interested in joining my team, just click here, select "I'm joining an existing team," and choose "Park Hoppers" from the drop-down list.  If you would like to donate a set amount, you can do that through the team page here (I'm going to make it pretty...later).  If you want to sponsor me per mile, leave me a comment/email/text and I'll keep track and let you know at the end of September how I did and how you can contribute.  And though I'm planning on doing most of my miles either on the treadmill or jogging around the neighborhood, if you want to do a fun walk at a Disney park or somewhere else I'll gladly come along.

Fitness for you and me...research for childhood cancer.  What's the down side?

An Open Letter to Santa Claus

Dear Santa,

Hi it's Jamie. You might remember me from this picture *cough cough* years ago.  I was the little girl holding the red toy truck.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I won't be expecting any gifts this year.  Scott and I have decided to celebrate our anniversary and Christmas "off the grid" with no gifts.  Money is tight, and we have what we need and can wait for anything else we want.

Whatever extra money we do have this season is going to be donated to our two chosen charities.  This year, we'll be giving to the Alzheimer's Association (and not just because their ribbon color is purple!) and the Wounded Warrior Project.  We know our friends and family will understand our desire to "pay it forward" rather than give and receive trinkets, and we hope that they consider making a donation to a charity of their choosing instead of buying anything for us.

It's nice to know that our money will be helping those who deserve not only our help, but our gratitude.  And I'm not going to lie - not having to fight the holiday shopping crowds is a gift in itself!

Merry Christmas to you and the Mrs., and feel free to stop by for some cookies. We'll be sure the save you some!

Love,
Jamie

Nothing Under the Tree

Scott pulled out the Christmas tree this afternoon and put it up. We'll be decorating it tomorrow, adding ornaments picked up during our stay-cation in Tampa (Dali Museum melting clock, of course) and our way-far-away-cation in the Caribbean. I love Christmas, and I love our tree, even though it's too small for the angel we got last year. But this year, there won't be any gifts under the tree.

Like we did in 2008, we have decided to forgo gifts for friends, family, and co-workers and instead donate to charity. This year, we'll be giving to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. In '08, we had a lot of fun shopping for Toys for Tots, and it's something I'd love to do with my future hypothetical children. But this year I felt really strongly that our money should go to a more practical fund. Second Harvest actually provides food to other nonprofits - everything from homeless shelters to breakfast programs for school kids - and I would rather make sure that there's no one hungry on Christmas morning (and for the rest of the year) than give away toys.

But before anyone accuses me of Scrooge-ing underprivileged kids, please read on...

In 2008, we had plenty of gifts under the tree for ourselves, and this year we're buying nothing but stocking stuffers. That's because we decided to make an unexpected donation to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida. "Unexpected? How can that be?" Well you see...

As Disney Cruise Line prepares to bring its newest ship – Disney Dream – online, a special two-night and invitation only preview cruise will take place [...] in support of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida. As part of this one-of-a-kind sailing, 100 percent of the cruise fare will be donated directly to the organization, while select Boys & Girls Clubs children and their families from Brevard, Osceola, Orange and Seminole counties will have a unique opportunity to sail onboard.

(from the Disney Parks Blog)

Merry Christmas to us!

The money we spent on the cruise really wasn't that much more than we would have spent on actual gifts, and we justified the extra expenditure by telling eachother that the money was going to charity. I'm not even pretending that we booked the cruise strictly as a charitable donation. Scott and I have been gobbling up every story about this ship since they started hinting about the awesomeness aboard, and dreaming about the day - more than likely over a year from now - when we'd be able to get a booking cheap enough for us to afford. This also gives my inner journalist the chance to "scoop" ALL of our friends. And did I mention that the inaugural cruise is after our cruise? We're going on before all those Disney nuts who booked 2 years ago!

Plus, we'll be able to give all of you the "gift" of another vicarious vacation. Sure, I've been remiss in blogging at all about our last cruise, but aside from the ports of call (and Cozumel doesn't even count because we never even got off the ship. don't judge - it was raining AND Mexico!), it really was quite similar to the Disney Magic cruise we took in 2007. I'll put something up this weekend, I promise. But this will be a NEW ship with NEW restaurants and NEW shows!

You're welcome!

...and I hope you have some money in your budget to donate to your favorite charity. All kidding (and cruising) aside, I'm grateful that we're in a position to do so. And I know that our gift to the food bank will go to better use than a gift card or knick knack would, and that the memories we make on our mini vacation - and the ones the kids make at the local B&GC's - will last longer than a video game or jewelery would have.

Helping Out

This Haiti thing is almost too much to bear. For me (and I guess for lots of other people), it's just too hard to watch much coverage anymore. My brain is doing that Zoloft thing - too much sadness = immediate need for change of subject. That said, I'm aware that we're not that far away from the site of one of the worst natural disasters in history.

Scott and I had the opportunity on Friday night to volunteer on the phones during the "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon. After 2 1/2 hours of answering calls and taking tons of money (our call center alone took 15,000 calls!), our throats were raw and we were exhausted, but in a good way. And all the way home, we told each other about the crazy calls we had gotten. And most people seemed to not even mind that I wasn't a celebrity. I took donations for $5-500, and most were in the $10-30 range. I spoke to kids (with a parent in the background), and grandparents donating on behalf of their grandkids. I talked to people from Florida to Canada to California. They all had trouble getting through on the phones, and yet they were still happy to give me their money. It was really awesome.

The parent company of The Restaurant offered us the opportunity to make a one-time payroll deduction to the Red Cross last week. It coincided with 8 hours of holiday pay for MLK day, so I decided to donate my holiday pay. Of course, Red Cross isn't my favorite charity, so I gave $25 out of my paycheck and will be donating the rest to Doctors Without Borders on Thursday when I get paid for last week.

I know that I haven't done or given everything I possibly could. But I know that I helped. And if everybody out there helps just a little bit, then maybe those people down there will have water and food and safe housing soon.

For a Good Cause?

My cousin Alicia is running in a very interesting charity 5K - dressed in an inflatable sumo costume!

This gruelling challenge will have us lugging our impressive frames on a 5k run to raise money for web-based educational systems to help developing countries. The money raised will be used for innovative IT software to connect the world's most remote schools to online learning tools. If I reach my goal, its estimated that it will connect one secondary school in the developing world.

Honestly, she could be running for beer money and I'd still pitch in. Apparently in my world, humiliation = cash. Must be all the reality TV I watch!

I wish I could have given more, but she's in the UK and the exchange rate sort of sucks. So help me out - click on the link above and send her some money. It really is for a good cause!

Hey Tots...

Here's your toys!

Scott and I had a grand old time last night running around a certain undisclosed location buying toys at a special holiday rate, going to his office to take this picture, and then dropping the whole lot into the Toys for Tots box. The box now runneth over.

I picked out almost all of this stuff, as you may have guessed from looking at it. There's lots of stuff that's artsy - the Mickey version of magna-doodle, a Pirates art supply case, a Pirates activity set, and (my personal favorite) a wildlife origami set. Although I am by no means artistic, I always loved my crayons and markers. Every store we went into, I found something else along those lines.

There's also a puzzle, a baby toy, and some toys with moving parts. And a football.

What's above is half of our charitable donation for the season. We're also going to be donating to Second Harvest, but not until after vacation. Hopefully that's not too late to put the money to good use.

It Costs Nothing...

"Thank You"

I got a thank-you letter in the mail this week from the Biloxi Public Library for the books I donated. I thought that was nice. But when I actually read the letter, I was pretty shocked...

"We were thrilled to receive Time and Again, The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, and Frankenstein and can hardly wait until we can put them back on the shelves at our library. These three very different classics will certainly enhance the library's collection."

That letter was not only personalized with the books that I chose, but someone actually took the time to come up with that last sentence. Honestly, with the number of books that they have received, I would've been happy to get a generic "thank you for your support" letter. But I thought that was especially cool.

Time for work!

A Long and Winding Entry

I have multiple topics to cover, and am just too scatter-brained to take the time to make multiple entries. So you're just going to have to bear with me while I canoe down my stream of consciousness.

Parkhopper's Charity of the Month

I found the Dewey Donation System through a link on one of my daily reads, By The Way...(the entry includes an interview with the founder of the DDS, author Pamela Ribon). Says Pamie of her annual book drives:

The Dewey Donation System came to be because I'm an accidental activist. My high school years were spent sending money to several charity organizations, but being stuck outside Houston without a car (and pre-Internet -- you kids have it so lucky!) made it so that I was limited to expressing myself through underground newspapers. Once my website caught on (pre-blogs, back when we were called "Internet diaries" or "online journals"), I was able to start making a living off of my writing. One day, while waiting for my first novel to come out, I read an article on the Oakland Public Library, and how they'd lost their acquisition funds, and had resorted to Amazon wish lists to ask complete strangers to send new books to their shelves. I wrote an entry about the importance of libraries -- how everybody from tweens to crackheads need a book -- and asked everybody to send a book Oakland's way. Within a few weeks, hundreds of books arrived at their doorsteps, and the librarians (being good Bay Area activists) were able to get the nation looking their way.

That kind of response was overwhelmingly rewarding, and so I did it again the next year with San Diego after their libraries were hit by wildfires, and the year after that we sponsored a village in India post-Tsunami. This year, when Katrina hit, I was horrified with the devastation, and it hit even closer to home, as I'd spent a number of years in Mississippi. I love New Orleans as much as the next semi-Southern gal, but I knew Mississippi was getting lost in the media
attention. I hoped I'd be able to send some help their way.

The drive is actually supporting eight Mississippi libraries - some have been decimated, some have lost their entire Childrens' section, and some have lost funding (and with it the ability to buy new materials). And it couldn't be easier to help out. Each library has a wish list on amazon.com. You log in, pick some books (any order over $25 gets free shipping...), and buy them. Amazon sends them to the library, and the library puts the book on the shelf.

I sent three books to the Biloxi Public Library: Frankenstein, The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, and Time and Again (for you, mom). If you can't make a donation, please pimp the cause to anyone you know.

Cars

Sometimes, going into a movie with absolutely no expectations is the best way to go. I'll admit it - the only reason I wanted to see Cars is because it's a Pixar movie. And I love Pixar movies. I even loves A Bug's Life. I don't dig the NASCAR scene, I don't really enjoy Larry the Cable Guy, and I wasn't sure how cars were going to come off as emotional characters.

Forgive me, Mr. Lasseter, for ever doubting you.

Cars was everything I wasn't expecting it to be. It was a great story. I loved all the characters (even Mater, the redneck tow truck). And I really loved the backdrops. I totally want to drive down Route 66, see mountains, and go places tourists don't usually go.

I'll give cars JJJJ out of JJJJJ, and highly recommend that when you go, you stay through the credits... although the movie peaks at the drive-in.

Fire Damage

Now that 192 is open again, we've gotten to take a look at the fire damage. No wonder they had to close the road -- the fire was almost right up against it, and the trees for a good 1/4 mile have either been burned up to black sticks or sucked up so much smoke their leaves have turned brown. It's sad, but I'm glad it wasn't much worse. Oh yeah - it's still smoking. I guess we didn't get quite as much rain as they were hoping. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't start up again.

Veggies for Dinner

Corn on the cob, bakes sweet potato fries, and curried cous cous. Two days in a row. Life is sweet. (of course, there's also grilled beer-soaked brats... but if you just eat one, it's considered a side dish, right?)

1-800-SUICIDE

They put up the new postcards on PostSecret on Sundays. Last night when I got home from work, the first site I went to was that one. I just can't wait to get my fix, dontcha know. At the bottom of the page was the following e-mail:

Dear Frank,

I received your Federal Express envelope today and deposited your generous donation of $4,000.00. Thank you.

As I explained to you on the phone yesterday, we are in desperate need of raising an additional $1,000.00 in the next 7 days in order to keep 1(800)SUICIDE operational. I would not ask you to do this if it were not urgent but could you share our need with those who visit your website?

People can go to http://www.hopeline.com/ and make an online donation or they can contact me directly, if they prefer.Thanks again Frank. I would not make this plea if it were not so critical.

Warm regards,

Reese Butler,
reese@hopeline.com
Founder, Kristin Brooks Hope Center
888 16th NW, Suite 680
Washington DC 20006
p. 703.924.6167

I knew the proceeds from the PostSecret book went to the KBHC, and I knew that it was associated with 1-800-SUICIDE, but that's about all I knew. When I read the message I thought maybe I should check them out. Here's some stuff I found from their website:

Since the suicide of his wife Kristin in April 1998, KBHC Founder Reese Butler has been on a personal crusade. His mission the past four years has been to offer HOPE and the option to LIVE to those in the deepest emotional pain...

...the launching of the Kristin Brooks Hope Center and its primary program, the National Hopeline Network 1-800-SUICIDE. Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher dedicated this national crisis hotline network in May 1999. It connects people who are depressed or suicidal -- or those who are
concerned about someone they love — automatically to a CONTACT USA or AAS certified crisis center.

While the idea of a suicide hotline is not a new one, the challenge of creating a national network and connecting our country’s crisis centers under a single, easy-to-remember, toll-free telephone was a daunting task. Heretofore, neither government agencies nor non-profit organizations had ever attempted such a project.

People in crisis generally don't have the energy or ability to take on a long search for help. When those looking for support dial 1.800.SUICIDE they are seamlessly connected to an available certified crisis center nearest to their calling location. While it’s seemingly a simple concept, the Network is elegant and effective when put into action. Behind the scenes there are significant computer and telephony infrastructures working in concert to provide help within 20 to 30 seconds of a call being placed.

Of course, I ended up donating. How could I not? I had some trouble with their credit card form, and e-mailed Reese Butler and figured I wouldn't hear back from him until the work week started. He actually wrote back just a few hours after I sent my message -- on a Sunday -- to clear up the problem, and said they can also take checks. If any of you out there have $5 or $500 to spare, please consider this organization.

(and if you decide to donate off of their website, don't bother filling in the information on the front page. click on the PayPal link and go from there. PayPal is going to ask you for your credit card information again anyway.)