HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

I was lucky. Although my parents didn’t have a lot of money, it was important to them to make sure I didn’t have to work while I was in high school. Granted, I did earn money by babysitting and other teen enterprises, but I didn’t punch a clock. They wanted me to be able to concentrate on school work and to volunteer.  By giving me that, I was better prepared to decide what course of study to take after school, and could do things that would be just a fantasy once I got into the “real world” and had to work.  In some ways, I don’t think I took advantages of as many opportunities as I should have, but on the other hand, I think it allowed me to be a kid just a little longer.  I wasn’t up late hanging outside the kitchen of a restaurant at one A.M.and it gave me a love of volunteering and helping others.

Now, there are broader teen summer community service programs that also provides exposure to travel or another culture. Teens might help build a bridge or rebuild a home, along with experiencing another culture. While I think it is a good thing, what bothered me is that there were never opportunities within our own country, for teens or parents who are reluctant to send then abroad or even to teach that charity begins at home and doesn’t have to be exotic to make a difference. After all, there are so many folks who will send money to causes overseas but will turn their back on a neighbor in need.  Luckily, I have found a few trips that focus on rebuilding homes in the Gulf, or refurbishing structures and playgrounds on tribal lands. Many churches provide missions trips, but there are companies that provide experiences as well.

If you are looking for a bigger experience during the summer than playing video games and you can wait on the babysitting until you get back, you might what to try a week or month long service trip on for size.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Woodrow Wilson. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you recently graduated, or are soon to graduate with a degree in a science or mathematics? Despite the consolidation of school districts and the laying off of teachers that is going on in some areas of the nation, a shortage of high school teachers that specialize in science or mathematics remains. It is not just the current needs, but the projected needs of the next several years.

The Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship is seeking a few folks who are interested in a career change, or have yet to set foot into the business world. If you are accepted, you will receive a stipend of $30,000 to complete a Master’s Degree in Education. While life cannot guarantee you will remain a teacher forever, a three year commitment of teaching at the high school level is mandatory. The next application deadline is a few short days away – on September 1st.

To fill out your application, please visit www.wwteachingfellowship.org. Basic requirements, aside from a finished, or soon to be completed (by June 2011), degree are: a 3.0 GPA or higher, be a United States citizen or permanent legal resident and have the willingness to teach in a high-need school for three years. There are 14 participating universities and colleges. You need not be a resident of the state where the chosen school is located.

The 2010 Saving Shelter Pets Etsy fundraiser is still going strong, but hurry – it ends August 26th. That’s Thursday, as in two days from now. You can buy a variety of vintage and handmade items from participating sellers, and 20% of the proceeds will go to Saving Shelter Pets for a Spay and Neuter clinic.  SSP does not duplicate the work of local groups, but targets under-served areas where no low cost spay/neuter option exists.  While, yes, folks who make spay and neuter a priority find the funds, but in these areas, there are folks who desire to but it may be a matter of medications or food or spay surgery. There are some may think, “Why do they have pets if they cannot afford it?”  Sometimes animals just “show up” or are “taken in” that are abandoned by moving neighbors or things were better when the dog or cat came into the family.

I can’t wait to see the cool stuff you bought!

When you have a small nonprofit, getting donations of usable goods, such as office supplies or, if you have a pet rescue, pet supplies, are always welcomed. However, donations of goods sometimes don’t match current needs. It might not be something you think of, but clipping coupons helps cuts the costs at organizations; not just at home. Sure, there are some things that can be had at wholesale suppliers, but not everything. There is a big list oc coupon codes at Savings.com that you can plug into websites. Some of them are merely a button that “activates” a deal on the website rather than requiring that you key it in. If you are a little stuck and can’t find what you are looking for, you can also ask other site users in the community on what they recommend or deals they have spotted.

A few of the highlights:

• There always seems to be an extra $5-25 off at 1-800Petmeds.com. That’s useful if you run a pet charity and need to buy something special for the 150 lb dog you just don’t have the right dosage for. Pet Street Mall and Petsmart also have codes.
• Offers from HP, the Apple Store and Sony, not to mention MacAfee for all of your virus-busting needs.
• Discounts at Tractor Supply Store. Have you ever been to one? Everything from horse feed to landscaping items to protective gear.
• Autozone and O’Reilly’s to keep your vehicles running.

If you are purchasing or procuring items from any of these businesses, and hundreds more, take advantage of saving a few extra dollars. You can put what you save towards saving another life or comforting another person.

Did you hear that Goodwill is going to open up its first Metro Detroit store in years? The area is one of the few where Goodwill does not have a retail location. The location will open in Canton and the store will have a boutique-feel, from what I understand. Right now, they are seeking volunteers for the Goodwill Parisian sale. Shoppers at Parisian department stores in Clinton Township and Livonia receive a discount that day if they bring clothing items to donate to Goodwill.

The two Parisian stores are located at:

Laurel Park Place

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Parisian at Partridge Creek in Clinton Township:
View Larger Map

The dates and times are September 15, 2010 from 8: A.M. through 9:00 P.M. The day is divided into three four hour shifts, and they are asking for two volunteers for each shift. If you are interested, please contact Rose Belzyt at 313-557-8791 (cell 734-795-0214) or email her at rbelzyt @goodwilldetroit. org. Just remove the spaces in the email address. They have been added to prevent spambots from picking up the address.

The fall charity auction season is coming up. One potential donor asked about donating a high ticket item like a watch or a ring. They didn’t own a watch or ring, but were rather thinking about buying one for the charity to auction off. Since everyone’s tastes are different ( Some might want big names like a dolce and gabbana watch and some might prefer something sporty. Then there is the matter of fit.), have you considered a gift certificate for a watch?  This way, the winner can have anything they like, or defray the cost of something pricier. By and large, I have found that gift certificates or cards of any type usually do well at auctions and often are bid up to face value or more.

Someone who is bidding on an online auction or an out of town guest attending a live auction may be reluctant to bid on a gift certificate for a high ticket item when they don’t have access to the local jeweler, or at least not long enough to make an informed decision on what to redeem it on. Pick a watch retailer like Bluedial.com, where the winner can take their time ordering and can get exactly what they want, even if they live miles away.  The charity also has a high ticket or at least intriguing item to promote in their auction catalog. Sounds like a win-win to me.

How can I make money by just doing what I do on a daily basis? No, I am not talking about recruiting my friends for a Multi Level Marketing Pyramid. There is a new local marketing campaign that is being utilized in some areas through WeReward.

How does it work? If you have an iPhone or Droid (Blackberry coming soon), you can earn points by “checking in” at local businesses and completing tasks. The task might be to take a photo with the phone of the front of the business to prove you were there. Pretty simple, right? What I need to do more investigation on is if there are enough businesses in my metro area, or along my dog walking route that participate. However, from what I understand, some national chains are involved.

For advertisers, they can get foot traffic.  Granted, taking a shot from outside the building doesn’t mean someone is going to shop, but it etches the business in their mind.  Also, some tasks involve going in and taking photos of a meal they ordered, etcetera. If you play your cards right, you might just make a enough to cover some of the cost of your text package, or possibly your phone bill if you are really involved and as the number of participating businesses increases.

I’ll keep my ear to the ground and let you know what else I hear.

I have received a lot of mail recently of folks looking for the story I ran back around the first of the year. It was a story of a squirrel rescue. I have decided to rerun it by popular demand. The story itself is not very literary. I think people just like to see cute photos.

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It was one of those days that just doesn’t start out quite right. I didn’t feel like making breakfast, but I felt like eating a multi-food item meal. Cereal just wouldn’t do. By the time I got rolling, breakfast was no longer served in this one horse town (okay, I’ll be honest, its a no horse town). So, I decided to go all the way into the next county where there was a gleaming, brand new IHOP. I never made it to IHOP as you can read BY CLICKING HERE.

When I finally got back home, with our new charge, I decided to walk Good Girl II (aka GiGi – not to be confused with GoodGirl I, Gillian, the Mastiff) and take Ollie, one of our two, for a walk around the perimeter of the house. All of the sudden, something fell from the sky. They stopped in their tracks and their noses were touching the same thing. G.G. and Ollie both had their ears perked up and heads cocked in youthful curiosity.

This is what I found at the end of their noses…

They did not try to bite or hurt the little one. Apparently, he/she had fallen from the tree. The little squirrel tried to run away, but only got a few feet dragging a leg. Perhaps the dogs sensed another animal in trouble or pain. I have heard of elephants trying to save baby rhions or hippos that are not their friends in the wild from tar pits or swamps before, so its not too strange I suppose for hounds to pause at a squirrel.

I called a neighbor to come out, as my hands were full with two tangled leashes and the squirrel was put in a dog carrier with a towel. We both looked at eachother and shook our heads.

Maybe it was like the scene in 101 Dalmatians where dogs passed a message along from neighborhood to neighborhood until it got to the right place…a little bird let everyone know that day that we were already off of our schedule by taking a stray in, so what’s a few more.

I remembered there was a lady I met while seeking help for a raccoon. She couldn’t help us then, but did rehabilitate squirrels, so I called her up and she came to get the little one. He/she was not full grown yet and we were hoping that it was a broken leg, which just needed time versus deeper injuries.

So, as promised, that is the story of the squirrel who fell from the sky in front of some dogs and lived to tell the tale.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boost Mobile. All opinions are 100% mine.

So many pleas for help come into my inbox about someone who is losing their home or someone who trying to rescue different dogs. Often a “friend” will take up a collection. I have mixed feelings about that. Sure, its very grassroots to pool people together and with a few dollars each you can make a difference. On the other hand, we shouldn’t have to panic over someone’s lack of planning. Things happen, but all too often, someone gets stranded with a dog or supplies that someone else was supposed to take and when they get there they realize there was a mis-communication.

If you want to help a family member or someone you just know of, but don’t want to transfer cash, Boost Mobile provides a way to put credit on someone’s phone. They can’t use the funds for anything else, but it will give them additional airtime minutes in an emergency, or can receives texts on their Blackberry with directions and other pertinent info. With the Re-Boost program, you can pay online, in person or by phone. Payments can be a one time deal, or you can set up automatic debits. It may not help with other issues, but you can be sure that your brother on spring break, or a volunteer stranded in the middle of nowhere has enough of a cushion to make the calls they need to make.  It’s also a great idea for Back to School.

Previously, I mentioned the 2010 Saving Shelter Pets Etsy Fundraiser. As of this writing, eight sellers have stepped up to the plate, representing wares such as handmade jewelry, vintage clothing, housewares, dreamcatchers and more. SSP is looking for a few more sellers to add to the corral. Maybe it could be you?

All sellers will be promoted during the sale, which will run from August 16th through August 26th. 20% of the proceeds from each store will be donated to Saving Shelter Pets. If you are worried that it will cut into your bottom line – don’t worry. The extra promotion will definitely make up for it.

If you are an Etsy seller who would like to participate, please email info @ savingshelterpets.com. If you don’t have an Etsy shop and would like to shop during the sale, visit http://www.savingshelterpets.com/etsy2010.html to make your wish list now, and start shopping after 8 A.M EST on the 16th.  Sellers are bound to add a few more items during the sale, so keep checking back.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of LinensNThings. All opinions are 100% mine.

I was surprised to see Linens ‘N Things shutter its doors. The particular location near me was actually quite busy, but chain wide, they just weren’t doing as well in some markets as rivals Bed Bath and Beyond, not mention the big box stores such as Target. LNT is back. It’s streamlined and has returned in web form. To simplify matters, now its simply “LNT.”

To celebrate, my readers can receive Free Shipping off their purchases through September 15th. Use code LNTFREE at checkout. With free shipping, you can afford to fill your cart just in time for Back to School and fall charity auctions.

The offerings may not be as exhaustive as their old store, but there are plenty of great basics and interesting finds for home, pet, bath and baby. The most offbeat offering?  The T-Rex Reptile Comfort Leash.  It wouldn’t be anything worth mentioning if it just came in Iguana size. That’s nothing new.  However, it comes in size XXSmall for tiny Anoles.  I imagine it would fit a variety of small swifts and other tiny guys as well.  The small will fit a gecko, while an iguana is medium.  If they had a large, would that be for crocodiles? Perhaps.

What would you choose?

In the past two years, the ChipIn widget seems to have proliferated on the Internet. For legitimate non profit groups, it seemed to solve a few problems. It gave immediate access to donors to see exactly how close to a goal the group was in real or almost real time. However, since there are no real “checks” that the site does, it also allows for a lot of fraud.

This familiar widget can be created on the ChipIn site very easily, and the code can be tailored to a variety of formats that a wide variety of platforms can understand. Just be aware, that if using on Wordpress, you can only use it if you host your blog on your own domain as it is against Wordpress TOS. Also, the shockwave script only appears in “publish” or “preview” mode.Please do not attempt to actually donate to this one, because it won’t go anywhere. It is for illustrative purposes only. It is not connected to a Paypal address.

For a legitimate group, not only does it motivate donors, but the constant updates cut out the “middle man” and save time for volunteers seeking updates as well. Funds are processed through Paypal, which is very familiar to those donating on the internet already. A widget is best used if a small, reasonable goal is targeted as people like to be part of the “winning team” and feel that they are making a difference versus a small drop in a bucket that may never be filled.

However, the widget went from being used by legitimate causes to just about anyone. Because the address that is receiving the donations is hidden, it can easily create a situation where someone is falsely collecting funds. However, it was more frequent for individuals to not pretend that they were collecting for something they were not, but counting on you seeing so many widgets that you will get them confused. Another scenario is that because you do see a widget, you think they have been “checked out.” One young lady was asking for over $20,000 to build a “No-Kill Sanctuary for Dogs.” Behind the scenes, there was never going to be a shelter. She had made graphics to look convincing, but in reality, she was trying to gain trust with shelters in order to attempt to take unaltered dogs to start breeding and fighting them. She was “found out.”

The more innocent misuses are people using them to fund their savings goal, or dream of buying a boat. In of itself, if everyone is aware that they are gifting money to the person and it is not a donation, to each his own. Perhaps ChipIn should create a widget that clearly carries a disclaimer.

Technologically, the widget will not appear in Wordpress based blogs in draft mode and is sometimes only viewable when published. This is an improvement. The widget is compatible with blogger.

In my opinion:

From a technology perspective, ChipIn is a valuable widget and gets high marks. A s a consumer, you should do the same research of the person behind the widget as if they were handing you an envelope or asking for a donation in person.

In Wordpress, there’s an area that shows some of your back links. It’s really helpful to see where other bloggers mentioned your site. However, it is not a complete list, nor does it display static websites who decided to throw you a link.

If you want more complete information, grab some code from Blog Copy (blogcopy.com). When you log in, they’ll show you not only who actually linked to you, but who quoted you or popped your photos in their post, too, without doing too much detective work (might bust folks who are plagiarizing your content, too. You can write them and ask for credit).  Have you tried it? Let me know what you think.