I Stream, You Stream, We All Stream For Icing!
December 12, 2009 
One thing's for sure, Liz O.: when I see yellow snowmen, I think "you're in" trouble.
- Related Wreckage: Whirled Peas
Also, I know it's a pain entering your info with each donation - believe me, I do! Unfortunately, almost no one accepts Paypal donations - and John and I are not comfortable collecting your money to give ourselves. So please, don't let the extra minute or two of data entry prevent you from giving. The sites are secure, the companies are reputable, and I'm personally trusting each one with my own info and credit card number.
Finally, many of the charities, including this one, have no immediate tracking ability for donations. We will contact each individual charity at the end of the day to try to get our numbers and will try to post them when we know.
Reader Comments (127)
I posted this yesterday, but forgot a link!
The website is here: http://www.chinalittleflower.org/
Also, they are located in China, but based out of the US, so it is a registered non-profit and all that good stuff.
This summer I worked at an orphanage called China Little Flower. They specialize in helping orphans in China that are in special need, particularly preemies and hospice kids. The people that run it are so so nice and the kids that live in the orphanage are really amazing. The three weeks I spent there changed my life. I know that they've been having a hard time getting donations and desperately need them if they're going to stay open.
I made a video about my trip there, the link is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An6vsXG3Doc
ps. all the cakes in china are total wrecks. One of the girls had a birthday while we were there and the cake was almost all whip cream frosting with weird people creatures dwelling on the top.
to write love on her arms provides treatment for those struggling with depression and addiction
and blood:water mission provides clean drinking water and blood (i think?) in africa
so those are some ideas
In case you're tracking, I gave today's $10 to Share Our Strength.
St. Jude is an AMAZING charity! I gave my dollar! :)
Thanks again for doing this. :)
Daraja Academy is a free secondary school for 20 girls pulled the poverty areas of Kenya, Africa. The school just finished its first operating year and still needs alot of help. All money that they do have is from the founders own pockets or donations. It's a great cause and the girls they currently have enrolled are amazing which is evident when you read their blog. If you could chose to donate to them, it would be an amazing help
http://daraja-academy.org/
Nice choice. I'd like to recommend Camp Kesem, which provides a FREE week of summer camp to the children of cancer patients. Kids get to just be kids, while meeting others who know what they're going through. campkesem.org has a link for online donations. Great work!
Camp Kesem UF co-founder
Suggestion of no-kill animal welfare organizations. The North Shore Animal League is an example, but like others mention they have a minimum amount required that is more than $1. Maybe there are other smaller organizations with different criteria.
Thank you for doing this. So far it has been so much fun to see what the charity of the day is going to be and donating my $2 to the charity. This is great and I wish more popular blogs would follow your example. It could really make a difference. I keep trying to figure out how to get your blog some coverage in the media, so more people can find out about this. I did post it all over my social networking sites.
I do think that it is important that you point out to people that charities also need our help during the spring and summer months. Since after Christmas donations tend to decline. So if people can't give now they can always give in the future.
AAAAAAAH, psycho snowmen!! =D
Hey, another perk to the $1/day charity giving is...I'll finally memorize my credit card number. Hmmm, actually that's not such a good thing. lol
I know I lifted them up yesterday, but Nothing But Nets is trying to provide enough malaria protection nets for app. 1 million people before the New Year. Ten dollars=1 net=protection for four people. They work!
Please consider Nothing But Nets as one of your highlighted charities. Many thanks.
I'd like to suggest Charity:Water. I checked, and it looks like they'll accept any size donation. I'd also suggestion Invisible Children, but it seems their smallest donation amount is $5. This is a great cause, and I hope it becomes something of a tradition!
Hi Jen;
For those chairites that don't have a tracker perhaps we can all just make a note on donations that they are on behalf of cakewrecks :)
Today on behalf of cakewrecks my husband and I will be donating our $2 to BC Children's Hospital to benefit children in our country :) Thanks for the idea Jen.
"Urine Trouble" by Tauney may me laugh so hard!
Donated my Dollar for the day!
well it's not letting me donate $1 here...it keeps saying that it can't go through and I have more than $1 on my card...
St. Jude's saved my life. 40 years ago, I had to have major experimental surgery on my skull or I would die. They paid for the entire cost, as my parents would never have been able to afford it. I am living testimony that this charity is special. Today, I work in the medical field, hoping to pay back some of that kindness. Thank you, Cake Wrecks, for continuing the love. wildmaven@yahoo.com
What a fantastic idea! I'd like to add to the people suggesting Heifer International, and also ask you to do a day for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time two years ago and has had a lot of difficulty finding effective treatments because she has a rare version of the disease - at this point, possibly her best hope for survival is new breakthroughs in research, which can't happen without plenty of donations! Obviously this is a cause very near and dear to my heart and I think it would be a great cause to support :)
Share Our Strength does let you donate $5, which isn't too much more than $1 for those that can manage it.
I got each of my 3 daughters to donate $1 from their piggy banks to help other kids that are hungry.
I forgot about To Write Love on Her Arms. On my personal Facebook page, there are photos of my arm, my husband's arm, my friend's arm, and my mom's arm from TWLOHA Day last month. As someone who lost her 14 year old cousin to suicide, it was amazing to be part of something so great. They are another worthy group that could use some money.
I know y'all have plenty of charity recommendations, but I wanted to add another: Outreach International. http://www.outreach-international.org/
It focuses on giving a hand up, not a handout in mostly third world countries. Instead of using the money for food aid, they give things like breeding goat pairs to give a village a supply of milk and meat, or sewing machines so that the women can achieve financial security through their own labor.
WV: pealati. What happens when someone uses these snowmen for ice in a frappacino.
Hi, Jen and John - I'm not sure how St. Jude will track donations that come from your blog, so just wanted to let you know I gave $5.
This is an amazing idea, btw. Happy to participate and feel lucky that I'm able to!
I spent seven years in St. Jude's and I lived in the Target House. It's really just like the commercials. They pay for everything, your treatment, your transportation, they house you and your family, they pay for your groceries, they have weekly events, you form lifelong bonds, it's great. As a child I wanted to work there when I grew up. It's a cheerful, fun, warm, loving place, not a sad hospital.
We have donated to St.Jude's before several times and happily did it again today. Thanks for the push to donate!
Since we're discussing "yellow snow," I'd like to suggest donating to the North Shore Animal League (www.nsalamerica.org), which is the largest no-kill animal adoption and rescue organization in the world. NSAL does an amazing job of rescuing animals in need all over the country and giving them homes. I got my dog there and, as the saying goes, I'm not sure who rescued who.
The Humane Society of the United States and Sea Shepard would be really great organizations to feature.
Okay, sorry to bother you again but I had an idea! I am the person who annoyingly keeps suggesting the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation. :) I was thinking that even if you decided not to make the foundation one of your 14 charities, you could post the link for people so that they could sign the petition. It already has over 80,000 signatures and the goal is 100,000. With as many people as read your posts (plus the fact that they can sign and not even donate money), they could easily reach their goal. People could go to www.gwendolynstrong.com and click the link to the petition or you could post the direct link http://www.thepetitionsite.com/182/petition-to-cure-SMA if you wanted to. Thanks for your time once again!
Just submitted my $5.
And, dang that's a lot of world pee.
One you may want to consider is the Brain Injury Association of America
(biaus.org) It benefits research, patient care, and support for survivors/caregivers of those who have suffered a traumatic brain inury. Since so many of these accidents happen to young men, thy leave many young families facing either a life or death or a long-long-long term caregiving situation. Many young soldiers are also the victims of brain injury (think of Bob Woodward of ABC news...) My husband had a TBI 18 years ago and we've cared for him ever since. People with brain injuries are often called the "walking wounded" because the injury itself may not be visible.
I would like to nominate Girls Inc. as once of your charities. They offer really innovative (I think, anyway) programs that teach underprivileged girls how to operate in the real world - balancing their checkbooks, preventing pregnancy and STDs, math, cooking, fitness, nutrition - very comprehensive. I used to work for them and was VERY impressed with their programs.
And the snowmen...ew, just ew!
Just wanted to let you know that you've inspired me and my friends from college (around 20 of us) too. We're at that age (early 30s) where we don't need people to give us birthday gifts anymore, so I suggested a new tradition yesterday. As birthdays roll around, each person chooses their favorite charity and the rest of us donate what we would have spent on gifts or cards to their charity.
In case you didn't feel like you were helping others, Jen, you're inspiring us all.
Great! Yesterday a green-frosted cake that was labeled yellow (do my eyes deceive me?), and today, "yellow snow"men. What's next?
The charity idea is a great one, Jen. Thanks to you and John for your positive thoughts and good examples.
I haven't read all the postings, so someone could have already suggested my favorite charity: Heifer. They educate people in caring for livestock such as goats or chickens for example and then provide them with some animals with the idea that when these animals reproduce, they will pass along this knowledge and some young animals to someone else. They can earn income from selling the surplus produce from these animals plus the fertilizer from most of these animals will help them grow more crops, control pests and enrich their environment. They can become self sufficient and healthier. They have many different types of animals for different types of areas and even work with growing things like trees. They work with people in USA and other countries too. A very worthy program.
The Terry Fox Foundation!
It started in 1980 as run across Canada by a cancer patient named Terry Fox to raise money for cancer research. It is now international and is known for the high percentage of money donated that actually goes directly to cancer research.
http://www.terryfox.org/
Hmm not sure if you're able to track wreckie donations - I put in 2$ for St. Jude.
Still think this is an amazing thing to do, especially at this time of year when people spend so much on stuff that is unlikely to save a life. :)
-Bess
Please consider CIDNY, Center for the Independence of the Disabled in New York. We just lost a contract with the state, leaving an immense hole in our budget.
www.cidny.org
Gave to the charity yesterday, and today, I think you've started something great here and I hope it continues!!
$5 to Share our Strength and $1 to St. Jude's (I donate to St. Jude's monthly via a payroll deduction already).
Plenty of charities accept PayPal... like Match It for Pratchett, the Alzheimers' research group. Here's a link: http://www.matchitforpratchett.org/
Believe me, if you REALLY want to get your readers to do this with you, you've GOT to make it as easy as possible. Silly charities that insist on eschewing PayPal have lost hundreds of dollars from me, and I'm sure many others. Five minutes for you to set up a PayPal account just for that charity that refuses to do it themselves will save each reader five minutes of painstakingly typing and retyping all their info... then close out the account and send the contents to the organization. It's a matter of simple economics.
If it was just three clicks a day instead of having to go dig out my purse and type everything in... not too hard to figure out what to do here, is it?
I love St. Jude. I live here in Memphis, and just did the half-marathon to raise money for them We got to actually run through the campus - a HUGE deal because it is VERY secure. Seeing the families of those kids being helped was wonderful.
To the poster that suggested HSUS: be aware that the national HSUS is not affiliated with any local shelters, and does not run or operate any shelters. They take donations and then lobby politicians. That's all they do. They also seek to ban ownership of pretty much everything not a dog or cat.
Yay! Just donated my $5.00 to St. Judes, and was able to use their site to print out a nifty little card that says "A gift has been made in your honor etc" to give to someone as a present.
I'm with the folks that want PayPal - but if they are taking 30 cents for every dollar donated, well, that's discouraging. On the other hand I'm not happy about getting on 14 charities' mailing lists after this.
Bet you never guessed what you were getting yourselves into, Jen and company!
I'm going to continue nomination The Bridge of Amarillo every day :) They work with molested and abused children, providing exams, counseling, and other services. They try to minimize the trauma of the interviews and exams, and provide comfort afterwards to help kids pick up the pieces.
www.bridgecac.org
What a great charity. Thanks John and Jen keep it up.
Frank
NEWS FLASH! I just checked yesterday's Charity:Water page, and a total of over $9,500 has been collected so far, nearly half the $20,000 goal.
C'mon, people, if you've donated already, put the word out to your friends.
wv: bulating
I think I'll add a note on my blog's bulating board to spread the word!
*SNIFF* Didn't think I could love you more than I did until I got home from shopping and saw this donation idea Friday night. YOU GUYS ROCK!!
My two recommendations are for:
1) www.showhope.com, Shaohannah's Hope, also known as Show Hope. It's a nonprofit ministry that enables individuals & communities to change the world for orphans by not only addressing a child’s need for food, shelter, care, & spiritual nourishment, but by also addressing the root issue for an orphan: the lack of a family. YUP, adoption! Ask my beautiful 8 yr. daughter, Faith Shajuan, who came home to us from Xinjiang China!
2) www.caringbridge.org, which offers FREE websites to people with serious health issues so they are able to keep friends & family informed. We used them when we were in the process of adopting Shajuan, because she had a hole in her heart (VSD) as well as having hepatitis B - she was on a "waiting child list" and was 4 years old at the time - a harder to adopt age, as most couples want babies. The website works COMPLETELY on donations, and it allows people to post updates & pics. It also allows the friends & family to send encouraging messages, which can be absolutely vital.
THANKS JEN & JOHN!! May God truly bless you this Christmas season for blessing the world with your wonderful Christmas gift!
Hugs and kisses,
Sharon from Austin
I'm happy to give a donation to each of the charities you are posting, I just don't want to get a lot of mail and calls from them because of it.
I really don't want to give my phone number, 'cuz from what I understand every time you give it out to a business or charity, you let them (and others) get around the whole 'do not call' list.
Still, I'm taking the chance....
i wish i coud donate, but i am too little.
you should look at music national service. it came to my town and i had so much fun. thank you!
I don't mind having to enter my information each time. I think it's just fabulous that you're doing this. St. Jude's is a very worthy cause.
If you are looking for additional charities, I suggest the Armed Forces Foundation.
Thanks again for doing this.
I think the Huskies must've gotten to those snowmen.
*singing* "Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow!"
Hey, and Saint Jude's sends out really awesome address labels once you get on their mailing list. I've not actually donated to them before, but they've been sending me address labels for years.
Jen, seeing that your first suggestion to donate to "Share Our Strength" reminded me of a very important site relating to hunger and no money is involved.
If you go to this site - www.thehungersite.com - all you have to do is click on the large button that says "Click Here to Give - It's Free". They have sponsors for the page who pay for every "hit". I think it even tells you how many bowls of food you've donated after you click. And...........it doesn't cost any money, just a few seconds of time.
When you are at that site, if you look across the top at the tabs, you will see similar sites for Breast Cancer, Child Health, Literacy, Rain Forest, and Animal Rescue.
I have bookmarked this page and click daily on every one of those. So little time out of my day, but so much good will be done.
Would you consider bringing this site specifically to your readers' attention so they will be aware of the good they can do at no cost to themselves? I ask because not everyone will read all of the comments and see this one.
Thank you for your generosity and getting others involved......"a small ripple......"
KT