Day 365: LAST DAY! $20 to Donors Choose Project

And so I end my year of giving the same way I began it, with a donation to a teacher on Donors Choose.  This time, I chose a project about art and Transcendentalism.  When I taught American literature, I loved reading Transcendentalism with students, so I thought the donation was appropriate for me.

It's hard to believe that my little experiment is over.  I'm relieved and a little forlorn at the same time. Since I can't quite give it up yet, I'm going to be posting a series of reflections about my year of donating--regrets, accomplishments, thoughts, and what not. So I will keep this blog going a little longer. Who knows, then I may start a new one.  Can't wait for 2012! Looking forward to it. 

Day 364: $1 to Vets and 50 cents to Shared Harvest

I've given the $10 bag of groceries to Shared Harvest (at Whole Foods) twice in the past month, so this time when they asked me if I was interested in adding on to my bill, I declined and instead added my change to the Shared Harvest collection box conveniently placed at the checkout. Did I feel cheaper? Yes. Do I think it's a bit intrusive of cashiers to ask for a $10 donation every time you shop? Yes. I get that most people have this idea that only people with money shop at Whole Foods, but in reality that just can't be true. People who like health food aren't all necessarily rich. They are not mutual conditions. I think Whole Foods would be much better off simply asking their customers if they would like to round up their bill. I would ALWAYS do that if asked.

I also had the opportunity to donate to a group called Veterans for Us (I think that was the name) that was set up outside of Sam's Club. They had a lot of gear they were selling--like hats, bumper stickers, flags, and t-shirts--and they also had a big plastic barrel (like the type you would find a ton of pretzels in). Since I was right next to them waiting for the rain to pass, it seemed like a convenient and appropriate time to make my daily donation. It seems as if a lot of other people were thinking like me because I saw three other donations made, and I noticed that the almost overflowing pretzel barrel had more than just singles floating around. It definitely had at least one $20 bill.

Day 363: Soup

Today was Green Bean Delivery day (thank goodness for fresh, organic produce in the winter). I left two different types of soup in my bin for the constant food drive. I left a huge can of Campbell's Sirloin Burger soup. I have no idea why that was ever purchased (iron deficiency?). Then I also donated a bagged soup mix made by Bear Creek.  It was chicken noodle, which all in all I'm sure is good--as most Bear Creek soup mixes are--but again not my favorite soup. I'm sure someone else likes both.

Day 362: Books to Africa

This is one of those donations that at its core is just plain selfish. Nonetheless, it counts. It really does. Today I purchased an out of print t-shirt for myself. Every time you purchase from this organization they donate books to Africa which is just plain good. This is my second purchase from Out of Print. The first time, I bought the Sun Also Rises t-shirt; this time I went for the more girly Pride and Prejudice shirt. I can't wait to get it!

Day 361: 4 books to Better World Books

I ran across this idea on Twitter today. Apparently a company called Better World Books will accept your donated books. They then re-sell, donate, or recycle the books.  You go to their website, print out a postage-free mailing label and affix it to your own box (something I have plenty of lingering around my house after Christmas). I stuffed four books into a box that previously held an Orgreenic saute pan. They fit perfectly. Now all I have to do is drop the package at the post office.  I'm sure that I will continue this donation outlet in the new year. It just seems so practical.  Better World Books even sets off the carbon emissions of the whole process.  How?  Well, I have no idea, but it sounds great.

Day 360: Sweater

I received two sweaters for Christmas, one for my birthday, and recently purchased a fourth sweater. I haven't been following my rule of one-for-one (that is, donating an item of clothing every time I acquire a new one) so I thought that I could at least do a little here. I choose a cream colored cable-knit sweater that is in pretty good condition to donate because I must have five white/cream sweaters at this point. There is nothing wrong with the sweater I'm donating except that it's one of those piece of clothing that attracts static electricity. I have several like that, so out it goes. Someone else can enjoy its warmth and electric charge.

Day 359: Christmas! $10 shared harvest, $10 tip for haircut, $30 tips to various helpers, gifts

Well, I knew that I wouldn't be heading out today with the opportunity to donate money or goods anywhere. Also, I have no ability to donate online today, so I saved up some of my giving for earlier this week for today, Christmas day. In addition to normal gift giving, I donated $10 to Shared Harvest at Whole Foods. This is enough money for a bag of food. I also gave my wooden nickel (from bringing my own bag) to Granny's Garden School.  I did that the last time I went to Whole Foods as well.

One of the best gifts this season, however, was not even mine. My sister decided to donate her long hair to locks of love. She had it cut at Great Clips because they will send the hair donation in for you. She researched online prior to getting her hair chopped and she knew just how to braid the hair for cutting and giving. The actual haircut was then free, so I paid the tip for my sister ($10). That was yesterday--an exciting day for sure. I was more nervous about the hair chopping than she was. She really has no attachment to short or long hair. Within the next few days, she's getting it colored as well. She looks completely different.

Finally, I wanted to note that I did give $10 Amazon cards to the mail carrier, the trash collector, and the green bean delivery driver this week. I'm sure their are more people like this I should consider during the holiday season. I just need to remember to do so.

I can't believe that my year of giving is coming to a close. It was about this time last year that the idea first popped into my head. I was sure I wouldn't be able to keep up with it, but now it's winding down. There are only six days left!  Oh my!

Day 358: $2.11 to the Salvation Army Red Kettle

This was probably the last opportunity to donate to the Salvation Army's red kettle, so I took the opportunity. I read an article today about people putting old wedding rings in the red kettle. I don;t have expensive jewelry or old coins worth a lot of money, so I gave a dollar bill and all of the change I could find in my purse.

Day 357: 50 brown bags to food pantry (and 140 pair of gloves)

Before I dropped off the 140+ pair of new gloves and mittens collected by the MHS writing center at the Milford Miami Ministries location, I checked out their website. I noticed that the food pantry portion of MMM was requesting bags (any type) that could be used to aid their distribution. Well over a year ago I purchased a number of plain brown grocery sacks that I use around the house for recycling bags. This lets me not worry so much about what type of bag I'm getting at the grocery store. By having my own stack of recyclable bags, I am actually recycling more (even though that logic seems a little warped). I always get around to recycling the plastic bags that accumulate as well. I took about 50 of these bags out of the box I store them in and brought them with me to the MMM center. The people there were nice, grateful, and a bit rushed because of the holidays. I've been donating a lot to MMM lately, and now that I've seen their operation, I may do more.

Day 356: 2 cans of food to Freestore Foodbank via Green Bean

Today is the last day for Green Bean Delivery before Christmas. Some wonderful locally made rolls (organic) are coming as well as lots of good produce including my latest favorite, Organic Girl SuperGreens. I've never seen these in a local store, but I love using this lettuce in salads. It's triple-washed (time-saver) and has a variety of really nutrition-packed greens. Anyway, I left two cans of food in my Green Bean bin--chili beans and chickpeas--and Green BEan will make sure that the cans make it to the Freestore Foodbank. I also left a gift card from Amazon for the delivery driver.  Feels good to make people happy.

Day 355: 50 cents to Milford Miami Ministires

Milford Miami Ministries is the organization I really need to contact today to see where I can drop off my supply of gloves.  But on a related note, I had the oil changed in my car today at a local shop in Milford. I knew they would have the jar out for Milford Miami Ministries, so I gave my change (50 cents) to the jar. I'm having to pay for everything in cash these days (debit card hijacked by those horrible people who spend all day punching in numbers on a computer to try to steal the money of hard-working, honest people). This is just a minor inconvenience this time, although I have to say that right before Christmas is not exactly the time you want to only have cash available to you.

Day 354: $1 to Freestore Foodbank

My internet connection is incredibly slow today, reminding me of the old days of dial-up. Nonetheless, I am behind on my blogging (but not on my giving) and I'd like to catch up. Although I donated 36 pairs of used gloves to St. Vincent De Paul today, these were collected from students and teachers at school so I am not counting them as part of my daily donations. I just did the legwork. I still have legwork to do with the 140+ pair of new gloves and mittens. What I did manage to do today was donate $1 to the Freestore Foodbank at Kroger. Easy as pie.

Day 353: 50 cents to Ronald McDonald and a folder

Today was pretty random as far as donating goes. I started off the day purchasing a Diet Coke at McDonald's instead of my usual coffee. This allowed me to donate the change (which may have been a little less or a little more than 50 cents to the Ronald McDonald collection bin.  Later in the day, a student who I do not know at all asked me if I had a folder that I could give her.  Although I did not have a two-pocket folder--the kind students are used to--I did have a file folder with pretty design on it. It would have been very easy to tell this student that I didn't have anything for her (especially since I had to leave my monitoring position in te lab to go to my classroom to hunt for it) but I knew that this was a perfect opportunity to complete the day.

Day 352: $1 to firefighters

I decided to eat lunch at Firehouse Subs because I saw an advertisement about their beverage machine which can mix an enormous number of syrups and flavors with your favorite drink.  Lucky for me, I also noted that this establishment allows you to round up your bill with the proceeds going to firehouses throughout the country. Now, when I inquired about rounding up my bill at the cash register, the young woman working had no idea what I was talking about and acted extremely confused. There was, however, another option--a plastic collection box for change and dollar bills. So I took advantage of that and shoved a dollar in. My meal was pretty good. (The bread was definitely better than Subway's, and the rest of the workers seemed friendly.) My raspberry Diet Coke was almost undrinkable.  So much syrup. I did notice a table tent, though, that detailed all of the philanthropic endeavors of Firehouse Subs related to the support of firefighters and fire stations across the country. My experience was pleasant overall. I will go back, I'm sure, at some point.  Maybe I'll even purchase one of their used pickle buckets to help raise money.

Day 351: Two cans of green beans

As I was walking into Kroger's I noticed that they have a barrel in the lobby for collecting non-perishable food items. It was easy enough, then, to pick up two cans of green beans while shopping and deposit them in the barrel on the way out the door.  A number of other people (or perhaps Kroger employees) had already done the same thing. In fact, the barrel was almost full. My two cans of green beans cost a little over $1. If I go back to Kroger in the near future, I would like to do this again.

Day 350: Three pair of gloves

Today was the last day of our glove and mitten drive. We collected about 160 pair total. Not that many, but to be honest it's the thought that counts. I will have to contact Milford Miami Ministries and drop off the gloves sometime this weekend. Since it was the last day, I decided to add another three pair to the glove drive (easy enough to pick up at Meijers).

Day 349: $5 to needy family

We had yet another "jeans day" at school today. I absolutely do not mind donating to this needy family that has apparently had tragedy heaped upon them in the form of disease and financial devastation; however, I would really appreciate it if Milford High School could come up with something less banal than jeans day.  My God, I'll wear jeans any day that I want to. (Some teachers wear jeans every single day.) These are the same people who, I'm quite sure, didn't bother to donate anything today. Am I sounding cynical? So be it. At least I was forwarded a funny video about AYP and jeans day today, so that fit with the theme of the day.

Day 348: $1 to Share the Bread

It was easy to give to Share the Bread at Panera today, especially since Panera gave me free coffee today. I suppose I probably should have donated the full two dollars that I saved by receiving the free coffee, but at least I gave a dollar. Whenever I catch a break these days, like at Panera this morning, I definitely chalk it up to the positive karma I've been making this year.  Yet, I'm so superstitious that I don't even like to admit that.

Day 347: School supplies

The teaching professions class at school is running a giving tree of sorts. They are collecting school supplies for needy students (or the teachers of needy students). I was able to give four spiral notebooks that I had stored in my cabinet to my student Hope who is also in the teaching professions class. This time of year offers so many opportunities for donating to charity. I do wonder, however, if it's the best time o collect school supplies. Every time someone collects for this, I go to my cabinet. I will surely have to replenish soon.

Day 346: 55 cents to the Ronald McDonald House

I stopped at McDonalds on the way to school today and treated myself to a peppermint mocha (and a Diet Coke--I was thirsty). As I was getting the exact change to pay my bill, $2.07, I grabbed an extra 55 cents to throw in the Ronald McDonald collection box. I probably could have and should have donated a whole dollar instead; however, tossing money into the Ronald McDonald collection box is always so dicey that I wanted to make sure the money actually went in. A dollar bill might have floated off into neverland. The nonfat peppermint mocha was delicious.

Day 345: $1 to Freestore Foodbank

I again took advantage of Kroger's rip-off coupons at the cash register that allow you to donate a dollar to the Freestore Foodbank. I saw a television advertisement for this today as well.  I think it was a local weatherman pretending to buy groceries and then give the spiel about how donating this way make sure that all your donations are local. I suppose this attracts some people--helping local people in need--but to be honest I don't think it matters tremendously, as long as the organization in legitimate.

Day 344: Alarm clock radio

I gave an alarm clock radio to Goodwill today. This is the type of clock that projects the time onto the ceiling. This was a gift that I received several years ago, but I had never taken it out of the box. It seemed like the right time to give it away. (I hope it works.)

Day 343: $1 to the Freestore Foodbank

After a holiday party with colleagues, I stopped on the way home to make some small purchases at Kroger. Since I had not found a place to donate for the day, it was quite simple enough to rip off a $1 coupon, available at the checkout lane, scan it, and donate to the Freestore Foodbank. I wonder why the don't have those coupons available at the checkout counters throughout the year. It seems like any easy way to support one of the most trusted charities in Cincinnati. I also wonder if I will be continuing to donate as often or nearly as often when my Giving Year is up. It's drawing very close to the end, and I'm having mixed feelings. In one way, the daily obligation will be over (sort of like wrapping up a school year or a semester of classes), but in another way, I imagine myself forgetting to give as often.  We'll see.

Day 342: $1 to Milford Miami Ministries

I gave a dollar to a student who is not in any of my classes but who I know casually (Luke) for his collection jar. Again, this money goes to a local charity that was originally called the Mary Miller Fund but is now referred to as Milford Miami Ministries. This organization is tried and true. I hope that the students who I donate to will also donate to the glove and mitten drive that the writing center has organized.

Day 341: Don't Spill the Beans

This was a donation to the Giving Tree at school. Our local DECA group sets up the giving tree each year, and each year I donate a gift for a child.  The Don't Spill the Beans game was a cheaper item that I purchased at Walmart. I'm always happy to give to children for Christmas, but it is interesting to think about the motives and tactics of certain groups an individuals when they engage in charity.

Day 340: Candy

Today's donation was just more of a kindness. I purchased several bags of Christmas chocolates and mints to share at our English department meeting today. Everyone enjoys a small piece of chocolate after a long day at school (at least I think they do). This is the second time I've purchased candy in the past few weeks (holiday season and all) and I know that it is completely unnecessary. Still, I think small things count.

Day 339: Plastic Utensils

Susan, a colleague at work, sent an email the other day asking for donations of wrapped, plastic silverware for a soup kitchen where Susan's sister works. Just by checking in drawers at home, I was able to come up with a hodgepodge of twenty different sets from various take-out locations like Wendy's or the Chinese place. Obviously I could use these for myself every single day. After all, I'm a brown-bagger. But since I can also use unwrapped plastic utensils, I decided to purchase a pack of those for myself and donated the wrapped ones. I realize that had this request come last year via email, I would have found it so easy to ignore (even if I had good intentions). But this year when I see something like this in my email I get excited because it's a cheap but meaningful way to donate for the day. I do, however, feel like I'm becoming a bit more judgmental of those I see around me who are not so giving.

Day 338: 2 pair of gloves

Although I won't actually be donating these gloves until tomorrow, I did purchase two more pair of gloves today for our writing center glove drive at school. I was at Meijer's picking up milk, clementines, and a few other random items when I started wondering where I would be able to donate today. It seems fine that the actual donation comes tomorrow. After all, we aren't giving the whole bucket-load until December 16 anyway. I already have something else in line for Monday's giving as well.  I saw a local article online today about the coat drive that I donated to. They are giving away the coats now. The article quotes homeless people as being so grateful for the coats. It's hard to imagine.

Day 337: $1 to Save Our Sight

I think the organization I donated to today was called Save Our Sight (if not, something similar). When I was online renewing my vehicle registration today, one of the question fields asked whether or not I would like to add on a dollar to my bill to support this sight program. It seemed like a fortuitous opportunity, so in addition to the hundreds of dollars I seemed to spend today (hair, birthday and Christmas presents, groceries, lunch, online bill payments, and my car registration) I spent the extra dollar so that someone can get help with sight I suppose.  

Day 336: $1.11 to Milford Miami Ministries

I was able to again donate to the same charity that I've given to twice this week--Milford Miami Ministries. This time, I gave my dollar and a random eleven cents to my student Vanessa. I think this might be the last donation of this type, but I can't be sure. I have to say, it's sort of getting expensive to go to school these days. I wish I had more money so that I could help out all of my students.

Day 335: $1.25 to Milford Miami Ministries

I donated to the same charity that I gave to two days ago, but I helped out a different student this time. I gave money to my student Joe.  Tomorrow I'll probably give to Vanessa.  I would say thank goodness I don;t have that many more DECA students in class, but to be honest I'm happy for the easy opportunity and the quality charity that they are collecting for.

Day 334: Teaching Professions Donation

I'm not sure how much of the $13.50 I paid for some flower bulbs will go to help the teaching professions students, but I imagine it is close to half. The students are selling bulbs to raise money for a trip to a teacher conference (who knows what conference), and I was happy to help out my student Hope, who is a delight in class. It's funny to think that I could probably donate to students every single day.

Day 333: $1 to Milford Miami Ministries

One of my students who is also in DECA class was carrying a big jar around today to collect change for their annual donation to local charity Miford Miami Ministries. Then I tried to pressure my students into donating a pair of gloves or mittens to the writing center's collection drive. It was amazing and sad that more than a few students said no.  What's wrong with people?

Day 332: $1 to Share the Bread

On a rainy, cold night (which seems like every night lately) I stopped at Panera on the way home from my night class at Miami to order some broccoli cheese soup to go. Since I had not yet donated for the day, it was a great opportunity to give my obligatory dollar to Share the Bread. This must be the organization I have donated the most (or maybe most often to) over the past year. It will be interesting to look back at the year and see.  Tonight, I almost just gave a quarter, but then I put that back a stuffed a dollar in the box.

Day 331: Feeding America Donation

I'm not really sure how much money I donated to Feeding America by logging on to Kohl's Facebook page, entering a ton of personal information, uploading a photo of my cat, and adding a few lines of text. I hope it was worth it. I do appreciate that a business like Kohl's goes to lengths to contribute to charity and to keep the idea of giving in the public so much, but I detest today's nonstop invasion of privacy (even as I publicly blog).  Facebok is really getting on my nerves.

Day 330: $1 to the Red Kettle (again)

This was easy enough as I hoped it would be this season, donating to the Salvation Army's red kettle bell-ringers. The only problem--I now have a small worry about the Salvation Army (which I'm not even sure is founded). Following a link someone posted on Twitter, I read that the Salvation Army actively tries to undermine the rights of gays in America through lobbying legislators and even supporting absurd and outdated state laws. I don't really want to support intolerance, but I also think the Salvation Army probably does a lot of good with their charity work. Should I investigate further or just be ignorant?  Ignorance might be my path right now.

Day 329: Black boots

These boots are cute, and they look good with jeans or black pants. They also terrorize my left foot. I don't know why. My right foot seems fine with them, even friendly, but my left foot wants to die by the end of the day. I hope I can find a similar pair at some point, but for now the Salvation Army will be the temporary custodian of this footwear.

Day 328: $2 to polar bear habitats

It's Thanksgiving! There are probably a million and one ways I could have given thanks by donating something today, but the fact is I felt like staying home in the cozy warmth of my living room watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and helping to make a few dishes for dinner. Relaxing at home is something I rarely get to enjoy during the school year, so I took the opportunity to donate by texting my Coca-Cola  product code (from my 12-pack of Diet Coke) to the number provided on the carton. This allows me to donate $1 and Coke to match my donation for restoring polar bear habitats. I've been trying to log on to the ridiculous arctic home website to see how much money has been collected so far, but the site will never load.  The rigamarole associated with the arctic home website and the donation process sort of makes me wonder if Coke doesn't really want to give away too much money.

Day 327: $1 to the Red Kettle (Salvation Army)

Today was my first donation of the season to the bell ringers manning the red kettles outside of retail stores like Walmart and Kroger. I was so happy to see them. I'm sure this will make winding up my year of giving that much easier. The funny thing is,after I gave at one kettle (picking up a few things for my mom at Sam's) I went to another store and sheepishly looked in the other direction, avoiding eye contact with the bell ringer.  I bet that happens to them all day long. I wanted to tell her that I had just given at another store, but that seemed futile (and silly) so I did what I bet 75% of other people do (maybe more). I walked away, glancing down, avoiding her look, avoiding her ringing.

Day 326: Green Beans and Corn

Today was another day to donate canned goods to the Freestore Foodbank via Green Bean Delivery. The produce delivery service is dropping off sometime today instead of the usual Thursday so that we will have fresh, organic fruits and veggies for Thanksgiving.  Yum.  I think it's a tad bit sad, though, to donate canned vegetables when I'm getting fresh. Still, that's what the food bank is requesting, and canned veggies aren't that bad.  Some are better than others, I suppose.  I can't stand canned peas for instance. Once you've had fresh spring peas, it's hard to want any other kind.

Day 325: 10 pairs of gloves

For the first time ever during my year-long project, I am blogging ahead of time. I already know when, where, and what I'm donating tomorrow.  Yesterday, I purchased 10 pair of gloves at Walmart (for an extremely low price) for our glove and mitten drive at school.  Considering that the glove and mitten drive is entirely my idea, I thought I should start it off well.  Even though the drive does not begin until after Thanksgiving, one of the students already beat me to it.  Morgan already donated 10 pair (or is it pairs?) of gloves as well!  This is the same student who also took the initiative to contact a local charity to see if they would like our gloves.  I'm sure I will donate more gloves as the drive continues (maybe even a few pricier varieties).

Day 324: Two coupons for free chicken biscuits

There's are a few things I like about my donation today. Number one--it didn't cost me a cent. I received these two promotional cards while at Chick-fil-A about a month ago.  Each card is good for one free chicken biscuit during breakfast hours. Not only will I probably never be near this particular Chick-fil-A during breakfast hours (or really any other), but if I was, I would almost surely never be ordering chicken biscuits. That's just not my idea of breakfast. I do think Chick-fil-A is great at giveaways and supporting the local community, I have to say. It almost makes up for their intolerant attitude about who they will and will nto allow to franchise their restaurants.  Almost.

But what I really like about this donation is that I took the time and effort to post the offer on Freecycle, and now I'm going to drop the coupons in the mail to a total stranger named Cindie in Batavia.  For whatever reason, Cindie would love to have the coupons, and it makes me feel good to give them to her. Here I am again, storing up a "sweet morsel for my conscience," but who can blame me?

Day 323: $10 to Shared Harvest

I stopped by Whole Foods to pick up some spicy guacamole, strawberries, and some fresh Parmesan cheese today. At the checkout, I was looking around for a donation project of sorts, but I only saw the sample bag of food that you could donate to Shared Harvest, a local food pantry in Fairfield.  For the ten dollars, the bag contained a number of items including peanut butter and spaghetti sauce. I was actually looking to donate something more in the $1 to $5 range, but when the cashier flat out asked me if I would like to donate $10 and the bag of goods, I just said yes. In general, I spent way too much money today. I should just stay home tomorrow.

Day 322: $1 and change to Share the Bread and 25 cents or more to Special Ed

This was a pretty normal day for me. Since it was Friday, not raining, and I wasn't running late to school, I stopped at Panera to treat myself to a cup of coffee and a chocolate-chip muffie (I got the last one).  I paid with my credit card, but I had a dollar in cash to put in the Share the Bread box. Later the same night, I ended up at Panera again with friends for an after-dinner coffee. My friend Gina and I combined bills at dinner (she had a half off coupon) and at Panera (she had a free coffee drink), so when I paid the bill at Panera with a $20, I got back $15 and some odd change from the price of her brownie and my peppermint mocha.  Again, I put the change in the Share the Bread box.  This blog post is getting long-winded, resembling the type of writing I'm trying to encourage my students to avoid in their upcoming narratives. Anyway, I also had the perfect chance to support special education programs at Milford this week. All I had to do was place an order for some Buckeye treats and pay $3.75 for the dozen of them.  All proceeds and my twenty-five cent tip go to the special ed programs.

On a final note, I was able to contact a woman named Nancy at Milford-Miami Ministries today (they are a local charity) and they would LOVE to take the gloves and mittens that the students in the writing center collect over the next few weeks. 

Day 321: Green Beans and stuffing

It's one week until Thanksgiving!  I honestly think this might be one of the best holidays ever invented. Part of the tradition is to relax and try to enjoy your family and just give thanks.  So simple. So devoid of all the trappings of the other holidays and all the stress. Green Bean Delivery will come early next week with fresh produce in time for Thanksgiving, but they also made my delivery today. As a way to give back, I donated cans of green beans and stuffing which will go to the Freestore Foodbank in time for Thanksgiving giveaways.

Day 320: Gloves and supplies for collection drive

I've put together a package to take to school tomorrow which includes two big boxes and some wrapping paper to decorate the boxes.  (We already created one box for our glove and mitten drive, but the students in the writing center said we needed more).  We'll put one box in the front office and one box in the ninth grade office. I'll add a pair of new gloves as well.  I hope the writing center students do a good job collecting, too.

Day 319: Three paperback books

I stopped by the library today to pick up a few books including David Guterson's Ed King (a modern Oedipus Rex).  I picked three random bestseller paperbacks off my own shelves before going. The library uses these books to raise money. I am always in support of libraries (I actually hold three different local library cards) and I am continually amazed at the service offered, especially by the Cincinnati Public Library--one of the best libraries in the world.  What I always wonder why at the library, though, is why more people don't take advantage of the free services.

Day 318: $1 to Polar Bear Habitat

I purchased a twelve pack of Diet Coke with the special polar bear cans so that I could text the appropriate number to Coca-Cola and donate $1 to polar bear habitats.  (This is my second time doing this.) Coca-Cola, in return, matches this donation, so it's really $2. The thing is, on the arctic home website only a little over $9,000 has been raised. Why such a small amount? I have a few ideas. First, people are too lazy to care to text the product code and donate $1.  Second, the website that you have to use to donate the dollar is the slowest website in the world. My home internet is not the fastest, but loading the arctic world seems to imitate the movement of glaciers.  Nonetheless, I think I will donate again.  I love Coke products and polar bears deserve help, too.

Day 317: $20 to Complaint Free World

My AP Language students wanted to participate in the Complaint Free World experiment. (They learned about this while researching A.J. Jacobs and his book The Year of Living Biblically.) Of course, as the adult I had to collect he money. At total of 21 of us wanted the purple bracelets which remind you to stop complaining (and also remind you to try to go for 24 hours without complaining). The bracelets are $1 each, but are only sold in packs of 10, so I had to order 30.  I collected about $10 from my students (and may still get some more) but as I suspected, I put in most of the money. I don't mind too much because all proceeds go to the charitable organization whose absolutely futile, idealistic, quixotic goal is a complaint free world. How can you not love that? I also love a website with free shipping and no tax.  

Day 316: $1.50 to Children's Hospital

I stopped by Sam's Club today to pick up a few items for my mother. My sister was with me, so while I waited in a ridiculously slow line to pay for the goods (some sort of credit card issue) I sent my sister to the vortex with a handful of change. At least $1.50 went down the vortex and will (in all good faith) end up supporting Children's Hospital.  Let's hope.

Day 315: $1 to Toys for Tots

My laziness and old habits paid off today. Instead of making coffee at home and taking it to work, I stopped at White Castle for a medium coffee with two Splenda (best deal in town at $1.25). White Castle just started collecting dollars for Toys for Tots, so I offered up an extra bill.  The reward, of course, is a free cup of coffee--any size-- on my next visit. Obviously, this is not only a donation, but also a wise investment. It makes me wonder how much a cup of coffee actually actually costs White Castle. 

Day 314: canned foods

It's Thursday, which means that Green Bean Delivery dropped off some fresh produce (including, among other things some brussel sprouts and some very green bananas). This also means that I had the opportunity to donate to the Freestore Foodbank. I gave a can of cranberries and a can of tomatoes.  The tomatoes were supposed to be green beans (fitting more closely the theme of Thanksgiving) but I grabbed the wrong can and now someone gets tomatoes. 

Day 313: $5 to United Way

I paid five dollars to wear jeans to school on a Wendesday.  I think that is silly, and that if I wanted to wear jeans to school any day of the week, I would.  I don't disagree with collecting money for United Way, and I was happy to give, I just think people could come up with some less hackneyed fundraising/donatign ideas.  How about a cookout?

Day 312: $1 to Share the bread

It's been awhile since I've gone to Panera (realtively speaking).  This is due to my new make-coffee-at-home kick which may or may not last a little while.  Yesterday, however, was one of four days of the school year when teachers get to go out to lunch.  Glory be, we decided to go to Panera (we only get an hour tops, so it's difficult to pick a real sit down restaurant).  I was happy because I knew it would give me a chance to donate and because teh chicken wild rice soup was delicious.  Even though at times I'm jealous of other people who go out to lunch every day, I'm actually much happier packing. It's more healthy and less indulgent in all manners. I do wish that we had more than 30 minutes--bell to bell--for lunch.  It's so rushed, just like every minute of a teacher's work day.  I would love to have a job that encouraged a little time for mental sanity during the work day.

Day 311: Big black coat to St. Vincent De Paul

I dropped off a used (but very comfortable) coat at a local Goldstar restaurant today.  I learned about the coat drive through an email from St. Vincent De Paul; it's sponsored by that organization, as well as channel 5, Goldstar, and some other local businesses and groups.  It was actually a little troubling for me to part with this coat--I had the same problem donating coats last winter. I know that this big black coat was too big and really too ugly for me to wear on a regular basis, but it was SO comfortable and warm, and perfect for shoveling snow.  I'm actually having a bit of giver's remorse here.  I'm sure I have other coats for shoveling,a nd I know I could always purchase anotehr comfy coat.  Someone else prbably needs the warmth and comfort more.  Right?

Day 310: $10 to St. Vincent De Paul

I donated $10 today to St. Vincent De Paul's food drive for Thanksgiving turkeys. This meager donation doesn't actually buy a whole turkey, but I'm sure it will still help. Now that we are getting closer and closer to the holiday season, donating is becoming easier (I think). I imagine that the opportunities will start popping up daily now.  I found out about this opportunity via email.

Day 309: about $1.20 to Children's Hospital

I was at Sam's Club today, and since the line to exit the store was long and painfully slow, I tossed some change into the vortex fountain from which all donations go to Children's Hospital. I do understand that Sam's cuts down on theft by having their employees look over your goods and cross-check them with your receipt on the way out, but I also think that part of good customer service involves making the transactions at the business as smooth as possible.  Waiting in line to exit a store is not my idea of smooth. Nonetheless, it was a minor inconvenience and gave me a chance to donate for the day. I guess I should stop complaining.

Day 308: Donation to polar bear habitat

I'm not sure how much I gave (still trying to figure that out) but I bought a six-pack of white Coca-Cola cans today which means that some of what I paid will go to the Arctic Home project that Coke is sponsoring. This is a double win. I love real Coke, but hardly ever allow myself to have it, and I love helping polar bears (who wouldn't) by preserving their habitat.  Wait, by reading more about this on the website, I realize that I still need to text my product code in order to donate $1; after doing, so Coke will match my $1 donation.  Almost as good.  I'll do it.

Day 307: Stuffing and Green Beans to Freestore Foodbank

Well, it's November. This means that Thanksgiving is on the horizon, and families and individuals will need wholesome, filling foods. I added a package of stuffing and a can of green beans to my return bin for Green Bean Delivery today. These items (canned and dried) will go straight to the Freestore Foodbank. Of course, I received all sorts of fresh veggies and fruits today (brussel sprouts and grapes!) which the people at the FReestore Foodbank probably hardly ever get.  Well, maybe apples; I'm not really sure.  But food is food when it comes down to it, and food is food when you have a limited supply.

Day 306: Another pair of shoes

Today's shoe donation was another pair of too-flat flats.  I must have been on a kick for the past few years, buying this type.  Now I know, however, that I need a little lift or my feet will suffer.  So, tiny black flats with a strap across the top, I bid you farewell.  May you make someone with nice feet very happy.

Day 305: percentage of bill to American Diabetes Association

There is some level of irony in this one:  I went to Dewey's Pizza with my sister for dinner.  We were going to order a small (but fattening) pizza with Italian meats on it and a salad to share.  The waitress, however, informed us that if we ordered the Dr. Dre a portion of the cost of the pizza would be donated to the American Diabetes Association. I was hooked from the get-go, especially since I liked every single ingredient on the Dr. Dre (how often does that happen): ranch, chicken, jalepenos, peppers, and onions.  So, to donate to a cure for diabetes--which can be avoided through diet and exercise in many cases--we ordered a large pizza (half Dr. Dre and half Don Coreleone) and pigged out. At least ADA got something good out of it.  (And the pizza really was delicious).

Day 304: cute shoes

Today I gave away a cute (but not at all supportive) pair of shoes. They are black and white houndstooth flats with a floweret for a bow. They somewhat resemble ballet shoes, but not to the point of being black swan-like. These shoes were in excellent condition, but I'm too busy of a person, too on-the-go to wear these flat, flat shoes. I can't traipse around Miami's campus or the halls of Milford High School in these barely-there slip-ons. I hope someone who leads a life of leisure will end up with my shoes, but in reality that's not exactly likely.

Day 303: Leather jacket

It felt weird to write "leather jacket" in the title of this post. That's just not me.  It's also a lie; this is definitely some sort of imitation leather jacket that I purchased for a relatively low price a year or so ago. I would probably still be hanging on to it, trying to fit it into my style (which it doesn't), if it wasn't for the zipper. The zipper is not broken, it just gets consistently stuck when zipping or unzipping. The jacket makes me feel like a first grader.  Well, a first grader in a pleather jacket.

Day 302: $1 to save the penguins

I saw the movie Anonymous today (great film) and was able to stop by the Sweet Dreams candy shop prior to the show. I knew I would be able to pick up a few Bit-O-Honey candies, some Chix Sticks, some taffy, and also have a chance to donate a dollar to save the penguins through the Newport Aquarium fundraiser.  Even better, during the previews for the movie, I learned that Coca-Cola will be donating to save polar bears.  I just have to purchase the white cans.  I'll be on the lookout for them.

Day 301: Halloween things

Today I gave unsolicited Halloween gifts. These included pencils, erasers, and slimy-sticky eyeballs (which were by far the most popular) to my students. We also played Halloween trivia for about 5 minutes in most classes.  I clearly would have purchased candy for my students as I've done in previous years, but this year Milford has enacted a new wellness policy that strictly forbids giving candy to students (or having any kind of food in the classroom).  I think the wellness policy is a good idea, actually. It just takes a little getting used to. When I was young and in school, we never had food and drink beyond lunchtime and a stop at the water fountain.  Nowadays, food and drink are ubiquitous.  Just don't take away my coffee and my ice water.

Day 300: $2 to homeless pets

I've got to get back on the schedule of blogging about my giveaways each day. Right now, I've got three posts to write (that's actually as far behind as I've ever been) and I've spent a lot of thinking-energy trying to remember what I did each day. So, on Thursday I stopped at Petsmart in Milford, purchased cat litter, treats, and wet food, and donated $2 to homeless pets by simply adding it to my bill. While there, I noticed that I can donate some sort of stuffed animal for children--something to do with Christmas I think.  I'm sure I will be back before the end of the year.  I can't believe I've done this for 300 days!

Day 299: workbook or pencil and crayons

I made two purchases at Barnes and Nobel today that I decided upon because both products offered a donation just for purchasing. First, I was looking for a new journal/notebook. I purchased an eco-jot because on the cover of the journal the company indicates that they will donate one workbook to a needy child for every purchase.  Then, on the first page of the journal, the company indicated that it will donate a journal OR a pencil.  Well.  I also needed to purchase a thank-you card, so I decided on a Unicef card because that organization will donate crayons to children in need with every purchase.  I needed both items I purchased and am pleased with both.  I think the eco-jot notebook, however, was a little deceitful.

Day 298: $1 to a colleague

I hadn't donated or given anything away today, and then after school I saw my colleague Juliene scrounging around for money to buy a candy bar. She had only come up with a quarter, so I got a dollar out of my purse for her. I hope this "donation" stands and she doesn't try to give me my money back tomorrow. If she insists on repaying me, I will just give the money to another charity, but I hope this one stands. Sometimes it's just nice to help out a friend, and Juliene looked like she really needed that candy bar.

Day 297: Cat food

I originally purchased a bag of cat food for the one ton pet drive going on in Milford, but I never dropped off the bag in the collection bin. The collection was supposed to last through Sunday (and it probably did) but by the time I drive by Panera--on of the collection spots--at 6:30 p.m. the collection barrel was gone. I wasn't too disappointed because this gave me an opportunity to stop by the Animal Adoption Foundation that I drive by twice a week on the way to my evening class at Miami. The Animal Adoption Foundation was the establishment that helped me get my cat Callie fixed for about $30 (as opposed to $300+ that the vet quoted me). The thing I enjoy about the Animal Adoption Foundation is that when you walk in the door, there are cats just roaming around. The place is clean, and there are at least two cat rooms with windows and cat condos and cat trees, but some of the cats (I'm guessing the more mellow cats) just walk around the place. When I stopped by at around 6:00 p.m., they were extremely busy, dogs barking, people working, cats meandering. I simply said that I had some extra food, handed the bag to a young lady working, and left, petting a cute little cat with pink ears on my way out. I admire the people who volunteer at the shelter.  I should do that, but my allergies would probably really kill me then.

Day 296: Blanket

The other day while in Walmart I noticed discounted throw blankets for $2. Granted, they are not the best blankets in the world, but they are surprisingly plush. I purchased two for my mother (she loves these) and an extra one for charity.  I do think it's nice for people to get a blanket that is new once in awhile. I dropped the blanket off today at Goodwill, and thought that I really should have purchased two.

Day 295: $1 to Milford Miami Ministries

I went in search of Chia seeds again today, and I found them locally at Toomey's Natural Foods, a small shop in downtown Milford.  So far, I've added the superfood to my oatmeal but have seen absolutely no effect of my energy. (On a more positive note, I don't seem to be allergic to them.) I graded all day today (just like yesterday) so I really needed that extra energy. It's like a Catch-22, I need more energy in order to make the granola bars and muffins that I want to put the Chia seeds into, so that I can east the Chia seeds and have energy and all sorts of other positive effects promised. Back to the donation--Toomey's had the same sort of Mason jar that I saw at the place where I get my oil changed.  It's just a jar on the counter collecting for the local charity.  The nice things about this donation, is that I feel extremely confident in the fact that my dollar will go to help the needy.

Day 294: $1 to RMH

I ate dinner at McDonald's tonight. What?  That's right. Because I was going out with friends who have young children, I spent over an hour in a McDonald's that included a playland--a crazy, anarchist, chaotic playland. I had a grilled chicken sandwich that was rubbery, but the company was good and I had the chance to put a dollar in the Ronald McDonald collection box.

Day 293: donation to Freestore Foodbank

I'm actually not sure how much money I donated to the Freestore Foodbank by ordering a wreath from one of my students who is a member of National Honor Society. All I know is that a portion of the proceeds go to the Freestore Foodbank, and it seems like last year NHS was able to donate a significant sum to them. A bonus--I actually like the wreaths that come through NHS. Last year, my wreath (well, let's confess, I ordered the cheaper "spray" last year) lasted well over a month, maybe even longer before the needles started covering the front porch. Since I was such a satisfied customer last year, I decided to go for the more expensive, $30 purchase this year.

Day 292: $5 to cheerleaders

To be honest, I would never have given $5 to support cheerleaders if I wasn't on my 292nd day of giving. One of my students asked me to donate to their fund drive. To do so, I had to scratch off two squares on a piece of cardboard, and these two squares would let me know how much I was to then donate. I think my total was $3.75 (even though my student told me that you would never have to give more than $3).  I got $5 out of my purse and gave it to her.

Day 291: 5 cans of beans

I bought five different cans of beans last night (red beans, black beans, chili beans, white beans, and maybe another type, I'm not sure). I donated these cans to the MEA food drive, making my total of cans donated to this food drive 21 cans! One reason I felt the need to donate more was that the cans are supposed to represent all the extra hours that teachers spend working outside of the contract day. Since I don't believe that many people will actually donate (general apathy) I thought I would pitch in a little extra.  One reason I think the high school can never donate as many cans as the elementary schools is because the larger the school, the easier it is to ignore a request like this and let others pick up the slack.

Day 290: 50 cents to Children's Hospital

On my way home from Miami today, I stopped at Walmart to purchase something for my mother. I had teh opportunity to donate to Children's Hospital, so I took out 50 cents from my purse and threw it on the weird little plastic baby in the used incubator from the 1970s.

Day 289: 19 cents to Pennies from Heaven and wooden nickel to Granny's Garden School

After purchasing a pair of jeans at JC Penney's today (and getting 20% off) the saleswoman asked me if I would like to round up my bill and contribute to Pennies from Heaven  (I just got the pun on this one) which helps after school programs for kids. Sounds like a great idea. After Pennies, I went to Whole Foods for the second time this weekend. I was looking for Chia seeds (a new super-food I read about this morning) and a handmade veggie pizza. Since I finally remembered to bring my own bag, I was able to donate my wooden nickel to Granny's Garden School. I wonder of there is anyone out there who takes the bag credit instead of donating the wooden nickel.  Seems so miserly.

Day 288: Fruit tree and black capri pants

First, I attempted to donate money at Whole Foods today, but their garden project for schools has run out. I did notice that one of their wooden nickel collection jars is for Granny's Garden School, a local organization I try to support, but I, of course, forgot to bring my own bags. No wooden nickel for me. Instead, I purchased some spearmint gum that purports to plant one fruit tree for every container of gum purchased.  Do I believe this? Perhaps, but further research really seems required here. To be on the safe side, I also donated a pair of black capri pants that no longer fit. I always detested one thing about these pants--the cuffs really required ironing if the pants were going to look right.  Since I'm a wash and wear type girl for the most part, giving up these pants was a no-brainer.

Day 287: $1 to Share the Bread and apple cookies

This morning I purchased my breakfast (cherry vanilla bagel) and my lunch (sesame bagel with cream cheese) together at 6:20 a.m. at Panera. It was, needless to say, one of those mornings. I was able to get one of my bagels for free (courtesy of the MyPanera card) so the total was actually pretty low. I pulled a stray dollar from my wallet, and donated to Share the Bread. As well, in the evening, I brought apple pie cookies to my friend's jewelry party. This is in no way a donation, just a nice gesture.

Day 286: Pineapple

I left two 20 ounce cans of pineapple for the continuous food drive today. This is a product I can feel good about donating because I would without a doubt eat pineapple from a can myself (although I would still prefer fresh). In fact, I wish I had some pineapple with cottage cheese right now. The two cans I donated today came from a four-pack that I purchased specifically for donating (two cans to the athletic food drive, and two cans to the Green Bean Delivery continuous drive). Usually, I donate straight from my cupboard, but that fact is that most of the canned goods I have left are expired and need to be thrown away.  Maybe once winter comes along for real I will be more into food from a can. It could be a sort of feeling that goes with the hibernating aspects of cold weather--buy a new Snuggie, turn on the gas fire, eat from a can.

Day 285: 16 cans of food

The MEA (teacher association) is running a canned food drive this week. The idea is to donate one can of food for each hour that you work outside of your contract day over the course of the week. When I was at Sam's last week, I picked up two eight-packs of canned vegetables--corn and peas. Personally, I detest canned vegetables; I would much rather eat frozen if I can't have fresh.  Mostly, I believe that peas need to be green, and I don't believe I've ever really seen the right hue on a pea that came from a can. This week, however, I discovered that some of my colleagues love canned peas, so that makes me feel better about donating them.  I also noticed that someone else had contributed a bunch of cans f beans and wieners.  This must be someone, like me, who buys the on sale products to donate. Nonetheless, I know that someone out there--probably a kid--really likes beans and wieners.

Day 284: Cat treats to Pet Food Drive

I wanted to donate again to the One Ton Pet Food Drive going on in Milford, OH before the final day of the drive, so I picked up two bags of cat treats last night while on the way home from Miami. I stopped by Walmart (home of the plastic baby in the old incubator).  Apparently, the baby has collected quite a bit more; she was covered in dollar bills. Back to the topic at hand: I chose cat treats instead of regular old Meow Mix because I think that not only would the hungry cats deserve something special, but the down-on-their-luck pet owners would also enjoy providing some special treats for their cats. I feel somewhat the same way about food stamps. I cringe (but understand somewhat) when I hear people criticizing the purchases of people who are using food stamps. Do they not also deserve a little something sometime? One candy bar, etc... his cynicism, however, brings me to my own creeping suspicion. I love the pet food drive, but I'm wondering how many people/families who will benefit from the food drive are actually in a financial situation similar to my own (that is, decidedly middle class). In the end, it probably doesn't matter.  I'm sure there is someone well-off somewhere also taking food from s freestore.

Day 283: tan denim pants

These were a hardly ever worn pair of denim pants--tan colored. I love writing denim pants because the term itself sounds so absurd. I also loved giving away these pants because they were at least two sizes too big. It's fun to give away clothes that are too large versus the other way around. I jus hope I can keep this up for a bit.

Day 282: 50 cents for Children's Hospital

I was picking up some items for my mother today at Sam's Club, and I took advantage of the vortex donating coin fountain thing. The only problem was that the "proceeds go to" sign didn't have an organization listed. An employee of Sam's heard me remark on this and let me know that the money would definitely be donated to Cincinnati Children's Hospital. In fact, she was emphatic about it. She reiterated several times that the money went to "our" children's hospital (as opposed to other, less worthy children's hospitals I suppose). It's a strange concept, the need to make sure that we support local charities instead of organizations a few miles or more away.

Day 281: $1 to Penguins

The title of this post sounds ridiculous, but the fact is everybody loved penguins including me. I knew when I went to Newport for a movie today, I would have a good day. I ate lunch at Tom + Chee (tomato soup and grilled cheese restaurant), bought candy at Sweet Dreams, and saw a pretty decent movie, Ides of March, which featured all sorts of scenes from Cincinnati, Miami, and Xavier. On top of all that, I had the opportunity to donate money to the Newport Aquarium's fund for penguins and their habitat. True, I should have been grading papers today, but I'm glad I wasn't. I deserve a good day.

Day 280: $5 to breast cancer awareness

I was allowed to wear jeans to school if I wanted to donate five dollars to breast cancer awareness. I did so, and still wore dress pants instead. I just wasn't in the mood for jeans. To be honest, I need a pair that I like. Jeans are one of the most difficult types of clothing to find a perfect fit for. Sometimes I end up buying jeans that look ok in the dressing room mirror, and then I get home and realize they legs are too long or too wide and I look nothing better than dumpy. Anyway, I wore a tiny pink ribbon instead of jeans to school.

Day 279: peanut butter and crackers

I meant to donate can goods to the continuous food drive today, but I forgot to retrieve them out of my car. Luckily, I had already placed a package of peanut butter and crackers (some sort of dry good lunch box contraption that I purchased) in my return bin for Green Bean Delivery.  The peanut butter is actually a chocolate-peanut butter mixture which I'm sure is delicious, but I couldn't stand the "toasty crackers" that came with the combo pack. Live and learn, buy and donate.

Day 278: Cat food

I stopped at Panera today for coffee and donated a single can of cat food to the One Ton Pet Food Drive. Truly, this single can of Tuna with Calamari will not actually add much to the one ton goal, but my cats didn't care for this flavor (the have completely pedestrian tastes) so I thought that another cat--maybe a sad, hungry cat--would appreciate the food.  At the very least, a family who can't afford food for their pet will surely appreciate the opportunity to provide a little food.

Day 277: $1 to Autism awareness

I actually had several different ideas for donating today, but I took the easy way out and donated a dollar at Kroger for Autism Awareness.  While at Kroger purchasing some lunch for tomorrow (tomato soup) and some ingredients for my potluck lunch dish on Thursday (macaroni and cheese) I noticed that I will be able to donate a lot to breast cancer awareness this month as well. It seems like a multitude of items will donate part of the purchase price to cancer charities. You would think with all of this advertising/awareness-raising, that we would actually be able to cure cancer. I guess it's harder than it seems. It would be a wonderful day though.

Day 276: Two cans for food drive

I gave two cans of pineapple tidbits away to a can food drive sponsored by two football teams (ours and another local high school who are playing on Friday). I read a brief article in the local press about the can drive, and I sent a student down to the athletic office with the cans.  The only problem was that apparently the athletic office secretary had not heard of the can drive. She accepted the offer anyway, and added that she enjoyed pineapple. I'm sure that my cans will get to the right place eventually (I guess). They are supposed to go to the American Legion Post 318.  I suppose from there the Legion gives them away.  I also held back two other cans of pineapple for a donation later this week.

Day 275: Friskies Pet Food

Apparently, I was the first person to donate to the Pet Food Drive at Panera. I think that the pet food drive is a local endeavor because I saw a sign near Highway 28 and the dog park advertising the drive.  I stopped at Panera for coffee on my way to the Hyde Park art show and farmer's market today, and luckily the big barrel to donate food was still in the vestibule between the two front doors. My Friskie's dry food was the only item, and it clanged to the bottom obstreperously as the crowd behind me tried to overpower me on the way in the door. (Well, it was just one old man and two other women, but they seemed pushy.) I wish I knew how long the pet food drive lasts. I may donate again if I can.

Day 274: $1 to Share the Bread

I didn't even intend to donate to Share the Bread at Panera today, but when I stopped in to buy a coffee, they didn't charge me. This is the third time this school year that the folks at Panera have given me free coffee. Since I had my cash out, I decided to put a dollar in the collection box for Share the Bread. It almost seemed like I had to do this.  I also noticed that Panera has two other opportunities for donating--a pet food drive and some way to donate with pink ribbon bagels.

Day 273: Crock pot cookbooks

I gave my good friend Gina two crock pot cookbooks today. Gina recently purchased a crock pot, but hasn't actually started using it yet. Now that Gina's daughter is getting older, Gina (who cares nothing about food unless it is in the dessert category) needs to learn to cook a bit. The recipes in these little, cheap books are easy to make, too.

Day 272: Oatmeal and Black Beans

Oatmeal and black beans.  I know, a totally disgusting combination, but they are by no means meant to be enjoyed together. I took advantage of green bean delivery again today. I donated an 8 ounce container of oatmeal and an extra can of black beans. To be honest, I like both of these food items (unlike the week I purchased a bunch of low sodium/low calorie/low fat soup), but since I have no immediate plans to eat either one, I decided that someone else could use them more.

Day 271: $1 to Special Ed Programs

I decided just to tip the Eagle Eatery Express today instead of purchase a decadent brownie (pushing the cost of my lunch to $5.75) and tell them to keep the change. So, I paid the same amount that I usually do--$6.00--but I probably saved a good 400 calories or so (seriously). This year a different student/teacher combination seems to drop the lunch off each time we order. I liked it a bit better last year when we got to know a student or two from the special ed department throughout the school year.

Day 270: $10 to Volley for the Cure

I'm not really sure that today's donation amounts to exactly $10 considering that I received a black and pink t-shirt for my donation. This sort of donation accomplishes more than one goal for me. First and foremost, I am supporting breast cancer research. Secondly, I am supporting my students who are volleyball players (there are quite a few this year). Finally, I get to wear a t-shirt to school on Thursday which for some odd reason is an event to look forward to. Sad, I know.  When you teach public school, you end up looking forward to dress-up days, pizza for lunch, snow days, and the occasional fire drill on a particularly nice, sunny day.  I've always dreamed about the water main break, too, but it has never come our way.

Day 269: $1 to homeless pets

I stopped by Pet Smart today to pick up some kitty litter for Agatha and the Fatter Catter. I glanced at the poor homeless kitties, wanted to adopt every single one, and walked away to the pet supply section. At the checkout counter, I added a dollar to my bill for homeless pets. Pet Smart charities seem like the perfect donation for someone like me. Otherwise, I might become one of those weird pet hoarders.

Day 268: $1 to The Cure Starts Now

This may have been the most delicious donation to date. Graeter's Ice Cream was giving away free ice cream cones today with Elena's Blueberry Pie flavored ice cream. In return, I gave a dollar donation to The Cure Starts Now which funds cancer research. This particular fund drive is called Cones for the Cure.  What's really fun about this is that most of these sorts of fundraisers involve 5K runs, but this ne involves eating delicious ice cream.

Day 267: $1 Share the Bread

I went to Panera for breakfast (and a little grading) which included an egg sandwich, orange juice, and coffee. Lucky for me, my sandwich was free with my MyPanera card, so it was no problem to donate an extra dollar to Share the Bread.  I accomplished much of my grading as well--at least three hours worth of my time, but I feel a little bit less stressed. I still have 22 English 111 papers waiting for me though. 

Day 266: $1 to School Gardens

It was a more than successful trip to Whole Foods this afternoon, where I found my favorite strawberry habenero salsa. I had planned in munching on this during the Bengals game only to find out later that the game won't be televised (more time for grading and lawn mowing I suppose).  Anyway, I added a dollar on to my bill to support school gardens. I think Milford HS is actually starting a school garden. I should pass along the grant opportunity. Wouldn't it be amazing if my money actually ended up in the school where I work?

Day 265: salad dressing and cereal

I was able to leave a few items for the Freestore Fodbank today in my Green Bean Delivery bin. I donated a jar of Thousand Island dressing (ok, so I won;t be having Reubens for awhile, no problem), and I also donated four tiny, individual size boxes of Special K cereal with strawberries. The boxes are 100 calories a piece, and I originally purchased them for breakfast on school days, but I still much prefer a granola bar with coffee even if it's a few more calories.

Day 264: 50 cents to Cincinnati Children's Hospital

Today's donation is oddly similar to yesterday's. This time, I was stopping at Walmart to purchase colored paper for school (again another sort of donation). Since I was at the Colerain Walmart on the way home from Oxford, I was hoping that the strange plastic baby in the fake incubator would still be on display.  I was in luck!  The baby was still there, so I threw my change on it/him/her as it/him/her lay in the strangely crafted scene.  There wasn't that much more money than two days ago, I noticed.

Day 263: 50 cents to St. Jude's Hospital

Even though I am not at all low on toilet paper, I noticed at Target today (where I was buying dry erase markers for school--a donation in its own right) that if I purchased a multi-pack of Cottonelle for $10.99 that five percent of the purchase cost would be donated to St. Jude's Hospital. Of course, I reasoned, that I would eventually need toilet paper, so I made the purchase early. I think this type of giving is a great idea. I would definitely switch brands (even if I wasn't engaging in this year-long experiment) in order to give 50 cents to an organization like St. Jude's.

Day 262: $1 to Children's Hospital

On my way to my second job (college instructor) I stopped at Walmart to purchase some toilet paper, paper towels, and peanut butter--an odd combination, I know. While in Walmart, I pondered whether or not this type of establishment would offer an opportunity to donate (apart from beggars that might accost me in the parking lot). In my elitist fashion, I concluded that Walmart is surely not the place for charitable organizations to solicit donations. The shoppers at Walmart are looking for a bargain, not a chance to give away their money.  Therefore, I was surprised on my way out to see a strange plastic incubator (probably from the 1970s) with a plastic baby doll inside. The baby doll looked happy to be in the incubator, but I suppose it's difficult to find a unhealthy looking doll. Draping the lower half of this odd contraption was a table cloth of sorts that said "Children's Hospital."  I stared at the display, wondering where they might be collecting money, when I finally noticed that the top of the incubator had a slot and the idea was to simply throw your money on the baby inside! I proceeded as a few others had before me, and threw my dollar at the helpless doll. I should have taken a photo, really.

Day 261: three shirts

Today's donation is in no way glamorous, but hopefully someone will still be able to benefit. I donated yet another Flock t-shirt (I still have at least one that I can wear if need be) and two other sleeveless tops. One was a plain, maroon tank that I've been holding on for far too long and is really far too large. The other is a turquoise tank with burnished beading across the top. I actually really liked this top, but I never found much to wear it with. In the three years or so that I owned this top, I think I wore it once. That means someone else needs it more than I do.

Day 260: $1 to Autism

I think I took the easy way out again. I donated one dollar to Autism (or I suppose Autism awareness) at Kroger. I wanted to "round up for the hungry," and I was going to ask the cashier if they still did that at Kroger (or if it was even Kroger where they originally did this) but when I saw the plastic box on the counter to donate to Autism, I just took advantage of it immediately.  Again, I'm not sure if it matters that my donations lately have been with little thought or care.  What probably matters is that I'm donating at all. I really can't believe it's day 260 of this experiment. Some days I'm not sure if I have the energy or time to continue this, but then I still do.

Day 259: $5 (or $50) to the Milford Schools Foundation

The school district that I work for finally has a charitable foundation that grants money to teachers and teacher project within the district. I hope to actually apply for a grant shortly to support the student-led writing center, but I also wanted to donate to the foundation. I sent an email to the English department to see if anyone else wanted to donate $5, and then we could send the money as a donation from the MHS English department.  I ended up collecting $50 from eight people (including myself). This accounts for a little less than half of our department members, which in some ways was disappointing to me, but in other ways predictable.  Without making judgements, the usual suspects donated the money.  There are some people you can always count on.

Day 258: Twenty cents to National Breast Cancer Foundation

My friend and colleague Erin helped me out with this donation. She was eating Dannon Greek yogurt at lunch, and noted that instead of saving and donating the lids to the yogurt (I think this is what Yoplait does) with the Dannon yogurt you can just go online and enter a code written on the lid. I asked Erin if I could have her lid, and she was happy to give it to me. Even though it's incredibly easy to just go to the website and enter the code, I imagine that the vast majority of people do not actually do this.  So far, Dannon has raised over $210,000, which is great, but you've got to think that they are reaching more people than that. I may purchase Dannon myself this weekend just to donate again.

Day 257: Twenty-five cents to special needs students

I was able to tell the special needs students to "keep the change" when they delivered my lunch (the Eagle Eatery Express) today. Even though this donation seems meager, I am also supporting the program by ordering lunch from the EEE once a month. I think it's a bargain, and I like the idea of helping students with their social skills and contributing a small bit of money to their educational programs (e.g., field trips and the like). I wish there were more programs like this to support so easily.

Day 256: $1 to Milford Miami Ministries

My first attempt at donating to a charity today was thwarted. I took a $5 bill into Panera this morning with the full intention of completing my daily obligation by donating to Share the Bread with some of the change from my coffee. Instead, Panera gave me free coffee, and I had no change to donate. What's interesting, is that it did not cross my mind once (in fact it did not cross my mind until this very moment) that I could have easily donated the entire five dollars.  I was so intent on stuffing a one dollar bill into the little plastic collection box, that my brain never went the one step further.  Fortunately, later in the day when I decided to finally change my oil, I was able to add one dollar to the collection jar for Milford Miami Ministries. I had my oil changed at Milford Oil and Lube, a local business that only charged me $26, was finished in about ten minutes, and didn't try to sell me an air filter or any other such nonsense. Because the business practices at this local company seem so straightforward and honest, I absolutely trust that my dollar will also make it to this important local charity.

I had another chance to donate today in the Target parking lot, but I did not take it. One of those people with the "ran out of gas" story approached me.  They were coming home from Jewish hospital, his aunt had suffered a "diabetes attack," and they needed to get back to Bethel.  These sort of liars/beggars always make me nervous.  They seem to get too close whenever they approach, and while this young man was nothing but polite, he was also jittery and jumpy. I have no doubt that he really needed money for drugs or alcohol, and sometimes I wonder why people in his position don't just try to be honest instead. At the very least, he could come up with a different scam. The car-out-of-gas scam seems horribly hackneyed.

Day 255: Khaki pants

I stopped by St. Vincent de Paul today to drop off a pair of khaki pants that were a little too large for me. The pants were in great shape, but they never had the ability to make me look great. In fact, I felt dumpy in them so off they went. I made the out of the way trip to St. Vincent de Paul (instead of just shoving the pants in one of the ubiquitous collection bins around town) because I was having those feelings again about demanding a nice home for my cast-off goods.  It's silly, but sometimes I just want to ensure that my clothes (or other items) are actually going to disadvantaged people. I feel that way with St. Vincent de Paul.

Day 254: $1 to School Gardens

I stopped by Whole Foods quickly today in order to look for their strawberry habenero salsa. No such luck; I had to settle for pico de gallo.  I was in a rush trying to get back home to watch the first Cincinnati Bengals game of the season, and saw that Whole Foods is still advertising their school garden program.  Although I'm feeling a little strapped lately, the convenience of donating one dollar on my bill outweighed the pragmatism of finding a cost-free way to donate today. Alas, I just "threw money at it" today.  Now, if the Bengals will win this game, I will be happy.

Day 253: Black jeans

I have nothing against black jeans (like my sister has against white jean jackets); however, this particular pair was never very flattering. The fact is, I purchased these black jeans (and probably a few pairs before this pair) because as a teacher these look semi-professional.  They say, "Yes, I am wearing jeans to work," but also, "regardless of these jeans, I can still be considered professional." Where I work, teachers have decided that it is always ok to wear jeans to work on Fridays (preferably with spirit wear on top, but this is not a requirement). Black or brown jeans, however, could be worn any day of the week.  I still like my brown jeans, and they are staying in my drawer.

Day 252: $1 to multiple sclerosis

I feel that it's getting more difficult to find the time to make a new and original donation each day. For today, for example, my sister made my donation for me. She deposited a dollar in the Kroger collection box for multiple sclerosis on my behalf. That's fine, it counts, it's just not really from the heart. Was that a requirement of my project anyway? Am I asking too much of myself to make sure that my donations are meaningful?

Day 251: $1 to Share the Bread

So much for my pledge for the week of only giving away items that I already own.  Today I wimped out on that and stuffed a dollar bill into the plastic collection box at Panera. This donation is getting old, but Panera coffee is still one of my favorites, and I deserve it at least a few times a week.  I will have to add up these share-the-bread dollars at the end of 2011.

Day 250: White jean jacket

I'll have to return to this post to add more detail later, but the gist of it is this:  I actually owned a white jean jacket, it still fit, my sister told me it was hideously out of style, I thought about using a bucket of dye to change the color (after watching an episode of Project Runway), I realized that I don't really do that, and I gave the thing away.  I sort of regret it still.

Day 249: $1 to Autism

I was at a different Kroger than usual today (buying lettuce and blueberries for dinner and dessert) and looked to see that their collection box was supporting Autism.  Since I gave to MS yesterday, I thought that donating to Autism would be just as easy and just as valuable today. For the remainder of the week, however, I am going to try to go back to donating goods instead of cash.

Day 248: 50 cents to MS

I dropped fifty cents into the box at Kroger today that was collecting money for funds researching multiple sclerosis. These boxes are plastic, are definitely for change (as opposed to folding bills) and are screwed into the counters.  I'm not sure what that says about Kroger, employees, customers, or humanity in general.

Day 247: Blue Terrasoles shoes

In the past year and a half I think I purchased about four (maybe five) pair of Terrasoles which I thought were incredibly comfortable shoes at the time. In fact, they look so comfortable that I sort of want to try them out again.  Coinciding with my purchases of Terrasoles, however, was an increase in heel pain, so I decided to ditch most of my shoes.  These blue shoes were hardly worn--turns out they didn't match much after all.  I hope they find a good home and turn out to be as comfortable as I wanted them to be.

Day 246: $1 to school gardens

I didn't get too much of an opportunity to read about this program I was donating to, and I had hoped to find more information on the internet about it.  After realizing that I had been searching Fresh Market instead of Whole Foods, I found the site with all the info.  Anyway, while purchasing some salmon for a Caesar salad and some delicious strawberry habenero salsa at Whole Foods (not The Fresh Market), I noticed the opportunity to donate $1 or $5 to a program to help fund school gardens.  I chose to donate $1, and the cashier was overjoyed. She said that no one ever donated voluntarily, only if she asked them to.  I think she felt bad about her effusive display and wanted to make sure that I truly was intending to donate, not just asking about the program; she said that she didn't want to pressure me.  I assured her that I was genuinely intending to donate.  Had I wanted to, I could have written my name on a paper carrot and put it in a paper garden, but I didn't really see much point in that at the time.  Also, no one gave me a carrot.

Day 245: Magazines

Today's donation was an easy one; it sort of fell into my lap, just like this week's donation of old towels.  Danielle, a teacher in the English department, emailed to ask if I had any old magazines that she could use for a classroom project.  Of course, this made for a good opportunity to clean up a bit at home.  I usually recycle magazines, so they tend to hang around for quite awhile (longer than I would like anyway).  So, I gathered them up, placed them in a brown Whole Foods bag, and brought them to school.  

Day 244: can of soup and applesauce

I ended up donating the last can of soup that I purchased this summer when I went on a soup buying binge one day. I think it was turkey sausage gumbo or something like that.  I never ate any of the cans that I purchased.  The fact is, I LOVE soup, but I am such a snob that I can't really stomach canned soup.  I like homemade soup and soup from really good restaurants.  Nonetheless, I'm sure when fall and winter arrive I will find myself in the soup aisle of the grocery store saying something like, "This one might be good . . ." and throwing it in the cart.  The individual containers of applesauce I gave to the Freestore Foodbank today were left over from when I had my wisdom teeth pulled.  Turns out, I much preferred ice cream at the time.

Day 243: old towels for art class

Just yesterday, an art teacher at my school emailed the staff a request for old towels that could be used when cleaning up after ceramics class.  The goal is to use fewer consumables like paper towels.  It's an admirable idea, and I was so happy that I actually remembered to bring in three old dish towels.  It would be great to get some new dish towels anyway.  This is the type of donation I am really pleased with.  In years past, I might have seen the email from the art teacher, briefly though about how I might help, and then have gone on with my busy life, only returning to that email weeks later while cleaning out my inbox.  This year, I am much more cognizant of my opportunities to donate to other people's causes, and I actually feel grateful when I run across something that will easily fulfill my obligation for the day. 

Day 242: 25 cents to Share the Bread

I'll admit that today's donation is on the lean side--even close to pitiful--but I will attempt to defend the meagerness of it anyway.  First, I have one more day until my paycheck is deposited and as always happens in August, I'm a little closer than I'd like to be to poor.  Second, I was treating myself to a Panera coffee this morning (I love the ability to add your own skim milk and cinnamon there) and I had absolutely no cash. I had to buy my coffee with my debit card, but before I headed into Panera, I grabbed all the coins that were in the change holder in my car (they were mostly pennies) and added them up.  Sure enough, I was able to give 25 cents to Share the Bread, and I'm guessing I was even one of the first people to donate today.  Here's what I'm wondering:  after my year of giving is over, will I continue to donate at Panera or will the Share the Bread box fade into the background, becoming invisible to me on the counter? 

Day 241: $5 to Rubber Duck Regatta

The Rubber Duck Regatta is an annual Labor Day event in Cincinnati with proceeds benefiting the Freestore Foodbank, one of my favorite places to donate.  Kroger makes it easy to purchase a rubber duck for the big race because they have small little coupons right by the checkout stations. I purchased one duck ($5) and logged on to the rubber duck website today to register my guy.  If my duck crosses the finish line first (out of 100,000 ducks) I will win a car!  Sounds nice, but I'm expecting not to win. It's a great idea for a fundraiser though.

Day 240: $1 to Diabetes

I was purchasing steak to grill tonight at Fresh Market when I spotted a donation box for diabetes, specifically juvenile diabetes (or JDRF).  There wasn't a lot of information posted about the fundraising, but Fresh Market definitely makes it on my list of organizations I trust with my donations.  From the website, it looks as if in two weeks, Fresh Market will be doing even more to support the foundation.

On another note, I saw two women begging for money on the street corner today on my way home from the farmer's market.  Both had signs indicating that they were single mothers. Neither looked too terrible (in fact, one was dressed pretty well), and I felt nothing but contempt for the two of them.  Of all the people in our society, single mothers have the most aid available to them through the federal government. I have to wonder if they had to support some other sort of addiction.  In all, I guess 240 days of giving money hasn't really made me any more compassionate to the plight of certain people.

Day 239: $1 for recordable storybooks for soldiers

I was at a local Hallmark store today (Kirlin's Hallmark) purchasing a gift for a friend's birthday when I saw a chance to donate money to a very local program. Employees at just this Hallmark collect money to send recordable storybooks to military personnel overseas with enough time for them to record the stories and send them back home for Christmas. I thought it was a neat idea, and the sign indicated that last year the store raised $5,000 for this endeavor. This is the type of charity where certainly every dollar counts.

Day 238: $1.01 to Share the Bread

It's funny, I think Panera's Share the Bread might end up being the place I donate to the most during my year of giving, but every time I walk into Panera, I don't really think about that.  I'm usually just thinking about making a delicious coffee with skim milk, two Splenda packets, and some cinnamon sprinkled on top.  Since I'm trying to avoid pastries or any sort of heavy breakfast, I have come to know the price of a coffee by itself--$1.99.  So, I was lucky enough this morning to have three singles, and it all worked out perfectly, including my coffee.

Day 237: Green Beans

My sister really helped me out today by not only purchasing the green beans that I donated to the Freestore Foodbank, but also putting them in the Green Bean Delivery bin for pick-up. Today was the first official day back at Milford teaching high school students full time, and three days ago was the first official day back at Miami. To say that I'm a bit overwhelmed might be an understatement. Teaching is so all-encompassing that I'm worried about continuing my daily donations.  I know that I did this last year during the school year, and when I look at the number of days I've donated (237!) in a row, it's hard to even think that I couldn't manage the rest of the year. But sometimes daily life is so busy.  Onward . . .

Day 236: Brown sandals

These sandals are cute and were worn only once. I might have tried them another time, but the fact is they were just a tad bit too tall for me. When I walked in these shoes, I could picture my ankle turning and me falling to the ground in a pile.  Once you picture that, you just have to give them away. If not, that image will come true. My question is this: Why can't they make shoes the exact right height for me?  They are always too low or too high.  I'm not that picky.

Day 235: $5 to PTSA

This is a donation that I make yearly, and of course it supports me as well as my fellow teachers and our students. Giving $5 to become a member of the PTSA at my school is something I have done every year since I started teaching. Only this year, have I wondered how many teachers join and how many teachers just ignore that piece of paper in their mailbox at the beginning of the year. We are, after all, so incredibly busy at the start of the school year. Other teachers--more frugal than I--might see giving $5 to PTSA as a waster of money. I think the organization is helpful and I am happy to support it again this year.

Day 234: $1 to Panera's Share the Bread Foundation

Today was an incredibly busy day for me, starting the school year at both Milford and Miami on the same day! Luckily, I was able to have lunch at Panera, and I was even luckier to have a dollar bill in my wallet. I once again took advantage of the easiest way to donate, and I was so grateful to have the opportunity. I even had a pair of shoes lined up today to donate today, but I absolutely did not have the time or the energy to do so. Thanks for saving me again, Panera.

Day 233: Fifty hangers to St. Vincent de Paul

I dropped off about 50 clothes hangers today at St. Vincent de Paul. Many of these hangers were nice, thick plastic hangers; others were a bit cheaper--the plastic variety that come with the clothes you purchase. As part of my clothing purge, I decided that I needed to get rid of these extra hangers that were crowding my closet. Besides the clothes that are currently hanging in my closet, I now have 15 extra regular hangers and 15 extra pant hangers.

What's even better, is that I am sure that St. Vincent de Paul can use these. Either they can use them to hang their consignment clothing on, or they can give or sell the hangers themselves. It's a win-win situation.

Day 232: $1 to Pressley Ridge Foster Care

There were a group of women and young girls camped out in front of Walmart today selling baked goods. Since I'm on a diet, I decided to forgo the baked goods and simply donate a dollar to Pressley Ridge, an organization I had never heard of before even though it's been around since 1832.  One of the young women at the table actually told me that she was graduating from Pressley Ridge and was being adopted.  It was a nice conversation. They insisted on giving me a Frisbee as well, which I donated to a bin in Walmart for elementary students.

Day 231: $1 to League for Animal Welfare

At a local bagel shop today, I felt somewhat guilty for not contributing to the tip jar. Sometimes I tip at these type of locations, sometimes I don't. I know a friend who NEVER tips at places like bagel shops and Starbucks. She believes that the tip jars are even obnoxious. I'm not sure how I feel about it. In fact, I think I change my opinion about those tip jars regularly. Anyway, when I then saw a collection box for the League of Animal Welfare (which seemed to have considerably less in it than the tip jar) I decided that was the way to go for me.

Day 230: Cheerios, Mac and Cheese, Muffins

I let my sister pick out items to donate to the Freestore Foodbank today, and I was floored when she picked my full box of Cheerio Oat Cluster cereal. She also selected a box of macaroni and cheese which I could care less about. I thought about retrieving my Cheerios from the Green Bean Delivery box before they came to exchange the boxes, but in the end I decided that someone needy could enjoy the cereal as much as I do. I can always but another box.

I also made vanilla pear muffins for the English teachers who helped paint the student-led writing center. That was a gesture of gratitude.

Day 229: Four shirts

My clothing-purging season is definitely slowing down, but today I was able to part with four different tops. Among these, which included short and long sleeved selections, was a real winner--a white zip-up track suit top with orange and navy blue stripes. It seriously looked like something Ben Affleck would wear. I purchased it at one point because it matched some similar blue pants (with small orange and white stripes) but I don't think I ever actually wore the ensemble together.  It was too silky, too matchy-matchy, and just not me at all.  I still think I like the pants to exercise in, though, and I have not yet given them away. They are comfortable, and if I can;t exercise in them, I can certainly lounge around in them during the winter months.

Day 228: $1 to Share the Bread

I haven't been to Panera much this summer,so when I picked up some lunch there, I decided it was a good idea to also donate to Share th Bread. The three different cash register containers looked prett full, and I decided to stuff my dollar into the container that only has change. My black bean soup and half a tuna sandwich were delicious.

Day 227: $25 to American Diabetes Foundation

Today's donation means something to me. Diabetes and the complications from the disease killed my father, so I would like to help make a dent in the madness. I remember several years ago telling a student with diabetes that I truly felt there would be a cure during her lifetime. So far, no cure although there seem to be articles about diabetes almost daily in the media. By contributing $25 via my credit card rewards points, I am hoping to make a tiny difference in the insidious fight against the insidious disease. There really must be a cure soon. Too many suffer and die from diabetes, a disease that scares me to no end. The American Diabetes Foundation can make a difference.

Day 226: 63 cents to After School Round Up

Considering I purchased a brown short-sleeve sweater that was originally priced at $44 for $6. 37 at JC Penney today, I was more than happy to round up my price to a total of $7.  For some reason, I was the lucky recipient of two $10 off coupons from JC Penney.  This, combined with an already marked-down price on the in-season sweater, allowed me to take advantage of the great price. Penney's Pennies from Heaven program funds afterschool programs and has given over a million dollars this year. In this case, it's true that every little bit counts, and "small change can make a big difference" as they say on the JC Penney website.

Day 225: $2 to Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired

This year marks the 100th anniversary for the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. To mark the occasion, the organization teamed up with Busken Bakery to offer braille cookies. The cookies are $2 with $1 going directly toward funding CABVI. I purchased two cookies (and already split one of them with my sister). The cookies come with a printing braille sheet that lists the alphabet and numbers with a brief explanation. They also come with a little bag of dots to add to the braille symbols in the cookie.  Are the dots edible?  Good question; it doesn't say anywhere. Anyway, I just think this is a cool idea, and a wonderful way to make money. After all, Busken cookies are some of the most delicious in the world, braille dots or not.

Day 224: $1 to homeless pets

Since my cats were the receivers of great fortune today--$44 in food (wet and dry), snacks, and toys, I thought it appropriate to at least give a minimal dollar to PetSmart's program for homeless pets. I've had no cash for at least a week, so once again I appreciated that PetSmart allows you to donate while purchasing items with your credit or debit card.  I won't be going back for a while because I purchased so much. It also makes me so sad to see all the cats for adoption in their little glass cages. I have to look, but am sad after every visit. So sweet and cute, but I have two cats and that is quite enough.  Three cats would be bordering very closely to crazy cat lady.

Day 223: More clothing

I'm still going strong with the annual purging of the wardrobe. The bag I dropped off today had a minimum of 20 items in it. When I consider how many items of clothing I own, I immediately start thinking of Henry David Thoreau and his edict to all: simplify, simplify, simplify. I'm not there. Not even close. However, this is the first summer that I have given away/ given up so many garments at once. I'm truly proud of myself. The trick will be in not replenishing with random purchases. I would like to be a more thoughtful consumer, just as I am now a more thoughtful contributor. There is a difference, too, between being a thoughtful consumer and being cheap. I hate cheap .