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actively tries to undermine the rights of gays in America through lobbying legislators and even supporting absurd and outdated state laws.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.