October Give Back Giveaway!

I know I just did this a couple weeks ago, but I can’t help it. I loved hearing the results for my last charity-related giveaway, and this month is extra great, because there are so many great causes from which to choose. You, my readers, should know me by now. I believe in karma, and paying it forward, and also I believe that my personal success is absolutely dependent on my willingness to give of myself to people or causes in need.

Also, I like to see others give as well, which is what started this experiment in the first place. So, yes, I’m giving away another prize. Before we get to the details, though, let me tell you a little about my charity of choice for this week.

Clear Horizons Academy is a private school for children with Autism. By private, it means not-publically funded, which means all the money for treating these kids has to come from other sources. Most of the families with children enrolled in Clear Horizons are middle class working families who struggle with expensive tuition payments. Every year they hold a dinner and auction in an attempt to help raise funds which go toward the education of these very special children.

I’ve donated items to and attended the auction for several years, and intend to continue doing so for years to come. This year’s auction falls on Saturday, October 15th and once again, I will be there. (If you’re my friend on Facebook, you’ll be seeing pictures.)

This is the charity I’ve chosen for October. However, it is one of many great causes, and among great competition for worthwhile charitable events. October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month as well as Down Syndrome Awareness month, and I know there are countless small and simple causes, needs, and people whose special needs can be taken care of with just a little effort on our part.

*climbs off the soapbox and clears throat*

For this week’s give back giveaway, I have a paperback copy of Taken By Storm by Angela Morrison, accompanied by a signed bookmark for Angela’s other book, Sing Me to Sleep. To enter, I only have three requirements:


1. If you aren’t already following this blog, hurry up and do that. Invite your friends, too, if you like. I won’t complain.

2. Donate to a charity of your choice (but if you donate to the same one as me, I will be ever-so-grateful). **Donations do not have to be financial. Service to a greater cause is also acceptable. (Run a 5k, paint your neighbor’s house, donate food to the food bank, etc.)

3. Leave a comment here in which you tell me about the charity to which you donated, why you chose that particular one, and if possible, share a link that I can pass on to my readers.

This will be an on-your-honor giveaway, because I trust you. But just so you know, if you lie, Karma will send cold and flu germs through your computer where they will jump onto your hands and face and give you a nasty, icky sick-bug that will last at least a week. And fairies will hide your car keys so you’re late to your next important appointment.

You don't want to bring Karma down on your head. Just sayin.

I’ll keep this giveaway open until midnight on Saturday, October 15, 2011, and announce a winner sometime the following week.

Go forth and give, my friends. Eventually, it will come back to you.

In Which My Readers Give, and Someone Wins

Last week I did a Give Back contest open to all people who took a minute (or several hours) to give of themselves. I posted this contest unsure of how well it would go over or who might enter. Not because I don’t think my readers are the giving type—on the contrary. I know they are. It’s just always hard to predict how a new idea will go over.

So I thought I’d share some of the charitable contributions made by my readers last week:

Donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
Donated to the American Red Cross.
Organized fundraisers to purchase books for special Ed students.
Participated in food drive organizations.
Brought food / desserts / notebooks and other items to neighbors / friends in need. (The small acts of kindness we all need from time to time, and which mean so much.)
Gave free swim lessons to a needy family.
Organized fundraising efforts to help a neighbor family pay medical bills.
Raised money for the March of Dimes.
Organized a mass food drive in which the following organizations reaped benefits: The [local] food bank. The [local] veterans home, Aid for Friends, and the Bannock Youth foundation.

Guys. That was all in one week. LOOK at all that giving! *beams with pride*

YOU are my readers. You give. You love. You are all AMAZING.

I *heart* you all.

But I can only give away one prize for this contest. So I put all the names into the random generator (see sidebar). And the winner is…

Melissa Lemmon!

Congratulations! I will be emailing you for details this week.

My dear friends, I’m calling this experiment enormously successful. Because of that, I believe I shall make this a monthly thing. Or, if not monthly, often, so keep your eyes open for my next give back giveaway. My next choice of charity will be Clear Horizons Academy, a local school for children with Autism*.

In the meantime, keep on giving. We could all use a few extra Karma points.

*More details on this charity coming soon.

First Ever Give Back Giveaway

If you’ve been reading my blog for longer than, like, a month, you probably know I’ve always been an advocate of giving back. Karma, my friends. Such an important thing, in so many ways. In that vein, I think it’s been way too long since 1) blogged about a good cause and 2) gave away something fun.

SO. Today I’m going to do both.

I have a friend whose son, at age 5, was diagnosed with Type 1 juvenile diabetes. The diagnosis altered his life dramatically, as well as the lives of his family members. Three years later, with an insulin pump attached to him 24/7, his disease is what his mother calls, “under control.” But controlled is not a cure.

A cure would mean so much more freedom for children like him. Every year, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation holds a Walk to Cure Diabetes, during which they hope to raise money for diabetes research.

This is the cause for which I will be donating this week. But that’s not all. In an attempt to reward (in a small way) my readers for their efforts to give back, I’m going to host a giveaway.

One lucky winner will be given the choice between a hardcover signed copy of Matched, by Ally Condie—OR—a paperback copy of Taken by Storm by Angela Morrison. This book is not signed, but if this is your choice, I’ll include a Sing me to Sleep bookmark, which IS signed by Angela. (Both books are at the top of my list of favorites, just FYI.)

To enter is simple.

1. If you aren’t already following this blog, hurry up and do that. Invite your friends, too, if you like. I won’t complain.

2. Donate to a charity of your choice (but if you donate to the same one as me, I will be ever-so-grateful).   **Donations do not have to be financial. Service to a greater cause is also acceptable. (Food to the food bank, manual labor to Habitat for Humanity, volunteering at a soup kitchen or animal shelter, etc.)  

3. Leave a comment here in which you tell me about the charity to which you donated, why you chose that particular one, and if possible, share a link that I can pass on to my readers.

This will be an on-your-honor giveaway, because I trust you. But just so you know, if you lie, Karma will send computer gremlins to break into your hard drive and lay eggs in all your programs and eat your important documents, and my parking fairy will curse you to never get a good spot ever again.

You don't want to bring Karma down on your head. Just sayin.

I’ll keep this giveaway open until midnight on Saturday, September 24th, 2011, and announce a winner sometime the following week (but hopefully Monday the 26th).

Go forth and give, my friends. Eventually, it will come back to you.

Running for Tragedy

In case you’re wondering how I did on Saturday, not only did I survive, but I was NOT the last person to cross the finish line. In fact, as predicted, I ended somewhere in the middle. More importantly, I finished. I set out to try a new thing, to do it for a good cause, and I did it.

And look, I didn’t even keel over afterward! Though I did get sprayed by a fire hose.(Yeah, I'm the short one.)

But sore muscles and wet clothes were not my only takeaway. Before the run, the parents of the little boy in whose memory Cooper's Run was created, stood to talk to the crowd, explaining how the raised money would go to help special needs children, and how their son would have been amazed and impressed at all the people who showed up to run that morning.

Those parents took their heart-wrenching tragedy and turned it into a blessing which has touched the lives of many, many others. By all rights, they could have crawled into deep depression and spent the last two years wallowing in grief. Instead, they’ve found therapy in service—and have magnified that service into a huge event which has rallied an entire community to also support and serve.

I think there’s a lesson in that. If ever I’m tempted to feel sorry for myself, I’d do well to remember Cooper’s family and their example. And if nothing else, go for a good long run instead.

My Book is Here and a HUGE GIVAWAY for Charity!!!

It’s here, it’s here, it’s finally here! Today, I got a box of books. Guess who’s names are on the cover? Mine. And my co-author’s, too. But my books are here! Check them out.

Awesome, right? Don’t forget, you’re all invited to the launch party for a rare opportunity to buy your copy and get it signed by both authors, as well as a few of the story contributors. And if you can’t make it to the launch, no worries. Cindy and I will also be signing in various locations in Utah during the month of December. Check out the sidebar for dates and locations and come see us!

For all you out of state people who are dying to get your hands on a copy, you can buy a copy here, or look here to find out how to get an autographed copy for a limited time.

Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…the big giveaway of the Original Scrapbox! This is by far the coolest, biggest giveaway I’ve ever participated in. And you, my fair readers, have a rare opportunity to enter to win.

The Original Scrapbox Gives Back with the 12 Blogs of Christmas December 4-11, 2009 GRAND PRIZE WINNER announced December 14, 2009

There are 12 ways to win and 12 blogs to visit to enter with a special way to help The Original Scrapbox give back!

Enter to win a NEW EZ View Desktop and an entry in the Grand Prize Giveaway for a NEW EZ View Craft Desk from www.theoriginalscrapbox.com for FREE! Your entries will help The Original Scrapbox GIVE 2 of these desks to charity!

Yes—these are two separate items. The desktop is not a desk, it is designed to sit on a table or desktop and the drawers can be pulled open from either end. Click here to see more pictures and details of the EZ View Desktop.

One of the newest products at The Original Scrapbox.com is the EZ View Craft Desk. This desk is designed with a clear, glass-like top and the dimensions are 50"W x 25" D x 31" H
The desk is big, with 4 drawers with built-in partitions for easy organizing on any home project. How would you like one for FREE? 

Enter this giveaway for a chance to win a FREE EZ View Desktop and for a chance to be put in the grand prize drawing for the EZ View Craft Desk.

Contest ends December 11, 2009 at 11:59pm

The drawing for the EZ View Desktop will take place on December 12th.

The Grand Prize Drawing for the EZ View Craft Desk will take place on December 14, 2009.

How will The Original Scrapbox give back?

We will be tracking web traffic to The Original Scrapbox during the giveaway. When we reach 12,000 hits during our giveaway The Original Scrapbox will donate an EZ View Craft Desk to the Friends of Utah County Children’s Justice Center. This charity helps abused children.

‘Tis the season of giving and The Original Scrapbox wants to give back to a charity of your choosing. When we reach 25,000 hits during our giveaway they will also donate an EZ View Craft Desk to a charity nominated by you!!

Would you like to nominate a charity to receive this spectacular gift? Please send an email to RachellewritesATgmail.com with the name of your charitable organization as well as a description of what they do. We would like to choose a charity that will be able to utilize the EZ View Craft Desk in their program. Tell Rachelle why these products would benefit your charity.
Email the charity organization name, description, and contact person for receiving donations to
RachellewritesATgmail.com

Rachelle will review all nominations and The Original Scrapbox giving board will choose a recipient.

When you visit the website to choose your favorite product and enter the giveaway, you’ll help us get one step closer to our goal.

Enter to win:

You may earn 1 entry each for doing the following (Please make a separate comment for each entry-I'll be checking.)Make sure your contact info is easily accessible so I can contact you if you win: No purchase necessary to enter. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered.

*Note: the contest will be open to residents of UK and EU countries as well as the United States and Canada.

You must at least do entry #1 to be eligible for this contest. Visit the website--every hit counts toward our goal to help The Original Scrapbox give back for Christmas!

1. You must visit The Original Scrapbox website to be eligible for this contest. Choose your favorite product. Leave a comment here and tell me what your favorite is and how you would use this product.

2. Become a Facebook fan of The Original Scrapbox here. Leave me a comment telling me you did this—and as much as I trust you all, I promised the company I will actually check that you actually did this.

3. Facebook the contest and share the link back to this post.

4. Tweet about this contest with link backs here (copy and paste http://nicholegiles.blogspot.com/ right into the text box).

5. Follow me on Facebook (Click on my Facebook box in the sidebar). You can also become a fan of Mormon Mishaps and Mischief on Facebook. I'll count two if you do both.

6. Become a follower on my blog (yes, this one) and add http://nicholegiles.blogspot.com to your link list.

7. Sign up for my newsletter-- email: writenicholeAT gmail.com with subscribe in subject box.

8. Add my button (available on my sidebar) or my Scrapbox button or banner to your sidebar/blog.

9. Comment on any non-contest post (must contribute to the conversation).

Receive 5 entries for the following (Make 5 separate comments so I can keep track of the entries. Thanks!)

10. Blog about this contest with a picture of the Workbox and the EZ View Craft Desk. If you have a private blog, it will not be eligible for this part of the contest. In your blog post, please use the tags: The Original Scrapbox, Scrapbook storage, Workbox, EZ View Craft Desk, and Nichole Giles. Link back to me, http://www.nicholegiles.blogspot.com/ and / or any of the other 11 bloggers participating. We all appreciate it!

There are 12 ways to win and 12 blogs to enter with a special way to help The Original Scrapbox give back!

There are 11 other awesome bloggers holding a contest to give away an EZ View Desktop (Yes, 12 EZ View Desktops will be given away—one from each blog!) and at each of these blogs you can also enter for the GRAND PRIZE-- EZ VIEW Craft Desk. Stop by their blogs and enter for more chances to win:

LifeasLou

Vanilla Joy

PriscillaStyles

Capadia Designs

Crafty Makes

Just Me,My Soldier and My Two Little Chicks

Rachelle's Writing Spot

Auntie Thesis

Park City Girl

Lovely Little Handmades

Queen of the Clan

Get as many entries as you can by telling your friends about this contest and stay tuned to my blog for more incredible giveaways! Good luck and remember to follow the rules correctly to earn more entries in the contest. Contest ends December 11, 2009 at 11:59pm.

On December 12, 2009, I will announce the name of one winner of the EZ View Desktop available in black or vanilla color from my blog. That winner will then go on for the grand prize drawing of The EZ View Craft Desk at Rachellewrites. If you are the winner, I'll email you and you must respond by December 13th or a new winner will be selected to go on for the Grand Prize.

Then on December 14, 2009, Rachellewrites.blogspot.com will hold a drawing using Random.org to select one winner from the 12 entries to win The EZ View Craft Desk! That winner will need to contact her with their shipping info by December 16th or another winner will be randomly selected. Sorry, there is no Christmas delivery guarantee.

*All comments on my blog are moderated, so if yours doesn’t show up right away, don’t panic! I check all comments before I post them to my blog.


**One prize per person.  Each entrant may only win one EZ View Desktop and one entry into the grand prize drawing. 

Super Quick: Launch Parties and Charitable Donations

I totally don't have time to be blogging today, but I just can't help myself. Today is a big day for one of my author friends, James Dashner, who's book The Mazerunner is on shelves and available TODAY!!!! This book has been a long time in coming, and he's been counting down the days for months.

So, because it's finally here, and because I can practically feel his excitement over the point of the mountain and like, twelve cities away, I just have to share.

He's throwing a party.

It's going to be HUGE.

Apparently, he has invited everyone on Earth. Literally. (Don't believe me? Check out this blog.) That includes you.

You can be one of the first to own his new book and get it signed.

Where? The King's English bookstore 1511 South 1500 East, Salt Lake City, UT.
When? 5:00 PM today.
How? By getting in your car and driving there. Duh.

For those not living in Utah, James will be heading out for his first major Mazerunner tour this week, so check his blog to find out when he'll be in your area. He LOVES visitors, especially Dash-fans. =)

In other news, one of my very good friends is in charge of putting together a fundraiser for the Clear Horizons Academy, a preschool for autistic children. All proceeds go toward the school and tuition for special needs kids whose parents wouldn't otherwise be able to afford the kind of care these children need.

They are currently accepting items of all sizes and values for their auction. If you or someone you know would like to donate, contact me at writenichole at gmail dot com and I'll forward you more information. Remember, every small donation adds to the larger number. (Books and promotional items welcome.)

Okay, now I'm late. Gotta run. Until next time, write on!

Nichole

Someone Stole Christ

By Nichole Giles

For the past few years, Clear Horizons Academy, a private school for autistic children, has held an auction to help fund scholarships to pay tuition for special needs children. Tickets to the event include entry to the silent auction, a formal dinner, entertainment, and a live auction featuring beautiful art pieces, furniture, and even a baby grand piano. It’s a wonderful event, focusing on autism, and the progress children can make by having their special needs understood.

My dear friend, Tiffany Wood-McCarthy, is on the board of trustees, and because of her, I was lucky enough to snag a couple tickets to this year’s event. When we showed up, the silent auction was underway. Gary and I perused the tables, bidding on the things we thought we could use, knowing the money was going to a good cause.

Among the items featured were a few canvas prints from talented local artists. One—by Liz Lemmon Swindle—happened to be a stunning portrait of Christ holding a little boy on his shoulder in a wheat field. Raylene, another of my friends, fell instantly in love with the portrait, and continued to increase her bid through the duration of the auction. In the end, her number was the last one on the bid ticket, and she laughed with glee as we left the silent auction to go into the next room for the dinner.

Ten minutes later, a few of us snuck out to have a group picture taken—my four girlfriends and I—in our nice clothes. Someone had donated a beautiful island themed Christmas tree for the silent auction, so we snuck over to pose in front of the tree. As we did, Raylene noticed that the canvas of Christ was gone. “Hey,” she said. “Where did my painting go?”

Tiffany scrunched her forehead. “Maybe they started taking the items to the register already.” And then we all went back to finish our dinners and participate in the live auction.

At the end of the night, though, the painting couldn’t be found. Sometime between the silent auction and the dinner, it was stolen.

Now, it’s bad enough to steal something. No matter what, it’s dishonest. But how does one wrap their mind around stealing a picture of CHRIST? From a children’s charity, no less. To me, that’s tantamount to stealing a stained glass window from a church or temple. It just isn’t done. Like I said, stealing is a terrible thing anyway, but…if you’re stealing, how can you dare look at a painting like that as you carry it out of the building? Wouldn’t you feel Him watching your dishonest actions?

I just don’t get it.

Last month, I was running errands and picked up a couple of Christmas gifts. As I went through the checkout, I realized I didn’t have my checkbook, and because I was digging through my purse, didn’t listen to the dollar amount the clerk announced, just blindly ran my credit card through the machine. Luckily, I have a habit of scanning receipts before I leave a store. When I looked closely, I realized I’d only been charged for one of the two items in my bag.

From the doorway, I looked back. The lines were very long, and I was in a bit of a hurry. I’d watched the lady scan my items, and she had scanned both—so maybe (I tried to convince myself) they were on a two-for-one sale? But the original purchase was for ten dollars, and I knew I should owe another fifteen.

What should I do?

It would have been so easy to walk out, dump the bag in my trunk and feel glad I’d saved myself fifteen dollars. Except then I’d have had to live with knowing I hadn’t paid for that item, and every time I looked at it, I’d feel a pang of guilt that I’d stolen it. Even though it wasn’t intentional.

I turned around. A security guard stopped me in the front of the store. “Did you have a return?” he asked.

“No,” I said. “Actually, I was checking my receipt and noticed I didn’t get charged for one of my items. I need to go back and pay for it.”

The security guard was so impressed, he walked me to the front of the line where I’d originally paid and asked the embarrassed employee to hurry and ring me up again. It cost me less than five minutes and fifteen dollars to be honest that day.

As I drove home, I wondered about how I would have reacted if the situation were reversed. Then I remembered it had been. Last year I was charged seventeen dollars for a tube of toothpaste. It was a complete computer error, but you can believe I was all over it. I marched myself to customer service immediately to get my fifteen dollars back and though I wasn’t angry at the store employees, I sighed a breath of relief that I’ve taught myself to be diligent in checking my receipts. This year, I had another opportunity to feel that relief, though from the other side of the spectrum.

I don’t know how to live with small dishonesties like that. I’ve spent my life believing in the importance of honesty, which is why I have such a hard time understanding how someone could steal a portrait of Christ. How will they live with themselves?

I don’t understand the universe, and I can’t answer that question. All I can do is promise myself that I, personally, will choose to make honest choices and try to be a good example of honesty to my children.

As for the auction, I’m thinking next year Clear Horizons may have to hire security. But it’s like Tiffany said. “If they really needed a portrait of Christ bad enough to steal it, I feel sorry for them.”

Yep. I agree.