GoodShopp'in

A few months ago, I blogged a bit about GoodSearch, and sort of suggested that you use it for online searches in order to do some good without actually having to DO anything. During a conversation in a pretty sick Scottish pub in a quaint little Vermont town amongst some of the coolest kids this side of the Mississippi, I mentioned GoodSearch again, and how I have actually been using GoodShop a whole lot this year as well. There was brief discussion that perhaps I had not really talked about GoodShop, and I guess I hadn't when compared to it's predecessor.

So, my dear 6-8 readers, here is my plug for GoodShop!

A quick look at the "Amount Raised" link for my ARF [Amyloidosis Research Foundation] searches will show that my actual searching has declined this year. [Granted, I am mostly operating under the possibly erroneous assumption that I am the only person Good-something-ing for ARF. I might be the biggest contributor, but there's got to be a few others, right?] As of the moment, there have been 2,412 searches in 2009. I am still a huge nerd, and am guilty of looking up a variety of dorky things. But I guess I don't spend as much time sitting in front of a computer screen bored out of my mind. Wicked!

But!!

If you were to take a look at 2007, you'd see ARF raised $2.41. In 2008, $39.51 were raised. In 2009... $74.70! Where did that extra $50+ dollars come from, you ask? From online shopping through GoodShop, I'd answer. I find shopping online to be pretty convenient, especially as I find myself shunning crowded, public-filled places in my free time. [Working with the public can do that to you sometimes.] And it just so happens practically all the places I shop, like Amazon, Old Navy and Apple, are all hooked up with the service. Each month, I tried to make a purchase, however small, through one of the merchants through the GoodShop site. A percentage of each of those purchases is donated by the merchant to the cause. While the donations are usually somewhere between 1%-3%, it's way better than nothing. And looks so much nicer than the penny per search.

Granted, I made a couple of hefty purchases this year [read: TV and the oh, so wonderful MacBook that I'm typing away on right this very minute]. But I'm a strong believer in the idea that every little bit helps. A penny might be a penny. And I wouldn't bet on that 1% chance. But when you put all those pennies together... When you add up all those 1% chances... I have to believe it equals a good thing. [Haha, besides, 1% of $3,000.00 is a hot 30 bucks! Please, don't tell my credit card statement...]

As you've gathered from my posts, I really try to support my friends in their fundraising endeavors. While my biggest commitment remains Relay, and while most of my donations go to support that, I have come to look on ARF as my other cause. [Having friends who are basically family threatened by something you can't seem to fight will do that to you.]

Unfortunately, I'm not wealthy and as much as I want to, I can't support everything. I wanted badly to donate more than the registration fee at the Search on Saturday, and even the extra check I got from my parents didn't seem enough. What makes me feel a little better though, is that a huge chunk of that $74.70 for ARF came from my support.

I set a goal earlier in the year to raise over $100 for ARF through the GoodSearch/GoodShop sites. I know that amount seems so small compared to the dollars raised in other places. But I think it's amazing that any amount can be donated by simple acts of searching, or buying through a link which pretty much requires just one or two extra clicks.

If you're feeling adventurous or supportive, I encourage you to use these websites. You can support almost any cause. If by some chance you actually can't find an organization you support on these sites, you can actually start one of your own. Or, if you don't know who to support, I'd ask for the next 2 1/2 months to toss "ARF" into that charity selection, click the second option [Amyloidsosis Research Fund], and GoodSearch and GoodShop the junk out of it. And maybe together we can raise that $100 by doing nothing more than using our clicking fingers.

Okay, those and maybe our credit cards. But face it, you were going to use those anyway.

Pink Flamingos

As I opened the shades this morning to get some light for ironing, I was greeted by a sight which actually made me laugh out loud. Upon our front lawn sat not one, not two, not three, but FIVE pink flamingos. (Okay, so not REAL flamingos, but still.)

It was awesome. It's actually a fundraiser for the ACS Strides Against Breast Cancer event in October. One of my former Relayers, a breast cancer survivor, left us this year to concentrate on that event. I played around with the idea of getting involved in that too, for my mom, but it might be too much...

So now I have pink flamingos! We'll have to pay some money to make them flock away. Although I sort of like them there.

It's funny too because we were going to do a similar thing for Relay (except with purple flamingos or some other lawn decoration). I wasn't sure how receptive people would be or how easy it would be to get off the ground. With a small committee it's hard to get spearhead so many different things. But based on my reaction this morning, I'll think we'll have to do it next year. Maybe dueling flamingos?!

Awesome.

$1,868.92!!

That's how much money my team has to raise to make $10,000.00 for this year's Relay For Life.

I have made it my personal mission to see this happen. Of course, I have no idea whatsoever on how to make it happen. But here's my thing.

First off, if we raise $10,000.00 we become a flagship sponsor for next year's event. So long as we follow a couple rules (like sign-up before March 1, 2010), our name and logo will be on next year's shirt. For the entire region. (I designed our logo. =))

Secondly, what better way to publicize the library and show our community and the surrounding ones that we aren't just some place for free movies for seniors to complain about and a building where middle-school hoodlums can come to get arrested by cops after school (more on that another day). This wouldn't be our consortium. This wouldn't even be our city, per se. This is US. And we (will have) kicked ass.

This, in turn, would make it more fun to stick it to our anti-library mayor and library board. (How is a library board "anti-library", you ask? Good question! Maybe because the mayor has to appoint the board. You know, said mayor who doesn't like us.)

Plus, I don't know how much longer I can do this. Have so much responsibility with all of this. I don't want to be at my job forever, and when I leave, what happens to the team? This is our best chance. And to be the TOP fundraiser in our BEST year. There's a certain amount of pride in that. Okay, that's a little selfish...

Maybe it just boils down to validation. A desire to be part of a bigger picture, to take part in a stride for change. To fight back against a disease that has threatened my family and friends. To strike out at the illness that has stolen them.

I want to make a difference. So I'm going to.

$36,628.85!

That's how much this Relay has raised so far!!! That is more than TWICE what we raised online last year, and if memory serves me correctly, scant hundreds less than what we ACTUALLY raised last year.

I can hardly believe it. With all that's been happening and with the event barreling down on us... Holy crap! Haha.

I want to push for $40,000.00 by the weekend... Maybe even $45,000.00 by the event? Is it possible?

(That's not to mention the $10,000.00 I'm pushing my team to raise. We're at $7,337.57 right now. If I can sell all those t-shirts, that'll give us another $1,200. Another bake sale, maybe another $400... Who's got $1,000 for us?!)

41 Days and venting

I can't believe it's April already. There's only 41 days until our Relay For Life event. It's crazy how fast time goes, and I still can't believe I'm in charge of an event for an entire city. Who'da ever thunk that?

It really is approaching the point where it's becoming a little overwhelming. I had the toughest time Wednesday night, where I essentially ran 2 hours of meetings by myself. For having over 100 people so far registered for the event, it's tough to see less than an eighth of that show up for a meeting. It's frustrating to invest so much of myself into this and to see how little other people do for it.

Sometimes I wish I could just be a participant. Go to Unos or Pennellas or Applegates and stuff my face and hand over a flyer so they can donate the money and show up and walk on May 16. It's like pulling teeth to get someone to participate. I'm not even talking about donating at this point. (Although, seriously, I cannot name one person who cannot donate money, economy be damned. You can't tell me that you can't give up your lunch money one day and eat leftovers, or have only 5 beers instead of 10 one Saturday night to support your friends or family.)

Granted, I am making huge, sweeping statements and assumptions. I realize this. I guess I'm just surprised at certain situations.

[Also, please note that my intention is to vent and not make vague accusations against friends who might read this. And I fully intended to plug and praise you in here Em, but I got carried away. Next time! :)]

Who do you GoodSearch for?

You know I love Google like crazy. However I almost never, ever use it for searching things online. Instead I use GoodSearch, a Yahoo-powered search engine which donates roughly a penny per search.

(There is also a link on the GoodSearch page for GoodShop which runs on the same basic idea. You click on the link to a store--BN, Best Buy, Amazon, eBay, iTunes, Dell... practically anything you could ever want can be found in the participating merchant stores--do your online shopping, checkout and bam, a percentage of your purchase is donated to your cause. I GoodShop'd Zappos for shoes!!)

Who do I GoodSearch for? ARF! Or the Amyloidosis Research Foundation. Amyloidosis is a rare group of diseases that effects proteins in the body which in turn mess you up. A couple of good friends have this disease and have lost too many family members to it. I feel bad that most of my time and energy is devoted to Relay, but I feel a little better knowing that alot of the 3,900+ searches (read: over $39.00) in 2008 were because of my searches!

I tend to do lots of searches either for work or reference for a project. Did I also mention I'm an uber nerd and comic book geek... Just think of what that does to a guy.

Now, I'm not going to preach about how it's important to volunteer and get involved and make a difference. You know that already, whether or not you actually DO something about it or not. But here I am, giving you a way to DO SOMETHING about a cause. Literally all you have to do is go to GoodSearch and look something up.

So I'm asking you to use it. Even if you don't do it for my cause, you should do it for some cause. Making a difference has never been so easy.

Blooooooood!

Ever donate double red blood cells? I don't remember what the process is called, but it's sort of like a 2-for-1 donation (You're saving 2 lives instead of 1!). It's actually pretty cool, and while it takes a bit longer (30-40 minutes as opposed to 10-15), they've pretty much already pricked you. So why not, right?

I was a little worried because during my pre-donation tests, the dude was checking my pulse for 3 minutes. I'm sure it quickened a bit at the end, because all I could think was "Uhh.. What the hell could be wrong with me? Isn't this supposed to take 30 seconds or something?" Turns out he was making sure I was extra healthy so they could take the 2 bags outta me. Fun stuff!

Anyway, I found it funny how warm my blood was. After I got all hooked up to the machine that would separate my red blood cells from my plasma and white blood cells, the tubes were laying across my arm. When my juices started pumping out (that stuff moves fast!), I watched it spiral through the tubes and away from me. Farewell, blood!

Those tubes were warm! Now, I know we're what, 98.6 degrees or whatever. Obviously blood is going to be Siesta-key beach water worthy. Haha. Still, was unexpected. That's like, warm life pouring out of me.

Shiza.

I think you should donate blood. Not only are you pretty much saving a life, it's actually good for you. Helps clean out your circulatory pipes and stuff. Of course, I think the whole "saving a life" reason should be good enough. We should help each other, ya?

I'm actually thinking of signing up to be a bone marrow donor...