Day 31: Bake Sale for Good Cause

In nine days I will be jumping in a frozen lake for a good cause.  Today, with the help of a lot of great co-workers, I raised money to ensure my boss will be jumping in with me.  The event is called the "Polar Plunge, Toss Your Boss" and its goal is to raise money and awareness for the Special Olympics. In order to "toss your boss" in the lake, the team is required to raise a minimum of $1000.  When my co-worker and I originally took this proposition to our boss, he was hesitant to the idea,  but since it is for a good cause he agreed that if we could raise the money, he would jump in the lake.  Part of me thinks the reason he accepted is because he didn't think we would get the money raised. He was wrong.

My co-workers and I decided to organize a bake sale for today.  Fortunately for me, I work with people who are so quick to help. We ended today by raising $750! On top of that, my company matched the first $500 we raised.  So in total we raised $1250.  And my boss is going in the drink!

If anyone would like to contribute to this cause and donate to the Special Olympics that would be great.  You can click here and it will take you to my team's donation page.   

Day 30: Shoveled

Well I'm ready for winter to be over.  Today we got about 10 inches of snow.  This amount of snow makes practically everything more difficult, i.e., getting to work, leaving the house, exercising the dog, watching satellite tv, etc.  Plus the amount of time it takes to shovel the driveway and sidewalk can be a hassle.  So today, for my act of kindness, when I was done shoveling my driveway, I decided to shovel my neighbor's driveway as well.  Hopefully this will make this snowstorm a little bit less of a hassle for them.

Day 29: Letter to My Daughter

Today I wrote a letter to my daughter.  This particular letter she won't open and read until her 16th birthday.  There are only so many things that pictures or videos can express so I wanted to take some time and write to her about how happy she has made me, and how excited I am to see the person she has become.  I also took a picture of Emma on my shoulders the night I wrote the letter. It will be a fun trip down memory lane to have her read this letter in over 15 years.

Day 28: Big Brothers/Big Sisters

So I know I mentioned in my post yesterday that I was going to try and limit the donations to about once a week....well this week's donation is used up.  I woke up this morning and turned on the local news.  The station was having an all day telethon for Big Brother/Big Sisters.  I was a big brother the last couple years of high school.  I'm not sure I grasped how important this role was at the time, but it is so important for little kids to have people to look up to for role models. I was lucky enough to have a great dad and brother to look up to as my role models when I was a kid.  I can't imagine how different my life would have been without them in it. So, today for my act of kindness, I called into the telethon and donated some money.  I am hoping that I will be able to volunteer my time later in the year for this organization as well.

Day 27: Donation to "Pizzas for Patriots"

Ever since I started this blog I have been getting a fair amount or charities and fundraisers brought to my attention, which I love so keep them coming.  However, it is just not practical for me to be able to do something for each one, so I am going to try and do something once per week for a specific cause.

Today, for my act of kindness, I made a small donation to, "Pizzas for Patriots." This is a non-profit organization that was started five years ago by retired Air Force master sergeant, Mark Evans. Through the years this organization has helped feed almost a half a million troops on holidays like Independence Day and Veteran's Day.  His upcoming project is to send 20,000 pizzas to troops for the Super Bowl.  If you would like to donate or learn more about "Pizzas for Patriots" just click on the link below.  After all, what is the Super Bowl without pizza!


Link to homepage:  http://nilescustomguitars.com/

Day 26: Handy Man

I am not a handy person.  I blame this on my dad.  He has taught me so many great things, but, "how to be handy" was not one of them.  I have improved my skills a ton since owning a house but there is still a long way to go. A lot of times I make a lot of stupid mistakes.  Take this for example; about a year ago I spent an afternoon assembling a crib for my soon to be born daughter.  I was so proud of myself when I was finished, sure it took a couple hours longer than it probably should have, but I did it and the crib looked glorious.  There was just one problem that I soon realized; I assembled the crib in the living room so I could watch tv during the construction.  When I went to move the crib to the nursery, I realized there was no way it was going to fit through the door.  I had take apart the crib and re-assemble it in the nursery.  This is an example of the mistakes I make.

So, today for my act, I helped my brother-in-law assemble this exact same crib and a dresser.  I'm sure he wouldn't have made the same mistake I did, but at least we were able to get it done quicker with two people.

Day 25: Box Tops for Education

I've said it before, but I come from a home of educators.  My mom is a retired teacher and my wife currently teaches for the Madison school district, so I am always looking for ways to support teachers and schools.  Today, my wife told me about box tops for education.  This is fundraising effort for schools where all people need to do is look for the "box top for education" logo on various products such as cereal, hamburger helper, kleenex, etc., then they need to cut out the logo and bring it to their school.  Last year, schools raised over $74 million and $475 million since 1996!  So, today for my act of kindness, my wife and I promised to start cutting the box tops out whenever we see them to do our part.  We have a bowl in the kitchen we will put these in and hand them in at the end of each month.