LifeLock–Donating Safely Online

Running Away from Donating?

As we head into the fall season here, it’s not a bad idea to think about how you donate money.  Think about it.  How many charitable organizations are you asked to contribute to on a daily basis?  For me, one issue that I face is my running “habit.”  Virtually every 5K or 10K is run by a small local organization that pledges to donate to some larger cause or charity.  Most of the time these donations are paid by mail or in person, so the worries are lessened when you have the receipt in hand.

Now, many of these small events have now started to collect monies online.  Some of the larger events even link through social media so that runners can expand their charitable influence through their social networks.  Maybe you aren’t a runner, but would like to help out a cause that a friend holds near and dear.  How can you be sure that your credit card information is secure?

In addition to protecting you from identity theft, LifeLock.org has some great tips about how to safely donate online.  Tips like making sure to get contact information when you donate, keeping your receipts, and not donating through spam emails or 3rd party websites are great ways to help keep your sensitive information safe.

LifeLock for Life Game

If you want to learn more about safely donating online, check out the LifeLock for Life Game app on LifeLock’s Facebook site.  You’ll get great tips about donating and a will earn a chance to win great prizes like one of five $100 donations to the charity of your choice or the incredible monthly prize of a $1000 donation to the charity of your choice.

 

What charities are near and dear to your heart?  If you win one of the donation prizes, which charity will you help out?  Leave us a comment and let us know!

 

#BagItForward School Supply Shopping

Before I could even think about the list for our kids’ back to school shopping, there was a list sitting at the church entrance a few Sundays ago. The list had items that are being requested by GRACE (Greene Alliance of Church and Community Efforts). They do a drive each year to help children in need in this small community. When I say small, I mean small (2 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high school.) The community is near a great area of development but it is still a farm based community that is mostly rural. The reduced/free lunch number of students at Grace’s elementary school is over 50% so the need is GREAT here! (This is publicly available information.)

All that being said, we were thrilled to participate  in the #BagItForward event where we shopped and donated items on the Back to School Donation Drive Shopping List. We had already set a budget for our donation shopping so I combined our donation with this opportunity to make a great impact! You can see the full shopping trip and delivery to the donation location in our G+ Photo Album.

I excited to find the Elmer’s Back To School Supply List Stand right inside the front door at Walmart …

Then I found a small display of the Elmer’s products …

I love the purple disappearing glue sticks, how about you?

I kept looking around and was amazed at all of the new Elmer’s products available!

I made it home and Brian helped sort through everything so it could be packed up to be delivered!

The kids were so excited to see the box of school supplies our family was sharing. (Yes, we talk a lot about sharing!)

Then they were off to take it to the donation table …

The little helpers got to work adding the items to the donation table …

 

 Doesn’t that make you ready find a Back to School Supply Drive in your area? We hope it does!

To help with all of your Back to School shopping for your kids and the donation drives in your area, Elmer’s has created a great new app! Head over to 1st Day App Download to check out the app yourself! Plus while you are at the 1st Day App page you can enter to win a trip for four to Disney World thanks to X-Acto Desinger Series and Walmart!

Plus you can get a free 5 x 7 digital print in August from Walmart! In August, just visit the Walmart Photo Department in-store or online at Walmart.com/photo for details.

About the 1st Day App …

  • It is FREE!
  • It is a mobile phone app and website built to capture treasured photos and memories from the first day of school.
  • It allows you to personalize photo memories with quotes or captions and organize them by date, child and album.
  • It allows you to organize photos by child, using colors and tags.
  • It allows you to journal a school year of memories and share them with the classroom, family and friends as a slide show!
  • Plus all photos are housed in a secure online environment on the 1st Day™ microsite!

Need another reason to check out and use the 1st Day App? For every photo uploaded, Elmer’s will donate one product to The Kids in Need Foundation (up to 200,000 products)!

You can find Elmer’s on Facebook to keep up to date on their latest promotions and products. If you are on Twitter, be sure to follow Elmer’s on Twitter and maybe even tweet them a picture of what you find when you are shopping!

Want to find out more? Check out BagItForward.org and follow Bag It Forward on Pinterest!

What is on your kids’ Back to School supply list? Is your family contributing to a location Back to School Supply Drive? Leave us a comment and let us know!
NOTE:  I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and and Elmer’s but all opinions expressed are my own.  #BagItForward #CBias #SocialFabric

Offer for Military Who Served in IRQ and AFG

I found about IServedStickers.org earlier this week.

IServedStickers.org has the mission to offer free stickers recognizing the service of our service members who have served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan.
These stickers are like the country stickers that you see on cars (white with black text) and they say “I Served” on them.
As the wife of one of the serviceman who was part of the first wave into Iraq in 2003, I know these veterans deserve every ounce of recognition we can give them. That being said, please only request a sticker if you did serve. This great organization is also accepting donations to continue to make these great stickers. Even the smallest donation helps this organization so please think about giving a portion of your donation budget to IServedStickers.org. The provide a great breakdown on their donation page of how many soldiers will benefit from your donation!

NOTE: No compensation was received in exchange for this post. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own!