As a local mother to an Army soldier serving in Afghanistan I wanted to thank you for your “Wearing Blue” post. We must all remember the sacrifices these men & women are making for our country. [...]]]> If you are looking for a way to give back, here is a wonderful idea.  Thanks Lisa for passing this along.

As a local mother to an Army soldier serving in Afghanistan I wanted to thank you for your “Wearing Blue” post. We must all remember the sacrifices these men & women are making for our country. After my son deployed my coupon shopping took a different turn. I now stockpile items that I can send over to the troops. (all that free body wash & shaving cream from Walgreens is shipping out) There is a wonderful organization called anysoldier.com which was created by a soldiers family when their deployed son asked them to send boxes to guys in his unit that did not get any mail. Years later it continues and has grown into a volunteer organization that allows deployed servicemen to post items that they need for their unit while serving over seas. Everything is volunteer you select which unit you would like to send to and the website then emails you their mailing address, they only ask that if you select a unit you actually send them something. Soldiers ask for things ranging from simple letters, small personal items, snacks, used DVD’s, games, cards for them to send back to their families, etc to wish list items such as golf clubs & basketball hoops. If any of your readers find their stockpile growing and would like to support our troops I recommend this website. Have a tissue handy some of the soldiers post are touching.

(click on the “where to send” icon at the top and it will open up recent soldier emails on the left hand side.)

On  May 8th, letter carriers in more than 10,000 communities will collect food items and deliver them to local food banks to help some of the millions of Americans, including an estimated 13 million children, who face hunger every day. Since 1993, [...]]]>

On  May 8th, letter carriers in more than 10,000 communities will collect food items and deliver them to local food banks to help some of the millions of Americans, including an estimated 13 million children, who face hunger every day.
Since 1993, families have donated more than a half-billion pounds of food to Stamp Out Hunger. You can help make this year our most successful ever.  Simply place bags filled with nonperishable food items like canned meats and fish, canned soup, juice, pasta, vegetables, cereal and rice next to your mailbox on  May 8th.

Your letter carrier will pick up the bags and deliver them to your local food bank.
Please do not include out-of-date items or those in glass containers.

Click here for more information

We participate in this every year, my kids look forward to filling our mail box with food.  It gives them an opportunity to learn to give back and feel how happy it makes you when you help others!

What a blessing this gift [...]]]> Last month as a way to celebrate having one million visitors to our site we gave away $100 to 3 different readers.  In return all we asked was for them to bless the lives of others and give back.  Thanks to Laura for this update, she has done a great job!

What a blessing this gift was, both to me and all who were touched because of it. The timing could not have been more perfect, receiving the money about a week before Thanksgiving opened the door for many thrifty deals, and even more touched lives. The second Saturday of every month we go downtown to feed and minister to the homeless. A ministry that started out as a small group of college students is being grown more and more each month. With the $100 gift we were able to do so much. We were able to buy enough food to cook a Thanksgiving meal for about 60 adults and children in November. The day after Thanksgiving, we were able to get some great deals on Christmas presents for the children. For many this will be the only present. One of the only things on many of their lists were soccer balls. We were able to get enough for each family to have one. Another novelty for the children is bubbles. Many had not even seen them before we took them one Saturday. This Christmas, many will get their very own bubbles. We teamed up with a local business, and they donated over 60 blankets for the homeless. Each family will get at least 1 blanket this winter. It was also such a blessing to have a great relationship with our local grocery store. Because of my frequency of shopping and their understanding my “thriftyness”, they allow us to come and pick up all the bread that is left over on Friday nights that would normal go to waste and share it with the homeless. We also had enough money to prepare soup and sandwiches for Decembers meal. This was such a blessing. So many lives were touched because of your generosity, and the giving isn’t over. Thank you for opening a door and allowing ministry to happen.

I am attaching a few pictures of our feeding the homeless in downtown Greenville SC and one of our treats for the children. Making balloon animals. This simple treat was a thrill to them. They thought they were at a carnival.

Kristi at Texas Couponers Anonymous sent us this thoughtful experience that happened to her. I want to share it to help give others ideas on what to do for those around them.

I had a pretty amazing end to last week. I was going to get my mail just as I do everyday and there was [...]]]>

Kristi at Texas Couponers Anonymous sent us this thoughtful experience that happened to her. I want to share it to help give others ideas on what to do for those around them.

I had a pretty amazing end to last week. I was going to get my mail just as I do everyday and there was a bubble envelope in there which I thought was a product I was waiting on. I love the mailman, UPS, & FedEx! Anyways, after I got into the house, I was looking at the return address to see who it was from and it said “Cris Claus” with a bogus address. I kept thinking to myself, this is odd, but I still opened it up.

Inside the package was a single Christmas card, a typed letter, and another card. I was astonished as I opened each piece. The first layer was the Christmas card with a normal Hallmark inscription and Merry Christmas written at the bottom, no name. The second piece in the puzzle was a typed letter that explained it all. It read:

“I am Santa’s helper and a proud American.

I appreciate and honor your sacrifice and service to this country as a soldier and as a family.

Please accept this small token of appreciation. I hope it makes the holidays a bit easier for you and more exciting for the boys.

God Bless you and God Bless America!

Merry Christmas and thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

I made it to the second sentence and finished the rest in tears. This was from someone who cared for the freedom that my husband helped to protect while serving in the military. This was someone who honored the sacrifices that we (more him) have given. It was amazing to think that there are people out there to help others.

The last layer of this puzzle was another card that read “Happy Holidays” and inside was a gift card to help our family during this holiday season. As I am typing this, I still can’t believe what was in my mailbox and it still brings tears to my eyes.

So this week, I am thankful for the person or person’s that so generously helped our family this Christmas. If you are reading this, please except our gratitude and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. These are but words in a post, but words cannot express exactly how we feel towards you. So, thank you, thank you, thank you!

What are you thankful for this week? I would love to hear your story.

We need your help! We entered a national contest and didn’t think our tiny shelter had a chance….WE ARE IN SECOND PLACE! If ANH (Animals Need Homes) wins we will recieve $2000 in dog food! Which we desparately need. Please pass this along to your readers [...]]]>

One of my Readers asked me to pass this along,

We need your help! We entered a national contest and didn’t think our tiny shelter had a chance….WE ARE IN SECOND PLACE! If ANH (Animals Need Homes) wins we will recieve $2000 in dog food! Which we desparately need. Please pass this along to your readers and lets help our lil Idaho animal shelter out for Christmas.

Stephanie sent me this email,

Today I ran into my house, thankful to get out of the cold windy weather.  Then I thought about all those who do not have any homes to escape the bad weather, so I called Valley crisis to see if they are in [...]]]> Its time to clear out your surplus and donate it!

Stephanie sent me this email,

Today I ran into my house, thankful to get out of the cold windy weather.  Then I thought about all those who do not have any homes to escape the bad weather, so I called Valley crisis to see if they are in need of anything.  I found out that they are so close to shutting down the shelter.  This shelter provides a safe place for women and children from physical and sexual abuse.  As the economy continues to be bad, violence and abuse increases.  As the economy continues to be bad, the government cut cost to important funding such as shelters.  Five years ago this shelter received $300,000 to keep their doors open and serve three meals a day.  Now they only receive $100,000 and the employees have not been getting paid recently.

• Some of the grocery items they need include:
• Meat (hamburger, hotdogs, etc.)
• Cleaning supplies (pine sol, dish soap)
• Paper/bathroom items (toilet paper, personal items)
• Over the counter medicine like Robitussin, Day Quill, cough drops

I know we get things free with our coupons, and sales.  I was hoping we could all come together, and donate a few of our items to the shelter.  If you are willing and able to help, even if it is just one or two items, the overall impact would be great.  You would be helping women and children who need it.

If we could all plan on emptying our surplus and bring it on Saturday the 14th to Albertsons in Nampa on 12th & Greenhurst. They have some ladies who will be there that day to hand out brochures and answer questions anyone may have about the Valley Crisis Center.

Here is more info about the Crisis Center

Valley Crisis Center is an Idaho 501 c3 non-profit organization.
The Executive Director is: Yolanda Matos  Phone: 467-4130
We have 8 full time employees, 5 part time employees, and use volunteers regularly.

Valley Crisis Center is a domestic violence shelter that began as a grassroots endeavor over 25 years ago in Nampa, Idaho. We operate a 24-hour crisis line answered by trained staff members 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our programs, as well as our brochures are offered in English and Spanish plus we have bi-lingual counselors and case managers. All of our services and programs are offered at no charge.

Our current facility was built in 1999, expanding shelter capabilities from 20 beds to 63 beds. We have a commercial style kitchen (we serve 3 meals and a snack every day), large pantry, dining room, and common area with a large screen TV for moms and their children, plus a smaller room for single ladies to enjoy reading or television without children.  Our new facility also houses our administration offices, counseling and case management offices, private intake room, and a conference room.

Our services and programs include: shelter, individualized one-on-one therapy, group counseling sessions, case management, court advocacy, legal aid screening, transitional housing, community and law enforcement education and training, and more.

Our funding is program-specific and VCC must rely on community donations of cash, food, and other items to continue our programs and services. Those programs receiving federal funds have been affected by sharp decreases over the past 6 years in funding availablity. Most grantors such as foundations, also request you apply for funds for a specific program, not just for “operational money”. This makes it hard to pay the bills for day to day operation of the shelter.

In 2008 Valley Crisis Center sheltered 545 women and their children, and served 38,297 meals.  We also provided services to another 1,591 women and children and received 3,843 calls for assistance.  We provide information and referrals to those who do not qualify for our programs.

Thanks to Budget Saving Mom for this info,

Now till December 5th you can donate $10 to St. Judes and [...]]]>

Thanks to Budget Saving Mom for this info,

Now till December 5th you can donate $10 to St. Judes and in return, The Melting Pot gives you a $20 gift card to spend on a later purchase of $50 or more. The gift cards are valid through December of next year.  These would make great Christmas gifts.  Even more importantly, you are donating to St. Jude’s.

The Melting Pot restaurants also offer additional support for St. Jude with the ongoing Fondue a Cure for Childhood Cancer signature chocolate fondue bars. For each $5 bar purchased, $1 is given to the hospital.  For more details about the St. Jude’s and The Melting Pot partnership, click here.

St. Jude’s is a wonderful children’s hospital who cares for children regardless of insurance or their ability to pay.  These donations will help to care for a child. They have made so many advances in medicine, I really feel like this is a great place to support.

Earlier this week I posted about a local way to help Ronald McDonald House Charities.  Below  are two more ideas that my readers passed along.  As many of you know this is a charity that is close to my heart, being that they helped my family while my son was out of state having all his heart [...]]]>

Earlier this week I posted about a local way to help Ronald McDonald House Charities.  Below  are two more ideas that my readers passed along.  As many of you know this is a charity that is close to my heart, being that they helped my family while my son was out of state having all his heart operations.

Here’s a “thrifty” way to support RMH and thousands of other charities. RMH Southern Cal is earning money every time supporters use their Yahoo search page (instead of google or other search engines). It’s free, uses Yahoo search and you can try it here http://www.freelanthropy.com/search/rmhcsc. This is for the socal chapter, but the service is available to everyone.

My local McDonalds also collects soda can tabs for RMH. I save mine up in a baggie and take them in a couple times a year.

We have been enjoying our garden for the last few months.  I love being able to pick  produce from my garden and feed my family a healthy, thrifty meal.  In an effort to [...]]]> Ok so the kids get tired of me ALWAYS taking their picture, they are looking a little grumpy but we did have a fun time!

We have been enjoying our garden for the last few months.  I love being able to pick  produce from my garden and feed my family a healthy, thrifty meal.  In an effort to try to teach my children to “love their neighbors” and find joy in giving, we have been sharing our extra veggies with our neighbors.  I have to admit I feel kind of silly knocking on their doors asking if they want some free veggies.  But everyone seems to enjoy the free food, and my kids think it is a blast.  I hope this will teach my children to look for others needs and learn to love to serve others.  Plus I would hate to see it go to waste.

What do you do with extras from your garden?

Hello,  so I have finally decided to order a paper subscription, I realized that I can benefit so much more if I have multiple coupons to be able to stock up on [...]]]> This is an email from one of my readers,

Hello,  so I have finally decided to order a paper subscription, I realized that I can benefit so much more if I have multiple coupons to be able to stock up on thrifty deals! I was just uncomfortable with wasting so many papers on Sunday, so I have decided to drop them off to a nursing home down the street. This might be a good topic of discussion, I am curious to see others creative ways other than just tossing them or recycling them?

I think this bring up a very good point that I would love to hear your feedback on.  Greg at the Idaho Press Tribune told me that it would be a great idea for the Boy scouts to put together a paper drive.  Where they would come pick the boxes of extra paper from all of us couponers.  Then the Boy Scouts would be able to take all the papers and turn them into the recycle centers and keep the profit for their scout troop.  It would be a great way to  give service to the community and to help them earn some money.  I love this idea!  Below is a post I did a few months ago on another way to help out with your papers.

If you get the ” A Thrifty Mom Paper deal ” and get multiple Sunday papers then you most likely have the same problem as I do.  Boxes of Paper,  they fill up fast.  I have not always recycled my papers, it takes extra time and is one more thing to add to my “to do” list.  But I always felt guilty about tossing them in the trash.  I use to take them to the Rite Aid parking lot, and toss them in the big recycle bins.

But then I found out from one of my readers Mary, that I can take them to the  Nampa recycling center and it will benefit the Ronald McDonald House in Boise. At the Caldwell United Metals, you can donate any used metal  and at the Nampa Western Recycling, you can donate not only metal but also newspaper, cardboard and white paper.  They  have accounts set up at both plants. All you have to do is tell the scale attendant the donation is for the Boise RMH.

You all know how I feel about the Ronald McDonald House, it is such a wonderful place.  Due to my sons health we have had to stay there in the past.  It is not easy to accept help from others, but greatly needed at that time in our lives.  It has been our goal to continue to give back as a way to say thank you.

So PLEASE do not toss  your papers, and other recyclable items in the trash….and help a child in need instead.  To read the post with other ways you can give back to RMH click here

Also:

Also read here to see that pet shelters need newspapers for cage liners

Thanks to Pamela for this info,

Guardian Soldiers Inc. is a non profit organization that sends care packages to our troops overseas. They would like to start collecting more of the items that soldiers really WANT and NEED. The military does not supply a lot of items the soldiers like to have.For example, sometimes soldiers are [...]]]>

Thanks to Pamela for this info,

Guardian Soldiers Inc. is a non profit organization that sends care packages to our troops overseas. They would like to start collecting more of the items that soldiers really WANT and NEED. The military does not supply a lot of items the soldiers like to have.

For example, sometimes soldiers are a long distance from a base which means no showers, so “Wet Ones” or any kind of body wipes are something they really like to have. 

Food wise, Sunflower Seeds and Jerky are often requested so they can really use a lot of those. You can CLICK HERE to view a list of many, many items wanted. 

You can also sign a soldier up for a care package on that page. While your there, sign up as a follower to show your support.

If you have coupons for FREE items you would like to donate, they do have a store that will honor them. They also want pens and such, well, with the “hot” bic coupons right now maybe some folks could send them some coupons in the mail so they can be on the look out for FREE after coupon deals!

The MOMS Club of Nampa and we are doing a service project for foster children and we were wondering if you could tell your readers about it. Project Backpack is to help children in the foster care system [...]]]> Jessica asked me to pass the word along about a local service project going on in Nampa, Idaho.

The MOMS Club of Nampa and we are doing a service project for foster children and we were wondering if you could tell your readers about it. Project Backpack is to help children in the foster care system have something to call their own. We will be assembling backpacks containing essential items for children taken from their home, who might otherwise have nothing of their own. Often times children are removed from their home with their belongings shoved in trash bags. Examples of things needed would be hygiene items, books, school supplies, a toy/stuffed animal, and even the backpack.  We will be collecting these items on August 11 at 10 am.  We will have a table set up at Lakeview park in Nampa.  We have otter pops for the children who bring items to donate.  If they have questions about this project we can be contacted at momsclubofnampa@live.com.

I got word from Kathy ( Karia’s mom) that they are now on a plane, headed for surgery thanks to the kindness of others! He will now have a chance to live life again!  He has 60% chance [...]]]> Update: In the last 24hrs they have had over $50,000 $70,000 $90,000 donated!

I got word from Kathy ( Karia’s mom) that they are now on a plane, headed for surgery thanks to the kindness of others! He will now have a chance to live life again!  He has 60% chance this will help him….lets pray it does!

If you are in Idaho I am sure you know about the Stockdale Family.  They are a local family that has 4 beautiful kids with major health issues, they were selected by Extreme Home Makeover and were built a beautiful home.  Since that time their Dad Ryan Stockdale has become very  ill.  He has cluster headaches and is in constant  uncontrollable pain.  He has had to quit work, is unable to play with is kids, or do anything for that matter. His insurance has denied him coverage for the deep brains surgery that he will need.  They needed $150,000 to pay for the surgery, they do not know how much longer Ryan’s body can endure this constant unbearable pain.  The Surgeon has agreed to wave his $60,000 in fees in an effort to save Ryan’s life.  But the family is now faced with the task of raising $80,000 dollars to give Ryan a chance at life.

I grew up with Karia and Ryan, they are a young family with the the odds stacked against them.  So what I am asking of you is to donate to help get Ryan the surgery he needs.  I have over 6,000 readers a day come to my site.  So if we all gave just $1 we could make a huge impact.  I have told you I will never charge for my site, I will never ask for your money to benefit myself.   But I asking you to help a family in need.

For more info and to donate http://www.ryanstockdale.org

My bloggy friends at Fabulessly Frugal are trying to raise funds to buy a local mom a Madsen Bike.  All they are asking for is your “junk” to sale at a yard sale to raise money.   I do not personally know this mom, but I do know she has had her share of struggles [...]]]>

My bloggy friends at Fabulessly Frugal are trying to raise funds to buy a local mom a Madsen Bike.  All they are asking for is your “junk” to sale at a yard sale to raise money.   I do not personally know this mom, but I do know she has had her share of struggles this past year.  She lost her twins, the pain no parent should be asked to endure.  Not that this bike will take that pain away, but it may put a smile on a face that has had many tears …for all the details and how you can help click here.