Helping Hearts, Blog of Anne Sanders

There is one organization that I’ve never given to that I greatly admire and this may be the month to do it. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital takes the end of the year to commemorate Thanks and Giving with the help of partners like Domino’s Pizza, the Melting Pot, Dollar General, CVS, GameStop and more. In this their tenth year of the Thanks and Giving ® campaign, it may be my time to give. My son certainly won’t mind since Domino’s is his favorite pizza. Domino's is matching dollar-for-dollar all customer contributions up to a total of $250,000 and has committed to giving St. Jude’s $10 million by 2015. It’s well on its way, having raised more than $3.6 million last year. It’s got two St. Jude Meal Deal bundles that include a buck donation to St. Jude this year, one for $19.99 and another for $13.98. There’s a place for me to eat and help St. Jude’s, too. The Melting Pot fondue restaurants are currently offering a $20 off deal to diners who make a donation to St. J...

Sometimes we all need a reminder. I’m the Volunteer and Charity Guru, but the other day my husband reminded me of what charity is all about. He and I love Tropical Smoothie, which is a smoothie, salad and sandwich place with lots of veggies and fruits. The great thing about Tropical Smoothie is that everything tastes delicious so you feel good about eating your fruits and veggies. So when my husband came home with a bunch of coupons for free smoothies and sandwiches, I was excited. I took some for myself and left the rest for him. Then he told me a couple days later that he went to Tropical Smoothie and got a smoothie, but he didn’t have his coupons. I said, “Well, then what’s the point of having them?” So, he let me know. He told me that he paid $10 for the coupons because it goes to Camp Sunshine. Tropical Smoothie helps raise funds for Camp Sunshine so kids with serious illnesses and their families can take a break at a beautiful camp in Maine for free. Tr...