Helping Hearts, Blog of Anne Sanders

Usually on this Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, I put out a list of gifts that give, ones that you can buy that help a charity do its work. But this year, I decided that rather than point out what you can buy to help others, I’d like to point out a new tradition— Giving Tuesday . I will still put out my “gifts that give” list, but I felt it had to wait. During December 3, Giving Tuesday, individuals will start volunteer projects, make online donations and gather at dozens of events to celebrate the start of the holiday giving season by giving back to the causes they care about most. Want to know where some of these events are? Check out Giving Tuesday . The U.S. White House reports that more than 7000 partners across all 50 states are taking part. Why should you? Well, let’s think about it. What does the holiday season really mean? Is it just about having a good time with your family and friends? Is it about the gift of love that Jesus brought when he was born...

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...

Can you imagine waking up to nothing? No food, no clothes, no water, perhaps no family or friends. Where there was a house before, now nothing stands. Where there was a tree is emptiness.    This is what thousands of people are experiencing in the Philippines. The Red Cross estimates 10 million people across 40 provinces have been affected with as many as 600,000 people displaced . A total of 78,476 families (380,552 persons) are being served inside 1,028 evacuation centers in the Philippines according to the government’s official gazette following the supertyphoon that made landfall last Friday. Estimates are that 10,000 people are dead. The U.S. government has only pledged $100,000 and other kinds of support to the Philippines, but U.S. companies have pledged $20 million. You can see what companies are donating at this link . I recently began looking for an internship to do next semester as part of my master’s program. I contacted some local ...

I couldn’t get you a better list of people. They provide wishes for foster children, fresh fruits and vegetables in “food deserts” and schools for the unschooled.   They clean up rivers, build homes for disabled veterans, empower the poor through dance and help children who are fighting cancer, poverty and a lack of opportunity. They bring computers to those who can’t afford them and electricity to hospitals around the world. They are the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013. For their extraordinary efforts to change the world, each will receive $50,000 and be recognized at a globally broadcast event that airs December 1. One of the top 10 will receive an additional $250,000 for their cause. That person will be chosen by those who vote for their favorite hero at CNNHeroes.com . SO, read their stories, and then vote for the one whom you like the best. You can also give to their causes if you feel so inspired. It’s a great way to start, end, or fill the middle of y...

I’ve told you before about games you can play to raise money for charity , but now I have a game that you can watch others play to raise money for kids dealing with serious illnesses.  The game is called Desert Bus for Hope and is known unofficially as the worst video game ever. It comes from a never released CD called Penn & Teller’s Smoke and Mirrors. The driver of a listing, unreliable, virtual bus must go on an endless, eight-hour-long strip of highway between Tucson, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada. The game has no pause button and plays in real time so in order to win, you actually have to steer the bus for eight straight hours. You get one point for reaching Las Vegas and can turn around and go back for another point.  A waste of eight hours, right? Right, unless you are getting paid to play the game and that money goes to Child’s Play. Child’s Play is a charity that improves the lives of children undergoing treatment in the hospital with toys and gam...

I  made it! This is my 100 th blog! I want more than anything to thank you, my readers, for coming back and reading my blogs each week and for sharing them with others. I also want to remember some of my first and favorite blogs today, along with remembering that this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Saturday is Make a Difference Day. I’ll be volunteering at the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on Saturday along with my husband. I hope you have plans to make a difference somehow, too! Now for a walk down memory lane. Here’s a quote from my very first blog which was entitled Me, Myself, and Why: “When you see or hear about someone in need, it should pull on your heart. That’s the way God wants us to feel.  When we get too hard to feel for others, we’ve lost something very dear.” The blog of mine that has gotten the most reads was just before Memorial Day and is called Remember. After I go on about my plans for Memorial Day weekend and the cookout I’...

What gets you out of bed in the morning? Work? School? Or the fun of helping others? For about 450 high school students in Pensacola, Florida, it’s helping others that gets them out of bed early on a Saturday morning, no less. That’s how many Catholic High School students will participate in this year’s Make a Difference Day on October 26. Why do they do it? Twelfth grader Zack Wyant remembers his first Make a Difference Day. “I just took a second and thought, ‘Look at all these kids out here. It’s early. It’s cold. Look at these people willing to give up and sacrifice.’ It exemplifies how much we want to help others.” Fellow Catholic High School Senior Tiarra Blackshear said, “My favorite part of being in high school is Make a Difference Day. I get a lot out of helping students and other people. It’s really fun to see students come together and help different people in our community, no matter who they are.” Both have done a variety of things over the past few Make a D...