Through September 17, 2012, you can find your school (or add it to the list), register, and get all the votes you can every day.

The top 5 vote-getting schools will receive:

• 25,000 Box Tops for Education coupons
• $10,000 worth of Avery school supplies
• $1,000 worth of gift cards

The 25 runner-up schools will each receive:

• 10,000 Box Tops for Education coupons

10 random winners with more than 100 votes will receive:

• 5,000 Box Tops for Education coupons

Can you imagine your school getting that?!!  And let me tell ya, those box tops make a HUGE difference and can go a long way so I encourage you to save them and give them to your child’s school or donate them to a school who could use them.  They add up quickly and can help get the school cash. And please guys, enter up in the sweepstakes and get everyone to vote for your school!!

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*******HIGHLAND ISD doesn’t know it yet, but they are getting $1000 worth of school supplies on my behalf this week, courtesy of Avery.  I’m so excited to be able to help our kids get the supplies they need for the 2012-2013 year!  WOOOHOOO!!!  Here is what they are getting:

• 6 boxes of 12 1″ binders
• 12 1 1/2″ binders
• 24 tabs WO divider w/pocket
• 24 tab insertable divider with pockets
• 36 see-through sticky notes
• 144 3pk glue sticks
• 18 4pk hi-liters

In our school, that will go a LONG WAY!!   Thank you so much Avery!!!  And thank you for sending me a sampling of the items!  My kids are saving them for the next school year!

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Disclosure: I was sent a sampling of the school supplies in return of my time & efforts to create this post and share the promotion with you guys.  My school also receive $1000 worth of school supplies and I’m thankful that companies give back to school and allow some of bloggers to give back to our local community.  All opinions are my own and I appreciate Avery for doing this! 

I challenge you to protect your pets and by doing so, you’re helping them but also helping pets in need because for every pledge made, PetArmor will donate $1 to the ASPCA, up to $100,000.

From PetArmor:

As the first humane organization in North America, the ASPCA speaks for animals that can’t speak for themselves. Through the ASPCA, PetArmor is able to help more pets stay flea and tick free. PetArmor will donate products to treat animals recovered from ASPCA disaster relief and animal rescue efforts. Through this campaign, we can help raise awareness about how preventative flea and tick care products protect pets from the discomfort and potential diseases spread by fleas and ticks.

So what you say, gonna make the pledge?

Disclosure: I am an official Walmart Mom. Follow me and my fellow Walmart Moms as we share our experiences and ideas! Walmart has provided me with compensation and gift card in return for my time & efforts to create this post. My participation in this program is voluntary and my opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.

As I was adding items to my basket, all I could think about is what child would get them and wondered if they’d get anything else.  It puts things into perspective and makes you take a good look at what you have yourself, or at least it did for me anyways.   My husband often shares how he and his siblings would get like one toy or two and have to share.  I guess that’s not too bad unless there are 8 of you.   Anyways, I made sure to get something for every age group and for both boys, girls, and toys that both genders could play with since I wasn’t sure who would get what.

I didn’t take Truett with me shopping for the toys because well, he’s 4 and do I really need to explain?  I did, however, explain to him what was happening and why I was buying all those toys and what we were going to do with them.  He seem to understand and at one point, offered up his football and cars.  He totally got it and I loved that.

I bought some of the Top Toys that I saw in the Walmart toy catalog and tried to keep it under $10 per toy. I think I did a great job and didn’t sacrifice any cool items.  I got the Kung Zhu Hamsters that are hot right now, the Sing-a-ma-jigs from Mattel (they are so cute and I got to see them up close before they were out everywhere back when I was in NYC), and Play-doh (just to name a few).

Check out the video (Truett makes an appearance) and remember, there’s still time to grab an extra toy and donate to your local toy drive or even to a needy family in your area.

Disclosure: Compensation has been provided by Walmart for my time and efforts to shop and create this post. All opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.  As I said before, I ended up spending my own money because it felt right and I want to give when I can. Hope you do the same.

I chose to give the Tag Reading Systems to my boy’s school library, Highland ISD, and to my local hometown library, County-City Library of Nolan County.  When I called up Becky, the librarian, she was more than excited to receive these and was already spinning ideas around on how they would implement the systems into their library.

In order for my local library to get the entire book collection, I had to make a video with the librarian!  Becky, while a little shy, was more than happy to do this in order for the kids to get the entire book system!  And me?? Well, you know I don’t like to see myself like that but totally worth it for the kiddos!

LeapFrog’s goal with this program is to encourage reading and make it more fun so that the children want to learn.  I was able to handout the Tag and the Tag Junior Reading Systems and I know that your children will love them. Little man LOVES his!

Thank you Becky for letting me and LeapFrog into your library and the local community!  And thank you to LeapFrog for bringing such an awesome reading system to our kiddos!

Enjoy the video!

So here’s the deal…

I need your help! I am the chairperson for the fundraising committee at Sweetwater Christian School. This school is the ONLY full-time Christian-based day care that we have in Sweetwater. To make a long story short, two years ago, it almost closed due to funding. (It was an Episcopal school at the time and the church ran out of money). The community rallied and saved the school but we are running on a budget and are in the hole if we aren’t to raise money through fundraising. The teachers make NOTHING and work primarily for the love of God and those kids. They don’t even get insurance! Sweetwater’s kids and this community need you.

Here is where I need your help:
We are having a Silent Auction on December 4th. We are trying to raise items for the auction and cash donations. Can you help me, please? If you work for a company that can donate an item to our auction, can you please get that to me? If not, might you or your company feel inclined to give a cash donation towards our school? Anything would be awesome as we are truly on the brink of closing without this money.

Here’s the selling points:
1. We are a NON-profit organization so all donations are tax-deductible.
2. Every donation will receive a letter of recognition for tax purposes.
3. Every donation will be recognized in the local newspaper as well as the program from the event.

Thank you so much! I wouldn’t ask if we didn’t desperately need it.

As you can see, our local Christian school needs your help.  I know these are hard times for everyone but I’m hoping that some of you will step up to the plate and help them stay a-float.

If you are a person/company that simply wants to donate cash or you have something that you can put into the silent auction, please email me at lori at thecowboyshack dot com.  I will publicize you or your company and will add your link or banner in my sidebar should you choose to help.  Please tweet, email, blog, or call someone and pass along the information.  It will be greatly appreciated and you will be blessed in return;)

I always give to certain charities so when I got an email from my niece asking if I would sponsor her in a Math-a-thon, I couldn’t say no!  The money goes to St. Jude, who does wonderful things for people.  Just a little FYI for you:

• St. Jude treats 230 patients every day on an outpatient basis.
• We maintain 60 inpatient beds.
• St. Jude has about 4,900 patients in active status.
• During past five years, 83.7 percent of every dollar went to current or future needs.
• St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and more than 70 foreign countries.
• St. Jude Hospital’s daily operating costs: $1,146,616.
• In 1962, survival rate for ALL was 4 percent. Today, it’s 94 percent. Hodgkin disease is 90 percent; Medulloblastoma is 85 percent; Wilms tumor is 90 percent.
  Protocols have brought survival rates for childhood cancers from less than 20 percent to more than 70 percent.

Before I put the info that was in the email.  I would like to say this…..obviously it’s a great incentive for kids to complete math problems, but you would be helping families that can’t afford health insurance.  These families would have no where to turn if it wasn’t for places like St. Jude.  No family is turned down or asked to pay a cent. 

If you can find it in your hearts to donate $1, $5, or even $50, it would be a an awesome way to encourage my niece to complete all math problems, a great tax deduction, and such a blessing to those in need.  I hope you at least help me out by spreading the word! 

Now here’s the info with the link to donate and sponsor my niece in her math quest!

Hello! I am participating in the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Math-A-Thon at my school. Through Math-A-Thon, I will reinforce my basic math skills while raising money for St. Jude. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fund-raising organization.

That is why I am helping St. Jude. You can help me reach my goal by clicking the button below to make an on-line credit-card donation. If you don’t want do an on-line donation but prefer to use a check, please e-mail me back and let me know. I can make arrangements with you to obtain your donation. You can either sponsor me per problem, or you can make a one time donation

You can donate and sponsor her here.  An advanced thank you to all who donate and/or spread the word. If you’re dealing with those mortgage lenders, then don’t donate. Use that money to get out of debt!
I would really appreciate a stumble on this post to get the word out.