Shaws Community Rewards Program

As part of our New Year inititive, we have been looking for ways to raise money without soliciting direct donations. They are always greatly appreciated, but with the economy still so tentative, we've looked to large company's exisiting charity programs to partially support us.

Recently, we announced how you can earn money for SSV simply by downloading the Goodsearch and Goodshop toolbar to your computer and selecting Share Southern Vermont as your charity of choice. The estimated numbers are astounding.

Today we received confirmation of another earning opportunity.

If you live in the Northeast and shop at Shaws or Star Market, please consider linking your store rewards card to Share Southern Vermont's Community Rewards ID # 49001024535.

Simply go to www.shaws.com/communityrewards and follow the linking directions. 1% of any purchases you make on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday will be donated quarterly to Share Southern Vermont!

Thanks in advance for taking the time to link your card! Feel free to forward this link with our rewards number to any of your friends, family or co-workers.

We can make a difference! Together, one cart at a time, we can raise much needed funds for Share Southern Vermont so no family has to walk their grieving road alone.

Happy Birthday SSV!

A year ago today a large envelope arrived in the mail. As I slid out the thick crested paper a tear fell from my cheek. We did it!

I read, "The office of the Secretary of State heareby grants a Certificate of Incorporation to SHARE SOUTHERN VERMONT, INC. a Vermont domestic nonprofit corporation, December 22nd, 2008."

It would be a few more months and a ton of paper work later before the IRS 501 c 3 certificate arrived, but it did.

I wrote the by-laws tentatively, wording things so that if no-one else found this cause worth supporting, I could be the solitary board director for the first year. I needent have worried.

Over the course of the last year four other beautiful, talented, motivated, and selfless greiving mothers have found places on the board. Each fills a need the others cannot. Their grief journies span from 1 year to 24 years.

We are strong. Together we have accomplished more in the last 24 months than even I dared to imagine and big doors are opening for us in the new year!

Tonight we, the five board members of Share Southern Vermont, will sit around a table in a fancy resturant. We will reminise. We will share stories never told. We will pat each other on the back, just a little, knowing lives have been changed. We will raise our glasses high in memory of the babies who brought us together, hoping they are looking down on us, smiling.

Raising my glass will be like blowing out a candle for me, as I doubt there will be cake. I share my wish with you.

I wish that in 2010 every hurting family in southern Vermont learn of SSV and uses our services. I wish that by the end of the year on-site hospital grief care is happening, creating good grief practices from the very beginning of familiy's journies. I wish that every rainbow baby in our group will be born, alive and screaming cries of joy into their parent's hearts.

This is my wish.

Thanks for a great first year! If you would like to leave us a birthday wish...please do! Perhaps it will come true...

DECEMBER'S SUPPORT MEETING POSTPONED

DUE TO THE STORM AND THE DISTANCES MANY DRIVE TO SIT WITH US DECEMBER'S SUPPORT MEETING IS POSTPONED.

MAKE UP DATE IS NEXT WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16TH, 7PM COMMUNITY ROOM AT THE WHITING LIBRARY IN CHESTER VERMONT.

IF YOU NEED SUPPORT IMMEDIATELY, PLEASE CALL.

IF YOU WERE PICKING UP ANGEL ORNAMENTS AND WANT THEM MAILED, EMAIL ME.

IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT NEXT WEEK, AND WANT SOMEONE TO CHECK IN WITH YOU BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS, EMAIL US.

STAY SAFE...

Show and Tell: What Do Technolgy and Philanthropy Have In Common?

Besides ending with the same sound? GoodSearch apparently.

A board member alerted me to this awesome internet based service.

GoodSearch and GoodShop are charity funding sites fueled by yahoo that literally shake the penny tree all year long for worthy causes. And all we have to do is, what we already do.

Hmmm, sounds too good to be true? That's what I thought at first too. Then, I read this.

http://www.goodsearch.com/press.aspx

New York Times, Oprah Magazine? Must be the real deal!

So, it's official! Share Southern Vermont is in the GoodSearch and GoodShop database! If you would like to support us all year long just for searching and shopping online, click here to add the toolbar to your browser. or cut and past the link (http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/share-southern-vermont)

It's that easy and the best part is that people who have wanted to support us but live too far away to attend any functions, can do this from the comfort of their own home, on their laptop, as they search for the lastest ball game scores!

Funny, the first thing I noticed when I clicked over to research them was their slogan, You Search - We Give.

Sounds an awful lot like ours, so I'll say it yet again. Because You Give, We Share!

Don't forget to check out what everyone else is Showing and Telling!