Energizer Light Up A Life Champion for Kids: The Shop #EnergizerCFK #CBias

For the second part of our Energizer Light Up A Life Champion for Kids Campaign we headed to our local WalMart store in Pearl City in search of items for our Survival Kit. Since the older girls were at school it was just Kaila and I on this mission.

Some of the things that we were looking for were health items like toothbrushes, OTC medicines, hand wipes, and band-aids. We also added in some bottled water and snacks which we know that kids would love. Socks were a good choice for those colder nights (right, Mom?) as well as sunscreen for sunny days.

And of course, Energizer flashlights and rechargeable batteries to help the kids find their way during those dark nights.

Thanks to WalMart we were able to find everything on our list. And since the prices were very reasonable we were able to get a lot of items for our money.

The downside to our shopping experience is that the Pearl City WalMart is currently reorganizing their layout so things were not where they usually are. This means it took us a little longer than anticipated to complete our mission. However, I’m sure that once we get used to the new floor plan we’ll be going through the store in no time at all.

As previously mentioned, our recipient is Child & Family Service located about 5 minutes from my home. We chose this charitable organization because (1) they help families in my community, (2) is Hawaii’s most comprehensive, private human service organization with programs on all islands, and (3) helps individuals from the tiniest babies to our treasured kupuna (elders).

Since they do not accept email correspondences regarding donations we contacted them via a phone call to arrange a time to drop off our Survival Kit. I explained to them about our charitable mission and they were very surprised to hear that bloggers are given opportunities like these. They were grateful for any donation they could get and we planned to drop everything off the next day.

Due to security concerns, we thought it would be better not to photograph any part of the shelter or their residents but I can say that they were very happy to receive our care package. It really wasn’t much on our part but it made us feel so wonderful to know that these items made a child’s day. I think we got more out of this mission than the recipients and we’re so grateful for the opportunity.

Check out the rest of our shopping experience on Google+!

Connect with Energizer Light Up A Life Champion For Kids Campaign:

• Champions4Kids on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/search/champions4kids
• Energizer on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/EnergizerBunny
• Champions for Kids on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/ChampionsForKids
• Energizer on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EnergizerBunny

“This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias”
#EnergizerCFK, #CBias, #ChampionsForKids.

Energizer Light Up A Life Champions for Kids Campaign

In the back of our minds we all know that there are many children right in our own communities that need help – whether they’re homeless, victims of abuse, or just need a helping hand. And yes, we feel bad for their unfortunate circumstances and wish they had a better life but how many of us actually do something about it? I know I’m guilty of getting caught up in my every day responsibilities which end up putting my good intentions on the back burner. That’s why I’m so thankful for companies like Energizer and their Light Up a Life Champions for Kids Campaign which reminds us that we need to do something to help. And if we all join together and do just a little on our own individual parts maybe we can make a huge combined difference for kids everywhere!

Here’s how it works:

Just stop by your local store (we’re going to WalMart) and purchase small items that will make a difference in a child’s every day life. It doesn’t have to be anything big or lavish but the little things that we sometimes take for granted. Remember, some of these kids don’t have anything to call their own. Even if you look around your home you could probably find things that your kids are not using anymore and donate them to a local children’s charity organization.

Living in Hawaii, we don’t experience the kind of Winter weather that the majority of the other states get but for local homeless children even temperatures in the upper 60′s is pretty cold. That’s why we’ve decided to fill our Survival Kits with useful items like – toothbrushes, bandages, hand wipes, flashlight, batteries, bottled water, socks, and small snacks.  We even decided to include coloring books and crayons since all kids need to have a little fun, t00, right?

The recipient of our Survival Kit is Child & Family Service located about 5 minutes from my home. We chose this charitable organization because (1) they help families in my community, (2) is Hawaii’s most comprehensive, private human service organization with programs on all islands, and (3) helps individuals from the tiniest babies to our treasured k?puna (elders).

Photo courtesy of Child & Family Service

So what do you think? Want to help make a difference in the lives of needy children in your community? Stop by Champions for Kids for more information and do something about all those good intentions you’ve been meaning to do!

Stay tuned for The Shopportunity: Putting Together Our Survival Kit

Connect with Energizer and Champions for Kids:

• Champions For Kids Website:  http://championsforkids.org/simple/
• Energizer’s Website:  http://www.energizer.com/Pages/default.aspx
• Energizer’s Positive Energy Website:  http://www.nowthatspositivenergy.com/
• Champions4Kids on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/search/champions4kids
• Energizer on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/EnergizerBunny
• Champions for Kids on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/ChampionsForKids
• Energizer on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EnergizerBunny

“This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #EnergizerCFK #CBias”

A Pampers Miracle in Mililani

For most of us, June 7th was just another day. However, to Brian & Channing June 7th is a day they’ll never forget. While Channing and her sister-in-law peacefully slept a fire broke out apparently in the kitchen and engulfed their home in a matter of minutes. And if that’s not bad enough, Channing was 6 months pregnant at the time and her husband had just left the week before to serve in Iraq. The home was completely destroyed and the couple lost everything.

It was also during this time that I was honored by Pampers to donate $1000 worth of products to someone or an organization that deserved to have a little miracle in their lives. Once I heard about Brian & Channing’s story on the news I knew I had to get in touch with them. Thanks to the help from our local Red Cross, I was able to contact Channing, meet up with her, and present her with Pampers and other products in anticipation of her new arrival.

Here is her story in her own words . . .

My name is Channing and my husband is Brian. We’re expecting our first child on Sept. 10th, 2011. As becoming new parents we are both very excited and can’t wait to welcome our son into the world. I remember the morning I found out I was pregnant; I was anxiously waiting those few moments for the test results. Looking down I remember seeing two vertical lines and thinking what does that mean? I had thrown out the directions and the box before taking the test, so I hurried to the computer to look up what two lines meant. Everything I saw said positive, congratulations, or pregnant! I was in shock; I couldn’t believe the results, so I took 5 more tests; all positives! That day was such a huge blessing to my husband and I.

Since then, each day  we’ve had new experiences as preparing for our son. As my due date is vastly approaching we thought we had pretty much everything ready to go for the baby. His nursery was all done, lots of clothes, had many diapers, wipes, toys, and much more. However, on June 7th, 2011 our family suffered a great loss of our house & all belongings. We had a large house fire with the result of a total loss. Prior to this my husband had deployed to Afghanistan; so you can imagine my emotions when this had happened. That night was one of the scariest times of my life.

My sister-in-law was staying with me at the time; we were both sleeping & awoke to the smell of smoke. Luckily we were able to get out of house and down the street where neighbors from all around were. I remember people yelling, running around, and just trying to help the best they could. I remember crying and praying it was just a bad dream, but it wasn’t.  When I was able to speak with my husband he kept telling me that everything was material and could be replaced and to just be thankful that my sister-in-law, myself, and baby were safe.

Over the last month and a half; my husband was allowed to return home to assist me and we have been trying to piece everything back together day by day. It has been difficult; but with the support, generosity, and kindness of others we continue to slowly regain what was lost. Many have donated great items for us and for our child, for that we are truly grateful and so very blessed. We would like to give a huge thank you to Pampers for all their wonderful donations and support. They have provided many baby items we had lost such as; diapers, wipes, toys, and so much more. Everyone has been so wonderful with assisting us during this time of need. Again; just a huge thank you to Pampers and everyone who has donated to our family. The support and kindness given from everyone around has touched our hearts in a way that cannot be explained. It’s so amazing to see the community; people we have never met, come together in the way they have to help us. We appreciate everyone and everything so much. God bless!

Thank you to Pampers for this amazing donation. It’s because of people like you that this couple (and myself) are reminded that there is so much good in this world.

How you can make a difference
Consumers can easily participate in the Miracles Missions programs, and support little miracles across the country, by logging on to Pampers Facebook page. Pampers is also asking consumers to pay it forward by participating in the first Little Miracle Mission- to congratulate and offer support to an expectant mother with a gift or surprise gesture. Pampers will issue different missions throughout the entire year to celebrate all aspects of parenthood, and with the help of parents, family and friends, they hope to touch the lives of every baby born in the next year.

ZhuZhu Pets for Everyone!

I was recently honored with the task of donating 104 ZhuZhu Pets to a local charity of my choice courtesy of Cepia, LLC – the makers of ZhuZhu Pets and Kung Zhu. This was all a part of their Random Acts of Zhu which was established last holiday season as a way to provide toys to children in need.

My charity was the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children.

As the only full-service pediatric specialty care hospital in Hawai‘i, Kapiolani Medical Center treats a wide range of patients varying in age from birth to 21-years-old. During the holidays, they set-up their very own Santa’s Workshop where parents of these children can come by and select an item that they think their child would love to receive. Then on Christmas morning, Santa himself goes room to room delivering all these wonderful gifts to some very happy children.

Their goal is to have every single child receive a gift on Christmas morning.

Christmas is a magical time for everyone especially children and having to spend it in a hospital bed is less than ideal. Through the generous donations of perfect strangers, hopefully they will be able to forget about their illnesses for just a little while and experience Christmas like all children should.

This post was written for the generous people at Cepia, LLC who provided the complimentary ZhuZhu Pets for donation!