Chatbug Karen

A friend asked for help making pillow case style dresses to donate to her church group. Her church group will be taking them to Africa! I hope the little girls like these two that I made.

The theme for today’s Heads or Tails is Cause.

A cause that is dear to my heart is the funding for researching a cure for cancer, particularly, Breast Cancer.
Another wonderful organization is Women for Women International.

The Carried Away Team, of which I am a member, (a blogging community of makers of handmade bags and purses), is supporting Women for Women International. This organization supports women in war-torn regions with financial and emotional aid, job-skills training, rights education and small business assistance so they can rebuild their lives.

Carried Away is holding a giveaway called Change Purses for Change. It is the hope of the team, to raise awareness for this great cause. Check it out and enter the giveaway.

Take a look at the beautiful purses you have a chance to win:

For more Heads or Tails participants, go to the link by clicking on the picture of the coffee mug.

It seemed like we spent most of our day at church today. After the regular service, we ate potluck in honor of a friend. She is our church’s janitor and, after 28 years, she is retiring. I got caught up with baby announcements, divorces and engagements! We need to have more potluck dinners so I can keep up with everyone.

Tonight we went to our church’s reception hall and did a little dancing! Well, we danced one dance. Our church hosted a performance by a jazz quartet in order to raise money for our local youth. It was fun and of course we got to eat again.

So, what did everyone receive for Christmas this year? Did any of you receive a Wii Fit? I sold mine. I didn’t want to feel that dread every day when I saw the box sitting there unused. I admit it. I am an exercise drop out.

I wonder what the most popular gift was this year. Was it perfume or replica watches? Most families give practical gifts like pajamas and socks. Dads receive ties and moms receive earrings. Is that how it is at your house? What was the most popular gift for toddlers and preschool aged children? Not having any that age, I feel out of the loop.

I know of families who don’t exchange gifts at all. They donate money to a charity or they buy gifts for a family and make their Christmas brighter. So many people barely have money for food and utilities. It is nice that their lives are made better if only for a moment.

Tomorrow begins a new week. I hope to get my Christmas decorations put away.

Some people just know what to do. They know how what to do with huge quantities of food. They make contacts and help the needy. They know what to do with old eye glasses. The Lion’s Club gets them to the right people so that people who cannot afford glasses can utilize them. That brings me to our old useless cell phones. What do we do with our old phones when we update? There has to be a valuable way to use these little packages of technology. You wanted that new model but what do you do with your old phone?

Flipswap is an online service that gives you an instant estimate of the value of your old phones. You can also donate your cell phone to women’s shelters and women’s groups to give to battered women/at-risk women so they can call 911 in case of emergency. Check with your local police department. Check out www.phonesforgood.com. Up to $50.00 goes to your favorite charity from each sale. AT&T has donated more than $500,000 worth of prepaid phone cards to Cell Phones for Soldiers and is now offering more than 2,000 company-owned wireless store locations across the country as drop-off sites to help recycle used cell phones for the program, through July 2009.

Every year, taxpayers search for ways to reduce the amount of income tax they are required to pay. One of the easiest ways is to make donations to worthwhile charities. One of the best I have come across is Carangel.com. This non-profit agency has been accepting a car donation as a way to fund their video production project. This project makes videos that help teach kids how to make better decisions concerning their lives and the obstacles they may face. They have given away over 2.4 million videos that have made an impact on our kids and teens. Please, do your part to fund this wonderful organization.

The following is an example of the type of video your donation helps to fund: