12 Days of Giving: Pile of Smiles

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post with The Motherhood. All opinions are mine alone.

It's more important to give than to receive. That's my holiday mantra so I am thrilled to participate in GoodWorld's 12 days of giving campaign! Honestly, nothing is more important to me than a happy, healthy child but unfortunately not every child is so lucky. I am blessed to have three healthy children and I make it my mission to give back as much as I can. I was asked to choose a nonprofit from GoodWorld's participating non-profits and the one that really spoke out to me was: Pile of Smile!

Pile of Smile is non-profit that uses art to raise funds to grand wishes for kids with cancer. I thought this was a very unique concept. As a family that supports the arts and channeling our children's creativity, this concept spoke to us. Through Pile of Smile, you can donate money, art supplies, purchase activity books, art pieces created by your children or volunteer your time to help children.

Once I signed up, I put my kids to work. We held a family painting session over the weekend. We pulled out canvases, paints and put our imaginations into overdrive!

We each painted a piece and collectively decided that JC's was the best so we will be submitting this to Pile of Smile, along with a monetary donation! Every little bit helps!

Now it's your turn! Check out Goodworld's list of participating nonprofits today! Participate in their 12 Days of Giving campaign (December 12-23) and help spread the word! 

About GoodWorld:

GoodWorld was launched in 2014 as a platform to enable seamless donations on social media 
and encourage viral giving. Their #donate technology makes giving to charity as simple as writing 
a comment or tweet.

As the pioneer of hashtag donations, GoodWorld allows social media users to directly contribute 
to the causes that they care about the most—making giving interactive, engaging and social.

By typing “#donate” in the comment block of a GoodWorld partner charity’s Facebook page or 
by tweeting “#donate” at a charity, social media users trigger an immediate donation that is 
shared with their entire network.

It is a one-time sign up to be able to instantly #donate to any of GoodWorld’s 1,300 partner 
charities with just a comment, including the United Way, Save the Children, Humane Society, 
Greenpeace and the UN Foundation just to name a few.

Here’s a video overview of how #donate works.

GoodWorld is giving away $1 million to their partner nonprofits this December as part of the 
Million Dollar Challenge. Anyone that #donates is considered a Social Giving Superhero, and will 
appear on the Wall of Fame.

Teaching Children To Give Back This Holiday Season

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GiveHappiness #CollectiveBias

The holidays are here which means our busy season has started. Between school, work, extra-curriculars, performances, gatherings and holiday parties, we are busy, busy, busy. One thing we are never too busy for is charity. The holidays are the best time of year for giving back to our communities. I take every opportunity to teach my children how to give back. The holiday season is not about how much you receive, it's about how much you give back to others! I started teaching my children how to give back since they were toddlers and now giving back to our community has become holiday tradition!

1. Participate in donation drives. Donation drives have popped up all over. Whether its food cans for our local food banks or toys for children, make sure you donate. I take my kids to the store to purchase canned items and toys. They pick everything out and then take them to school where there are collection bins. 

2. Donate used toys and clothing. Every year, twice a year actually, we go through all our toys and clothes and donate things we have outgrown. I know many families already do this and honestly, it's the easiest way to help. Kids outgrow toys and clothes all year long. We just gather it into boxes and donate to local churches. 

3. Volunteer to pack meals. My family and I wake up early on Thanksgiving morning and help pack meals for the homeless. This is an activity that will not cost you a penny, just a couple hours of your time. The whole family can help too. 

4. Eat Dinner! This weekend I found a new way to help, just by eating dinner. I found out that for every prepared meal and Coca-Cola beverage purchased from the Walmart deli in November and December, meals will be provided to families in need through the Salvation Army. We headed out to Walmart and purchased a rotisserie chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, a five cheese pizza and a 2-liter Coca-Cola. 

Everything was already prepared, all I had to do was bake the pizza which took about 15 minutes. Dinner in 15 minutes? Sounds AMAZING to this busy mamma!

Want to go a step further to help families in need? Use the hashtag #GiveHappiness to share a picture of your own family enjoying Coca-Cola and a prepared meal from Walmart Deli and you will be spreading awareness about the program and inspiring others in need! 

Make sure to check out all the yummy food available at your local Walmart deli. In a rush for dinner? Pick up a prepared meal and a Coca-Cola and you are set!!

How do you teach your children to give back during the holiday season? We also participate in fun runs and shoebox packing. The kids really enjoy it all!

Share a Coke With Everyone + (Free Printable Tags)

Disclosure/; This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ShareItForward #CollectiveBias

Do you ever do little random acts of kindness? I like to make it a habit for my kids to pay it forward. If I buy them a pack of pencils for school, I ask them to take two and share the rest with their classmates. I take baked goods to my job once a week for my co-workers to enjoy a little something. I love to share it forward and I love the element of surprise!

When I went grocery shopping the other day, I noticed that there was a 32-can pack of Coca-Cola. Right away, I knew I could do something cute with all these Coke cans. I could share a Coke with everyone (since there were so many!) By the way, I absolutely love the nicknames on the Coke cans. They are so fun!!

I asked Adrian to make a list of people that we could Share a Coke with.  On the list were teachers at his school and his soccer coach. Then I added a couple of my friends and co-workers to the list. I sat at my computer and created some cute printable "I'm SODA-lighted" tags for the cans. I also made sure to put the cans in the fridge. There's nothing like an ice-cold Coke. YUM!!

Click here to download COACH tags!

I printed and cut out tags and tied them to the can with some bakers twine and a straw. Simple right? We took them with us to the soccer fields on Saturday and passed them out to the all the coaches after the games. 

I also created tags for my friends. I took some and passed them out at work to my co-workers. They were pleasantly surprised! 

Click here to download FRIEND tags!

I know Teacher Appreciation week just passed but I also made sure to include teachers in my tags. Teachers work so hard with our children and they deserve little surprises throughout the year. 

Click here to download TEACHER tags! 

I know I could have just passed out cold Coke cans but I wanted to add that special touch. The printables only took me a few minutes to create and I think it makes gifting more personal. All you need to do is download, print the tags out on cardstock and attach to your cans. It's so simple yet a great way to surprise someone with a treat!

The 32-can packs are available at Sam's Club. There will be a demo coming to all Sam's Club locations on May 17th between 11 am and 4pm. Coca-Cola will be sharing a Coke with you at the demo!! Full cans of Coke, Diet Coke and Coke Zero will be available but only in limited quantities so get to Sam's Club quickly to pick up your Coke!

Be sure to LIKE/Follow the following social channels for Coca-Cola products:

Sam's Club on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter!

Coca-Cola Classic on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Vine

Diet Coke on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Vine

Coke Zero on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vine

How to do share it forward? Who would you Share a Coke with?

Style Saturday: Rock The Pink!

It's October and that means it's time to think PINK! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it's time to rock pink everything to show our support for all the women battling or that have battled this terrible disease. Breast cancer is still claiming lives of millions of women and we need to keep fighting to find that elusive cure.  Today I've rounded up 16 products that will add pink to your life and help the cause. The brands behind these products donate the proceeds of sales of these items to a variety of BCA charities and research teams. So please shop, rock the pink and help the cause!

1. Essie 2014 Breast Cancer Awareness Mini Cube You can always count on Essie to be awesome and this mini cube of polishes is perfect. It has multiple shades of pink and since they come in mini bottles, you won't feel like you are wasting polish. $17.00

2. Pink Honey perfume by Marc Jacobs This limited edition 17 oz Eau de Parfum smells delicious and comes in an adorable bottle. Even if you don't like to wear the color pink, you can purchase this yummy scent and still support the cause! $76.00

3. Sephora Together in Pink Hair Ties  These hair ties are fantastic. You can pull back your hair into a ponytail and not worry about tie marks in your hair after. They also come in fun pink colors that you can always share with your daughter! $6.00

4. Sonia Kashuk® Proudly Pink 5 piece Brush Set  This 5 piece brush set was created by a survivor, Ms. Kashuk herself and is available at Target. $15.99

5. Clinique Pink With a Purpose Set  This is a super fun pink lipstick and cosmetic bag rolled out by Clinique just for the month of October and to support BCA. $16.00

6. Women's Asics Breast Cancer Awareness Run Briefs These are perfect for all the marathon runners out there running to help support the cause. I love the camo print. Makes me feel strong and tough as I run.  $22.00 and qualifies for Free Shipping from Finish Line.

7. Forever 21 Breast Cancer Awareness Bangle Set This set is perfect to add a touch of pink to your look and you really can't beat the price! $5.80

8. Kaleidoscope of Hope Scarf  Every year the Warriors In Pink project designs a new scarf for BCA. I love this one with all the bright and bold colors, perfect for fall! $34.00 and $24.35 goes to donation!

9. Hope Fight Cure Tee I love this Adidas shirt. It's perfect for just hanging out, workouts or even under a blazer for work! $25.00

10. Pink Is The New Black Tee This tee is perfect for me. I love tanks (since it's so hot) and wear them all the time. This one is from the Kohl's Cares® Tek Gear® line and is only $5.00.

11. Nest Fragrances Passion candle This candle smells heavenly and shows that you don't even have to wear pink to support. $28.00

12. Bobbi Brown Pretty Pink Ribbon Lip Gloss Collection I am a HUGE Bobbi Brown fan. To me, this is the best makeup, nice natural colors and great wear. This set brings 4 amazing lip glosses. $60.00

13. Breast Cancer Awareness Reusable Tote Personally, I see no reason not to get this. This tote is available at Payless Shoe Source, you can use it to carry groceries and costs $1.99. Oh wait and of that $1.99, Payless donates $1.00. It's a win-win for all!!

14. Skechers Go Walk Strong Women Shoes I love slip ons. They look a little dressier but are as comfortable as sneakers. I also love the gray, matches with almost everything in my closet!

15. Give Hope Butterfly Bracelet This bracelet is adorable. I love the buttefly. I really want this. It's avaialble at White House  Black Market for $20.00

16. No One Fights Alone Wristband  This wristband sums up the purpose of this post. No one fights alone, we are all in this together! $2.00

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE share this post on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, with friends, family, co-workers, anyone! Let's come together and support the cause!

Want to make a donation? Feel free to check out these organizations:

Susan G. Komen Foundation

Breast Cancer Research Foundation

American Cancer Society

Pink Ribbon 

Warriors in Pink