helping aarp fight isolation

While taking care of business on the AARP website, I noticed a new use for some of my Reward Points.

The AARP Foundation is now collecting those points to raise awareness of feelings of isolation among seniors.

Connect2Affect is their new fundraising platform to end social isolation by providing information, resources, and strategies to promote social engagement.

My 4000 points will be translated into money for this new fundraising campaign.

Meanwhile, I'll continue with my efforts as an AARP volunteer to encourage others to attend the Movies For Grownups films.

So good to be around like-minded people!

helping treat two little girl scouts, again

Happy Halloween, Miyah and Chloe!

This time, I've used each girl's fundraising page to purchase a Christmas gift for the other!

For Miyah's campaign, this second purchase is for a year's subscription of the Ranger Rick magazine for her sister, rather than for a cousin.

For Chloe's campaign, this holiday purchase covers a year's subscription of the Zoobooks magazine for her older sister, instead of for a cousin.

Honestly, the cost is more than I normally budget for such gifts, but two thoughts convinced me to do so.

First, Miyah needs encouragement with her reading, as she has dyslexia, and the magazine stories about animals will hopefully help.

Second, Chloe has been doing so well with reading that she has been tagged to go into a gifted program this year, so her magazine will keep her interested and increase her vocabulary.

I guess I should also include my desire to help raise funds for their Girl Scout troupe, but I've already done that, twice.

(smile!)

I'm so glad my first niece is able to provide that social outlet for them!

I never had the opportunity to be in the Girl Scouts, nor did my brothers have the chance to be in the Boy Scouts.

It costs money for those uniforms, and it costs the parent's time, and, as a single parent, Mama simply couldn't afford it on either count.

Here's to those two great-nieces, and their bright futures!

helping miyah's girl scout troupe, too

Miyah, like her sister Chloe, is being tasked with selling a variety of merchandise, with the company having set a goal of $500 of goods per girl.

Seriously.

Like her sister, she will attain a special badge for her uniform if she attains that lofty goal before the end of this month.

Miyah is 9 years old. 

I think the most likely outcome is they will each receive a badge for participation in this Girl Scout fundraiser campaign.

As her Great-Aunt, I'll certainly do my part.

I've just ordered two magazine subscriptions for her cousin, Leila.

Leila and Alyssa are twins, by the way, but Leila is definitely ready to be taken as her own person and not a copy of her sister.

She had voiced that at a recent birthday party.

She is ready to have her own birthday party, not a shared event with her twin sister, so I saw a need to make her gifts distinctively different. 

Again, I chose two magazines which will serve her well, in lieu of a mother. 

"Highlights brainPlay" will be her birthday gift, as she will be 12 at the end of this month; it's full of various puzzles as well as articles which I hope will spark a renewed interest in reading.

"Daily Word" will be her Christmas gift this year, one which she will continue to enjoy throughout next year, giving her guidance in dealing with life's problems and hopefully some better coping skills.

I like that the company selling those magazines allowed me to create gift messages to present to her, as the subscriptions will likely not begin until late December.

I do hope those two will serve Leila well, and that others with Miyah's page link will help her  attain her goal for her Girl Scouts troupe. 

helping chloe's girl scout troupe

My two favorite Girl Scouts are trying to raise money for their troupe. 

Chloe, who just turned 8 years old, is being tasked with selling a variety of merchandise, with the company having set a goal of $500 of goods per girl.

Seriously.

If she manages to do so before the start of next month, she will attain a special badge for her uniform.

Given the downturn in the economy, I'll honestly be amazed if any of the girls in her troupe get that reward.

However, they will all receive a badge for participation in this campaign.

As her Great-Aunt, I'll do my part.

I've just ordered two magazine subscriptions for her cousin, Alyssa.

I chose two which will serve her well, in lieu of a mother. 

"Girls Life" will be her birthday gift, as she will be 12 at the end of this month; it's written for 11-15 year old girls, with study tips as well as stylish aids.

"The Food Network" will be her Christmas gift this year, one which she will continue to enjoy throughout next year, giving her guided experience in and around a kitchen, rather than relying on ready-made meals.

The company allowed me to create gift messages to present to her, as the subscriptions will likely not begin until late December.

I do hope they will serve Alyssa well, and that others will help Chloe attain her goal for her Girl Scouts troupe.

3 kiva transactions in 1 day

That had not been my plan, but Kiva made me a deal I could not refuse.

They said if I donated $25 to their foundation, they would give me $50 to make loans at my leisure over the next two weeks.

So, I went on the site to check to see what loans might be of interest.

After all, my stepmom's birthday was yesterday and I like to chose a loan in her honor every year.

Plus, I had an added impetus: thanks to repayments from others I'd loaned to, I had $24.36 in credit on Kiva.

Once on the site, I found not one loan, but two, that were of interest!

My mind was made up at that point.

I added sixty-four cents to bring the total gift to Kiva to $25 to assist in their philanthropic endeavors.

Almost immediately they put the $50 credit into my account!!!

Well, alrighty then!

On to the loan in honor of Bonnie's bday 78!

That $25 of credit went toward Claudette's loan for her water distribution company in Bujumbura, Burundi, a tiny landlocked country in Africa.

She had asked for $35,000 with which to set up franchises of Jibu Burundi, an organization that has been improving access to safe and affordable drinking water in Burundi since its launch in 2020.

She already had lenders who had donated more than $25,000 toward the loan, with several Nerdfighters, so I was glad to be part of that total.

(smile!)

The other $25 of credit was donated in honor of my youngest brother's upcoming birthday.

As I've done for his previous birthday, I found a loan that benefited a larger community with light in the darkness.

This time, the loan is to Izili Bénin and her husband in Cotonou, Benin, a long, thin country near a river in Africa.

Their ask is for a loan of $100,000 to provide clean, affordable solar energy to power 1,920 households in Benin.
They arrange for homeowners to make payments over time, with ownership transferring to the household after the payments are done.

That means that in a few years' time, the household will pay nothing for their electrical needs.

That's amazing!!!

Nerdfighters are backing their Kiva loan, too.

I'm so glad to be part of that group!

(smile!)

Ever since I joined them, I've made a difference in the lives of so many!

On paper, I've contributed to 73 loans, though some were to groups, making the total number of people directly helped a bit higher than 73.

This year, I have already made seven loans, which is a reflection of the steady flow of money being repaid to me from previous loans. 

What I find interesting, though, is that my money has now traveled to 63 different countries to make change in lives and communities.

Sixty-three countries.

I credit the internet with making that possible.

Good to know it does have benefits!

(smile!) 

helping right whales

One Hundred Miles asked that I remind my representatives, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, that a horrendous bill is trying to get passed.

That would be HR 9436.

North Atlantic Right Whales use this area of the Atlantic Ocean as the nursery for bearing and raising their young.

However, this bill in the US House of Representatives threatens their future.

In 2022, a bill was passed to delay the  regulation of commercial fishing gear that causes entanglements with whales.

Now, HR 9436 threatens to delay that needed regulation until 2035.  

Seriously?

Why are they allowing the commercial fishing industry to threaten the lives of 380 right whales?

So, I have spoken up and spoken out to my congressmen to make a stand.

Please click the link and join me to save these creatures.

Thank you.

as the holidays near for the Alee Shriners...

The Shriners Children's Hospital have sent me yet another request for money, but I have limited funds for charities.

Remember, I've been retired for 8 years.

What else can I do to be of help?

Well, they provided an outlet.

They enclosed a holiday ornament for me to return for one of the children that will be spending their time away from home.

I carefully loosened the bright, cheery, shape from the backing.

Then, I inscribed a message on its reverse side for such a child.

 

"I hope your tree

sparkles and gleams!

I hope your tree has

a special gift beneath! 

Happy holidays, dear!

with love,

Aunt Faustina" 

 

I do hope it will bring some cheer,

regardless of which religion

the child happens to be.

(smile!)