Kerry Ashby Fundraiser

We'll have the virtual shower winners up shortly - in the meantime, here's a post from the lovely Rachel Sue over at Trapped Between a Scream and a Hug.

A few weeks ago a local family's lives were changed forever when their father, Kerry Ashby was involved in a severe ATV accident, which has left him paralyzed.  He will be confined to a wheelchair and has little to no use of his hands.  A craftsman by trade, he was the main provider for his family.

He has 2 sons serving LDS missions and one entering the Army. Their medical bills have already hit 1 million dollars and are still climbing. Their home will need to be renovated to make it wheel chair accessible.

In an effort to offset a few of these costs,  we are holding an online fundraiser at Trapped Between a Scream and a Hug.  Dozens of Etsy shops, as well as Shabby Apple have donated items to this cause. Prices start as low as $3.50 and go all the way to $70.00 for a a wide selection of items.  Please stop by, take a look around and find a way to help out this family in need.

Welcome to our Virtual Baby Shower!

At the baby shower last Saturday we collected over $2,000 worth of baby items for the Teddy Bear Den! Thank you so much to everyone who came, who helped, who donated, who participated, and who helped to spread the word.  Look at what you all were able to accomplish!  It turned out wonderfully, and the people from the March of Dimes were just thrilled.

Welcome to the virtual portion of our baby shower to benefit the March of Dimes Teddy Bear Den! The Teddy Bear Den is a great charity that gives incentives to low income pregnant women for participating in healthy behaviors that help to prevent birth defects.

We need your help to stock the Den with baby items - and if you donate an item to the Teddy Bear Den (or have donated), you can enter to win one of the great donated prizes below! 

To donate, simply send a gift (or buy something online - for example, diapers, wipes, baby clothes, baby supplies, etc. - and have it shipped) directly to the Teddy Bear Den at this address:

March of Dimes UTAH Chapter

Att: Teddy Bear Den Virtual Shower

757 East South Temple Street, Suite 120

Salt Lake City, UT, 84102

Once you've made your tax deductible donation, please come back here and leave a comment stating that you've donated and you're entered to win. (We're operating on the honor system.) We'll randomly select the winners on Saturday, May 1st.

Thinking of donating but don't want to pay shipping? Walmart is offering free shipping on all of their baby rollback items. Children's Place is offering $5 shipping, no matter the size of the order. Drugstore.com is offering free shipping on orders over $25.  eBabyCarriers has free shipping every day. If you hear of any other similar offers, please let us know so that we can post them for others to take advantage of. 

Thanks so much for your tax deductible donation!

(If you're a member of Service Soapbox, please help to promote the virtual shower on your blog.)

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 Ulta is donating a $25.00 gift certificate good for anything in their online store.

Amy from Mod Podge Rocks is donating FIVE Mod Podge Supply kits with five two ounce bottles of Mod Podge.  Check out her blog, full of fun decoupaging ideas.

Shabby Apple is donating one of their 90 Words Per Minute jersey dresses.

"The updated styling of this secretary dress, included flattering ruching at the hips and banded sleeves, keeps the look fresh and contemporary, while the playful sash at the neckline adds a nostalgic flair.  Pair with heels, tortoise-rim glasses and a sleek ponytail for the office or dress it down with flats and a smart jacket."

Flowerz In Her Hair is donating TWO $25 gift certificates for anything in the store. 

They have a large selection of adorable beanies, bows, bracelets, clippies, flower clips, headbands and much more.




Doodlekins makes whimsical personalized cartoon family labels, stationery, and gifts.  They are generously donating a matching gift pack of 30 personalized note cards with envelopes, a set of 30 personalized stationery with envelopes, a set of 60 personalized address labels, and a set of 60 personalized address seals.

Marili Jean has darling hats, barrettes, headbands and accessories for little girls.  They are generously donating a $25 gift card to their store.

The Art of Motherhood is donating a fun Spring Minutes With Me Kit.  These kits are like seasonal lesson plans for moms. They give you great ideas for having fun with your children and making the most of each season. Each kit includes a Minutes with Me activity book, activity pages, CarTalk cards, 3 decks of fun activity cards, bingo boards, and more.

Bellybuds™ are wearable speakers for moms-to-be who want to play prenatal music and sounds to a developing child in the womb.  They consist of a pair of simple, two-inch modular bellyphones that plug into any standard mp3, digital music player or sound device, and can be placed anywhere on the abdomen. Bellybuds is donating a deluxe Bellybuds package, which includes 1 set of bellybuds™ bellyphones™,  2 sets of hydrogel adhesive rings, 1 set of bellybuds™ buddons™, 1 one neoprene storage pouch with belt clip, 2 bellyphones™ dock and 1 audio splitter.

Stay tuned for more great donated thank you prizes...

Thank you so much for your tax deductible 

donation to the March of Dimes! 

(Please email us if you need the Tax ID number)

Service Soapbox Hits the Big Time

We collected over TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS in baby items for the March of Dimes Teddy Bear Den on Saturday! YAY!!! Thank you so much to everyone who came, who helped, who donated, who participated. It turned out wonderfully, and the March of Dimes people were thrilled. (Check out Hannah's post for some fun pictures.)

Here we are on Studio 5, a local talk show:

Please be sure to come back tomorrow morning for the virtual baby shower.

A special thank you to the event committee who worked so hard to make this event such a success - our event chair Becca, Hannah (who also made our cute blog and baby shower graphics), Rachel Sue, Sarah, Lesli, Veronica, and our honorary committee member Kathryn. (If you'd like to be involved in the committee for our next event, please let us know.) 

PS: If you were there and took pictures, could you email a few to me? I forgot my camera, among other things {facepalm}

Virtual Shower Update

The virtual shower starts tomorrow  - be sure to check back here in the morning!

Don't Forget About the Baby Shower!

(If you've signed up to be a part of the Service Soapbox blogging group, please be sure to remind folks about this on your blog today - this is the point of the Service Soapbox - to do good stuff with our blogs - and it doesn't work unless we actually USE OUR BLOGS to spread the word!)


Will you be there?

It's going to be a fun open-house style party for bloggers and non-bloggers alike, with lots of refreshments and TONS of great door prizes for those who donate something to the charity.  Please bring your friends, kids, and family.  It will be from 10AM - 12PM (open house style) at My Noah's in South Jordan (322 West 11000 South - directions below).

This is such a great charity. They help to prevent birth defects by educating low income women about how to protect their babies prenatally. Women who successfully participate in the program (by getting prenatal care, quitting smoking, avoiding unhealthy behaviors before and after the birth of the baby, etc.) are offered baby items like diapers, wipes, baby clothes, blankets, and more. We're helping by working to "stock the den" with baby items.

If you come out tomorrow and bring an item (diapers, wipes, baby clothes, blankets - anything new for a baby) for the Teddy Bear Den, you'll have the opportunity to snack on some great refreshments (from Amberlicious Cakes, Creamies, Cookietree, Lofthouse Cookies, Sweet Tooth Fairy, So Cupcake, Kohlers, and more) and to win some great donated door prizes from:

• The Vintage Pearl
• LaCaille (donated by PC Laptops)
• Rod Works
• Blush
• Watch My Style
• D'Lea Designs
• Cherry Hill
• Wishes and Whimsy
• Mod Podge Rocks
• Wonderfully Wordy
• Leatherby's
• Great Clips
• Famous Dave's
• Platinum Car Wash
• Hollywood Connection
• Classic Skating
• The Pie Pizzeria
• Chick-fil-a
• Garden House Floral

We're so thankful to all of our wonderful sponsors.  In addition to these door prize sponsors, Dear Lizzie, Walmart, Western Family, Salutations Etsy shop, Baby Steals.com, Mobile Airbrush Tanning, Great Clips, and the Jordan River Family Medical Center have all donated money or items for the charity.

My Noah's donated the space, Zurcher's donated the party supplies, and Garden House Floral donated the centerpieces. We're so thankful for these wonderful folks. I can't tell you how touched we've been by their generosity.


I really hope to see you there!

Directions:  Take I-15 to 106th South. Turn left on 106th South.  Turn left on South Jordan Gateway.  Turn right on 11000 South. The building is on your right.

Next week, we have a virtual shower going on - everyone who donates (by purchasing something online and having it shipped to the charity) will have a chance to win something in our giveaway (with prizes from Shabby Apple, Marili Jean, Doodlekins, Minutes with Me, Belly Buds, Flowerz in Her Hair, Ulta and more).  Thanks to our awesome committee for putting this event together - and a special shout-out to Kate B. for rounding up MANY of the prizes (thanks so much Kate).

PS:  The winner of the Writing Contest is Kathryn from Sassafrass!  Thanks so much Sassafrass - email me at suelikestoblogandwastetime at gmail dot com and we'll arrange to get the basket over to you.

The Writing Contest Finalists...

If you haven't had a chance to read through the post submissions, you really should.  There were many wonderful entries.  In fact, we ended up with SIX finalists instead of five, because the judges couldn't come to a unanimous decision.

They are:

Little Miracles by Amber, Making the Moments Count

A Life of Purpose by Kathryn, Sassafrass

UT, LA, CAN in IN by Casey, Moosh in Indy

A Very Happy Meal by Shellie, Seriously Shellie

Thanks Mom by Charlotte, Just A Little Bit of Quirkyness

I Know Where God Hangs Out by Crash Test Dummy writing at The Magic Quilt

Please check out each post and then vote in the poll in sidebar (scroll down).  You can vote once each day.

We'll pick a winner on Friday (baby shower eve).  The winner will receive a great basket from GiftTree.com.  Thanks to everyone who participated!

Remember - this Saturday is the baby shower for the March of Dimes Teddy Bear Den from 10 - 12PM at My Noah's in South Jordan. Please bring a baby item, bring friends, bring family, bring kids - and come help us raise money and baby items for the March of Dimes Teddy Bear Den. We have lots of donated treats and some great door prizes donated by generous sponsors.

And remember - the following week we're hosting a virtual shower / giveaway to help raise funds and items.

Hope to see you there!

Update on the April 24th Baby Shower

WOW.

We contacted a ZILLION companies for donations to the Teddy Bear Den, in an attempt to make sure we would have donations for the charity, giveaway prizes for our virtual shower and items to serve as door prizes for the actual shower.

We weren't sure what kind of a response we'd get, but  - YOU GUYS - the response has been AMAZING.  I haven't even finished updating the blog with all of the info yet, because there are only so many hours in a day.  We have so many donations! It's almost an embarrassment of riches.

So what I'm saying is that if you come to the shower on the 24th and bring a donation (baby items - diapers, wipes, baby clothes, etc.) you've got about a 90% shot at leaving with an awesome door prize - from companies like RodWorks, PCLaptops, Blush, The Vintage Pearl, Wishes and Whimsy, D'Lea Designs, Cherry Hill, Classic Fun Center, Great Clips, Leatherby's, The Pie, Hollywood Connection, Wonderfully Wordy, and  more.  It's open house style - so you don't have to stay to play.

Please, please RSVP and please come - and bring your friends, family, kids, and husbands.  There will be lots of treats - we'll have cake and cookies and cupcakes from a variety of generous local bakeries like CookieTree, Lofthouse Cookies, Amberlicious Cakes, and the Sweet Tooth Fairy.

And then don't miss the virtual shower the following week - where anyone who donates has a chance to win donated products from Ulta, Shabby Apple, Marili Jean, Belly Buds, Doodlekins, Watch My Style Utah, Flowerz in Her Hair, and many more.

RSVP and Event Details here.

Oh - and don't forget about the writing contest.  Right now you've got about a 1 in 5 shot at winning the $100 gift basket...

PS: I want to publicly thank our friend Kate Bodily (who doesn't even have a blog) so very much for everything she's done to help us obtain sponsor donations.  She's the soul of generosity, and we are indebted to her.