LilSugar

Wee Are the World: Hole in the Wall Gang Camps

LilSugar — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:00:01 -0700

Lots of parents take shuttling their youngsters off to camp for granted. But for other moms and pops, the prospect of their seriously ill tots enjoying one of life's simple pleasures is a dream.

Twenty years ago the late actor Paul Newman opened the first Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Connecticut to give children with a variety of illnesses the opportunity to experience athletics, arts and crafts and theater while camping under the watchful eye of specially trained counselors and themed medical centers. At the camp, lil ones are not treated any differently than healthy kids. Through the sale of Newman's Own food products and donations, the camp has now expanded to 11 locations in four countries.

Hole in the Wall Gang Camps serve more than 1,000 kiddos living with cancer, hemophilia, sickle cell anemia, HIV and other serious medical conditions free of charge each Summer. Through the foundation, they have expanded their reach to Asia and Africa, partnering with local organizations to help children living with HIV/AIDS in those countries build confidence and enjoy a break from the hardship in their lives.

Target's Bullseye Gives Allows Public to Determine Giving

LilSugar — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:00:00 -0700

Many shopping mamas toss a dollar in the bucket or on their bill at the checkstand, wondering how retailers determine which charity to support.

Target is taking a different approach with Bullseye Gives, which asks Facebook users to go online and vote how the company should distribute the $3 million it donates to charities on a weekly basis. Visitors can choose from 10 leading charities and see, in real time, how much money the institution will receive that week. Currently, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital has a commanding lead, with one quarter of all votes.

Wee Are the World: Project Peanut Butter

LilSugar — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:00:44 -0700

Parents in the United States are up in arms about peanut allergies, but in many poverty stricken countries a similar paste is saving children's lives. Founded by Mark Manary, M.D., an American pediatrician who made it his mission to solve malnutrition, Project Peanut Butter makes Ready-to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). The combination of ground, roasted peanuts, vegetable oil, powdered milk, vitamins, minerals and sugar is then used to treat pediatric malnutrition. It has a 90 percent recovery rate.

The nutty paste is versatile. Project Peanut Butter's website explains why. It said:

It can be stored, unrefrigerated, for months without spoiling, requires no cooking and is transported by truck to rural villages for the home-based therapy. Teams of medical personnel measure malnourished children for height, weight and arm circumference, and provide a two week ration of RUTF for children who need treatment. Thereafter, medical teams return to the village every two weeks to reassess enrolled children and provide the next two week ration if necessary. Most often, children are fully recovered in six to eight weeks’ time, achieving normal height, weight and arm circumference for their age group.

The non-profit's factory currently produces food to feed two-thirds of the malnourished tots in Malawi and is starting production in Sierra Leone. The cost of the treatment is about $15 per child. If you would like to get involved, check their site for ways you can help.

Website lil Loves: One Laptop Per Child

LilSugar — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 04:00:00 -0700

My five-year-old daughter thinks typing on my BlackBerry while in line at the store is a treat. She is no different than the other children of the world that delight in learning new things or testing out electronics - except for the fact that she has access to them on a daily basis. One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is an organization that puts educational tools into the hands of youngsters that need them from little girls in Afghanistan to poverty stricken elementary school students in Alabama. The Massachusetts nonprofit is committed to distributing durable, $199 solar-powered "XO laptops" to financially disadvantaged children. Check out their site for ways to contribute to this timely cause.

And the Winner of Our babystyle Giveaway Is . . .

LilSugar — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:00:00 -0800

To spread the holiday cheer and get into the season of giving, lilsugar teamed up with our friends at babystyle to give away toys to one lucky winner's tot and the winner's favorite children's charity! We'd like to congratulate our lucky reader, vibrantfun who received enough goodies to fill a toy box and the charity of her choice, the West Milford P.A.L., who also received a matching donation!

Do You Encourage Your Children to Make a Difference?

LilSugar — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:00:12 -0700

Matt Damon said his daughters - Gia, Isabella and Alexia - will know about the less fortunate as he plans to expose them to the realities of the world. Do you consciously do this with your children?

Bauer-Griffin

Wonder Woman: Gwen Stefani

babysugar — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 06:00:51 -0800

Frontwoman for the band No Doubt and solo songstress, Gwen Stefani also steals the spotlight as a songwriter, designer and mother. The 38-year–old trendsetter and wife of rocker Gavin Rossdale with whom she has adorable Kingston, has got it goin' on.

After successfully launching L.A.M.B. apparel in 2003, the designer created her Harajuku Lovers line. And more recently, she found another place to express her creativity in her HP Harajuku products.

And, just when we thought our girl Gwen has done absolutely everything, she starts a charity -the Gwen Stefani After-the-Fires Scholarship for students who have lost their homes or sources of income due to fire. As reported in the San Diego Union Tribune, Stefani said:

"When I heard about the devastation of the fires, at first I felt I should cancel my San Diego show out of respect. But then it occurred to me there might be a more useful solution."

The pop star also donated roughly $160,000 in proceeds from her October concert to the San Diego Foundation fire–relief fund, proving that this wonder woman is not "just a girl."

Source

Texts and Tunes: Charity and the JAMband

LilSugar — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:00:27 -0800

Have you ever had one of those days that you just wished would end? Pop a Charity and the JAMband CD ($15) in and save the day by rocking your socks off with the kids.

Inspired by the vocals of Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos, and Rickie Lee Jones, Charity writes all her music with movement in mind. And, as the mother of two sons, she gets kids shaking with songs that combines a mix of rock 'n' roll, bluegrass, funk, folk, blues, and jazz.

"Super Hero" inspires kids to fly around with imaginary capes, "Tree House" guides them through building one and "We Like the Funk" helps them get down on the dance floor. And because the tracks are absent of the sickeningly sweet vocal that's all too common in children's music, these jams are parent addicting and kid approved.

Celebaby Roundup

PopSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:00:08 -0800

Celebrity babies had a lot to smile about this weekend as they hung out at the Lakers game, charity events, and shopped around NYC with their parents. Click through to see what they all were up to!

View Slideshow ›

Ladies' Home Journal: The New Nicole Kidman Is a Woman's Woman

babysugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:00:28 -0800

Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress, producer, and vocalist are just a few things Nicole Kidman can rattle off from her long list of accomplishments. But the role the gorgeous red head relishes most is being a mother and wife in her new hometown of Nashville. As country crooner Keith Urban's partner, she is happy to sit back for a bit and let the spotlight shine brightly on him while she spends the majority of her time raising their young daughter, Sunday. The 42-year-old mother recently took time to sit down with Ladies' Home Journal where she talked about her content lifestyle and her desire to give back to the community.

On living in Nashville:

I love living here. . . . It's a long way from New York and Los Angeles, but that's part of the attraction. I feel protected here, especially now that I have the baby. . . . There are certain limitations to my career because I'm based here. And that's cool. Keith has enormous ambitions, which I support. His tours and albums are much bigger than what I'm doing right now.

On how she cherishes her new life:

I was running from my life, in a way. . . . My imaginary life was better than my flesh-and-blood life. That's a sad thing to say, but it was. Now I love my real life so much it requires an enormous belief in a film to want to take it on. . . . I think that we're in the world to connect. Because that's what you're left with. You're not left with your houses or awards or money, you're left with the people that you built relationships with.

On UNIFEM, a charity she has worked with for years:

It's so they'll [battered women] have a place to call. A lot of women are so terrified; they'll go to the police or court and don't win. We can set up shelters and raise money. . . . I'm constantly trying to find new ways to give back. . . . Women are nurturers. There's so much we can do with the power of our feelings, the power of our sensitivity.

To see what the leggy lady has to say about being a strong woman, her past divorce, and her marriage to the hunky, honky-tonk star, just read more.

On how she was raised to be a strong woman:

She wanted us to have a sense of our place in the world. . . . She didn't want us to be shaped by our relationship with boys. She wanted us to focus on our intellect instead.

On how she and her sister Antonia made it through their divorces:

A lot of it was literally holding each other and listening. . . . Our motto is, "Just get in there. Don't retreat. Stay in it."

On her marriage to Keith Urban:

Keith and I have a very honest, profound marriage, which we both contribute to every day. . . . We have a phrase, "Does this contribute to the good of our union?" Because that's what's most important. I love being in love. I believe in the power of love, the way it can heal. The more you keep choosing it - because there are times when you can choose to be angry at the person or to love him - the more it nourishes a family.