I had the great privilege of working for UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, for eight years.  I know firsthand that UNICEF is uniquely poised to respond quickly and effectively to the critical needs of children in Haiti – UNICEF workers are already there – every day of the year, working to save children’s lives. UNICEF has already airlifted critical supplies such as water-purification tablets, tents, and oral rehydration packets (which are critical to reversing the effects of severe dehydration in children), and is working as fast as it can to deliver the supplies to as many children as possible.

I know that there are many worthy organizations that are helping out, but please consider making a donation to UNICEF – 100% of your donation will go directly to help the people of Haiti.

Thanks to generous donations from our customers, we were able to fill most of the wish list of educational toys put together by the Ronald McDonald House of New York. The items we sent, which include Exobonz (pictured left), Zoob, Snap Circuits Jr. and Build-A-Road, are already being enjoyed by the children who use the educational playroom there.  Often teachers will come to the room to work with students who are being educated at the center because they are not able to attend school. Many of the toys requested by RMDH will be used to develop children’s fine motor and cognitive skills.

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to meet some of the children and their families served by RMDH of New York. I volunteered to make and serve breakfast to the families along with a group of other members of my synagogue.  The children and their families come from all over the country to receive cancer treatment here in New York City, and RMDH provides them with a temporary free place to live.  Some families stay for only a few days and others for years. Families are required to provide their own food and cook their own meals in the kitchen facilities. Occasionally volunteers like our group bring food in, cook it and serve the families to give them a much needed break. On Sunday, I scrambled dozens of eggs in the kitchen, bringing out fresh batches and taking short breaks to meet the children. After breakfast, the children enjoyed decorating homemade cookies, playing musical chairs and freeze dance.   The delight on their faces still makes me feel all fuzzy inside.

It was an incredible experience for me and I have committed to helping out with the breakfast program on a regular basis. I thank RMDH for giving me personally and also GIFT HERO the opportunity to help these children and their families. We have already asked them to think about how GIFT HERO can continue to help, so stay tuned.

December is a great time to make donations to organizations that are important to you.  The solication envelopes are piling up on my desk.  In addition to cash donations, one thing I love to do before year end is clean out my closets and donate clothing and gear that Benjamin has grown out of.

I was thrilled to learn that Baby Buggy, an amazing organization that helps New York City’s children in need, is holding a gear drive this weekend.  From December 3-5th, you can donate new and gently used strollers, high chairs, front carriers and bassinets to local families. 

Location: The Caledonia, 16th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues
Times:  Thursday and Friday 10-7, Saturday 10-5*
(*Come with your children on Saturday and make a card to send to a recipient family)

Please consider joining me in supporting this wonderful cause…I will be donating a stroller and a high chair!

I’ve written many times about how strongly Lisa and I feel about giving back and creating opportunities to teach children the importance of charity. We want our own children to realize how lucky they are and we want every child to feel as fortunate as ours do.  From the start, one of the principles of GIFT HERO is to enable our customers to give back.

We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with Ronald McDonald House of New York. We will be funding programs to provide toys and games for the children staying at this temporary “home-away-from-home” for pediatric cancer patients and their families. This holiday season, our goal is to provide supplies for their wonderful playroom including educational toys and games, manipulatives, puzzles, and building toys (click here to view their wishlist).

GIFT HERO will be filling part of this wishlist and we are inviting our customers to help us fill the rest by adding $1-$5 to your purchase at checkout. 100% of the monies collected will be used to purchase toys for Ronald McDonald House of New York.  Toys donated to RMDH will be purchased at our wholesale cost. GIFT HERO will not earn a profit on sales of the products that are donated to charity.

So, start your holiday shopping at GIFT HERO now and please consider adding small donation to your order and help bring some joy to the children at Ronald McDonald House this holiday season. 

I am a big fan of the New Victory Theater.  My family has attended numerous shows over the years.  In fact, we are seeing The Man Who Planted Trees tomorrow afternoon.  This theater has incredible programming for children and their families.  The thought and care that goes into selecting and planning each show and associated educational programs is astounding.  (Ok…full disclosure, I do some volunteer work to support the theater).

The New Victory Theater is celebrating its 14th season in 2009-2010.  In conjunction with this “anniversary,” they are running a very simple fundraising campaign called 14 Season 14 Reasons.  Basically, they are asking every theatergoer to donate $14 to help them reach their goal of $42,000 in new and increased donations by June 30, 2010.  I’m certainly donating to help this wonderful and necessary organization…click here to join me and make your own, small but very meaningful, contribution.

One of our core principles when building GIFT HERO was to incorporate a way for our customers to give back. Lisa and I feel so strongly about helping those less fortunate than we are and teaching our children the importance of giving back.

There was a wonderful article in the New York Times Business section this past Sunday on teaching children how to give back (Raising Children Who Care in Times That Need It, July 3rd). What I found most compelling about the article was its message that giving doesn’t have to mean money or having a birthday party where your child forgoes gifts and instead asks his friends to donate to a charity (which is quite en vogue these days). Giving back can and should be as much about action, small gestures and volunteering as it is about giving away money or things.

I have tried to expose Benjamin to activities that involve helping or doing for others. We did a walk in memory of our cousin Zachary to help raise awareness and money for St Mary’s Hospital for Children in Bayside Queens, we helped make bracelets for children in Israel, and he made cards for soldiers and drew fabulous pictures of Star Wars characters. We had fun doing these activities together and I hope he is absorbing the message of doing for others and making a difference in the world around him.

You can also include giving back in your child’s birthday celebration. A great activity for young children at a party is to make cards for children in a hospital. Older kids can clean up a park and then have a picnic or help at a soup kitchen or visit children in the hospital. The possibilities are endless and the lessons are priceless!

I went on a trip with Benjamin’s nursery school class this morning. We went to Green Meadows Farm in Floral Park, NY. 20 children, 3 teachers, 8 moms, 1 schoolbus.

The purpose of Green Meadows Farm is to bring farm animals and wildlife to city children who may never experience the joys of seeing, touching, holding, and interacting with nature’s wonders. It’s fun, educational and hands-on. The kids rode ponies and we saw and touched baby chicks, chickens, turkeys, fed goats, saw a 3 day old baby lamb, milked a cow and went on a hayride. Even though it was cold and damp, we all had a blast (and went through bottles and bottles of Purell).

For children in a private nursery school in NYC, class trips are pretty easy…at least funding them. But not all children in the city are as fortunate as mine. That’s why at GIFT HERO, we feel so strongly about giving back. As we have mentioned, we we partnered with Head Start Urban Horizons Early Childhood Discovery Center in the South Bronx, NY which serves a one of the poorest Congressional districts in the country. Our goal is to help fund school trips which their budget cannot support.

Coincidentally, the first school trip we are helping to fund is to Green Meadows Farms. Our customers have already been so generous in their support that we are on our way to funding this trip. Please help us make this happen soon by adding $1 (or more) to your total purchase at checkout. 100% of the money collected will be donated directly to the Head Start program to fund the trip and let the children touch the wonders of the farm (antibacterial wipes not included!).

So today I am forty! Actually, I am fine with it. I am in good health, have an amazing husband and two incredibly lovely children. I am blessed with friends and family whom I care deeply about. I relish life and try to enjoy it as much as possible. I really could not ask for more.

In that spirit, and because a big part of GIFT HERO is about giving back, Stefanie and I will donate $4 for every order that is placed on GIFT HERO on May 7th and 8th. The money will go to the South Bronx Head Start program that we support. And of course, as always, you will be invited to make your own donation to the Head Start program during the checkout process.

Here’s to 40!

We have always felt it is important to give back and to teach our children the value and importance of charity. Lisa built much of her career at Unicef and Save the Children and Stefanie worked on many cause marketing programs at American Express and is involved in local children’s charities in NYC. When figuring out what we wanted GIFT HERO to be, we always knew it must have a cause component – we wanted every child to feel as fortunate as our children feel.

To start, we are partnering with the Urban Horizon Early Childhood Discovery Center – an amazing Head Start program in the South Bronx, NY. Together with our (very generous) customers, we plan to fund enrichment programs such as school trips for these children and their families. We have both made personal donations to jumpstart the effort and many of our customers have added $1 – $5 to their shopping carts for this wonderful cause.