For the last two holiday seasons, we have partnered with Ronald McDonald House of NY and thanks to the generosity of our customers, we have donated many toys and games for their amazing playroom.

This Valentine’s Day, GIFT HERO is giving back. For every new “like” on our page on Facebook, we will donate $1 to purchase toys for the children staying at RMDH.

Please help us make this a huge success and “like” us yourself and share with all of your friends on Facebook. Click here to see our page and like us. Thanks!!!

Thanks to Pint Size Social, I found out about this amazing FEED bag to benefit UNICEF. It is available exclusively at HSN through Halloween and for each bag purchased at HSN will donate $3.50 to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. That amount is enough to provide one child with a year’s supply of unique micronutrient powders to provide valuable vitamins and minerals to support a child’s overall development and growth – and potentially – save the child’s life.

Trick-o-Treat for UNICEF is very special to me – and not just because I have fond memories of going house to house as a kid with my little orange box collecting money for UNICEF.  A number of years ago, I served as the National Director for Trick-orTreat for UNICEF and lived and breathed this program for a few years of my life. Through my work with UNICEF, I was able to see firsthand how the money raised through Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF saves children’s lives.

Now my own children, ages 6 and 8, Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF on Halloween. I am very proud that their school has supported this program for many, many years. The orange collection boxes are distributed to all children through the school – and each year over $1,000 is collected by the students going door to door – and adding in their own savings as well.

To get your family, church or synagogue or your kids’ school involved, visit the official Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF page. Let’s keep this tradition alive for our children – it’s been going for 60 years now!

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.

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.

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!

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. 

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.

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!

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!).

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!