When I think of American Girl I remember the days when I was about my daughter’s age. I remember the love I had for those dolls. Samantha, she was my absolute favorite. I would flip through the catalog for weeks after it arrived in the mail. I treasured each moment I had with the dolls, their accessories, and also reading each book.

When American Girl contacted me to be part of their Parent Partner team I was thrilled. Not only to be teamed up with such a legendary company to me but to be part of their new Shine On Now program. This new program that was released on June 28th, 2010 is a charitable initiative bringing together the power of girls and helping the community. By bringing together the strength of girls nationwide American Girl will be giving away $1 million dollars in dolls, books, clothes, and money to four organizations:

• Kids in Distressed Situation
• National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions
• National Wildlife Federation and
• Save the Children

Girls can now sign up on the Shine On Now website to become official American Girl Ambassador. When you sign up as an official ambassador you can download a free tool kit to help the girl in your life be a strong member of the community. The kit will help with tips and ideas for fund-raising, volunteering and donating to the above listed organizations.

To help girls nationwide to be the best they can be American Girl is also launching a virtual campus called Innerstar University™. Innerstar University™ is a fun virtual world where you can take quizzes, play games, and other fun activities. By learning on American Girl’s virtual campus it helps girls learn confidence building skills and strength. This is the sort of learning that is important for me to have my daughter to see and understand.

To join in to this great charitable program be sure to check out Shine On Now, Innerstar U and American Girl.

“American Girl sent me free product samples as a part of my partnership in the Shine On Now™ program. The opinions and content posted here is my own.”

If you are still looking for the perfect gift for mom this Sunday, we’ve got a fantastic giveaway opportunity to share with you! We’re giving away a $50 gift certificate to NOVICA, one of the leading fair trade artisan websites. They work with National Geographic to offer talented artisans around the world a place to express their artistic talents online and provide access to the world market.

Whether you are looking for a beautiful necklace, a cool African Mask or unique sculpture, you are sure to find something great at NOVICA’s website. They also sell furniture, beautiful dishes and tableware, chess sets, musical instruments and more. Besides their fantastic and unique selection, another great thing about shopping from NOVICA is knowing you are helping artisans around the world who will truly benefit from your purchase.

Aside from connecting artists to a market around the world through their website, they’ve also just launched a microfinance website which allows NOVICA to cut out the middle men and lets customers buy products and lend money directly to artisans (click here for a list of current Artisan Loans).

The Prize!

I’ll be reviewing NOVICA in greater detail soon but don’t miss this great opportunity to win a $50 gift card for the special mom in your life! Here’s how you can enter to win…

How to Enter:

1. Take a look at NOVICA’s collection of recommended gifts for moms and tell us: What product would you most like to get for yourself or the mom in your life? This is mandatory and if not done, all other entries will be null and void.
2. Become a fan of NOVICA on Facebook and leave a comment here telling us you’ve done so.
3. Follow NOVICA on twitter and leave us a comment with your user name telling us you’ve done so.

For additional entry options and giveaway rules visit our Extra Giveaway Options page!

This giveaway will close at 12pm EST on Sunday May 9, 2010.

Charitable Guest Post by author J.A. Cerullo. Josh is a good friend of the Mommas Review team. He is the author of the novella Sanctuary. Available now in e-format from Asylett Press. It is a great read, and I highly recommend it. For any questions in regards to this cause you can email andreaproulx@gmail.com.

For those who know me well, I’m sure you realize that I am a lazy, video game junkie.  To this point, it’s been a hobby (and a pointless one) and never did anyone any good.  Well, for one day on October 17th, that can actually change!

Extra Life 2009 is a mass event coordinated by a site called SarcasticGamer.  It benefits the Texas Children’s Hospital, one of the leading pediatric cancer and hematology research centers in the United States.  There are many other organizations that are participating in the event, but SarcasticGamer is the catalyst that got it all started.

It basically works like a Walk for Hunger, except instead of collecting pledges for miles walked, I will be collecting pledges to hole myself up with friends, a jug of super sludge black coffee and a tube of Ben Gay, and play video games for 24 hours straight.  100% of all pledges made to this effort will go to the charity.

I’m sure you have some questions:

Josh, really?  Don’t you play a lot of games anyway?

Yes, but even on a Saturday 24 hours would be pushing it.  When I was younger, staying up all night was called “Tuesday”.  Now if I see 2:00AM, I think I’m going to die.  This will be no cakewalk.

But how will we know you made it the whole 24 hours (and played the whole time)?

You won’t.  The whole event is on the honor system.  But let’s be honest, no one cares what I’m doing.  Even those who pledge aren’t going to be thinking, “Man, what a hero.  I wish I had the conviction to play games for an entire day!”

The real point is a great cause.  The money is going to help children with cancer whether I make it, pass out halfway through, or succumb to carpal tunnel with fifteen minutes to spare.  Think of it as giving to charity, while I unnecessarily push my brain to the brink of nerdy insanity.

How did this all get started?

As far as I can gather, one of the guy’s who runs SarcasticGamer had a young niece fall to cancer a few years back, so he started this as a way to use his outreach to help future patients.  Once he got the ball rolling, other people joined in.  You can read more about it at the Extra Life home page:  http://extralife.sarcasticgamer.com/

Do people actually do this?  Or will my donation be like tossing a Dixie cup of water on a forest fire?

Last year, Extra Life raised over $120,000, even though the event was tossed together on a whim just a few weeks in advance.  This year, several prominent gaming sites have joined up, making their own teams and helping to promote the event.  Also, they’re starting several MONTHS ahead of time now, so I’m guessing the total contributions could be very significant.

How much do I have to give?

It goes in $24 increments (minimum $1 per hour of the event).  More is welcome of course.

Will there be weird pictures of you all bleary-eyed and miserable so we know you suffered a bit for our money?

Knowing the people I’ll be with, I wouldn’t be surprised by anything…

Note by Momma Andrea: If pictures become available I will certainly be sharing them with you all, my readers.

How do I donate?

Just follow this link:  https://waystogive.texaschildrens.org/netcommunity/jacerullo

That’s my personal donation webpage.  Just click “Donate Now” and follow the instructions.  I believe it’s possible to donate to me in person and have me register it with the site, but the easiest way to donate is just through the site.  That also skips me as a middle man, which is more comfortable with me.

Again, this is for a very good cause and should be some fun along the way.  If you’re interested in giving, I would greatly appreciate it!  Also, if you’d like to participate, just go to the Extra Life website (http://extralife.sarcasticgamer.com/) and you can read more about the event and register your own site to collect donations.

Please feel free to forward this e-mail to anyone you know.  The more people I can get to consider this the better it is for everyone J

Thank you all for reading!

Josh Cerullo

Christina Applegate will be returning as the 2009 Lee National Denim Day Ambassador!

Currently on newsstands on the cover of People Magazine’s ‘Most Beautiful’ issue, Applegate, who was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in 2008, will appear in a new public service campaign that encourages people to wear their jeans on Friday, October 2, in exchange for a $5 donation to support crucial breast cancer research being funded by the Women’s Cancer Programs.  She is the first ambassador to return for a second time and the first to be a breast cancer survivor.  

Registration is now open and people nationwide can sign up for Denim Day 2009. Groups and individuals can register by visiting www.denimday.com or by calling 1.800.521.5533 to receive a comprehensive participation kit, which includes educational materials about breast cancer and supplies for easy coordination. As an added incentive, anyone who signs up by May 21 will be entered to win one of 100 free Denim Day tote bags.

If you’re not already, please join our cause on Facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/8116?m=3f1cca43

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Christina Applegate is one of my favorite actresses and I love that she has teamed up to be a part of such a great cause. This is one that is near and dear to me.

Be sure to sign up and join in with Lee National Denim Day!