Bloggers giving back

Albin was the father of 10. As a man who had spent his entire life farming the land, he also had a penchant for pranks, smokes, and playing his steel guitar. When I was nine, I saw my dad cry for the first time. His father, this tall, strong farmer, had lung cancer. I watched my grandpa fight. He admirably did so for a long time. But in the end, cancer won. Since then I've come to know more people who tangled with "the big C". Some have beat the beast, some are in the process of administering a beating and some fought until they could no longer.

A. is a mother to an active preschooler. She has a quick wit and -- whether through written or spoken word -- has an extraordinary gift for telling a story. Like an experienced gold miner, she can spot a piece of comic gold a mile away. And she can glean the bits of funny (that most people would miss) from the most ordinary situations. Two years ago, A. (a woman I've known since we were babies) was diagnosed with ALS.

It is so gut-wrenching to know the people you love are grappling with stubborn diseases like this. But thankfully there are organizations in the United States on a quest to cure these diseases. That's why Cancer Research Institute and The ALS Association, St. Louis Regional Chapter are charities almost as dear to my heart as these Albin and A.

Now there's a way for you to help charities or groups you admire. Ibakesale is a supercool way to shop hundreds of great merchants and earn cash back (a percentage of the purchase in most cases) which can be donated to the charities or groups of your choice.

How it works:

1.) Go to ibakesale.com and sign up (this is free.) This is where you also can choose from the expanding list of charities in which to donate a percentage of your purchase or add a new charity. This is also where you can decide what amount of that percentage you'd like to donate. (You can do 100% or 20% or whatever.)

2.) You shop a number of merchants like Lucky Brand Jeans, Sports Authority, even Macy's.3.) iBakeSale sends your group a check at the end of every month. (Once the funds have accumulated to $100.)

More info:

After you sign up, you can shop as well as choose from the list of charities of which to donate. (For example -- I chose to donate 50% of my proceeds to The ALS Association of St. Louis and 50% to Cancer Research Institute.) Or you can create a listing for an organization dear to your heart. Want to include several? You can do that and split the proceeds from your purchases. And if you change your mind? You can add or drop organizations too.

In order for your charity to get the profits, you must go through ibakesale and click on the desired merchant. After your purchase is made, you will be contacted through ibakesale. And once you accrue $100 you can decide how much of that money goes to charities or how much goes back into your wallet.

I'm not be in a research lab working on a cure. But donating to a worthy cause does help me feel I've helped in some small way. Like Mother Theresa once said, "In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."

(If you are interested in joining but you don't have a favorite charity? You might be interested in a list of top rated charities.)
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For any questions about ibakesale you might want to check here. If this doesn't answer your question drop them a line at info@ibakesale.com.
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This post was written for a Parent Bloggers Network blog blast. If you'd like to contribute a post about your favorite charity, feel free to do so. Then contact PBN for your post to be linked.