Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Japan Relief Event- Bloggers Give Back

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So for years now I have been wanting to do something to make a difference. You may remember when I teamed up with 2 great women, Becky and Tosha and we hosted a Back To School Supply Drive for Fairfield City Schools here in the Cincinnati area. Even with hosting that event and making it an annual gig now, I truly still wanted to do more. So after talking to a friend of mine Katie, you may know her as Cincinnati Cents, we decided that we wanted to do something. Then Friday came the news of the people in Japan that have lost everything and was looking for food, shelter and basic necessities after the Tsunami and earthquakes. Katie and I talked a lot over the weekend that we wanted to help, so we got some ideas together, made some calls and now we are hosting our event to help those who have lost everything in Japan.

Katie and I have teamed up with Matthew 25 Ministries and Tri-County Mall to collect donations. Matthew 25 Ministries is truly a one of a kind organization. They not only collect monetary donations but they also collect supplies, non-perishable food, cleaning supplies and first aid items. They are the only organization in the area that is able to get supplies to the locations of disaster. They have been a huge part of disaster relief for the earthquakes in Haiti, hurricanes Katrina and Ike, flooding in Northern Kentucky and many more. It is a honor knowing that we will be collecting supplies for Matthew 25 Ministries. I hope that you can find it in your heart to help in someway even if it is not with our event but in some way! We appreciate any and all donations.

So here are the details....
WHEN: Sunday April 3, 2011 at 12pm-5pm
WHERE: Tri-County Mall (Cincinnati Ohio)- we will be in the parking lot near the corner of Princeton Road and Kemper Road
WHAT: We will be there collecting donations......
  • Monetary donations-- will be accepted at the event (cash or checks are welcomed) or you can place a credit card donation online at Matthew 25 Ministries secure link here
  • Non-perishable food – Canned vegetables, canned fruits, bulk, boxed and bagged dry goods, nuts, peanut butter, dried fruits, granola and trail mixes, packets and envelopes of mixes, oatmeal, etc.
  • Personal care products – Antibacterial soap, hand sanitizer, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, body wash etc. 
  • Cleaning products – Laundry detergents, general cleaner, sponges, bleach (powdered form is preferred), mops, scrub brushes, buckets, rubber gloves etc. 
  • First-Aid items – Bandages, gauze, pads, first aid tape, antiseptic creams, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, latex gloves, instant cold packs etc. 
We are in need of volunteers for the day of the event and I know that Matthew 25 Ministries is always looking for help at their facility, so if you are in the Cincinnati area and want to help, please contact me at justtryingtosavemoney at yahoo dot com.

ATTENTION BLOGGERS: We have started a Facebook page called Bloggers Give Back. This page is for any blogger that organizes a event to help their community. We hope that you will promote it on your blog and or add your event to the Facebook page. This will be a great way for all of our readers to be able to find a event to either donate to, volunteer at or just help spread the word about events that we hold to help with our communities. I really want to make it easier for us as bloggers to host events to help our communities and at the same time give readers an easy access to find these types of events. We hope that you would put together your own event and help those in need!! How great would it be if bloggers band together to host events across the US all on the same day for the same cause! Wouldn't that just be amazing at how much we could collect together as one big team?!


Here is a press release directly from the Matthew 25 Ministries website......
March 14, 2011 CINCINNATI, OH - Matthew 25: Ministries, an international humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization located at 11060 Kenwood Road in Blue Ash is moving quickly to respond to the urgent need for aid as the result of an 9 magnitude earthquake which struck off the shore of Japan on Friday, March 11, triggering tsunami waves in Japan.


The devastation resulting from the earthquake and the resulting tsunami has been intensified by an explosion which occurred Saturday at one of Japan ’s nuclear power plants. Authorities struggled to combat the threat of nuclear reactor meltdowns in addition to the hundreds of thousands of displaced people struggling to find food and water in the aftermath of the disaster. The estimated death toll from Japan 's earthquake and tsunami currently exceeds 10,000.


Matthew 25 has been in contact with national and international partners since the earthquake struck, working to identify areas of need and the most urgently needed disaster relief. Based on reliable reports from these partners, Matthew 25 is mobilizing disaster relief supplies, which they expect to dispatch to the disaster zone sometime the week of March 14.

Matthew 25: Ministries’ Vice-president and Disaster Relief Coordinator Tim Mettey commented, “The magnitude of this disaster is almost inconceivable. Imagine the destruction of an earthquake stronger than the one in Haiti followed by the power of a tsunami as deadly as the one that struck southeast Asia complicated by a potential nuclear disaster. Japan is an advanced, technologically modern country – but no country or government, however well prepared, is prepared for this. Matthew 25: Ministries is working with our partners to alleviate as much of the resulting suffering as we can.”

Matthew 25: Ministries is accepting the following items for disaster relief for Japan :


1. CASH DONATIONS


2. Canned and non-perishable food


3. Personal care products


4. Cleaning products


5. First Aid Supplies


Matthew 25: Ministries will continue to post information on their website and their blog regarding their response to this escalating disaster. For additional information on Matthew 25: Ministries’ response to this most recent disaster, please visit their website at www.m25m.org.


Mathew 25: Ministries accepts cash, credit card and internet donations for ongoing disaster aid and humanitarian relief programs; Matthew 25: Ministries also welcomes volunteers to their 132,000 square foot facility five and a half days a week. For additional information about Matthew 25: Ministries’ humanitarian and disaster relief efforts please contact Joodi Archer at (513) 793-6256 or visit their website at www.m25m.org.


ABOUT MATTHEW 25: MINISTRIES: Matthew 25: Ministries rescues and reuses approximately 10,000,000 pounds of corporate discontinues, misprints, overruns, off-spec, slightly damaged, returned and past season products each year and redistributes them to people in desperate need throughout the US and worldwide. Each year, Matthew 25: Ministries impacts the lives of more than 12,000,000 individuals throughout the United States and around the world. More than 99% of Matthew 25: Ministries’ cash and in-kind donations go toward programs. Forbes.com named Matthew 25: Ministries as one of the most efficient large charities in the US ; Matthew 25: Ministries appears in The “Philanthropy 400” listing of America 's Top Charities and multimedia journalist Greg Bocquet, writing for MainStreet.com listed Matthew 25: Ministries at #2 in his article “Best Charities in the US ”. Matthew 25: Ministries has a four star rating from Charity Navigator.


Matthew 25: Ministries’ staff is working overtime to ensure that donations are processed and prepared for shipment in a timely manner. Matthew 25: Ministries has a small, dynamic staff that works tirelessly to meet the needs of the poor. It may not be possible for a M25M staff member to be present at every event.


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2 comments:

Becky (Nickels-n-Dimes) said...

GOOD FOR YOU!!! I am so excited to see this!

Are they able to get supplies in with the nuclear issues? If not now, they will later and good for you for doing this!

Just another reason I like BOTH of you so much!

Just Trying To Save Money said...

Thank you Becky, we love you too!!

Matthew 25 was going to send supplies this week some time but due to the nuclear issues they have put it on hold for now. Once it is clear to send supplies over they will schedule a shipment over!