Just when I thought no one else really cared about turning the Motrin Moms Twitter buzz engine into something positive, tweets are starting to appear asking people to rally around Toys for Tots to truly make a big difference this holiday season. If you're not familiar with the organization, Toys for Tots takes donations of new, unwrapped toys and distributes them so that kids don't have empty hands on Christmas morning.
Can you imagine wanting to get your child some small gift for the holidays, but having to choose between that and food or rent? As a mother, my heart breaks a little bit imagining that feeling. We all know that the food, shelter, safety and love are the most important things to give our kids. But being able to give them just a little bit more, and to see their smiles in return - that's important, too. Toys for Tots helps thousands of parents do just that on Christmas.
In the aftermath of the Motrin craziness, there were plenty of people who criticized the moms who were offended by the ad. Too much time on their hands, they said. Need to focus on bigger issues and really make a difference. If you felt it important enough to call others out on what they were doing to change the world, I hope you don't consider yourself immune from your responsibility to help fuel a more important Twitter fire. Less talk, more action, folks.
Sheryl at All About Health, Family & Fun suggests using #TFC to tag your tweets so that everyone can see them in search.
Tell your friends. Link them to the Toys for Tots site. Buy some extra toys when you're out and about and find a Toys for Tots drop-off location via the search form right on the front page of their web site. Can't donate toys? Donate money via credit card on the Toys for Tots website! Can't do that? Donate a little bit of your time by tweeting this, posting it to Facebook, blogging it, telling your friends about it, calling your mom, asking your employer about possible gift drives and company gift matching, or see if you can find a way to volunteer some time to the organization.
So, come on Internet! You're a great big, fabulous place. I love you, even when you're being grumpy and foaming at the mouth over pain relievers. Please don't let me, or Toys for Tots, down on this.
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4 comments:
Hey Heather!
Thank you so much for helping get the #TFC going.
I saw Sharons' post this morning and knew that there was something we could all do.
I helped with a Business Card drive for a boy in Las Vegas a few month's back and was smiling every time someone said they would help.
There is true joy in knowing that someone else will have a great day!
You have done great here with the information about the Toys for Tots program. I hope they have sleighs filled with toys this year!
Thank you again for caring!
Sheryl
Hi Heather, I'm the Sharon that Sheryl was referring to. I want to thank you and Sheryl for putting together your blog posts to support this great cause.
All I did was send a tweet about Toys for Tots and before I knew it, Sheryl had picked it up and ran with it.
Awesome!
Sharon McPherson
@SharonMcP
My FIL is a retired Marine and in the Marine Corps League. He volunteers at TFT every year during the first or second weekend of Dec. Lilli usually goes out with him on Saturday and collects money. For some reason, her bucket always ends up with more money in it than his. ;-)
Hello and thank you for blogging about Toys for Tots. I'm a Coordinator in Northern California. Thanks so much!
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