charity - Dad of Divas

Buddy’s Pizza offers all-you-can eat pizza to benefit Capuchin Soup Kitchen, April 13

March 26, 2015 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Join Buddy’s Pizza on Monday, Apr. 13 as the family-owned Detroit original celebrates its 39th annual ‘Slice for Life’ benefit meal in partnership with the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. From 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. all 11 Buddy’s Pizza locations, will host an all-you-can-eat two-topping pizza and salad meal for patrons who purchase event tickets. A carry-out option is available and includes either a 4-square two-topping pizza or a medium sized antipasto, Greek or house salad.

Tickets for the event are $15 for adults and $7 for children, and may be purchased in advance online at www.cskcapuchin.org or by calling (313) 579-2100, ext. 153/170. Tickets will also be available at the door. Attendees may also register to win one 8-square Buddy’s Pizza every month for a year.

This year, patrons who choose to participate in the Slice for Life fundraiser are invited to engage with Buddy’s Pizza online and share their photos on Facebook, Twitter and – as of April 1 – Instagram. Join and follow the conversation by tagging and searching #Slice4Life.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Capuchin Soup Kitchen’s programs, including food and clothing services as well as spiritual counsel. Frequently preparing and serving 2,000 meals a day, the Capuchin Soup Kitchen distributes household items and operates a shower program, food pantry and children’s tutoring and art therapy program.

LOCATIONS: Buddy’s Pizza’s 11 convenient metro Detroit locations:

Auburn Hills Bloomfield Hills (carry-out only) Dearborn

2612 N. Squirrel Rd 3637 W. Maple Rd 22148 Michigan Ave

248.276.9040 248.645.0300 313.562.5900

Detroit Farmington Hills Grosse Pointe

17125 Conant St 31646 Northwestern Hwy 19163 Mack Ave

313.892.9001 248.855.4600 313.884.7400

Livonia Novi Royal Oak (carry-out only)

33605 Plymouth Rd 44225 Twelve Mile Road 32218 Woodward Ave

734.261.3550 248.675.0881 248.549.8000

Warren Shelby Township

8100 Old Thirteen Mile Road 45841 Hayes Rd

586.574.1848 586.566.1233

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Vans Kicks-Off Fifth Annual Custom Culture Competition, Supporting Arts Education

January 15, 2014 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Vans, in partnership with Americans for the Arts, Journeys and truth®, invites high school art students across the country to take part in the fifth annual Vans Custom Culture, an art and design competition to celebrate student creativity and support arts education. Beginning today, high school art teachers can register for their students to vie against schools across the country to create the most artistic designs using blank Vans shoes as a canvas. The winning school will receive a $50,000 donation for their school art program, and one of the shoe designs will be put into production for sale in select Vans retail stores.

Vans Custom Culture was created to inspire and empower high school students to embrace their creativity through art and design, and call attention to the fact that school art programs are suffering due to diminishing education budgets. Vans Custom Culture has grown exponentially since its inception in 2010 with 326 schools, growing to almost 2,000 schools expected to participate this year. To date, Vans Custom Culture has reached hundreds of thousands of students and put more than $290,000 back into high school art programs.

“Creative expression is at the core of who we are at Vans, and cultivating creativity among students is something we feel very strongly about,” said Doug Palladini, vice president and general manager of the Americas at Vans. “Art is not just a creative outlet, but a vital part of the student experience and a key driver of success both in school and eventually in the workforce. With shrinking budgets in public education affecting schools across the country, our goal is to put much-needed funds back into the hands of school art programs through Custom Culture so we can continue to inspire students to pursue their creative passions.”

Beginning today through Feb. 14 at 12:00 noon PST, high school art teachers can register their students for the 2014 competition on the Vans Custom Culture website (vans.com/customculture). Students will be tasked with designing four pairs of blank Vans shoes each to depict one of four themes representing the Vans “Off the Wall” lifestyle: action sports, art, music, and local flavor.

Vans employees will help select the top 50 schools to be semi-finalists. The public will then have the opportunity to vote for their favorites through the Vans Custom Culture website between April 25 and May 12. The top five schools will move on as finalists traveling to New York City to showcase their designs for celebrity judges and the chance to win$50,000 for their school art program. Vans will also donate $4,000 to each of the four runner-up schools, and another $50,000 to nonprofit partner Americans for the Arts, in support of their work as the nation’s leading organization for advancing the arts and art education.

National retailer Journeys and truth®, the nation’s largest youth smoking prevention campaign, are partnering with Vans again for this year’s competition and will offer additional award opportunities. Journeys will donate a $10,000 ‘Local Attitude’ award to the school that creates the most compelling ‘local flavor’ design, and truth® will offer the top 50 semi-finalists a chance to compete for yet another $10,000 award for their arts programs by customizing a skateboard deck illustrating the dangers of smoking.

For information and registration guidelines visit the Custom Culture website at vans.com/customculture.

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@Honda ‘s “Start Something Special” program #StartSomething

November 6, 2013 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

When the couple asked a local Honda dealer to loan them three black CR-Vs for the bridal party, Honda had something bigger in mind. They sent eight CR-Vs to the wedding, each packed with memories from the history of their relationship–the band they heard on their first date, Irish step dancers and gifts from their registry delivered by relatives flown in from Ireland.

Here is a video to view:

So join the #StartSomething conversation on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter and Vine. Honda Fans are encouraged to share stories about what Honda means to them. All stories will be collected at HondaStories.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Honda
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Honda/posts
tumblr: http://hondaloves.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/honda

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Cheerios Celebrates America’s Teachers with “Send Cheer to Teachers”

September 21, 2013 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Everyone has a teacher they admire and want to thank. In fact, there are currently 6.2 million teachers in the U.S. who work tirelessly each and every day. Cheerios® is making it simple to say thank you to a favorite teacher from your childhood days or your child’s current teacher through the Cheerios Send Cheer to Teachers program.

Now through mid-October, more than 14 million specially-marked Cheerios cereal boxes will feature a Send Cheer to Teachers postcard. After cutting out the postcard from the front of the box, families can write a message of appreciation or a simple “thank you” and then share their “cheer” with a teacher they admire.

“Cheerios has a long-standing commitment to supporting and inspiring a lifelong love of learning and reading in children,” said Scott Lee, associate marketing director for Cheerios. “This year’s Send Cheer to Teachers program is a natural extension of that commitment by providing a simple way to show the teachers in our lives how much we appreciate them.”

America’s teachers spend on average $398 of their own money on supplies and resources, and 92 percent of teachers use their own money to provide supplies for their students.* Cheerios, together with the Box Tops for Education® program, is offering parents a way to help alleviate this burden with a Send Cheer to Teachers sweepstakes. Now through July 17, 2014, parents can enter for a chance to win one of five prize packages for their child’s school; one grand prize made up of 100,000 Bonus Box Tops** and $10,000 worth of school supplies courtesy of Avery®, and Ziploc® or one of four prize packages made up of 30,000 Bonus Box Tops and $2000 worth of school supplies courtesy of Avery® and Ziploc®. Simply enter the unique code from inside the box online at btfe.com/sendcheer to earn one bonus Box Top for the school of your choice and enter for a chance to win one of five prize packages for your designated school. Official rules can be found at btfe.com/sendcheer.

The Cheerios® Send Cheer to Teachers program will run throughout the fall with promotions and events to help inspire people to get involved. To learn more, visit www.Cheerios.com/cheerteachers.

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Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program

March 4, 2013 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Kohl’s is now accepting nominations for the 2013 Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program, recognizing outstanding kids ages 6-18 who have made a positive impact through volunteering! The 2013 Kohl’s Cares® Scholarship Program will award $425,000 in scholarships and prizes to more than 2,300 young volunteers across the country. To nominate young volunteers for a Kohl’s Cares scholarship, visit kohlskids.com. Nominations will be accepted through March 15, and those wishing to nominate a youth volunteer must be 21 years or older.

The scholarship program is open to the public, nominations are free.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site’s Disclaimer for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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Spend Less this Holiday Season and Give More

December 8, 2012 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Holidays in the U.S. are often characterized by heaps of presents beneath lighted trees, decadent meals and goodie-stuffed stockings hung over the fireplace. Some money management gurus, though, say this could be the year that sound economic sense bucks commercial tradition.

In 2012, more families have less spending money due to an unstable market and continued slow recovery from the major recession. According to renowned East-Coast financial planner Jason Wheeler, now’s the ideal time to use funds marked for holiday shopping in the present as a gift for the future. He encourages gifting college savings accounts, retirement funds, or, perhaps most beneficial, the gift of a legacy. The CEO of Pathfinder Wealth Consulting, Wheeler said his reasoning is very simple.

“While tangible gifts might put temporary smiles on faces come Christmas morning,” he explained, “it’s the emotional gifts: creatively sharing family history with the grandchildren, sifting through family mementos and telling stories of their ancestors that will make the greatest impact – on hearts rather than wallets.”

Wheeler cited a recent study that supports his theory. Allianz, a leading provider of retirement solutions, found that 77 percent of both Baby Boomers and their aging parents embrace the idea of leaving behind a “legacy” as opposed to the 10 percent of boomers who feel financial assets are an important part of their inheritance.

“Around this time of year, many shoppers are in the mindset of finding the best deals and purchasing an unnecessary amount of presents because it is just ‘something that you do,’” Wheeler said. “However, this reveals a disconnect between the actual wants of families. Why place yourself in a financial straitjacket when you can choose to share values instead of valuables – something that both generations agreed is more important?”

To that end, Wheeler offers suggestions on how to save money while staying true to family traditions. It may be unrealistic to forget about presents entirely during the holidays, he explained, but emphasizing the simple joy of sharing a special time with loved ones is a major change for the better.

“Start a new, financially responsible tradition where everyone receives a set number of presents, but all join in around the fire listening to great history and life lessons from elders,” Wheeler said. “So yes, by all means purchase that iPad Mini; but the knowledge and words of family will probably leave a longer-lasting impact than the game system you gave away or received at Christmas back in 2012.”

GiveLitter 2013: Help out a great cause

December 5, 2012 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

World’s Best Cat Litter™ understands the enormity of the challenges facing millions of shelter cats and those who support them. They also recognize the difficulty you face in finding the time and resources to support rescue organizations that constantly need cat litter. That’s why they created GiveLitter™.

GiveLitter™ is the only cat charity that allows you to instantly donate free all-natural World’s Best Cat Litter™ to deserving shelters across the country. The company is empowering you to vote online and share the charity with your friends. Please stay tuned for our next GiveLitter™ voting opportunity, beginning December 10, 2012.

Science for Kids on the Kitchen Counter – Growing Food from Fish Poo

December 4, 2012 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Grow fresh produce right in the comfort of your own home – beans, basil, thyme, baby greens, oregano, mint, parsley, spinach and so many other delicious foods!

Back to the Roots just launched our new product on Kickstarter, the Aquaponics Garden! It’s the first-ever kit that takes the awesome, ancient farming technology of aquaponics and shrinks it down for homes and classrooms! People have pledged $140k towards the project in just over 2 weeks!

Their main focus was taking the simple, ancient science of aquaponics and bringing it into the kitchen so that kids and adults alike can learn about how plants grow, where our food comes, and the natural cycle of plant fertilization. The fish waste fertilizes the plants, and the plants clean the water for the fish. Fish waste is a natural, rich fertilizer that is great for growing food, and a really neat scientific process! They wanted kids to have fun learning where food comes from and about how to sustainably grow it themselves.

fodada Color Collection Is Making a Difference!

September 5, 2012 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

fodada, a men’s fashion line created just for dads, is announcing the launch of its Color for Cause series. Staying true to fodada’s objective of taking care of dads and all that is important to them, founder Bobby Barzi is excited to announce the limited-edition color capsule collections and give back to various causes.

fodada’s current line consists of basic styles and colors. This intentional design mantra allows the brand to stay basic and simple, combining comfortable and understated hip styles to make any dad’s wardrobe complete. “Our core line will continue to be developed around the current band of colors, but I certainly think that any dad’s wardrobe can use a splash. When adding color to the fodada line, I wanted it to be meaningful. As our brand is cause driven, so are our line expansions.” Says Barzi.

Launching today, the first palette of the color collection series will hope to generate exposure and funds for autism. fodada will donate 50% of profits from the online sales of the powder blue line to Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism science and advocacy organization, dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism.

The limited-edition collection will feature a powder blue casual tri-blend “Dada Hoodie” ($86) “Baba T “($33) and “Baba T V-Neck ” ($35.) The collection will also include a women’s “Mama Hoodie” ($86) and “lil T” shirts for kids ($18.) The items will be available exclusively online from September -October, just in time to support the 2012 Orange County Walk Now for Autism Speaks on October 13th; www.fodadawear.com.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site’s Disclaimer for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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Nationally Recognized Bloggers Participate in Book Drive for Charity

July 17, 2012 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

To read well, a child first needs to see well, as 80 percent of what we learn is through our eyes. However, an astonishing one in four children has an undetected vision problem—many of which are due to lack of vision care. To shed light on the critical role healthy vision plays in helping to develop a child’s passion for reading and learning,VSP Vision Care, Transitions Optical and Bess the Book Bus have launched the national “Eyecare About Reading” Book Drive competition. The Book Drive will provide free books, eye exams and glasses (when needed), totaling more than two million dollars, to children in need.

Three well-known bloggers: Meghan Cooper from JaMonkey (Atlanta, GA), Mocha Dad Frederick Goodall (Houston, TX) and Kara-Kae, founder of The Mom Diggity (Oklahoma City, OK), will compete to collect the most books in their communities through August 22. The books will be donated to local charities as well as to Bess the Book Bus, a mobile literacy outreach program that travels across the country providing free books to underprivileged children in schools, shelters and community organizations.

“Reading opens worlds of opportunities for children throughout their academic and personal lives,” shared Jennifer Frances, founder of Bess the Book Bus. “I am thrilled to be a part of this campaign, which will help to spread the love of reading to kids, many of whom have never had a book of their own or access to proper eye care, potentially hindering their reading skills.”

How the Book Drive works:

For every three books donated in the competition (either through the bloggers or online), VSP will donate one free eye exam (and, if needed, glasses fitted with Transitions lenses) to charities in the bloggers’ communities for children without access to these services. VSP will provide up to 5,500 free eye exams in total for the campaign, a value of more than $2,000,000.
The blogger who collects the most books will receive an additional 100 free eye exams (and glasses with Transitions lenses) for their charity, as well as a special visit from Bess the Book Bus and the VSP/Transitions Optical Mobile Eyes clinic nicknamedEyenstein.

“Increasing access to quality eyecare is a priority for VSP,” said Connie Vavricek, director of industry outreach at VSP Vision Care. “To partner with organizations such as Transitions Optical and Bess the Book Bus, who share our passion to give back, increases the collective reach to make a positive impact on the life of a child.”

How to participate:

If you live in Atlanta, Houston or Oklahoma City, visit JaMonkey, Mocha Dad and The Mom Diggity for book drop off locations.
If you live outside of these areas, visit www.Facebook.com/VSPVisionCare, select the Book Drive Tab and make a “promise” to protect your eyes. For every promise received, Transitions Optical will donate one free book to Bess the Book Bus.

“Transitions Optical has a long-standing history of supporting literacy initiatives through our four-year partnership with Bess the Book Bus and our My Eye Promise program, encouraging everyone to promise to care for their eyes, and in turn also help children in need through our automatic book donations to Bess the Book Bus,” said Dan McLean, marketing manager, communications, Transitions Optical. “The Eyecare About Reading book drive competition is another great way to get parents, children and teachers thinking about the important connection between healthy vision and reading and learning before the start of the new school year.”

Renowned children’s authors John Perry, Margaret Mason, Deborah Diesen, Rebecca Emberley and Cynthia Lord are also showing their support for the campaign by providing free signed copies of their award-winning books as well as exclusive video content.

To donate a book, visit the Book Drive Tab at www.Facebook.com/VSPVisionCare.

To learn more about VSP Vision Care community programs, visit www.vspglobal.com/globaloutreach. To learn more about Transitions Optical’s community programs, visit www.eyedidntknowthat.org. For more information about Bess the Book Bus, visit www.bessthebookbus.org.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site’s Disclaimer for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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