Operation Smile

"Every three minutes a child is born with a cleft. One in 10 of those children will die before their first birthday. The children who survive are often unable to eat, speak, socialize or smile. In some places, they are shunned and rejected. And in too many cases, their parents can't afford to give them the surgeries they need to live a productive life."

"Every child deserves access to safe, quality surgical care. Every child deserves a future filled with hope."

The words above are from Operation Smile, a great international charity for children all over the world. It is organizations such as this one, that give so many children hope.

One of my goals for 2014 is to give back. 

I'm not a millionaire, but I am starting school again in the next week and will be in need of some textbooks. Campus Book Rentals is the way to go simply because they care in giving back and not stealing your money (like the regular campus book stores). Plus, with renting a book you're only going to use the semester saves money and space. 

Here's the perks on why you should rent from Campus Book Rentals:

-save 40-90% off of bookstore prices

-free shipping both ways

-can highlight in the textbooks

-flexible renting periods

-they donate to Operation Smile with each textbook rented 

Needing a textbook this semester, I highly recommend renting and giving back at the same time.

xoxo

(This is sponsored by Campus Book Rentals to help me continue with my education. Thanks for supporting sponsors that make Happy Joyful Day possible. Photos are from Operation Smile).

Help the Philippines

First, I'll apologize. I have been really sick and haven't been posting my usual. I've missed blogging and everything about it! I'm on the mend, though, and have a whole new line up of posts set to come out next week. :)

But I've broken my hiatus because, as many of you know, my mom's native land, the Philippines, needs our help. It has been devastating to see the images on the front of newspapers and on TV of how super typhoon Haiyan destroyed the lives and homes of so many Filipinos.

I want to do my part in helping and if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you'll know that last weekend I was helping my aunt at a craft fair. I've decided to team up with her to help the Philippines.

My aunt Rebecca Pearson is a photographer, and for that particular craft fair, she had the brilliant idea of turning her photography into silk scarves.

Grace Church

Strand and Bean

Sugar's Corner

Waverly Corner Square

Any one of these would make a wonderful Christmas present and such a great way to have a keepsake of New York. The scarves can be worn or displayed. A portion of the proceeds from each scarf will go to help the people in the Philippines through Gawad Kalinga, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of impoverished Filipinos (similar to Habitat for Humanity). 

Get a great gift and help a country. You can see all of the scarves here and be sure to visit RMBPearson.com for the rest of her photography. 

xoxo


All images are property of Rebecca MB Pearson. These images have been used with permission especially for Happy Joyful Day. Top photo is of a child begging for change on Rebecca's latest trip to the Philippines. 

The Tattoo Project

Hello loves, today I'm so happy to have one of my inspirations guest blogging! She is amazing and I hope you love her just as much as I do. If you're not already following her blog, you should be! This girl has a heart of gold. Without further ado, she's going to introduce herself and her project (which you may have noticed on my sidebar). Happy weekend! xo ~Lis 

Hi guys! My name is Carly and I'm the blogger behind Texas Lovebirds. I'm a 7th grade Language Arts teacher turned SAHM to my son, Gunner. I love Dr. Pepper, reading, bad reality television, baby cuddles, and big bowls of cereal for dinner. At Texas Lovebirds, you'll find my thoughts on faith, motherhood, fashion, and whatever else crosses my mind.

I'm so grateful that Lisa is letting me take over her space today. What I'm sharing today is no small matter. It's not an easy DIY or a 30 minute meal, although those things are pretty awesome. What I'm sharing today is a calling, a calling to take care of the orphans.

Did you know that 8 out of every 10 children who have lost parents to HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa? In the sub-Saharan region there are more than 34 million orphans, 11 million of them have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. In fact, the number of orphans in sub-Saharan Africa would be declining were it not for HIV/AIDS. But because of the disease’s spread, the number of orphans is increasing exponentially. In sub-Saharan Africa, 12% of all children are orphans, compared with 6.5% in Asia and 5% in Latin America and the Caribbean (all statistics via UNICEF).

 

As a mother who feels called to international adoption (read more here), those stats are heartbreaking. I want to do something about it. And as a Christian, there is no doubt in my mind that we must do something about it. In fact, James 1:27 makes a Christian's role in orphan care pretty clear...it reads, "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."

So, I decided to do something about it. And so came the idea of "The Tattoo Project."

My goal is to raise $1,000 during the month of January. $1,000 provides for FOUR orphans for one year. The money will help provide safe housing, protection, food, education, spiritual direction, medical attention and vocational training. And what will I do when the funds are raised? I'll get that BIG tattoo I've always wanted. The tattoo I've always made excuses to not get. This project is now the motivation, the meaning behind that tattoo.

All donated funds will be directed to Mocha Club, a non-profit organization who is helping to rehabilitate the people of Africa in so many ways. If you'd like to read more specifics on how Mocha Club is taking care of the orphans, you can read about that here. They are doing some awesome work, and I am so excited to be a part. 

Today, I can excitedly tell you that four weeks into The Tattoo Project, $895 has been raised! That means THREE orphans are being provided for for ONE year. But, there's still work to do. There is still $105 to go until we reach our goal. There is still one orphan out there waiting for our help. 

You can help in two major ways...

1) SHARE! I'd love for you to blog, Tweet, Facebook, Instagram about this project and get the word out there! Share it with your friends, your family, your town. We need your help.

2) Today, I would love for you to prayerfully consider donating to The Tattoo Project. Every single bit helps, every single bit counts. All donations are tax deductible. 

Please know that your donation will go to these children, it will not, in any way, go toward the purchase of my tattoo. 

Again thank you to Lisa for letting me take over her space, and thank you for letting me share my heart and my project!

Let me know if you stop by the blog. I'd love to say hello!

Operation Smile

I was a little girl when I first heard about Operation Smile. I had a neighbor who had taken a group of teenagers to Africa to help assist him in giving life changing surgeries to restore children's smiles. Did you know that every three minutes there's a child in the world born with face dysfunction? That number is very high. 

Yet, so many of these families can't afford to have the simple surgery done to correct their new born baby's smile. It is heartbreaking, enough to where I couldn't bring myself to post more pictures of the children who need the surgery.

Today, Operation Smile is celebrating 30 years of helping children smile. They are working around the globe to help bring confidence to young children through a smile.

It costs exactly $240 dollars to give one child this life-changing surgery. It may not be very much to some but maybe you're like me and still going to school, which means a top ramen diet and cutting corners every way possible.

That's where Campus Book Rentals can help out. They have the largest collection of textbooks in the U.S. and you can save so much by renting the book you need for just the semester. Who needs to keep a rotting textbook on their shelf? I promise, once it's over-- you'll never look at it again. 

Campus Book Rentals has teamed up with Operation Smile to make a difference and with every book rented the money goes to a child in need. Come on, you have to get your books anyway-- might as well make a difference. 

Don't worry, you can still highlight in the book and there's free shipping both ways. It's a win-win. Now the only thing you lose out on is paying for the over-priced-new-textbook-that-you'll-never-read- again. Here's how it works.

Help donate or volunteer today because every little bit counts! 

xoxo 

Photo above is from the Operation Smile website. Please note that I have teamed up with Campus Book Rentals to support Operational Smile and in return have received compensation to help with my own college education. 100% of the above post is my own personal opinion. 

5 Charities to give to this Holiday Season

Around the blog-o-sphere I have seen a lot of amazing gift guides (including this amazing one here). Instead of focusing on what sweater to get mom to add to her pile of thousands of sweaters already; she'll enjoy even more a thoughtful donation given in her name.

Here's a small guide to giving to those in need.

One of my favorite charities of all time, is the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They provide terminally ill children with the wish of a lifetime. I have been a wish granter and have personally seen how these wishes benefit not only the children, but their families as well. 

Food for The Hungry helps children all over the world meet their daily needs. From food to medical they cover it all-- and you can help by sponsoring a child or giving two rabbits. 

Everyone needs clean drinking water. That's the mission of Charity: Water to make sure that everyone has what we tend to take for granted. I have never lived without clean water and no one should ever have to. 

After the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, many were left without a home and were desperate for supplies. The Red Cross was able to step in and help these families. There are still many of those families who are without and The Red Cross will continue to help provide for them. They can't do that without our help. 

For years, The Salvation Army has been helping America with several social programs. It's not just helping the homeless and providing them shelters, they provide elderly assistance, youth programs and so much more. The next time you walk by a bell ringer at your local grocery store, make sure you drop in your spare change. 

As always, there are so many wonderful things we can do this season! Remember do small things with great love.

xoxo