Cheers to everyone who entered the Do Good, Feel Yummie holiday challenge. We were so moved to hear about all of the good work described in your submissions! As a thank you for sharing your stories, each entry will receive a $25 Yummie Tummie gift card.
It was difficult to pick just one winner, but in the end we chose Mara, from Fresno, CA, who wrote in to tell us about her work volunteering with Camp Taylor.
Camp Taylor will receive a donation of $2,500, which will help kids with congenital heart defects attend summer camp. And Mara will receive seven Yummie Tummies, one for every day of the week!
Here’s Mara’s winning entry on behalf of Camp Taylor:
Kids being kids at Camp Taylor
“Hope for Kids With Heart Disease - Camp Taylor“
I volunteer for Camp Taylor, a charity founded by Taylor Gamino’s mother Kimberlie Gamino. Taylor was born with congenital heart disease. After years of never feeling normal, even around kids of the same age, and never being able to run and play like other kids due to the medical staff and equipment necessary, Kimberlie founded Camp Taylor.
Camp Taylor is a place for kids who are born with congenital heart disease to go on summer camp–just like other, “normal” kids. This camp has made a huge difference in these kids’ lives. They are more outgoing, more confident, and feel more accepted. Where every kid has scars from heart surgeries, they don’t feel like they are somehow abnormal.
The staff and volunteers at Camp Taylor treat each child as something special. A donation to this wonderful charity would make such a huge difference in some childrens’ lives. At Camp Taylor, kids meet…scars blend…wonders happen. It costs $800 to send one child with heart disease to camp, and the $2,500 donation would easily sponsor three kids. Please consider Camp Taylor to win the donation! Thank you.
Honorable Mentions
It was tough to pick just one winner out of all of your heart-touching entries. Here are the honorable mentions, five worthy causes, and five inspiring women who we applaud and support!
The flexible kids of Project Yoga
“Project Yoga - Helping Our Community One Breath At A Time”
Suzi, Cincinnati, OH
Every Tuesday I get a half-hour of yoga practice- interrupted by giggles, hugs, and the grins of the 3 and 4-year-old students at the pre-school class where I volunteer as a part of the Project Yoga program!
Project Yoga is a non profit organization created to serve the inner city schools of Cincinnati by teaching the practices of Yoga that foster self-realization, greater awareness and heighten potential.
Volunteers teach breathing, meditation, visualization and physical postures to strengthen physical health, mental clarity and spiritual well being. Project Yoga is meant to bridge communities together in service and to raise and heighten opportunities.
We are currently teaching 11 weekly classes at 4 Cincinnati Public Schools, reaching 260 kids each week. We exist only because of volunteers and donations. We teaching in classrooms, gyms, after-school programs, and more. And we teach these children that they are worthy of love, self-respect, and positive goals!
Fabulous pajamas!
“Fashionably Warm Kids“
Jennifer, Olathe, KS
I have a goal and a challenge for the Kansas City metro.
It’s a good one! It’s fashionable, good for the community and good for the soul.
The Pajama Program is very near to my heart which is why I became the chapter president for the Kansas City area when the position came open. I quickly got to know some of the fabulous people who manage the area shelters and was shocked by the number of children they serve each month.
About the Pajama Program:
Collects new pajamas and books for children in need and distributes to registered receiving organizations nation wide. There is a chapter in nearly every state.
In our back yard:
The Kansas City metro chapter serves about a dozen shelters. TLC, Rose Brooks, City Union Mission, SAFEHOME and Salvation Army, just to name a few. The need is for at least 300 pajamas each month.
The goal:
To get participation from local organizations and media in order to raise 4,000 kids’ pajamas and books to fully stock the shelters each month for the winter and beyond.
The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer
“I Walk for Life!! - Annual Avon 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer”
Kathy, Springfield, VA
Last year, I found myself facing something I never thought I would experience - breast cancer. This was something that didn’t run in my family, and wasn’t found on my own. It was found on a routine annual mammogram. After surgery at the Johns Hopkins Avon Breast Cancer Center and six weeks of radiation, I was pronounced cancer free!
Although the experience took a toll on my energy level, I felt a great need to give back to charities that had helped raise funds for technology and research that helped me. So, shortly after completing my treatment, I began training for the Annual Avon 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer. It was an emotional journey and a challenging walk on a rainy weekend, but oh-so rewarding!
I’m gearing up for next year’s walk with my team, “The Back of the Pack Walkers”. This year’s theme is, “In It To End It”. Last year, I raised over $5000 for the walk. This year, I hope to surpass that goal. We’ll keep walking until we find a cure!
The money we raise will provide women and men the breast cancer screening, support and treatment they need regardless of their ability to pay, and so that leading-edge research teams across the country can be powered by the funds they need to fuel their quest for a cure.
I hope Yummie Tummie can help support this charity that continues to provide much needed support to women and men affected by breast cancer, and the families and friends who love and care for them.
Incidentally, I wore Yummie Tummies throughout my cancer treatment. They were a favorite soft and supportive garment to wear when my skin became sensitive during radiation treatment. And they made me feel attractive when I was having difficulty accepting my new body image.
Cherish the Children Foundation
“My Mother-in-Law and her Foundation - Cherish the Children Foundation”
Rachel, New Port Richey, FL
My Mother-in-Law, Marsha Friedman is an amazing woman, and while most women do not get along with their mother-in-laws, I was one of the few lucky ones to have been blessed with a great one! She’s absolutely amazing and it shocks me every day the things she does for others. for children and families and not only hosts her own national radio show(The Family Roundtable), but also founded her own charity, Cherish the Children Foundation, which is the one I would love to give back to. I’d love to surprise her with the money since she’s always doing so much for everyone else and especially her family. The foundation originally began in 1989 as a way to give back to the Pinellas County community, with an emphasis on helping local foster children, this group of dedicated volunteers evolved into the Cherish the Children Foundation, established as a 501(C) (3) Florida Corporation in 1995.
Since that time the number of volunteers has grown as well as the number of projects being undertaken by the Foundation—all in the interest of forwarding our purpose to help needy children.
The gift of a smile
“Gift of a Smile — Interplast.org”
Jodi, Ottawa, Canada
For the past ten years I have volunteered as an operating room nurse for a non-profit American organization called Interplast.
Interplast provides free reconstructive surgery for children in underdeveloped countries. These surgeries include cleft lips and palates, hand and burn surgeries and many other debilitating deformities. These children in need of surgery have lived their lives not being able to go to school, get married or even in some cases not even been able to make friendships with any other children. A 45 minute surgery can change one child’s life forever.
Through these trips I have also made many lasting friendships with nurses all over the world…some of the nurses walk one mile every month to use a community computer to be able to keep in touch. Friends have been made in the Philippines, China, India, Peru, Bangladesh etc…
I had a baby about a year and a half ago and I have another on the way. Although I am enjoying motherhood I desperately miss volunteering for Interplast and wish there was some way I could help.
When I heard about your website on the “TYRA” show I immediately found your website and thought that when I have this second child I am definitely going to need some of these “Yummy Tummie” things! So I signed up for your news letter. Within a few days this contest appeared in my web box and I thought that 2,500 dollars would help at least 6 children have better lives and me a better figure come May 2010!
Thank you to everyone who submitted an entry! We salute everyone’s efforts to spread joy in the world, and encourage you to keep up the great work!
Congratulations to our June “Favorite Style Tweet” Winner: @Lambchop1965, aka Patricia.
Congratulations to Robert Gonzalez, the winner of the “Get Dad RIPT” Facebook contest!
With cold winter days here, we’ve all been bundling up, and rocking lots of long layers. The look is chic, flattering, and keeps you warm!
