do good day

I had the awesome opportunity to spend the day in Syracuse last Wednesday with some fantastic mama bloggas and their babies. We took part in Do Good Day, a nationwide event hosted by 77kids and The Motherhood.

i know. lead off with a picture of myself.
it is hard to be *this* awesome.

77 Bloggers got together in eleven cities across the US to... wait for it... DO GOOD. I am proud to be a part of Team Syracuse. Nicole, Clarissa, Danielle and I, along with our MANY children, met at the Greater Syracuse YMCA and got to hang out with the supercool YumMobile.

i like to call this one
collage a la yum

We helped hand out treats to the families who were going to class, and distributed the very special Pay-It-Forward dollar bills to anybody who'd accept one. Each dollar bill was inside a note that gave seven suggestions for something lovely to do for someone else for free, and another seven suggestions that cost just a dollar. People couldn't believe we were handing out money... some of them looked at us like we had three heads!

but not *this* sort of 3-headed monster.
this monster's pretty stinkin' adorable.

I wasn't entirely sure how we were going to keep the short people occupied and blissfully entertained whilst Doing Good, so I brought a box of sidewalk chalk.  I figured we'd be set for a good hour.  And we were.

serious artistry

i sure was.
and also? my phone was hassling me.

even big boys love them
some sidewalk chalk

Clarissa treated us to lunch at a local pizza joint, then the whole lot of us headed on over to Wegman's. (And if you don't know what Wegman's is, you should seriously just pack your entire house and move to Western New York. Trust me on this.)  There, we picked up a huge sandwich tray, and a fruit tray and some yummy sweets for the mamas and daddies who are staying at the Syracuse Ronald McDonald House.

Nicole and Danielle
and an assortment of short people

the nicey Wegman's lady gave the shorties cookies.
you know, in between asking,
THE THREE OF YOU HAVE THAT MANY KIDS?
i think they napped when we left.

We delivered a lovely dinner of sandwiches, and over a hundred dollars worth of much-needed cleaning supplies to the Ronald McDonald House of Central New York.  The lovely ladies were so happy to receive the trays of food and boxes (and boxes!!) of supplies we had purchased.  As we were telling them about the other things we had been doing, we pulled a handful of the Pay-It-Forward dollar bills, and offered to leave some at the Ronald McDonald House for the parents who were staying there.

do-good--dish-detergent

do-good-dawn

Did you know it costs the family of pediatric hospital patients about $115 a week to stay at the Ronald McDonald House?  That includes a place to sleep, shower and laundry facilities, and meals.  One of the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House of Central New York is a set of brand new parents from Georgia.  They were visiting our great state, and the mama unexpectedly went into labor and delivered a preterm baby.  Their insurance does not cover much of their child's hospital expenses, and it does not cover their stay at the Ronald McDonald House.  We decided to give the rest of our Pay-It-Forward dollars to the Ronald McDonald House to cover some of the cost of the family's stay, which only amounted to a little over a week's worth.

But here's the sad news:  This family will be at the Ronald McDonald House for AT LEAST SIX MORE WEEKS.  If you are so inclined, you can make a donation to help them pay for their stay by visiting the Ronald McDonald House of Central New York's website.  Be sure to say that your gift is for the parents from Georgia.  They'll know who you mean.  I am going to donate 10% of the stipend I receive from participating in Do Good Day to this family in need.

there's the lot of us
kids are decked out in 77kids t-shirts.
and no, elliott is not naked.

You can find links to the other 76 bloggers' posts here, at the 77 Kids Do Good Day Circle at The Motherhood.

And now, the fine print:  I was compensated for being a part of Do Good Day.  But nobody, and I mean nobody, can buy my integrity. So there.