Friday, November 29, 2013

Pure Charity

Your normal, everyday online purchase can help us bring our child home. Simply create a Pure Charity account and install the browser plugin. When you're shopping, look for the PC icon in the top left of your screen. If it pops up, click on it and then click the "Click here to earn..." text.

It's that simple. You'll earn rewards in your PC account. Then whenever you want, you can donate them to our fundraiser.

You can also make an out-right donation if you wish.

Go one step further, and invite YOUR friends to Pure Charity and tell them about our fundraiser. When they shop not only do they earn rewards, but you earn rewards from their purchases as well. It's like a multi-level marketing program - but the AWESOME kind!



Here are some more detailed directions that were given on Jen Hatmaker's blog (LOVE her)
It's the easiest, easiest thing ever, and I'm going to walk you through the steps:

1. Sign up for a Pure Charity account. If you're on Facebook, you can sign in through that (which is great for sharing in the future), or you can sign up the old-fashioned way.

2. Install the browser plugin. This causes a cute little icon to pop up when you're shopping online at participating vendors, and with a simple *click*, a percentage of your purchase will be routed into your personal giving account with Pure Charity. And when I say participating vendors, yall, I'm talking about over 1000 stores like:

Target      Gap              Best Buy
Groupon   Priceline      Sam's Club
Apple         Sephora      Petsmart
Walmart      Lowe's      Forever 21


 3. Register your main credit/debit card with Pure Charity. This is so brilliant, because every time you use that card at a participating vendor IN STORE, a percentage is automatically zipped over to your personal giving account. You have to do absolutely nothing at all. (Not every online vendor has an in-store partnership, so when in doubt, online shopping will always build up your personal giving account. Plus, who wants to shop in the store when you can do it online?? asks the shopping-hater.)

4. Now, browse the projects. You can find our adoption fundraiser on there: Ever Growing Nix Family

 5. Support your favorite project. (You can change the amount you support…it starts with $5 increments…by clicking the dollar amount and changing it.) These are time specific projects with a set amount of $. If that project doesn’t fund by the finish date, Pure Charity refunds the money back into your giving account. But again...kindly wait just a few baby days, because I clearly have an ulterior motive here.

6. Share it with friends! There’s a strong social connection to this, where you can share buttons and widgets with your friends and followers, to generate interest in a cause you’re passionate about.

Pure Charity offers a redemptive opportunity to harness consumerism for great good. It's just so brilliant. Good reader, please make a Pure Charity account. Please share this blog with every person you know. Did you know that in the next two months, Americans will dole out roughly 40% of our entire annual spending? If ever there was a time to capitalize on capitalism, it is surely now.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Thirty-One Fundraiser


My family is having a Thirty-One party in Arizona. The consultant Rebekah Cross (an adoptive Mom herself) has offered to donate the profits to our adoption fund! To order go to www.buybetterbags.com, click on "My parties" and select "Alexandra's Adoption Fundraiser."

In November, you have the opportunity to purchase a medium utility tote (available this month only) for $7 when you spend $35! Be sure to have your order shipped directly to you rather than the hostess if you are ordering from outside of Phoenix, AZ.

Birthday Boy

"Charlie" turned one on October 9. It is so hard to believe that he is one! It is a cliché, but very true... time just flies by!

We opted not to have a BIG First Birthday Party and even now that his birthday is over with I am pleased with that decision. At first I wondered if I would regret it, but I knew that if we did have a birthday party for "Charlie" I would want a Perfect Pinterest Party... You know the kind; an original theme with custom invitations, monogramed birthday shirt, matching photo backdrops, theme food, fancy cake, and the list could go on and on! And if you threw a Perfect Pinterest Party for your little one's first birthday; all the power to ya! I am not judging! I knew that for us; we were either going to GO BIG (AKA Perfect Pinterest Party) or stay home. The organize it, control planner in me doesn't do middle ground.

SO... instead of a BIG First Birthday Party we met a photographer and had some special photos taken of "Charlie." I am in love with how they turned out. (Amy did a great job! Check our her website here.) And of course we wanted to share some photos of our big one year old...