Feed the Hungry...for FREE!

Click every day to provide 1 cup of food to feed the hungry.  FREE to you.(the advertisers on the site pay)

(My button takes you to their site.  You have to click on THEIR button to have them donate the food)

Help the Homeless in San Diego!

Trinity House desperately needs your help.  There are nearly 10,000 homeless men, women, and children in San Diego county (2,000 children under 18).  Every $15 raised provides one night of housing for a homeless woman or child.  Go to   http://thetrinityhouse.org/index.htm  to see how you can help.


They are also in need of the following:

·         Furniture: Bedroom sets, desks, chairs clothing, clothing Items for All Ages (Clothing should be clean, repaired and have size indicated.)

·         Shoes (Casual and Athletic)

·         Books (English and Spanish)

·         Developmental/Educational Games

·         Child Safety Seats (Infants and Toddlers),

·         Toys /Bicycles

·         Sleeping Bags and Pillows

·         Toiletry Kits/Personal Care Bags

·         School Supplies

·         Computers/Printers /Fax Machines

·         All Office Equipment Accepted

·         Luggage

Thanksgiving Meals for the Homeless in San Diego

You can feed 20 people for $35!

Go to the San Diego Rescue Mission's website: sdrescue.org

(Discuss this with your children and have them donate as well)

Read a book - and support Literacy programs

 Back to the Best Books
How the Classics Can Change Your life

by Marilyn Green Faulkner

This is one of the best books I've ever read and all the profit from it goes to support Literacy Programs. So, if you love to read, do yourself a favor and help others in the process.

Here is just one review from Amazon.com
"Marilyn Faulkner's enthusiasm and knowledge for good literature can convert any reader into a lover of the classics. In the past I have found myself intimidated by the length or content of the classics but this guide has helped me navigate my way through many pieces of literature I would have never before considered reading. I recommend this book to anyone looking to expand their library or for those looking to take a fresh look at classics they have read in the past. A must buy!"

Winter Clothing Drive for Afghanistan

 I got this email from my mother (Emily, below, is her best friend's grand daughter)

Hello everyone! The Egyptian Hospital here at Bagram is looking for donations to support the local families here in Afghanistan. Winter time is coming and right now the local families outside the wire don't have any warm clothing to help them get through this winter. So the military is asking for help by reaching out to church groups, friends and family back home, anyone and everyone that would love to help. The families need anything we can give them like zip sweaters, long sleeve shirts, socks, shoes, pants, gloves, blankets. The age range of the patients that come in to the hospital are from infants to adults. Anything you can think of will be greatly appreciated if you are willing to donate to those less fortunate.  If you would like to help out families on the other side of the world please send me your donations and I will make sure the donations get to the hospital and to the families. Do not feel obligated, only if you are willing and able.  My address is:

SSgt Emily Gaffey

CJTF 101 CJ6 Projects

APO, AE 09354

Words of Support for the military

Send troops an encouraging card - or send empty cards soldiers can use to write home.

For info, go to

OperationWriteHome.org

Do you have Books, Magazines, and CD's you are willing to part with?

Help relieve stress for our troops by logging on to:

BooksForSoldiers.com

for info on how to help give service members a little escape

Help Families of Troops

These young men have to leave their families behind as they go to battle to fight for freedom.  They hope someone will help their families when they are in need since they can't be there themselves.

Even small things like back packs for their children to start back to school, Easter Baskets, etc. are needed.

If you would like to help the families back home of our soldiers in the field, go to this website to see what you can do:


http://www.operationhomefront.net/

Games That Give

 Do you like to play computer games?
Now you can play for the cause!
More than 20 of the most popular "casual" games, all absolutely free, are now available here at The Hunger Site. The more you play*, the more you can help fight hunger!

How does it work?
Games that Give^TM provide a simple, free, and fun way to help the hungry by playing some of the most popular "casual games" of all time. The games contain sponsor advertising, and 70% of that advertising is donated to fight hunger.

Everybody wins!

The Hunger Site's charity partners get funding to help the hungry, sponsors get good advertising, and you get to play fantastic classics like Solitaire, Gems, Snake, Memory, and more!

Play the Recycling Game

Dosomething.org is the place for teens to find things online to do for others when they are off line. LOTS of interesting causes and activities to become involved with.

Go to their site and find something you think your teen would enjoy - then go to the site together and explore the possibilities.

Doing something is empowering and helps teens feel good about themselves.

Dosomething.org has come up with some fun online games. Here's one to try: (or go to dosomething.org/games/sudoku  and play sudoku - 70% of their advertising money goes to help their causes)

Small Donations Can Give BIG Benefits

The Child Health Site has put together eleven pages of ways you can help all over the world with donations as small as $1

Sit down with your children and see if they would like to donate their allowance to a good cause. (I'll bet they would!)

While you are at that site.  Look at the left margin.  Everything you buy from their store benefits children.
For example, Each "Good Times" Photo Album purchased (for only $21.95) will fund health services to save or improve the lives of 9 children.

we found this cute prayer box necklace that your teen daughter would love.  It is only $12.95 and when you purchase it, it funds services to help 4.5 children. There are hundreds, no thousands, of items in their store.  Check it out and start having your shopping help children.

Donations to Haiti Relief - Update

The flights to Haiti have been curtailed.  Donations for further relief can be made through one of seventeen organizations through the Network for Good website: 
http://www1.networkforgood.org/help-haiti-quake-relief

Donate Books to Africa

Books For Africa appreciates all book donations. It costs 50 cents to ship each book to Africa. Consider making a financial donation to cover the costs of shipping the books you donate. Please send financial donations separately in an envelope to the BFA office: Books For Africa, 253 East 4th Street, Suite 200, St. Paul, MN 55101, USA.

If mailing books, please send book donations to:

Books For Africa Warehouse-Atlanta
2971 Olympic Industrial Drive SE, Suite C
Smyrna, GA 30080   USA 

 For More Information about what kind of books to send or how to package, go to:  http://www.booksforafrica.org/books-computers/donate-books.html

Random Acts of Kindness

I can't overstate the importance of letting your children see YOU serve others. Let them see you make service a natural part of your life, and it will naturally become a part of their life.

Let someone go in front of you in the check out line.

Help an elderly neighbor by taking out their trash, or doing their grocery shopping.

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Have your children help you select canned goods to donate to food drives.

Write letters to missionaries or those serving in the military (if your children are old enough, have them add a note or a picture they've drawn)

Take a meal to a new mom.

Bake cookies for a new neighbor. (If you see someone moving in, you can bet they have no dishes or utensils to eat with that day. Bring a little bag of paper plates, napkins, plastic cups, plastic utensils, paper towels, toilet paper, Ivory liquid, etc. )

For a list of 52 Things you can do for anyone, anytime, go to: http://www.freewebs.com/kindnesshandbook/52thingsanytime.htm

New Year's Resolution:

Volunteer and Help Others

Volunteering has risen sharply in recent years. This suggests the possible emergence of a new civic generation and a resolve to make a bigger and better difference with your life.


Resolve to replace the pursuit of success and materialism with the pursuit of contribution and generosity. For this to occur, the critical question must move from, “How can I become successful?” to, “What can I contribute that will significantly impact other people's lives?” By focusing on what we can contribute, we automatically become successful.

Be an "Angel" to a needy child

When you are out doing your Christmas shopping, look for Salvation Army's "Angel Trees" - stop by and pick a child to shop for. (Let your children help shop for the child - they'll love it and want to do more).

If you can't find a tree, have your children put some money in the Salvation Army kettle - and tell the kids what the money is used for.  (see their website:  Angel Trees

(Note:  Some of you have complained that you can't find the Angel Trees in your area.  Good News! 
J C Penney has made it easy for you.  You can select your angel online! ) Go to jcp.com/angel  

"Give a Day, Get a Disney Day"

Breaking news…as announced on Good Morning America, if you give a day of volunteer service to a participating organization, you’ll get one day of free admission to a Disney Park. It’s a first-of-its-kind program called “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day.”

And yes, it’s that simple — a free one-day ticket to a Disneyland or Walt Disney World theme park for guests who volunteer a day of service to a participating organization. They’re celebrating you and the good things you do for your communities.

The program officially begins on January 1, 2010. When it’s live, you’ll be able to visit www.DisneyParks.com or http://www.disneyparks.ca/ and search for an eligible volunteer project. After completing the volunteer work, an e-mail will be sent from Disney with a link to print out a voucher to redeem at a theme park for a free one-day, one-park admission. And if you’re unable to use the ticket, it can be donated to a charity designated by Disney.

They are looking for 1 million people with a passion to make a difference. And they are working with HandsOn Network to do it. They’re helping make sure you find the perfect volunteer work. And many of the program’s volunteer opportunities will be for the family.

Family Christmas projects

Nothing feels more like Christmas than helping to brighten someone's day. Sit down with your family and discuss things you could do to spread a little joy in your neighborhood. Here are some ideas to start you off:

1. Go Christmas caroling to your neighbors.

2. Bring a basket of homemade goodies to a widow or someone who could use a visit.

3. Call a local charity that might need helpers during the holiday.

4. Call a local nursing home, or hospital and ask if there is someone who could use a visit.

5. Participate in the Salvation Army Angel tree program by buying a toy for a child.

6. If you live by a military base, call to see if any service men would like to join you for Christmas dinner.

Drop in and Decorate: Bake, Decorate, and Donate Cookies!

With the holidays approaching, many of us will be knee deep in flour, sugar, icing, and sprinkles making scores of holiday cookies. Of course, many of us make scores of cookies year-round because cookies just make us happy. Well if you're a cookie lover and love to make people happy, then you should know about Drop In & Decorate, a year-round, nonprofit organization, created by food writer, Lydia Walshin of The Perfect Pantry.

Lydia founded Drop In & Decorate in 2002, and before the end of this year, the 10,000^th cookie will be decorated  and donated . Here's how Drop In & Decorate works:

1. Bake some cookies.

2. Gather a group of family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. to decorate them

3. Donate the cookies to a nonprofit agency serving basic human needs in your own community.

If you’d like to host your own Drop In & Decorate event, Pillsbury and Wilton would like to help. Pillsbury has donated 50 VIP coupons, worth $3.00 each, off any Pillsbury product -- including sugar cookie mix, icing and flour -- to be distributed, first come, first served, while supply lasts, to anyone who plans to host a Drop In & Decorate event (max. 5 coupons per person). And Wilton will throw in a Comfort Grip cookie cutter, while supplies lasts. Write to lydia@ninecooks.com for more information on how to get your free coupons and cookie cutters.

Now, let's bake some cookies!

p.s.  You don't have to be a part of the Drop in and Decorate program - this is something you can do on your own.  Have your children help make, bake and decorate cookies and go with you to donate to a local rest home or neighbors who could use some cheering up.

Thanksgiving Food Drives

Don't forget to participate in local food drives for the holidays. (Have your children put the cans in the collection box so they can feel the spirit of giving)

Some grocery stores are asking for turkeys and they'll match your donation.

Here in San Diego we feed 480,000 people  (10,000 homeless, the rest are families in need). Our local rescue mission and the Salvation Army provides meals, but they depend on donations to help them do it.  Each meal costs less than $1  so if you make a donation of only ten dollars, you'll feed eleven people.

Donate a Laptop to "One Laptop Per Child"

The One Laptop per Child association develops a low-cost laptop— The "XO Laptop" (shown in photo)—to revolutionize how we educate the world's children. Their mission is "to provide educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning."

The laptops cost $199 each.  If you would like to donate one, go to: 

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/The_OLPC_Wiki

How Can I Donate Quilts to the TROOPS?

phrogster1 answers:

There are a couple of very reliable places that send quilts to those in military service and to veterans.

One is Quilts of Valor and the local group gave out two quilts today at the Veteran's Day program I attended. They have organizations in many states so you should be able to contact someone locally about your quilts.

The other is Operation Quiet Comfort. They would accept the jeans quilts. They also accept quilt squares from jeans that have messages on them and sew them into quilts that are then sent to wounded troops. I also know this group is reliable because of past experience with them through Girl Scouts. Many Girl Scout troops send quilt squares to them. They also have a Yahoo! group that they ask people to join so they can share information about the quilts that are sent.

http://www.qovf.org/
http://www.operationquietcomfort.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/operationquietcomfort/
http://www.persimmonquilts.com/QuiltsofValor.html

Donate to Charity by shopping at Amazon.com

This holiday, you can donate easily to leading charities with Amazon Payments. Amazon Payments gives you a simple and trusted way to donate online using the information in your Amazon.com account. Choose the charity you want to support and complete the donation on the charity's website without sharing your credit card information. According to Amazon, its new Holiday Giving with Amazon Payments highlights organizations such as American Red Cross, UNICEF, Greenpeace, Nature Conservancy, Feeding America, Heifer International, Autism Society of America, International Federation for Animal Welfare,  and Children's Miracle Network, who will accept donations using Amazon.com accounts.

So when you do your on-line Christmas shopping, make a contribution to your favorite charity.

Macy's "Feed America"

Macy's wants to provide 10 million meals to feed families in need.  Here's how YOU can help:

1.  Macy's National Charity Shopping Day is OCTOBER 17th, 2009.  You can purchase a $5 shopping pass at any Macy's store between now and then.  The entire $5 goes to your local food bank. Then shop at Macy's or Macys.com on October 17th for great savings.

2.  Participate in Macy's All American Dinner Party.  Pick a date, host a party, set a fundraising goal, and invite your friends to contribute.  Macy's will match your contributions.  Money goes to feed local families in need.

For more information, go to Macys.com/cometogether

(Note:  This is an annual event, so if you missed it this year, look for it next year.)

"Save Our Children's Sight"

The "Save Our Children's Sight" program effectively addresses and overcomes the transportation, language, cultural and financial barriers that face most disadvantaged populations. They have successfully reached out, through their EyeMobile, to 140 preschool and Head Start locations in San Diego County with the necessary vision care that will prevent long-term vision problems and blindness. Since January 2000, they have screened over 20,000 low-income preschoolers for serious eye disorders. Over 4,000 children were referred for complete eye examinations and were provided glasses, and/or specialist eye-care, as necessary.

If you would like to donate to help fund this program, Click HERE.

Cell Phones for Soldiers

Donate your used cell phones to the troops.  go to  http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/

Donate your old camera to charity

Do you have some old digital cameras lying around that you don't know what to do with? Why not let someone else use them?

Global Classroom Connection accepts donated digital cameras for use with children ages 5 to 19 years. The program pairs classrooms in countries across the globe to promote learning and cultural understanding.

Donate your hair to charity

Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. We meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics.. The prostheses we provide help to restore their self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.


The minimum length required for a donation is a 10” pony tail . So if you have LONG hair and are planning to cut it, consider donating it to Locks of Love.

If you only have an 8” pony tail to donate, The Pantene Pro-V Beautiful Lengths campaign collects hair donations from throughout the United States and Canada and turns them into wigs which are distributed free to women suffering from the loss of their hair due to the effects of chemotherapy needed to fight the cancer that is ravaging their bodies.

Donate your car to charity

Thanks to generous car donation donors like you, over 1 million automobiles (cars and trucks), boats, trailers, RV's, motorcycles and other vehicles have supported non-profit charitable causes across America

Donate My Car – will quickly arrange pick up of your vehicle donation in all continental states and Hawaii

Your vehicle donation will be towed away by a professionally licensed, bonded and insured towing company - so that it's hassle free

They handle the entire car donation process from start to finish - saving you the headache

Have the proceeds from your car donation go to the charity that you want to help, including the American Red Cross, American Diabetes Association, United Way, American Association for Cancer Research, United Breast Cancer Foundation, Humane Society & SPCA, Boy Scouts of America, USO, and many more

Donate your car and you'll not only receive a tax deductible car donation receipt and feel good about supporting a worthwhile cause, you'll also receive a fabulous travel gift entitling you and a guest to Three Vacation Certificates!

Donate shoes (old or new) to Soles 4 Souls

We need the 'gently worn' shoes taking up space in your closet. It is estimated that Americans have 1.5 billion pairs of unworn shoes lying in their closets. We can use each and every one of these pairs to make a tangible difference in someone's life.

Donate the shoes in your closet to: soles4souls.org

Clean Water Campaigns

Roughly one sixth of the world’s population does not have access to clean drinking water. (1.1 billion people)


Nearly two million children die each year from preventable disease due to unclean water and inadequate sanitation. (5000 deaths per day)

Forty billion working hours are spent carrying water each year in Africa.

Rural African households spend more than 25% of their time fetching water. This burden generally falls upon women and girls.

The Voss Foundation has partnered with Virgin Unite and singer-songwriter Jewel (and her Project Clean Water charity) to promote what they call “Give a Drop”,

If you care, GIVE A DROP now. (you can donate as little as $2)

Or go to charitywater.org 100% of your donation will directly fund freshwater projects in developing nations. Each $20 can give one person clean, safe drinking water for 20 years.

Recycle!

Recycling is important for the earth. In fact, the energy saved by recycling one aluminum can is enough to power a TV for three hours. Recycling aluminum cans each year saves enough energy to light Washington, D.C. for 3.7 years.

Have a special container for your aluminum cans. Take the kids with you to the recycling center. (You get paid for the cans, and you are protecting the environment. It's a win, win.)

(You can put the money you receive for recycling into your coin jar to donate to charity. See following blogs)

Clean Up the environment

When you take your children to the park or beach, end the outing by cleaning up the area around you. Hand each child a small garbage sack, or, you hold the sack and let the child/children put the litter in the sack. If there are aluminum cans, put them in a separate sack. (Be sure to stay with the children at all times. Don't let them get out of sight. Don't forget to bring a hand sanitizer to clean their hands after the activity)

Plant Roses that donate 10% to charity

Pope John Paul II Hybrid Tea Rose

$19.95

10% of net sales donated to the poor of sub-Saharan Africa. (More than $121,751 donated to date).  Pope John Paul II /White /Ovoid,Pointed buds / Blooms 5" / 50 petals / 16"-20" stems / Dark Green foliage / Strong,Citrus fragrance / Full Sun 

Nancy Reagan Hybrid Tea  or Ronald Reagan Rose

$19.95

10% of the net sales supports the work of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. (More than $232,962 donated to date). Nancy Reagan /Apricot /Ovoid buds / Blooms 5" / 30 petals / 16"-18" stems / Dark Green foliage / Light,Sweet fragrance / Full Sun  OR, the Ronald Reagan Rose.


All three available at:

http://www.rosemagazine.com/articles02/rosecatalog/rosecatalog2/

Help the Children

Help The Children is building a hospital in Northwest Guatemala where over 300,000 people are currently without medical care. The hospital will provide much needed medical care for seven Provinces in Northwest Guatemala. Help The Children would like to have the hospital completed by May 2010.

Help The Children is looking for 5,000 people to commit to donating $20 a month, for six months ($120 total) , to help continue funding the Love Carton Food Box Program and to complete the construction of the Guatemala Hospital Project.

Go to helpthechildren.org for more information

Every $1 plants a tree!

Help plant trees to restore areas damaged by wildfire, where critical wildlife habitat has been lost, and to clean our air and water.  Go to: http://www.americanforests.org/

Buy Concert Tickets and Donate to Charity

Is there a foster home in your community? * Teenagers LOVE going to concerts. The hottest ones these days are Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, and the American Idols.
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Call the home and ask how many would be interested in attending and be sure they have a way of transporting the kids to and from the concert before you purchase tickets.

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*Five Acres, in Pasadena, CA and the San Pasqual Academy in Escondido, CA are two that I'm aware of that would love your donations.

Buy Jewelry "for Charity"

Yes. If you purchase cetain items of jewelry, 100% goes to charity.

for $3,250 you can have Jennifer Meyer's 18 k-gold and diamond Star (or get without diamonds for $750) and the total amount goes directly to "Stand Up to Cancer.(https://su2c.thegivingbridge.com/necklace.asp )

For $550 you can have Temple St. Clair's 18k-gold Harvest pendant and the total amount goes to "Services and Food for the Homeless." (buy it at templestclair.com)

For $600 you can have Jennifer Fisher's 14k-rose-gold Leaf pendant and 100% goes to REST to help chemotherapy patients relieve pain and stress. (buy it at jenniferfisherjewelry.com)

We love this "Lovebird necklace."  Proceeds go to changing the lives of women in developing countries. $53 at shop.buildanest.com (put "lovebird necklace" in search bar).

For 30 Euros (about $50 including tax) you can buy this beautiful "clear drop of water" by Swedish designer, Karl-Oskar, and 10% goes to UNICEF for helping to supply clean water in Ethiopia,

To purchase, click  HERE  (and click on "art glass", then "jewelry")

for LOTS more choices, go to:  http://peaceofmindjewelry.com/charity.htm

Food for Thought

Play an on-line vocabulary game and for each correct answer, the sponsor will donate 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. It doesn't seem like much, but they have donated over 64 trillion grains of rice! Play the game at http://www.freerice.com/ and improve your vocabulary while feeding the hungry.

Combat illiteracy

Twenty-one million Americans can't read at all, 45 million are marginally illiterate and one-fifth of high school graduates can't read their diplomas,

What can YOU do?

• Be an example. Let children and teenagers see you as a positive example of reading. If families with children visit your home, let the kids browse your book collection and invite them to join in discussions about books. Never lecture or force kids to read. Just let them see your enthusiasm, and they will be more likely to catch the reading bug.

• Get your children library cards and take them to the library

• Start a lending library. Offer to let children borrow the books in your collection. You may want to keep track of your books and give kids a chance to check out your "library catalog" with an online program such as LibraryThing.com. If you live in an apartment complex, consider starting a give-one-take-one laundry room lending library. Just fill a cardboard box with a few books and leave the collection in your common laundry room. Tell your neighbors about the idea and watch as the people in your complex discover and share their favorite books. You can also start a book swap at your church, community group, or child’s school

• Give books as gifts

• Donate books to classroom libraries

Help "Room to Read"

Here's your chance to help bring education to children around the world. Help Room to Read reach their goal of 20,000 libraries by the year 2020! Founded by former Microsoft executive John Wood, Room to Read is dedicated to bringing schools, libraries and other educational opportunities to countries in need. In addition, they provide scholarships, publish local-language children's books and create computer and language labs. With 770 million illiterate adults in the world and 100 million children not enrolled in primary school, Room to Read needs your help! Click here to donate today!   (Every $1 equals 1 book!)

Donate Clothes to Charity:

You know about the Salvation Army, Veterans, and Deseret Industries.

Another you should know about is: Dress for Success (212-532-1922 ), whose numerous affiliates accept clothing donations throughout the U.S. It's a great cause: Their goal is to help needy women in its programs schedule job interviews. Once they do, DFS "personal shoppers" will outfit them in your donated suits (or other business-appropriate duds): and when the women land jobs, they come back for a week's worth of clothing suitable for their new offices. This organization has aided 450,000 women since it started, in 1997.

Sew Many Ways to Serve

12.6 million children have been orphaned by the AIDS epidemic in Africa. This means that 8 out of every 10 children have lost a parent. As the death toll continues to mount at a rapid pace, there is a tremendous need for supplies for babies and small children who have been orphaned by the AIDS outbreak. While we may not be able to put an end to this growing epidemic, we can do something. We know of an organization that supplies quilts to an orphanage in Tanzania. (One of its members has personally checked out this particular orphanage and our quilts will be hand delivered to the children in need at least once a year.)

Quilting is something you can do at your leisure, in your own home, and in a relatively short period of time. If you don't quilt but would like to help, you can donate old, gently used baby blankets and quilts to the cause. We are also collecting fabric, yarn, and batting for those people who will make the quilts if supplied the materials.

You can send your quilts and/or materials to:
The Johnson family
P. O. Box 1505
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067

The young and innocent victims of this scourge are growing in number every day. Anything you can do to alleviate their suffering is appreciated. This project will continue as long as this post is up. THANK YOU!

Disaster Relief

Unicef and the American Red Cross are always in need of your donations.  You don't have to wait for a disaster. But whenever you hear of one, give what you can.  (It's MONEY that is needed first. It takes too long to get clothing and food to the victims.)

Family First

When you think about serving others, your first priority should be your family and friends... but finding time to visit in between naps, carpools, and work (and/or housework as the case may be) can prove difficult. Nevertheless, there are ways to keep in touch and show your love:

Send them a kiss by going to www.virtualkiss.com/ekiss

Send a free greeting card by going to Kiwee.com , MyFunCards.com , or 123Greetings.com

Send them links to family photos or blogs (by utilizing blogspot, myspace, flickr.com, or babyjellybeans.com, to name a few) This is especially helpful for busy moms because it allows you to update your entire family with one link in a mass e-mail.

Send flowers, a cookie bouquet, or a special drawing or craft from your child to let them know they are in your thoughts.

And, naturally, don't forget the power of a simple phone call or e-mail "just because."