Neighbor.com, a local online community, has formed a for-benefit partnership with Menlo Park-based children’s charity My New Red Shoes to help buy clothes for local homeless children for their first day of school. Through August 31, for every opinion of a local business that people write at Neighbor.com using the code SHOES, Neighbor will donate $1 to My New Red Shoes – up to $10,000. Here’s just one example of a child for whom My New Red Shoes has made a huge difference:
“When Travis, a 14-year old homeless boy, landed a summer job last year, he was thrilled to finally be able to save money for new school clothing. But when Travis’s mother lost her job, he had no choice but to turn over his summer savings to keep his family afloat. The day Travis received a $50 gift card from My New Red Shoes, he sat down and began to cry. His dream of arriving at school feeling like “just another kid” was going to come true after all. Travis later told a shelter staff member that he believed the help he received from My New Red shoes was a reward for his selfless dedication to his family.”
I would like to invite Hearts for Homeless to participate in this campaign by simply sharing news of the initiative with your committee and volunteers. No monetary donation is requested. You can use part of this email, or I can send you text that you can send on to folks. This is an excellent opportunity for people to make a difference in the local community without having to write a check or organize a large project. It has all the elements of local good: local homeless children benefit from what people around them say about local businesses, and in turn, these companies get positive notice.
Participation is simple. People just do this:
1. Click to go to Neighbor.com.
2. Enter the code SHOES.
3. Write a review (or two) of local services you’ve used - dentist, doctor, auto-repair person, massage therapist, attorney, preschool, school, manicurist, dry cleaner, favorite café …
4. Please share this with friends and colleagues, so they can also participate in this local drive to make a difference to local children.
Please just keep in mind that
this back-to-school campaign closes in 10 days, so if you want to help some terrific kids, the time to act is
now.
Share your opinion now and put a smile on the face of a local child!
Thanks again for your support of this back to school campaign. Together, we are helping deserving children start school with pride and a smile!
Feel free to call me at 650.388.2087 or email me with any questions.
Thanks,
Emily Marciniak
P.S. I volunteered last week at one of the homeless shelters that My New Red Shoes serves, and it is incredibly moving to look into these children’s eyes and know that we can help them feel better about themselves and about going to school with just a few minutes of time spent on the computer in our homes.