Resale Shop

It is official. I completed my provisional year of The Junior League. Your provisional year in the league is very much like pledging--it gives you an overview of all that The League does to improve the community through effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.

Now that I have learned about The Junior League I am placed into the community as a volunteer. My placement as we call it is at the Resale Shop. I am quite excited. As a provisional, I spent a lot of time in the Resale Shop working. Now as a member on The Resale Shop committee, I have the opportunity to learn more about the what goes on behind the scenes to make The Resale Shop such as success. The Resale Shop sells gently used clothes the community. But before you turn off, let me add that the Resale Shop isn't just another thrift store. All of the proceeds made at the Resale Shop go back into the community by funding the various grants that The League awards to groups like The Ronald McDonald House, Easter Seals, Family Eldercare, Habitat for Humanity, Austin Smiles, and the list goes on and on.

In addition to that, every month the resale shop gives foster parents credits to alleviate the costs of things such as clothing and shoes. You would be amazed how much foster parents can purchase for their foster children with the credits. [If you know of a foster parent in Austin, send them our way!]

I am excited about serving at the Shop. I can tell this will be a great year and an awesome placement. If you are in the area, come by and support the community.

What Rox: Sale days at the Resale Shop--Every third weekend of the month (Thursday through Saturday), clothes and sometimes more are half off at the shop...quite the steal and for a great cause.

Get on Board with "Destination Joy"!

So last week I told you about the national aspect of the Make-A-Wish Foundation's "Destination Joy Campaign". This week I thought I would share with you how those of you who live in Central and South Texas can get involved with Make-A-Wish. It is simple! Sign up for the newsletter. Each month you will received an enewsletter from Make-A-Wish. The Enewsletter includes, wish stories and ways you can share the power of a wish, Believe me you won't want to miss it.

All Aboard Central & South Texans for Destination JoySM You and 10 of your friends have the power to grant a wish today! Destination JoySM presented by Lay's® is the Make-A-Wish Foundation's campaign to inspire and empower Central & South Texans to share their much-needed time, talents and resources to grant the wishes of the 333 local children a year who will be diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions. Currently we can grant 200 wishes a year, and we need your help to grant 333 wishes!!! Please ask 10 of your family, friends, and colleagues to sign up for the chapter Enewsletter, by forwarding them this email today. Help us reach 10,000 Central & South Texans via email each month with magical wish stories and ways they to can share the power of a wish®. I’m on board, Make-A-Wish! I want to help you reach your destination and bring joy to children in Central & South Texas! Sign me up for the Enewsletter Drive me to see 7 ways to help local kids needing the power of a wish

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Sign me up for the Enewsletter

Drive me to see 7 ways to help local kids needing the power of a wish

--RXW

Make-A-Wish's Destination Joy Kickoff

I just returned from the Chicago's kick of for the Make-A-Wish Foundation's Destination Joy Campaign presented by Lay's.

Destination Joy is a campaign to increase awareness of Make-A-Wish's mission. In the next four years 100,000 children will be diagnosed with a life threatening medical condition. Make-A-Wish needs the help of everyone to make sure that those 100,000 children get their wish.

There are seven ways that YOU can help out:
1) Donate Cash
2) Donate Treasures i.e. frequent flyer miles, hotel points etc.
3) Donate Time & Talents (I will tell you next week how I am donating my Jazzercise talents to the cause)
4) Get involved locally (click here to find out more)
5) Get a Wish Star (available at Cold Stone Creamery)
6) Bid in the Online Auction
7) Shop to help (click here to find out more)

I was in Chicago for the official Destination Joy kickoff where I shared the message of Destination Joy with the media. The event culminated in Union Station around a wish for Christopher. Christopher's wish was to conduct a train. The awesome element beyond the fact that Christopher's wish was granted, was that Christopher conducted a train named after another wish kid, Ollie. Ollie's wish to conduct a train was granted several years ago. So enamored with Ollie, METRA (Chicago's transit authority) named the train after Ollie.






While I was there, I also met a wish kid, named Anna from Oklahoma. Like me, Anna was an ambassador for the Destination Joy campaign. To hear Anna talk about what getting her wish meant to her and her family was so touching--it allowed her to be a kid again and her parents had the opportunity to relax for a moment.

I encourage you all to get involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. You will be happy you did!


- RXW


Check out this television ad reenacting a young boy's wish to be super hero Beetle Boy.

Spring Cleaning = Service

Spring is the time of year that we all get enthused to clean! Lately when I look in my closet, I get frustrated because it is so cluttered. So this weekend I am going to go through my closet and get rid of the clothes I don't need. I want it out of there...and I want to do something meaningful with my belongings.

At Riverbend, the young professionals group, Untitled has been focusing on the ryhthm: "Have two. Give one." What better time to implement this rhythm than in the Spring? Instead of giving our items away, (which I do year round and strongly believe in), Untitled has been selling the items on Craigslist/Buffalo Xchange/etc. With the money that Untitled has raised we will find meaningful ways to directly impact the lives of those in need.

I am a little behind, only now being home to go through my closet, but I am determined to do it. Better late than never right?

So we are halfway through the process and by the end of this month, I will let you know what the impact has been on those in need and those in Untitled.

- RXW

Woman of the Year: Go Charmaine!

During my trip to Nashville, Rochelle and I met up with Charmaine, my Apprentice cast mate.
As we were catching up, Charmaine shared with me that she has been nominated for Woman of the Year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This motivated me to find out more about what Charmaine is doing for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and about the society's mission.
If you are in Nashville, look out for Charmaine's upcoming events supporting the society.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education, and patient services. The Society's mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.


As a Women of the Year nominee, Charmaine has developed an campaign to raise money for LLS. Here is how you can help:
Charmaine has been nominated as a candidate for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's "Woman of the Year". Find out more about these and other blood related cancers at www.lls.org

Help Charmaine with her fundraising campaign! Click HERE to submit a tax-deductible donation to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Already donated and still want to contribute? Help Charmaine with her major fundraising event scheduled for this spring. You can help by offering your goods or services for the event. (Silent Auction Items, Food & Catering, Printing, Entertainment, Venues, and Ad Sponsorship (placement at Golf Tournament and/or Gala).

Check out the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society near you a LLS. Good luck Charmaine!


What Rox: If you are in or near the Nashville area, you can also support Charmaine by purchasing a discount card for the hottest restaurants in Nashville including Cabana, for a minimum donation. The cards give you awesome discounts and through your support you are helping out the Leukemia & Lymphoma society. How great is that ? Look out for these cards around the city.

Make-A- Wish Destination Joy

My first Make-A-Wish experience came while I was on The Apprentice. My team, Synergy, had won a task and for our reward, we had the honor of granting a young girl, Daeshira's wish--to have a shopping spree at Toys-R-Us. As I wrote in Footprints In The Boardroom,

(Picture of us outside Toys-R-Us waiting for Daeshira to arrive)

We took Daeshira on a shopping spree with her parents and her sister. To see the looks on their faces and the happiness it brought them was priceless. And you think: Why am I here anyway? Why am I here competing for a job? Then you realize that God puts you here for a reason and it was good for us to put all the competition aside and focus - not on ourselves, because I think this whole process can be so selfish- but to focus on Daeshira. That was such an awesome experience: to grant Daeshira's wish. What is even more notable is that she wanted to buy things for her family and her friends - not just for herself. So we said: "No take one of everything in the store!" She was so precious, quite the young lady. I'm completely enamoured by her.

I realized that I don't have to get up every morning worrying about much. But Daeshira does. She has so much to worry about and yet something such as going shopping which some would see as minor, made her day; no, her life. Daeshira's parents and her sister were also wonderful. They were so grateful; her mom kept saying. "Thank you, thank you so much." One of the best things in life is giving to others and I'm glad that as cut throat as The Apprentice was, we were able to pause, take a moment and give back.

Because of my experience with Daeshira, I am now serving as a spokesperson for Make-A-Wish's Destination Joy campaign presented by Lay's. Destination Joy, which officially kicks off in June, is the Foundation's first national campaign to inspire people to donate their time, talents, and resources to grant the wishes of courageous children. In the next four years, 100,000 children in the U.S. will be diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions. But we all can do something to bring a little joy into the lives of these wonderful children.

And by the way, Daeshira is doing very well and still talks about her wish.

I will be blogging about Make-A-Wish and Destination Joy presented by Lay's more as the official campaign kicks off, but if you would like to find out how you can get involved visit www.wish.org.

- RXW

What Rox:

Junior League--More Than Meets the Eye

A little over a year ago, I was looking for new opportunities to serve the community. Several of my friends at work (these are from the lawyer days), were members of the Junior League of Austin. Now I will admit, that initially I grimaced at the thought of the "Junior League." First of all, it sounded way too "sorority" like to me. Being a woman who was never in a sorority, I didn't want to start now. Secondly, as a minority, I had some preconceived notions of what type of woman was in the Junior League. And finally, I wasn't really sure what the Junior League did...I mean wasn't just a bunch of women who get together and sell cookbooks. I don't cook, why on earth would I want to do that? Isn't a group of high society women who made a high society organization for their socializing? Again,why would I want to be a part of that?

One year later, I am finishing up my provisional year of the Junior League of Austin. Why you ask? Because through a little bit of research, I was pleasantly surprised about what the Junior League accomplishes each year. The mission of the League is to Develop the potential of women, Improve the community, and Promote voluntarism. This is practically accomplished every day within the League. The League raises funds through "A Christmas Affair," and the Resale Shop to fund grants to non-profit agencies in the community to assist in their charitable cause. In addition to awarding monetary grants to the agencies, the League provides womanpower to the agencies in the form of "placements". Every member of the League is given a placement with one of the agencies in the community. Agencies supported by the Junior League of Austin last year include Mother's Milk Bank, the Presbyterian Children's Home, The Ronald McDonald House, and Austin Smile. This gives the members an opportunity to learn important leadership skills and make a direct impact on the community.

As a provisional, my placement was with the Resale Shop. I LOVE the Resale shop. This was my first soiree into retail, and on a personal level, I love the customer service aspect of it. And I enjoy running the cash register as well. :-) What I love most about the Resale shop is that fact that foster parents receive $20 credit each month per child to shop at the Resale shop. $20 goes a long way with children's clothes. Every third Thursday through Saturday (counted by the Saturday) we have a big sale. Clothes and shoes are usually 1/2 off during the sale. Quite a deal for our customers (especially since there are a lot of designer stuff in the shop.)

As my provisional year comes to a close, I am truly happy that I joined the League. The impact that the League makes each year on the community is substantial. I am proud to be a part of a group of women who believe in improving the community. Plus, I haven't had to cook once! Score.

For more information about the Junior League of Austin click here.
To find a Junior League in your community, click here.

- RXW
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Austinites--Upcoming Community Event:

March 15, 16, 23
WACOAL FIT FOR THE CURE -Get fitted for a Wacoal bra. For each fitting, the Austin Komen for the Cure Affiliate will receive $2 with a $1000 minimum. Click here for locations and details. For information about a Fit For the Cure event in your community go to the Wacoal Location Finder

If you have an upcoming community event (anywhere around the world!) that you would like me to highlight in my blog email me (use the mail link below) and I will put it on my blog.

Komen For The Cure

Community involvement has always been important to me. Whether it was serving in high school through the Mayor’s Youth Committee, or painting house for underprivileged at Baylor’s Steppin’ Out, giving back is what fulfills me most. Albert Schweitzer said, “I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.” In that vein each Thursday I will highlight service. I will let you know what I am up to or ways that you can give back to your community.

I traveled to Dallas, home of South Fork and the Cowboys for the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Affiliate Conference.
As a board member of the Austin Affiliate, I attended the annual conference to learn about the forecast for Komen in the new year. With the new name: "Komen for the Cure" instead of "Komen Foundation" and the 25th anniversary year, you can imagine the Komen is geared to make even greater strides in the fight to eliminate breast cancer.
In addition learning about our new programs, the progress that has been made by scientists, and the dedication our sponsors have committed to for the upcoming year, I had the opportunity to meet the members of other affiliates and share ideas.
The cheer all weekend, all year, and until breast cancer is a disease of the past was, "I Am The Cure." There is so much that each one of us can do to prevent breast cancer from taking lives: early detection, education, donating your time, talents, and treasures, just to name a few.

Three highlights for me were meeting Rene Syler, former co-host of CBS' Early Show. Renee recently underwent a double Mastectomy as a preventative measure--both of her parents have breast cancer. Rene was dynamic and empowering and I am excited to see what great things she will do in the future.
In fine Dallas (notice I didn't say Texas because that would include Austin ;-P) fashion, we has a Texas hoedown at Eddie Deans. Although I was a bit skeptical, I had an absolute ball. We dined on bbq, danced to a country band, watched armadillo races, took pictures, and I got a picture with a longhorn, on a longhorn!! As I was on top of the longhorn, I yelled Sic 'em Bears!"
On the last night after awards were given to the top affiliate and Nancy Brinker gave her final empowering words, we danced the night away to Starship, as in Jefferson Starship (or is it Airplane), as in We Built This City, Sara, Set the Night to Music, and Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now. Need I say any more?

I was blown away by Nancy Brinker, the founder of Komen who made a promise to her sister who died from breast cancer, that she would not stop fighting until there was a cure for this disease. The power and the emotion with which Nancy Brinker speaks about and acts to eliminate breast cancer would make one think the promise she made to her sister Susan G. Komen, was made yesterday, not 25 years ago. I commend Nancy for her strength and determination.
I encourage you all to get involved with the fight and will be sharing ways throughout the year. You can find out more about Komen at www.komen.org


- RXW