The quandary: We feel terrible. Just horrible. And oh so helpless… if only there was something we could DO for them.

The answer: Ummmm. Did you forget that WE ARE THE INTERNET?!?!!??! And also, Yes We Can!!!

The result: Brandy and your Hot Awesome Dude… this one’s for you. Love, The Internet.

Our Plea

Our friend Brandy is a brilliant writer, a wonderful teacher, and a generous friend.  And she is in love with a man who has just been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

We are raising money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Fund in his name.  For the price of a cinnamon dolce latte, half-caf, hold the whip, you can be part of an effort to cure a disease that affects approximately 750,000 people worldwide.

http://www.loveharder.org

Every dollar brings us a dollar closer to a cure.  And every donation brings a sliver of hope to a girl who needs all the hope she can get.

Love Harder,

Jamie

What You Can Do

• Give. Be part of a worldwide effort to cure a disease that affects approximately 750,000 people worldwide.  Every dollar helps.
• Pass it on. Forward this story to five people.  Share this blog post.  Become our fan on Facebook.
• Love harder. Life is short, love is unbending, and no one knows what could happen next. Tell someone you love them today.

Where Your Money Goes

• The American Institute of Philanthropy recently named The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation one of the best organizations to give to in terms of their accountability and use of resources.
• By working closely with researchers, clinicians and partners in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, the MMRF has helped bring multiple myeloma patients four new treatments that are extending lives around the globe.
• The MMRF has advanced twenty Phase I and Phase II clinical trials. They need your support to advance these clinical research programs and accelerate the development of better, more effective treatments.
• The MMRF’s Multiple Myeloma Genomics Initiative recently became the first to sequence the multiple myeloma whole genome in its entirety.
• A whopping 98% of your donation to the MMRF will be used immediately to support high-priority multiple myeloma research.
• With diminishing funding for early stage drug development and the next myeloma treatments not expected to be approved until 2011, the MMRF desperately needs your help.

DONATE: http://www.loveharder.org
CONTACT: theloveharderfund@gmail.com
FACEBOOK: http://facebook.loveharder.org
MORE INFO: http://www.themmrf.org

Last month I was asked to participate in the Donors Choose Social Media Challenge.

DonorsChoose.org grew out of a high school in the Bronx where teachers saw their students going without the materials needed to learn.  Our website provides an easy way for everyday people to address this problem. Public school teachers post project requests that range from a $100 classroom library, to a $600 digital projector, to a $1,000 trip to the zoo. People like you can choose which projects to fund and then get photos and thank-you letters from the classroom.

Very cool, isn’t it?

Well, BlogHer asked me to choose a couple projects for the Chicago area. I picked two I’m really excited about and would love to see funded.

The first being for a class of first graders, their teacher wants to give them books as Christmas presents to encourage reading in the home as well as in school. These children might not get presents otherwise. She is giving one of my staple books for a child’s library, Where the Wild Things Are. When it comes to gifts for kids, I always give books (seriously, I have a list of favorites and pick from it for each holiday!). Reading was such a huge part of my childhood and I think everyone should have the opportunity to exposed to books and learn to love them. Read more about Mrs. S’s project.

The second project I chose is for an 8th grade classroom at a school where most students are low income and minorities. I remember when I was in 8th grade, I was probably in that preteen angsty stage where I just didn’t care about anything, let alone reading. So in order to encourage these students to read, the teacher is going with short stories. He hopes to get two class sets of classic stories and fairy tales. Read more about Mr. W’s project.

I’m writing this post to ask for you, my awesome readers, to rally together and help get these projects funded. After all, it is a challenge and I know my 20 Something Bloggers are up for a challenge!

Or if you’re not too into these two Chicago projects, check out the rest from all over the country. Every dollar helps, no matter who it is going to.

But if we get the two projects funded, I’ll do something really awesome for you guys. I don’t know what yet but I’m open to suggestions.

Let’s make this happen!

I’m going to stick with yesterday’s theme what you would do with ridiculous amounts of money.

Kinda.

I always say that if I get rich, one of the things I’m going to do is buy a ton of land and build a puppy farm. No, not like a creepy puppy mill. It will basically be a dog sanctuary for homeless puppies who haven’t found their families just yet. They won’t be locked up in tiny cages, will still be safe and fed and will get tons of love. Countless foofoo dog toys and peanut butter bones to cater to their every puppy whim.

And even though I’m not a big fan of cats, there will be a kitty barn too because well, I just can’t leave them out.

That would be my giving back because everyone knows what a sucker I am for dogs. Yes, the Sarah McLaughlin commercials make me cry and I’m not ashamed to admit that I have teared up at the Pedigree Dogs Rule commercials too. I’m sure that’s no surprise to anyone here though.

Mark my words, when I figure out what I’m doing with my life and it makes me millions, there will be a puppy farm.

Your turn now.

You were just given a million dollars but had to give it away to a cause of your choice, what would it be?

(It can be an existing cause or one you want to start)

I’ve had dogs all my life. Really, ever since I can remember. We had my Leo dog (the greatest mutt ever), my Princess (who was my shadow 13 years), my dad’s dogs (including Winston/Smokey/fatboy) and now my Edie, who you all know and love. I really can’t imagine not having a dog in my life.

There are so many animals that don’t have families to love and they might never get the chance to bring that joy to someone else’s life. You might not be at the place in your life where you can adopt a dog or cat of your own or you might not want a pet but you can still help.

Who’s Your Dachshund? decided to help out 10 shelters in the US and Canada by forming Donate4Dachshunds.

Edie says every little bit helps so do it or she will NOM you to death.

The other day I received an email from BlogHer letting me know about this campaign that Tide has going on right now. I’m under no obligation to post about this but I just think it’s a great cause so I wanted to share.

Tide Loads of Hope helps in the aftermath of a natural disaster by providing clean clothes and a sense of comfort to families in need. Partnering with Feeding America, they travel to disaster affected neighborhoods with the Tide Loads of Hope trucks or vans, their free mobile laundry service.

The Tide Loads of Hope truck:

• 32 high-efficiency washers and dryers stationed on the truck
• Can do 300 wash and dry cycles a day – equal to one year’s worth of laundry for a single family
• Will wash about 9,000 loads of laundry over a four-week period
• Leveraged during massive disasters where electricity is unavailable in the region

The Tide Loads of Hope vans:

• In partnership with a local laundromat, the Tide Loads of Hope vans provide free laundry service at the same load rate as the trucks
• Leveraged during disasters where neighboring communities still have a source of electricity

To date, Tide Loads of Hope has washed more than 35,000 loads of laundry for over 20,000 families. Most importantly, the Tide Loads of Hope program means we’re equipped to take action whenever and wherever there is a need in our country.

As you can see, this is a pretty great thing. If you want to help out and show your support, you can do so by purchasing one of these neat Tide vintage tees. I’m eying the red or blue one myself!

You can purchase your own here for only $20.

Think of the good it will do!

Have a great weekend and check back Monday to hear all about my Nintendo party I’m hosting on Saturday!