Pampers Little Miracle Mission Giveaway – $50 AmEx Gift Card

This giveaway is closed. Congratulations to the winner, @Ardy22!

It’s been an honor for me to work with Pampers ever since I was invited to a blogging event at their headquarters in July 2008.  All three of my kids wore Pampers diapers, even though they were often more expensive than other brands, because trial and error taught me that Pampers were softer and way more absorbent. After my first son was born in 1996, when Chris and I were still struggling to get by on entry level jobs, my Mom would often drop by with packs of Pampers diapers and wipes, which were always so appreciated.

Pampers knows that many parents are struggling right now to provide even the basics for their families, especially with all of the recent natural disasters we’ve had. The Pampers Little Miracles Mission campaign on Facebook gives everyone a way to help out without having to spend any of their own money! All you have to do is go to www.facebook.com/pampers and click the Miracle Missions link on the left side.

For every click of the “I support” button on the Miracles Facebook app, Pampers will donate one diaper, one pack of wipes, and one dollar to Direct Relief International ® to help those in affected areas. For every story shared on the Miracles Facebook app, we will donate an additional two diapers, two packs of wipes, and two dollars to Direct Relief International ®.  That’s all you have to do to help!  After you submit your pledge, you can enter an optional giveaway for a year’s supply of diapers and wipes, too!

You might have already seen this Pampers commercial on network TV, I have and I had a lump in my throat by the end :)

Pampers sent me a $50 American Express Gift Card so that I could perform my own “Little Miracles Mission” right here in Lansing.  About 16 years ago, a family member gave us a new microwave that we didn’t need because ours worked just fine, so we searched for a place to donate the microwave to that would put it to good use.  We found Haven House in East Lansing. When Pampers contacted me about participating in this campaign, I knew right away that I would buy Pampers diapers and wipes with the money and donate them to Haven House.

The details are still being worked out, and I’m not even sure I’ll be allowed to take photos there because of safety issues, but I’ll take whatever photos I can and share them in a follow up post.  Haven House’s mission is to provide emergency housing and support services for one-parent and two-parent families with children. The shelter helps families who are homeless prepare for permanent housing by developing and promoting self-sufficiency, stability, and financial responsibility. Diapers and wipes are on their very long list of items they need on an ongoing basis.

Enter this giveaway and you can win a $50 AmEx gift card to perform your own “Little Miracle Mission” for someone you love or someone struggling in your community, thanks to Pampers! And please stop by facebook.com/pampers and the Miracle Missions page and click the pledge to have diapers and wipes donated to Direct Relief International, thanks!

MAIN ENTRY: For your main entry, leave a comment on this post telling me how you will use the gift card if you win. Will you use it to buy diapers and wipes for yourself, a family member, a friend, someone struggling in your community? I’d love to hear. This must be done before any bonus entries will count. Comments left with keywords instead of a real first name or blog name will be DELETED, no exceptions.

ENTRY DATES AND RULES: Enter by July 12th 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Open to U.S. mailing addresses only. The winner will be chosen using the “And The Winner Is” plugin and emailed for their mailing address and daytime phone number (for package tracking). This information will be forwarded to the P.R. person handling the giveaway and the shipment of the prize. Table for Five is not responsible for lost or stolen prizes.

BONUS ENTRIES: Earn a bonus entry for each of the following that you do or have done. Leave a separate comment for each-

  • Subscribe to the Table for Five feed in a reader or by email using the convenient RSS button in the sidebar. Leave a comment telling me which way you subscribed. (1 entry)
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  • Like this giveaway on Facebook using the FB button at the end of the giveaway post, leave a comment letting me know. (1 entry)
  • Add the giveaway URL to any blog contest linky. You get one bonus entry for each site where you link the giveaway! Leave a comment for each that includes the URL of the linky site. (1 entry for each)
  • Follow @Table4Five on Twitter and tweet the giveaway by using the retweet button at the bottom of the post or by copy/pasting this message: I’m entering to win a $50 AmEx gift card from @Table4Five and @Pampers! Ends 7/12, 11:59 pm EST. http://wp.me/p9SRW-2ns You can tweet once per day, leave a separate comment for each with your tweet URL. (1 entry per day)

THESE ARE WORTH THREE ENTRIES. LEAVE THREE NUMBERED COMMENTS FOR EACH THAT YOU DO:

  • Connect to Me! Become a Google Friend Connect Fan of mine using the button in the sidebar and let me know in each comment. NOTE – If you don’t see the button and you’re using Chrome, try switching browsers.
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  • “Like” Table for Five on Facebook by clicking the “like” button in the sidebar and let me know in each comment. My page loves having fans! :)

THESE ARE WORTH FIVE ENTRIES. LEAVE FIVE NUMBERED COMMENTS FOR EACH THAT YOU DO:

  • Link to Table for Five on your sidebar or grab my button from the sidebar and post it on your blog. Leave five separate, numbered comments with the URL. NOTE: I redesigned my button so if you already have it, please replace the code, thanks!
  • Blog about the giveaway with a link back to this post. Leave five separate, numbered comments with the URL.

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I’ll choose the winner using the “And the Winner Is” plugin on July 13th, announce it by editing the post, and email the winner for their mailing address. Shipping will be handled by the sponsor. Thanks for entering and good luck everybody!

disclosure: I was provided with a $50 AmEx to spend on diapers and wipes for a needy family, information, and the opportunity to host this giveaway. No other compensation was received.

Lil Baby Cake Diaper Cakes! So Cute!

The Mom-Created Lil Baby Cakes is a one-of-a-kind site for purchasing handmade, made in the USA baby gifts, including the absolutely amazing “Diaper Cake”. I’ve been having so much fun just browsing the site, wishing I had a friend about to have a baby shower so that I would have an excuse to buy a diaper cake and some of the great Baby Gifts! Lil Baby Cakes has a charming collection of gifts for baby girls and boys as well as neutral gifts for expectant parents who are waiting to be “surprised”. Some of the gifts available include super-soft Gund teddy bears, “Satineesnugs” which are soft blankets combined with a stuffed animal, and “Big Brother” or “Big Sister” photo albums to help siblings feel special.

“WOW” your guests at a baby shower by purchasing any of the centerpieces at Lil Baby Cakes, which would also make incredible Baby Shower Gifts. Made from real, usable Pampers Swaddlers diapers and the highest quality baby products from Burt’s Bees and Johnson & Johnson, each “diaper cake” is assembled by hand in a completely smoke- and pet-free studio. Each tier of the “cake” is made of the diapers, plus additional items tied to the sides, topped with a stuffed animal. The more tiers the cake has, the more diapers and other baby items it has. There’s a cake design to fit most any shower theme, including classic Winnie the Pooh, and even diaper cakes meant for baby showers for a mom expecting twins. To give you an idea, here’s what comes in the Lil Garden Party 4-Tier Diaper Cake:

* Approximately 70 Pampers Brand Swaddlers Diapers
* Baby Gund Teddy Bear Named Puddin
* 2 Luxury washcloths
* Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo, baby wash, baby lotion, baby powder
* 4 oz. coordinating bottle
* Embellishments to enhance the garden

This cake is approximately 12 inches wide x 18 inches tall. Each Lil’ Baby Cake comes beautifully wrapped with premium ribbon, bow & white tulle – ready for giving.

Don’t let the price of Diaper Cakes stop you from considering them, if you think about purchasing each of those items individually, plus putting them together, I think the prices seem reasonable (especially for me, the least crafty person ever.) If three people would have spent about $50.00 each anyway, they can pool that money towards one spectacular diaper cake that will be sure to be the hit of the baby shower plus give the new parents items they can really use right away!

How YOU can help wipe out Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus

Yes, YOU, you right there, reading this site. Do you have five cents? Your five cents can SAVE A LIFE. WOW, right? In poor countries like Angola, women give birth on dirt floors and then their umbilical cords are cut with knives made from a piece of sugarcane pulled right out of the ground. Do you know what lives in dirt? TETANUS. In this country, we get vaccinated against tetanus as infants, and then booster shots if we get cut on something. These poor women who have their umbilical cords cut with dirty knives don’t have that, unless WE HELP. By the way, once a mother or newborn gets tetanus, they are going to die. Painfully. It causes excruciating muscle spasms and renders them unable to eat or drink, and then they die. The video I watched during the UNICEF presentation in Cincinnati was agonizing. But it also made me hopeful because I CAN HELP. I have five cents.

There are a few ways you can help- one is by clicking the widget in this post and in my sidebar and donating what you can. Yes, even one dollar, because that buys twenty vaccines. You can also buy specially marked packages of Pampers, look for the 1 pack = 1 vaccine sticker on the package. Don’t need diapers? Do you have a friend or family member who is pregnant? Does your nursery at church keep diapers stocked for infants? What about your local daycare center or women’s shelter?

Now, I asked the PRESIDENT of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF this question during her presentation- how do I know for SURE that my purchase of a pack of diapers or my donation to the Pampers/UNICEF fund will REALLY be used to buy a vaccine? How do I know the money won’t go to some corrupt government? Her answer? UNICEF does not work with governments. They work with NGOs, non-governmental organizations. They send a UNICEF employee to a country, and that person takes up residence there. They get to know the people in their village, they meet local leaders, they gain trust. THEN they help these organizations set up programs, clinics, whatever they need. So, for example, Pampers worked with UNICEF to set up the vaccination program, and the money that is donated goes directly to those non-governmental organizations to be spent on purchasing vaccines.

I hardly have the words to tell you what it means to me to have been invited to sit in the room with the President of UNICEF and ask her questions about her job. I also want you to know that the people who work for Pampers? Are absolutely AMAZING. When you think about a giant multinational corporation, you probably think about a bunch of men in suits sitting in offices making all the decisions, right? Well, in the case of Pampers, that couldn’t be further from the truth. One concept that we heard again and again is that products at Pampers are developed from listening to people’s stories.

The Moms on the Pampers Testing Panel who bring in their babies, diaper them, then talk to a Pampers employee about how the diaper feels and fits, they are helping develop diapers. The people in Brazil and China and Germany who see a Pampers employee in their grocery store demonstrating diapers tell them how much they appreciate being able to sleep longer at night because Pampers holds in wetness better than other brands. And the Moms in countries like Angola? Are grateful beyond words that their babies are actually surviving being born now that there are tetanus vaccines becoming available.

Click the widget below and you’ll go to a donation page where you can print out a tax receipt immediately. Pampers will track the donations that come through this widget, so we can see how well we’re doing to support the cause. Of all the things I have ever done with this blog, asking my readers to help UNICEF reach their goal of enough vaccines so that NO BABY EVER HAS TO DIE from tetanus has to be one of the most important. Five cents, people. Oh, and at the end of the presentation when we were told that Pampers had donated one thousand vaccines in each of our names to UNICEF, I started to cry. There are 1,000 vaccination shots headed to some village somewhere because of ME. For that, I am humbled and grateful. Please, now, click.