Friday, August 16, 2013

August Secret Subject Swap - Take Two! A million smackeroos!

It's time for the second August Secret Subject Swap! This week, 13 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.



My secret subject is:  "You win $1,000,000 but can't keep 1 single penny of it. Who do you give it to and what do you hope for them to do with it?"   It was submitted by That Suburban Momma.  Check out her blog, she's got lots of good stuff to say and you'll enjoy it!

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I love this subject! Love love love.  I have actually thought about this many times. Ok, not the 'I can't keep 1 single penny part', but who I would share with if I was a millionaire.

Part of what sucks about being "low-income" for me, is not being able to give to all the places I want to, and help all the people I would like to help. And for some reason if we happen to have a little extra money, I'm scared of what 'might' happen down the road so maybe I shouldn't give it away. I hate feeling like that.

But let's imagine that tomorrow I win a million dollars! One m.i.l.l.i.o.n. dollars! Sahh-weeet!! Usually the first thing I would do if I got a bit of unexpected money would be to go to Dunkin Donuts and buy a coffee. BUT--- not this time. This time, it would go to:

*The Alzheimer's Association.  A big fat donation to help find a cure for this terrible, awful disease. I have lost 3 grandparents to this disease, and my ex-father-in-law was diagnosed with it before he passed away from a heart attack. I used to help take care of my maternal grandmother before she went into a nursing home, and this damn disease is just mean. It robs people of the thing most precious; themselves. Their memories, their thoughts, their connections to others. And it is something that I am terrified of inheriting.

*The American Cancer Society.  Who doesn't know somebody that has battled cancer? I heard once that everyone, if they live long enough, will get cancer. I don't know if it's true or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is. My amazing, awesome uncle passed away from cancer not quite 2 years ago, only in his sixties. And my husband lost his father to cancer, at the age of 52, when my husband was only 28.

At our wedding reception, instead of those little favors at each place setting, the hubs and I decided to take the money we would have spent on chocolates or candles or personalized shot glasses and instead make a donation to the Alzheimer's Association and the American Cancer Society. We made up cards for each seat stating our plan.

 
 
*A pregnancy counseling center. I used to volunteer at one in my area, and it's staffed almost entirely by volunteers. It's a wonderful organization and I would love to give them a boost.
 
*Single moms. Either an organization that works with them, and/or some that I know personally. I was a single mom for about 6 or 7 years, after my divorce from my first husband, and that sh*t is hard! HARD. Not just financially, but every way you can imagine. Easing a single mom's financial burden though is at least one less thing she will have to worry about.
 
*Youth sports.  My kids have been involved in sports since about the age of 4. (If there were any programs for younger kids they would've joined earlier!) I can't say enough about the positive effect sports can have on kids. I know, I know, not always. The world is full of jack asses, and some of them make their way into the arena of athletics; but there are so many good, dedicated, unselfish people that give their time and energy to give kids a positive activity, and it has been a life saver in this household. Almost every athletic program costs money though, and we've been very blessed to be involved with a group that will not turn any child away due to lack of ability to pay. I'd love to be a part of that.
 
 
 
*Lastly, I would give money to family and friends that could use a hand. And people on the street. Did you ever hear about the guy that dressed as Santa at Christmastime and would walk down the street handing out hundred dollar bills from his own money? That sounds awesome to me.
 
Because giving IS better than receiving.
 
But can I at least get a coffee??
 
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Now hop on over to these other fabuloso bloggers and read what amazingness they have come up with!
 
http://BakingInATornado.com                            Baking In A Tornado
http://dawnsdisaster.blogspot.com                    Dawn’s Disaster
http://indianamericanmom.com                         Indian American Mom
http://www.homeonderanged.com                      Home on Deranged
http://coachdaddyblog.wordpress.com                  Coach Daddy
http://www.justalittlenutty.com/       Just A Little Nutty (Guest Post)           
http://www.itsyummi.com                                   It’s Yummilicious
http://dates2diapers2.blogspot.com                       Dates 2 Diapers
http://www.rocksnosaltmommy.com/                     Rocks, No Salt Mommy
http://crazyasnormal.com                                     Crazy As Normal
http://ibddaddyandme.blogspot.com/                    IBD, Daddy and Me!
www.thatsuburbanmomma.com                           That Suburban Momma

18 comments:

  1. I'd buy you a coffee for such awesome selfless acts.
    It would be hard to hand over all of that cash and still have our day to day worries still but that was a pretty awesome list of very important causes to support.
    I loved that you made a donation instead of handing out a small token at your wedding. What a wonderful way to begin a life together by making a difference and no one was forced to eat colorful almonds. It's a win win in my book!

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    1. Thanks Meg! I did look around at traditional favors, but then someone told me about the donation idea and I knew that's what I wanted to do.
      Thanks for reading, and oh yeah, French vanilla with cream and sugar ;)

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  2. I love how you would spend that money!
    I have lost both my grandmothers to alzheimers and several people to cancer. They are terrible awful diseases that touch nearly everyone.

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    1. I'm sorry for your losses, Stacy. I'd give all the money in the world to eradicate those two horrible sicknesses.

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  3. Those are wonderful causes to give to!! Alzheimer's is such a heart-wrenching disease for the family; it's horrible that the person you love cannot even recognize you! I too lost my grandfather to cancer.
    Love your list!

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    1. Thanks Roshni :) Heart-wrenching is the perfect word to describe it. I'm sorry about your grandfather <3

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  4. I think you should get a venti coffee with all the trimmings at least. :)

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  5. This post says so much about you. I love that not only are your answers thoughtful and heartfelt, but that you had already thought about it. I'd buy you a coffee plantation if I could! XO

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  6. You are a beautiful person with a big heart. This is so perfect and speaks volumes about your kindness and integrity.

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  7. This was such a brilliant prompt and I love everything you'd do with your money. I've also heard that everyone will get cancer if they live long enough. The only reason this hasn't happened in previous centuries is because we had so many other nasty diseases that killed us before the cancer had a time to appear.

    I love the single mum one especially. As a single mum myself I know how hard it can be, and I see so many other single parents come through the law firm I work for, and they all have the same look of sadness about them.

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    1. I know money isn't the answer to that sadness, but I also know that one less stress can also be the thing that gets you through to the next day. Hugs for you; you're doing great, keep your head up :)

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  8. Oh I just loved reading this! I live all if the places you chose to spend the money and I love that you chose things near to your heart. I also absolutely love what you chose to do as your wedding favors. What a wonderful idea. I will have to borrow that idea when we finally tie the knot!

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    1. Oh please do! And you can get the cards made up very inexpensively online, vistaprint, maybe? Thanks for an inspiring prompt, I really enjoyed it!

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  9. You are amazing! I love the idea you used at your wedding - what an amazing thing!!!!!

    It's amazing how much money can cause stress - we are a single income family - we choose that - we are fortunate to attempt to make it work - we have a roof over our heads, plenty of food in our bellies, and even some pets and more toys than possible. We're trying to teach our children to be humble and realize so many have sooo little. I want to be able to do the Santa thing someday. How cool would that be? My daughter handed out food to homeless in Seattle on our vacation because she was so moved by the big meals we were being served and then while walking home with full tummies she was faced with so many asking for food.

    Love this prompt and what you did with it! You ROCK!

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    1. You just made my day! Thank you :) We are also a single income family, having decided the best thing for our family right now is for me to be at home with/for the kiddos. It is VERY hard, but no matter how much we struggle I know we are blessed. That's awesome what your daughter did, the fact that she was moved by what she saw AND did something about it! Sure sign of good parenting right there :)

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