Free Ringling Bros. Circus tickets if you donate food Friday

It's always nice to do something really good. But when you do a good deed and and get a little something in return, it's a bonus. Well this Friday, you can help stock the shelves of Metropolitan Ministries by donating food to them. And in return, you can get up to four tickets to the 140th edition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, called Barnum’s FUNundrum, which kicks off in January.

Here's how it works: Donations can be dropped off Friday, Nov. 20, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ONLY, in front of the McDonald’s Box Office at the St. Pete Times Forum, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa.
A minimum donation of 10 items is required to receive a ticket and there is a limit of four tickets per family. Tickets are for the 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 6, opening night performance at the Forum. 

Metropolitan Ministries, a non-profit, nondenominational organization in Tampa that provides food and services for poor and homeless families, is in need of any non-perishable item you can think of: boxed cereal, stuffing, canned fruit. canned meat, cranberry sauce, gravy and vegetables. the agency serves more than 150 families a day. And need is felt most acutely during the holidays. And if you want to help by throwing a food drive, the agency has a list of ideas on how to have a successful one.

If you'd like to donate food but don't want the free tickets, you can still buy them beginning Friday at any Ticketmaster outlet or by calling Ticketmaster toll free at 1-800-745-3000; or at the Forum box office. Performances are Jan. 6-10 with matinees set for Jan. 9-10.

Help others and get the chance to have a little fun. Now that's a good deed.

-- Sherry Robinson

[Photo: Last week, Ringling Bros. performers clowned around while introducing a the new Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey video games for Wii and Nintendo DS]

Helping others this holiday season -- and beyond

Hey Mommas, here are some cool ways to help those in need this Thanksgiving and holiday season -- and into next year.

Students at Tampa Bay Christian Academy are holding a food drive today with BJ's Wholesale Club to help bring Thanksgiving dinner to those less fortunate. The campaign, called “Choose to Give”, asks the community to donate food for Thanksgiving. In addition, BJ's will donate $1,000 in additional food to  America's Second Harvest of Tampa Bay. Students in second through fifth grades bundled the food donations into family meals and decorated the containers to resemble turkeys. The students will present the troop of turkeys to Second Harvest. But even though that happened Monday, you can still help the students and the food bank by donating to Second Harvest. Take it to the agency's Distribution Center, 4702 Transport Drive Building 6, Tampa. For information, call Jillian Metz at (813) 258-2700 ext. 231 or call Second Harvest at (813) 254-1190.

If you're lookng for a way to clean out your closets -- of gently used items, mind you -- then it's time to donate clothing, toys, books, shoes, electronics and more to the Miles for Hope Sidewalk Rummage Sale  from 8 a.m. to noon Friday-Sunday (Nov. 20-22) at 24295 U.S. 19 N, Clearwater (next to Bob Evans). On Saturday, the Tampa Bay Lightning Mobile Marketing Unit will be on hand and there is a chance to meet Lightning mascot ThunderBug and the Bolt Brigade. There also will be many Lightning giveaways. Call (727) 647-6548 for drop-off times. Funds raised will go toward brain cancer research. And during the rummage sale, there will be a canned food drive to help those less fortunate during the holidays. Organizers will accept non-perishable canned and boxed food items at the garage sale throughout the weekend.

Speaking of Miles For Hope and the Lightning, on Nov. 27, the Friday after Thanksgiving, the team will host the Ticket to a Cure for Brain Cancer event when the Lightning take on the New York Rangers at the St. Pete Times Forum. A portion of the tickets sold will go to Miles for Hope and brain cancer research. Tickets start at $17 and for each ticket purchased, fans will receive a free Lightning gift. The first 2,500 fans in attendance will receive a brain cancer awareness wrist band. Call (813) 301-6832 for more information.

Finally, if you want to further help the cause to find a cure for cancer, then you may want to check out the South Tampa Relay for Life Kickoff Rally beginning at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Home Theater Gallery, 3300 S Dale Mabry, Tampa. The actual relay itself isn't until April 23 but the kickoff rally is a chance for families, caregivers, cancer survivors, schools and companies to get together to kick off the Relay For Life season and their particular event.

The American Cancer Society Relay for Life is an overnight community celebration where individuals and teams camp out, barbecue, dance and take turns walking around the track relay style to raise funds to fight cancer. At nightfall, participants will light hundreds of luminaries around the track in a moving ceremony to honor cancer survivors as well as friends and family members lost to the disease.
To join a Relay For Life event in your community, call toll free 1-800-227-2345 or go to this Web site.
 
-- Sherry Robinson

[Times files]

Lutz dentist offers after-Halloween candy buy back

This could be the sweetest deal for you and your kids. You know your children can't (and you won't let them) eat all the candy they want after Halloween. So Dr. Yen Nguyen of Creating Smiles Comprehensive Family and Cosmetic Dentistry in Lutz is offering to pay $1 for every pound of candy your kids bring to her office Tuesday, Nov. 3 from 3-6 p.m. There will also be raffle tickets given for prizes, such as gift certificates and iPods. 

And not only will she give the kids cash for candy, but then she will package up the goodies and send them to U.S. troops stationed around the world through Operation Gratitude. Kids are encouraged to bring personal messages to the troops to include in the shipment.

"It’s a win-win situation for everybody involved,” says Dr. Nguyen. “People these days are paying more attention to childhood obesity but we need to draw that same attention to oral health as well and fighting cavities. Plus it’s a great way to share the Halloween spirit with those serving in the armed forces who could use a fond memory from home.” She adds that she's not trying to take the fun out of Halloween but just trying to get kids -- and their parents -- to not overeat the treats.

So take your candy to the good dentist at her office, 5306 Van Dyke Road, Lutz. Call (813) 963-1900 for more information.

Since my oldest son just lost his first molar and I certainly don't want him getting any cavities, I may take the good dentist up on her offer. But fLutz is kind of a haul for me. Any Pinellas dentists willing to offer the same deal?

-- Sherry Robinson

Get the girls sized up right -- and help fight breast cancer

Wacoal, the folks who make undergarments, want to help you get into the right size bra, which is apparently a problem for lots of women. And in the meantime, they also want to give money to breast cancer research. So for the next few days during the Fi(gh)t for the Cure event, when you go into select Dillards or Macy's and get a fitting by a Wacoal fitting specialist, the bramaker will donate $2 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for breast cancer research and community health programs. If you buy a Wacoal bra, shapewear piece or b.tempt'd bra, the company will donate another $2 to the cause. The company has donated more than $2 million to breast cancer research over the past 10 years.

A fitting only takes about 15 minutes. Here's where you can participate in the bay area:

Today (Oct. 6): 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Dillards, Brandon Town Center, 303 Brandon Town Center, Brandon, (813) 653-4436
 
Wednesday (Oct. 7): 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Dillards, Wiregrass, 28335 Paseo Drive, Wesley Chapel, (813) 991-1352

Thursday (Oct. 8): 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Dillards, International Plaza, 2223 N Westshore Blvd., Tampa, (813) 342-1220

Saturday  (Oct. 10):  10 a.m.-8 p.m., Dillards, Citrus Park Town Center, 8161 Citrus Park Town Center Mall, Tampa, (813) 926-4545

Saturday  (Oct. 10): 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Macy’s, Countryside Mall, 27001 U.S. 19 N, Clearwater, (727) 796-7525

-- Sherry Robinson

[Wacoal]

Disney offers free day in 2010 when you volunteer during the year

Sure, President Obama asked Americans to volunteer for their country. Now Disney is asking you to do the same thing -- and offering a sweet deal in return. Beginning Jan. 1, if you give a day of service to a participating organization, you can get a certificate to get a free day at the park.

You're thinking, what's the catch in the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" program. There appears to be none. When Disney offered a day free on your birthday, it was great -- except you still had to pay for the rest of your family to get in and that  gets pricey. But it appears that you can go on any day you want. Just print out your certificate after your volunteer work is complete. And if you can't use the certificiate, you can donate it to a charity designated by Disney.

But you have to wait until the beginning of the year to find out where you can volunteer. Disney is searching for 1 million people to take part in this volunteer effort. The HandsOn Network, which helps to find volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups, will be working with Disney on this project.

So pull on your old overalls and gloves and prepare to help out this year. And Disney will help out your purse.

-- Sherry Robinson

[AP/Disney: Mickey Mouse and friends volunteer at a Chicago elementary school to announce the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day"  program Tuesday]

Donate school supplies at Bucs game Sunday

The action on the field for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has not been very good this year and the news gets even more grim. But Bucs owners are trying to make lemonade out of lemons, at least for bay area students. At  Sunday's game against the New York Giants, Bucs fans are being asked to donate school supplies, alarm clocks, gently used clothing, hygiene items, shoes and new socks and underwear.

The Glazer Family Foundation is teaming up with Teaching Tools for Hillsborough Schools, a nonprofit organization that provides free classroom materials to local teachers, and the Oasis Network of Tampa Bay, a nonprofit that directly distributes donations of children's personal items to Hillsborough County's most needy public schools, to conduct the annual school supplies drive. 

Volunteers will collect donated items from 11 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.at the yellow collection stations outside all gates and club entrances at Raymond James Stadium. All fans who donate an item will have the chance to win a piece of autographed Buccaneers memorabilia. In the past six years, more than $20,000 worth of school supplies have been collected at Buccaneers home games and distributed back into the Tampa Bay community.

Even if you aren't going to the game, you can still get in on the act. You can drop off supplies at Buccaneer headquarters at 1 Buc Place in Tampa from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays. For more details, you can call the Bucs at (813) 870-2700.

Here's a chance to be a big playmaker in the lives of kids.

-- Sherry Robinson

[Times files]

Great Explorations searching for volunteers to help at backpack giveaway Saturday

School is nearly in for most of the bay area's kids. And last minute back-to-school events are popping up. We told you earlier about the free haircuts in Tampa and Gulfport. Now, Great Explorations Children's Museum is searching for volunteers to help during its annual Backpack Giveaway from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. About 1,500 children have been referred to the museum by the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless and will be on hand to receive school supplies to get their school year off to a good start.

According to Aaron Alper, the museum's volunteer specialist, volunteers are needed for a variety of duties: loading up and handing out backpacks; crowd control; helping guests enter and exit the facility once they have received the backpacks and eaten lunch; and helping out in the lunch area at Sunken Gardens. 

If you want to help, please call Alper at (727) 821-8992 or E-mail him at aalper@greatex.org.

-- Sherry Robinson

Donate back-to-school items to help kids who don't have a lot

Sure, everybody's wallet is tight. I know mine is. And we know that parents aren't doing as much back-to-school shopping this year as they have done in the past. Parents also won't have the sales tax holiday to help this year. But as I am doing my BTS shopping, I have been picking up an extra item here and there so that my family can donate the items to help kids whose parents can't afford new pencils, notebook paper or pens.

Just this past weekend as I was cleaning out a closet, I found a gently used backpack and one that was brand new. I filled them with some of the extra supplies we had bought and we took them to our church which is collecting school supplies for needy kids. My boys felt good about donating the items because they know their back-to-school needs are taken care of.

So if you're looking for places to drop off those extra school supplies, I know of a couple. The family of Paris Whitehead-Hamilton, the 8-year-old girl who was shot and killed in a gang-related shooting, is collecting backpacks for kids in her honor. For information, send an e-mail to parisliveson@aol.com.

This Saturday, Metropolitan Ministries is hosting Backpacks of Hope, an event to provide 5,000 bay area children with school supplies. Metropolitan Ministries officials say the agency particularly is short of college and wide ruled notebook paper, new backpacks, composition notebooks, pencil cases, college-ruled spiral notebooks and three-ring binders. But they will take any school supplies you are willing to give. They also are seeking school uniforms (khaki pants and solid color polos) sizes 5 through adult. You can still drop off items for the program at the Metropolitan Ministries Thrift Store, 2101 N Florida Ave., Tampa. Store hours are 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call (813) 209-1000.

And here's one more: Throughout the month of August, if you donate $10 worth of school supplies to Voices for Children, which supports Guardian ad Litem (GAL) of Tampa Bay, admission is free to the Tampa Bay History Center, 801 Old Water St. Tampa. Donations will be accepted upon admission to the museum galleries. School supplies will be sent to the Hillsborough County GAL office for distribution to volunteer guardians and the children they represent. For more information contact the center at (813) 228-0097.

If you know of others who collecting school supplies for charity, please let us know.

-- Sherry Robinson

Get free Disney on Ice Princess Classics tickets for donating food

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, anyone who takes 10 non-perishable food items -- canned meat and vegetables, boxes of rice, cereal, etc. -- to the  McDonald’s Box Office at the St. Pete Times Forum will get a free ticket to the opening night show of Disney on Ice Princess Classics. Tickets for the ice show, that features moments from Disney’s Cinderella, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, will also be on sale Friday morning. Tickets are $16-$75 for the show which runs Sept. 10-13.

But you can use this opportunity as a teachable moment: Instead of just pulling the beets, sauerkraut and lima beans out of the cupboard, tell your princess or prince that you think it would be great if they got a dollar or two out of their piggy banks and went to the grocery to actually shop for items to donate. Then tell your kids that the canned goods will go to help America’s Second Harvest of Tampa Bay, a group that helps feed the hungry, homeless and poor around the bay area. A minimum donation of 10 items is required to receive a ticket and there is a limit of four tickets per family. The free tickets are for the opening night performance at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 10. Check here for info on Disney on Ice or call toll free 1-800-745-3000 for tickets. For group tickets, call 813-301-6900.

Your pretty princess will thank you for this. And you and your wallet will feel even better when you do something good that also gives you something in return.

-- Sherry Robinson

Picnic with a Purpose

A home for runaway girls in Virginia Beach. An abused women’s shelter in Atlanta. A soup kitchen in Detroit. A resort for terminally ill children in Orlando.

A boy’s home in Safety Harbor.

These are just some of the small charitable organizations around the country that are benefiting from  Hebrew National's “Picnics with a Purpose” this summer.

Actually, our Picnic with a Purpose actually had a dual one: to kick off the summer with a family barbecue with our friends, but also to benefit Attention Home -- a local group home for disabled boys and young men. For almost 30 years, they have taken in some of the victims of Florida’s worst cases of child abuse, giving them not just safe shelter, but a loving home.

My family and I have worked with Attention Home for almost 10 years now. Once we heard their stories and met the boys, turning away wasn’t an option. We have helped organize toy drives every year since, but their need truly knows no season. On Sunday, we gathered with our friends for food, family fun and games, but instead of asking our guests to bring the potato salad, we asked them to bring a new summer toy to donate to the home. Nothing expensive -- a pack of sidewalk chalk or a new playground ball. We also got a park bench that we decorated, and invited some of the boys over to enjoy the day with us -- playing games and making crafts.

It wasn’t a benefit gala or a silent auction raising millions, but supporting a charity doesn’t have to be on that scale in order to be hugely effective. Small local community events like a simple outdoor picnic can be the most meaningful way to support a charity that is important to you and your family. We’ve compiled a kit of all of our party instructions, games and recipes to host your own “Picnic with a Purpose” on this site, but you could certainly get creative with your own. Couple a Sunday barbecue with a summer toy drive or Memorial Day with a canned food collection. And the next Girl’s Night Out could be an opportunity to donate toiletries for your local homeless shelter.

The gestures don’t have to be large to make a huge impact, especially now.

We had a really wonderful day together enjoying the simplest of summer’s pleasures. This year will not be defined as what we give up, but rather what we give back.

-- Tracey Henry, Suburban Diva