I’ll
be honest I hate the physical act of shopping. I hate driving around town,
getting out of the car, walking into a store wasting and hour or so of my life
finding nothing that interest me and getting back into the car to do it again
after a 10-15/30 minute drive to the next destination. I hate spending all day long in and out of
stores with very little to show for it. I only physically shop when I have to.
Shoes for instance, I have never mastered the art of buying shoes online because
my feet are stupid. They swell at weird times in the day and a size 8 shoe at
store A in the morning is not the same as a size 8 at store B in the afternoon
and forget about a size 8 at store C needless to say it’s a frustrating process
for me.
However
I excel in online shopping. I like going through a site and seeing what they
have and knowing that at that moment I can click a button, purchase it, and
have it winging its way to my house in a matter of minutes. Online shopping is
by far the greatest thing that’s come out of the internet. I love having access
to artist, writers, and musicians no matter where I live. Let’s face it there
are some items that can only be bought while you are walking down the street in
New Orleans but the internet has allowed those people to sell their wares to
anyone as long as you stumble across the link for it.
One
of the best places to shop online is Amazon.com and last year it became an even
better place to shop with the establishment of AmazonSmile which allows you to
pick a charity that will receive money from every purchase made. It changes
nothing about how Amazon works it just connects it to a charity that will
benefit from me sitting on my butt while listening to music and shopping. What
more is there to love? I’m going to be buying the stuff anyway and now someone
else is able to benefit from me buying Pete and Pete Season 1. I’m thankful Amazon Smile gives consumers an opportunity to
support a charity , giving them a boost that they weren’t expecting, so that
they can continue to spread good in the world. It’s the true definition of Win
.. Win.
The
AmazonSmile foundation donates .5% of the price of the purchase to the
organization selected. Any group registered as a 501©(3) organization with the
IRS can sign up with the AmazonSmile site. Consumers can
chose from one of the spotlight charities or you can search for your own
organization.
I
personally chose Kids Need To Read,
and organization located in Mesa, Arizona who works to create a culture of
reading for children by providing books to underfunded schools, libraries in
support of literacy programs and disadvantage children throughout the United
States. I think all kids should have access to books. Books transport you to
another location, they suck you in and you can’t help but fall into a trance.
There is NO FEELING in the world like falling into a fantasy world while
sitting in your own chair. I can remember reading a book during my high school
years and sobbing at 3am because of the ending was both devastating and perfect
for the story I had been reading all day long. I’ve been known to completely
ignore the world around me and miss a plane because of it. I’ve been known to
unpack clothing to fit in another book for a vacation. Bottom line… Reading is
awesome.
So
I like to give a little boost to Kids Need To Read as I shop at Amazon and if
you don’t pick them that’s fine but as you do your holiday shopping this year
and plan to use Amazon please pick one. It takes zero time to select a charity truly the hardest part is picking one that you want to support. The site remembers
your choice and when you click an external Amazon link the site will ask you if you'd like to see the same item through the Smile section of the site connecting you back to your charity.
The best part is that you are able to support a charity all year long, not just during the holidays
or a yearly donation to the charity. Millions of people use Amazon every day, every hour, and
if each of those people used Amazon Smile think of how fantastic that would be
for the charities on the list. So check it out and talk to your friends and family about using this resource on the site.
Resources:
http://smile.amazon.com -- for when you are ready to get your shopping on. Use this site to get the process started.
http://kidsneedtoread.org/ -- If you want to learn more about this awesome organization.
https://org.amazon.com/ -- If you know of a charity that wants to research this foundation more.
Happy
Shopping!
-Marcy
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