From The Heart

i'm making a difference

If you're using Windows Live Messenger, check this out. You can help your favorite charity just by chatting with your friends online!

"i'm is a new initiative from Windows Live Messenger. Every time you start a conversation using i'm, Microsoft shares a portion of the program's advertising revenue with some of the world's most effective organizations dedicated to social causes. We've set no cap on the amount we'll donate to each organization. The sky's the limit."

"There's no charge, so join now and put our money where your mouth is." :-$

How do you participate? Well, first you need to have Windows Live Messenger 8.1. If you don't, you can download it here.

Once you have that, just modify your Display Name to include one of the following codes (in red) at the end:

*red+u American Red Cross
*bgca Boys & Girls Clubs of America
*naf National AIDS Fund
*mssoc National MS Society
*9mil ninemillion.org
*sierra Sierra Club
*help StopGlobalWarming.org
*komen Susan G. Komen for the Cure
*unicef U.S. Fund for UNICEF

e.g. Carol Chen *red+u

That's it! Start chatting and start making a difference! It's that easy.

Are you?

Not too late to send Christmas E-cards!!

Nokia invites you to send some Season's Greetings E-cards!

For each UNICEF Season's Greetings E-card, Nokia will make a donation to UNICEF to help make a difference to a child's life. Last year, Nokia's Season's Greetings E-cards raised more than 50,000 Euros for impoverished children around the world.

Sweet Charity

A BIG THANK YOU!!! to those of you who've already given me some early birthday presents! When I saw the "A Special Gift for You" emails from JustGive.org coming in, I was sooooooo happy. I opened the emails full of anticipation just like unwrapping a physical gift... and let me assure you that this doesn't take away the surprise at all! It's so interesting to see which charity (charities) you've chosen and read the sweet messages you've written. Thank you thank you thank you thank you....

As you might have guessed from my wish list, one of my favorite idols is Clay Aiken, who's a UNICEF Ambassador, and who also started the Bubel/Aiken Foundation for children with developmental disabilities. He has a new CD, "A Thousand Different Ways", coming out on 9/19! Speaking of new releases, Evanescence will follow shortly with "The Open Door" on 10/3 and they'll be performing in Dallas on 10/21!!! Ahhh... Anyway, back to the topic on hand, Amy Lee supports the Epilepsy Foundation with her Out of the Shadows campaign aimed to raise epilepsy awareness, education, and research.

Music and giving go hand in hand :)

Btw, Paypal has made it easy for us to make donations via text messaging! Go to Paypal Goes Mobile website to find out more info under "Text to Give". An example is texting WATER to support UNICEF!

Early Birthday Wish

Ahem... my birthday is coming up soon. This year, I'm going to unabashedly request from those of you who might be considering getting something for me: please check out my Wish List at JustGive.org. Pick out a cause that YOU would also like to support, and kindly give what you planned to spend on my birthday (hehe). You would make me extremely happy, and you'll also make a difference in someone else's life! I thank you from the bottom of my heart and on their behalf.

I'm blessed to have wonderful family and friends who shower me with love and gifts. Sometimes I look around me and wish I could better appreciate the stuff that I have. No time to read all the books I've received, only because I have a challenging job that I'm grateful for. Not able to fit into some of the clothes I've gotten, only because I'm lucky that I don't have to worry about my 3 meals and a husband who cook delicious stuff for me. But there are many who aren't as fortunate (to say the least). I'm not Oprah Winfrey, but I want to be able to do something, even if I can only contribute a few drops of water trying to fill the whole ocean. And you can help! So please, make my birthday extra special by not getting *me* anything. Instead, Just Give. I would really really appreciate that and it'll mean a lot, not just to me but also to the people that YOU will be helping. Thanks again....

Nokia To Help Katrina Victims

Thanks to Nokia's matching contributions, my donations will be doubly helpful...

Help victims of Hurricane Katrina by donating to the American Red Cross.

From All Headline News:

Nokia To Help Katrina Victims

September 3, 2005 4:10 p.m. EST
Douglas Maher - All Headline News Staff Reporter

Irving, Texas (AHN) - Private corporations have opened their wallets in a big way in the past 72 hours as scenes of devastation have played out on television and the Internet all week long from the Gulf Coast of the U.S.

To aid in continued efforts to provide food and shelter to people affected by Hurricane Katrina's devastation, Nokia has made a donation of $1 million to the American Red Cross. The Red Cross has placed priority on meeting the most urgent and critical needs of emergency shelter, food and water.

Mobile phones will be donated to the Red Cross at shelters in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, Texas, to help evacuees contact family members. Nokia is also providing support to wireless network operators working to re-establish service in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Nokia will also match employee contributions to disaster relief efforts at 100 percent.

"We are deeply saddened by the events of this week in the Gulf Coast States, and on behalf of our employees, express our sympathies to those affected by Hurricane Katrina," says Timothy Eckersley, Senior Vice President of Nokia.

"We at Nokia feel especially compelled to be involved in relief efforts given our long-standing relationship with the City of New Orleans, most notably through the Nokia Sugar Bowl. We are committed to serving the immediate and long-term needs of the citizens of New Orleans."