Tiny Oranges – Fresh, fun blog for OC moms

First off, how can I resist a post on a shoe called “Tiny TOMS” on Tiny Oranges?!  And as I found out last Friday at the Tiny TOMS launch party at Neiman Marcus in Fashion Island, the shoes may be tiny, but this company has a very big heart.

For those of you unfamiliar with TOMS Shoes, they are a company dedicated to giving back.  With their “One for One” movement, for every shoe bought a shoe is donated to a child in need. To date, TOMS Shoes has donated over 400,000 shoes to kids around the world.

As if this was not enough to sell you already, the styles were sooooo cute!   They are available in sizes 2-13, from pre-walker to age 4 and select styles are available in size 10 – 13.

Here we are with the founder of the company, Blake Mycoskie, at the event.

He started the company after a trip to Argentina where he befriended kids and realized many had no shoes to protect their feet.

Can you imagine children in developing countries surviving without shoes??

And many can’t go to school without them.  To give a child a pair of shoes is giving them protection for their feet and sometimes opportunity.

It all starts with an idea.

Completely inspiring.

And mamas, know what, they have CUTE styles for you too!

www.tomsshoes.com

I am sure there are many of you out there, like me, that have watched the coverage of the devastation in Haiti and heard the stories of the people, children and babies in need, and felt your heart just ache with empathy.  I can barely watch the footage of the kids and babies who have lost their parents or the parents who have lost their children.

Do you also sometimes feel helpless?  Like, you want to do something, you just don’t know how or which organization to turn to?  I was watching the local CBS news last night when I heard this story, and it just spoke to my heart.

Two local moms, one of which is Lori Coble, who so tragically lost her three children in a car accident three years ago, and has since started the Coble Kids Foundation with her family to honor their memory, have organized an effort to collect necessities for the children of Haiti.  Click HERE for more information and the news story I saw last night.

Starting now and for the next two weeks (through Sunday, 1/31), they will be collecting basic necessities.  They are asking for your donation of the following items:

Diapers, wipes, formula (especially formula), bottles, NEW basic clothing, socks, pajamas, etc.*  They also accept cash donations.
{*Basically anything your child uses on a daily basis}

You can drop your items at the following location:

Toy Town
25632 Crown Valley Parkway, Suite #B-5, Ladera Ranch, CA 92694
949-364-8697

Hours:
Mon – Thurs: 9-5:30, Fri 10 – 6, Sat 9 – 5 , Sun 11-4

If you don’t live in South County, and don’t have time to drive to Ladera Ranch, I live in Costa Mesa and can coordinate a time to collect items here and then I will drive them down to do a big drop off.

Please email me at jennifer@tinyoranges.com if this is more convenient for you.  Thank you for your help in this amazing effort!

We all know Disneyland is in the business of making dreams come true and this year’s “Give a Day. Get a Disney Day.” program is helping dreams come true in more ways than one!

Volunteer a day of service in 2010 to a participating organization and get one day admission to the Disneyland Resort, FREE!

There’s no better time to help make a dream come true for others and get the opportunity to volunteer together as a family.

Click HERE to get started

And, while we are on the topic of Disneyland, the popular 2fer Tickets are back for Southern California residents.  Buy one admission ticket to a Disneyland Resort theme park from 01/05/10 – 04/12/10, and come back within 30 days to visit the other park for free!

Click HERE to buy your 2fer tix

{Congratulations!  The Newport Beach Stroller Strides winner is…Liss!}

Do you believe in Santa Claus?  Do you believe wishes really do come true?   This holiday, join the Macy’s Believe campaign and help collect one million reasons to believe!

It’s simple, here is what you do!

1. Write a letter to Santa
2. Stamp it and address it to Santa at the North Pole
3. Bring it to Santa’s Mailbox at Macy’s
4. Macy’s will count all the letters received, and give $ 1 per letter to the Make-a-Wish Foundation up to $1,000,000!

Click here to find a Macy’s with a Santa’s Mailbox near you!

I am taking Emma to mail our Santa letter to Macy’s tomorrow.  I think it is SO fun to have a big red mailbox to put our letter in!

Congratulations!  The Irvine Park Railroad Christmas Train tickets winner is…Candace R.!

Well there is no doubt the shopping season is in full swing and nothing makes me happier than sharing with you a gift idea that is all about giving hope to women across the world this holiday season.

31bits.com is an organization that sells jewelry handmade by women displaced by war in Northern Uganda.  Each piece is bought directly from these women and is made out of 100% recycled paper, newspaper and magazines.   31 Bits is centered around the creative art and entrepreneurship present in all women.  By creating an international marketplace for their creations, the proceeds assist these women with education, nutrition and healthcare for their families.

Shop online to see their selection of bracelets and necklaces, priced between $8.00 and $40.00.  They are absolutely beautiful.  Even better, you will know that you are helping the woman whose hands helped create it.

Hooray!  It’s a Tiny Giveaway!

31 Bits is giving away this gorgeous 7-strand bracelet:

To enter, simply leave a comment below, you can comment as many times as you would like, they just have to be in before 12pm PST on Sunday, 12/13.  I will post the winner next Monday. Good luck!

Congratulations!!!  The 3 Clipa winners are… Elle, Laura and Amy!