Are you looking for a way to make a positive impact and give back this season? Spread some holiday cheer to the kids and families of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® by participating in their third annual St. Jude Joy Drive.

Since it opened on Feb. 4, 1962, St. Jude has helped countless families. So much so, that treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% when they first opened their doors to more than 80% today.

To further its lifesaving mission, St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes freely, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. With assistance from generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food.

While St. Jude has made great strides, there is still more to be done to find a cure for childhood cancer and other catastrophic diseases—and that’s where you come in! Read on to learn more about how to spread holiday cheer for a good cause (and have fun while doing it)!

Spread some holiday cheer to the kids and families of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital by participating in their third annual St. Jude Joy Drive. Visit their site to learn more and participate.

St. Jude patient Connor, who is diagnosed with medulloblastoma, pictured with his mother Brooke and father Christopher.

Throughout December, St. Jude is hosting the St. Jude Joy Drive—a social media-driven campaign that highlights St. Jude supporters through heartwarming and inspirational storytelling of why they continue to give to St. Jude.

To join them, share what brings you joy over the holidays on your social media account. To participate, simply post a video about what makes you light up during the festive season and why you donate and support St. Jude. Be sure to tag @stjudela, who will share it on their social media during the month of December. You can include your favorite traditions, activities, things to eat and drink, or a favorite memory.

Invite your friends, family and followers to share what they love about the holidays, and to give a suggested donation of $10, or whatever they can donate to St. Jude.

Spreading joy is an easy way to bring some holiday magic to families and children who are spending their holidays at the hospital. Help share the joy of the holidays from your heart with the kids of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital by participating in the St. Jude Joy Drive and make a lasting difference!

Happy Holidays!

At Red Tricycle, there’s nothing that we love more than sharing fun finds with our readers, especially when they are the creative product of our former SF Bay Area Editor! Rachel Teichman has taken her skills honed at Red Tricycle to the bookshelves. Combining her love of writing and bagels, she has written B is for Bagel, an ABC book, and we know you are going to love it.

From Asiago to Za’atar, and “Everything” in between, B is for Bagel teaches the whole alphabet, while introducing children to traditional and innovative bagel flavors. Vibrant photographs of each life-size bagel make turning pages so much fun! 

Shake, splash and roll your way through this book, where unicorns and rainbows take their bagel form, and cream cheese knows no limits! Kids will love finding a new favorite bagel, while deciding if they like lox, whitefish salad or maybe just extra schmear. 

You can cover the whole alphabet while learning about a popular breakfast food. From A to Z,  there is definitely a bagel for you! And there are even two recipes to try together!

Rachel is working with partner publisher The Collective Book Studio, and is financing the project through her Kickstarter campaign which ends Thursday, September 2, at 9:59pm PDT. You can receive an early signed copy of the book starting with a $25 contribution. There are also many other fabulous rewards available including photo prints, bagel confetti and even rainbow bagel chips.

Rachel lives in Houston and shares this about supporting Easter Seals there: “We are so proud to announce our partnership with The Caroline School at Easter Seals Greater Houston. We have added a new $75 reward level which gives you one book, and lets you donate one book to The Caroline School.”

Grab your bagel and coffee and let’s support this literary mama!

Online: kickstarter.com/projects/bisforbagel/b-is-for-bagel-book

—Kate Loweth

Whether you have a major Disney princess fan or a little who loves a good dress up sesh, Janie and Jack’s newest line is fit for a queen (in training).

The Disney Princess Collection by Janie and Jack is a 50-item lineup of apparel, shoes and accessories all inspired by the most famous princesses of all: Cinderella, Belle, Ariel and Tiana. Each mini collection includes both casual and party clothes, in addition to items like headbands, gloves even wands!

We love the over-the-top cocktail-style dresses, but can’t wait to get our hands on adorable and comfy items like jumpsuits, leggings, joggers and sweaters.

The collection ranges in price from $16.50 to $135, and in sizes ranging from three months to 12 years.

In conjunction with the new collection, Janie and Jack have also launched the “Everyone’s A Princess” campaign, which shares the message that every child can be a princess by embracing attributes like courage and kindness––just like a Disney princess.

The campaign is highlighting the stories of five inspiring kids on Instagram, who are real life “princesses,” performing good deeds and sharing kindness in their community.

You can shop the new princess line at local Janie and Jack stores and on janieandjack.com.

––Karly Wood

All photos: Courtesy of Janie and Jack

 

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All icons start out as a kid with a dream. OshKosh B’gosh’s new back-to-school campaign, Today is Somedaycelebrates that premise with three new inspiring ads. And one of them features Mariah Carey’s daughter, Monroe, in her first-ever brand campaign!

Carey is one of the trailblazers highlighted as children, along with Muhammed Ali and Outkast. The ads celebrate the kids’ determination and honor the real-life stars’ childhood experiences. Ali’s ad features the red bike that was stolen and launched him into a boxing career, Outkast’s ad was scripted in partnership with Andre 3000 and Big Boi and Carey’s ad has the most personal touch with her own daughter appearing. Watch to see how it turned out!

“As a little girl, I was determined to realize my dreams. Now as a mother, it brings me so much joy to see my children visualize and develop the dreams they hold in their own hearts. We did the campaign because we love the message of empowering kids to dream boldly and blaze their own path,” Mariah Carey said.

The campaign officially kicks off on July 23 but you can watch all three spots now on YouTube. They were crafted with the brand’s new creative agency Majority, founded in part by Shaquille O’Neal! Keep an eye out for the launch of the fall collection which promises “timeless and trend-forward styles” along with a new brand identity.

—Sarah Shebek

Featured image courtesy of Carter’s Inc. 

 

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It’s cool to be kind. And it turns out, despite what you might hear in the news, Americans are pretty good at in general. So as you model kindness for your kids at home, check out this new data from Verizon and Kindness.org: a first-of-its-kind academic research study to find out the state of kindness in the U.S.

People in all 50 states took part in the survey and most (86%) said they’d donate part of their liver to a family member. Nearly three in four would lend money to a friend in financial crisis and more than half would donate their vacation time to a colleague.

The kindest things you can do for others? Respondents ranked becoming an organ donor for a family member, pulling someone from a burning car and adopting and raising a family member as the top three. Other popular measures of kindness include covering a work shift for a colleague, cheering up a family member or calling a friend to encourage them.

You and your family can get involved in Verizon’s “A Call For Kindness” campaign by signing an online pledge, downloading kindness cards and visiting murals with encouraging messages around the country. And if you’re looking for activities just for kids, Kindness.org has developed a whole K-8 curriculum that teaches students to Learn Kind, plus a series of easy-to-use activities.

—Sarah Shebek

Featured image: renebigelow via Pixabay

 

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As our children continue to grow up in an ever-changing world, we can all do with a wider selection of inclusive books. That’s where Rebel Girls author, Francesca Cavallo, comes in.

Cavallo is embarking on another journey to bring inclusive stories to young readers with a new series of four illustrated books, Paralympians. The unique picture books will tell the stories of Paralympic champions Russian-American wheelchair racer Tatyana McFadden, Afro-French sprinter and long jumper Jean-Baptiste Alaize, Iranian archer Zahra Nemati and Italian fencer Beatrice Vio.

But in order to make these stories come to life, Cavallo and her new children’s media company, Undercats, needs your help. The books are currently on Kickstarter where they are garnering support to meet their goal and be published.

One of the illustrators for the series, Valentine Toro, shares “With this book series, we want to start creating a blueprint for the representation of people with disabilities in children’s books.”

The Paralympians Kickstarter campaign launches Jun. 22 and runs through Jul. 21, 2:59 PST. The books are available for pre-order in both English and Spanish, and at the time of publication, the campaign is already halfway to its goal of $20,000!

––Karly Wood

 

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Want to hear a story from Betty White? Or print off Barbie summer camp activities? And help kids in need at the same time? Then we’ve got the program for you!

Save the Children just launched its annual summer reading campaign, 100 Days of Reading. The website is packed with fun activities and ideas to keep kids reading and learning this summer. You’ll find book suggestions, playlists, imaginary activities and more—plus new things are added every week!

Better yet, every link that is clicked or tapped will help impoverished children across rural America.  These actions unlock donations of books, educational materials and healthy food for 750,000 kids. Save the Children’s mission is to ensure kids are getting the early support they need to be successful in school and in life. If you want to take it one step further, you can join in a summer fundraising program. Create your own page, choose an activity (like selling lemonade or gardening) and share on social to make even more of an impact!

Ready to get started? Visit the 100 Days of Reading website and start exploring the site and logging your reading minutes. It’s one more way to help your kids have the ultimate summer of fun and learning, while giving back at the same time!

––Sarah Shebek

Feature Image: Save the Children

 

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To kick off Pride month, former NSYNC member Lance Bass and his husband Michael Turchin had a special announcement to make! They’re expecting boy-girl twins in November with the help of a surrogate. Since the duo is due around Halloween, Bass and Turchin created a humorous horror-inspired video to share the exciting news.

In an interview with People magazine, the dads-to-be revealed they’d been talking about starting a family since they met—and they’ve been together for 10 years. They also said they’d hoped to have two kids and since Turchin is also boy-girl twin, the result is meant to be! The couple shared the reveal video simultaneously on Instagram today, after Bass posted to TikTok early in the afternoon.

After Bass skyrocketed to fame as a member of one of the planet’s most popular boy bands, he revealed he was gay in 2006 and subsequently awarded the Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award. He began dating Turchin, an artist, in 2011 and they married in December 2014. Turchin also shared a throwback magazine cover with one of the couple’s wedding shots to his Instagram today, writing “Happy #pridemonth everyone! Don’t let anyone diminish your worth and let that love & light shine bright.”

No question the twins will add plenty of love and light to the lives of Bass and Turchin. Congratulations to the happy couple as they embark on the journey of fatherhood!

––Sarah Shebek

Feature image: Silvia Elizabeth Pangaro / Shutterstock.com

 

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Your candy bar might look a little different over the next two months and you might want to stock up! CRUNCH, Butterfinger and Baby Ruth have released limited-edition bars with art supporting the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and a percentage of proceeds will go straight to CMN Hospitals.

The colorful artwork is designed by CMNH child ambassadors and there’s a different design for each brand. Ciarlo has Spina Bfida and designed the T-rex on crutches for CRUNCH. Audrey had surgery to correct scoliosis and created the serene scene for Butterfinger. Logan has muscular dystrophy and his art features an astronaut in space. All children were treated at CMN Hospitals and their art is inspired by memorable or imaginative moments in their lives.

“We’re very excited to partner with this great non-profit organization and invite our customers to join us in our journey to support all the futures made possible by Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals,” said Mark Wakefield, Senior Vice President Marketing, Ferrero Mainstream Chocolate & Nutella. “Just like Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, CRUNCH, Butterfinger and Baby Ruth aim to create moments that bring people together every day.”

To learn more about the campaign, you can visit a new online site with more info on the kids, their stories and their artwork. Butterfinger is also collaborating with Extra Life, a program affiliated with CMNH that is tied to the gaming community. On June 3, the two companies will host a fundraising stream for gamers to play Final Fantasy XIV.

—Sarah Shebek

Images courtesy of Ferrero USA

 

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Girls can do anything: that’s the message of a new children’s book, Pinkie Promises, from Senator Elizabeth Warren who ran for president in 2020. It’s her first-ever picture book in her own words and it’s on sale this fall for kids who dream big everywhere.

Polly wants to make a difference, but she keeps hearing “that’s not what girls do.” She’s frustrated, but one day she goes to a rally to see a woman running for president. They meet in person and after a pinkie promise, Polly is inspired to embark on her own campaign for Class President. Win or lose, she’s been empowered to take matters into her own hands.

The book features art by award-winning illustrator Charlene Chua and is available to buy Oct. 12 in hardcover for $18.99. It’s targeted for girls in the four to eight-year-old range, but its message applies to all women. Warren would often introduce herself on the campaign trail to young supporters by saying, “My name is Elizabeth, and I’m running for President because that’s what girls do.”

Along with authoring books, Elizabeth Warren has served as the United State Senator of Massachusetts since 2013, the first woman senator for the state. She’s also a former law professor and she finished third in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries.

—Sarah Shebek

 

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