Gift-giving platform makes dreams and wishes come true

BPT - Young adventurer Yuval has always dreamt of exploring the world. In fact, travel is the #1 way he and his mother, Avital, bonded. However, he had to put his adventures on hold when he became sick.

When he was 7 years old, Yuval's mom found a lump on his neck that turned out to be lymphoma.

"I was heartbroken and lost," said Avital. "I couldn't take one breath of air without pain all over my body."

However, the brave little adventurer faced aggressive cancer treatment with determination. Today, there's no evidence of his disease. And he got to celebrate his travel wish with the help of Make-A-Wish and its donors.

Yuval's greatest wish was to ski and explore Alaska. He got to do that and more! During his adventure in the Alaskan wilderness, he not only skied but also snowmobiled, snowshoed and even had the opportunity to go dog sledding. Best of all, he got to do it all with his best friend, Chase. With this adventure under his belt, Yuval is ready to continue to explore more of the world around him and reclaim the time he lost when fighting illness.

Donors make dreams possible

Turning Yuval and other children's dreams into reality wouldn't be possible without the help of Make-A-Wish sponsors like Snappy. This year, Snappy - the leading gifting company - hit a huge milestone, donating $2 million to Make-A-Wish.

Snappy is an all-in-one gifting company that spreads joy, shares gratitude and takes the guesswork out of gifting. The company connects people and cultivates meaningful relationships through the power of gratitude and gifting. Its "recipient-picks" experience ensures gift-givers send the perfect gift every time, for everyone, on every occasion. It even allows recipients to donate the value of their gift to a charity of their choice.

Businesses can use the online platform to purchase gifts for employees, business partners, clients. It's these gift recipients who opted to donate the value of their gift to help support the transformative wishes of children with critical illnesses that have made Snappy's significant achievement possible.

"At Snappy, we are so grateful to witness the profound impact of individual generosity," said Hani Goldstein, Snappy co-founder and CEO. "When members of our community choose to donate their gift's value to Make-A-Wish, they create a cascade of positivity. The philanthropic potential of our platform has made us deeply thankful for the kindness of our gift recipients and the wishes they've made possible for these children and their families."

Wishes aren't just fun activities. When a child's wish is granted, it can create hope even in the most challenging situations.

"A wish creates an immediate turning point in a child's treatment and recovery, and partnerships like Snappy's make more of these life-changing wishes possible," said Leslie Motter, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish America. "There's a gap between the number of wishes we're granting and the number of wishes waiting, and we're thrilled for Snappy's support to help us close that gap."

This holiday season and beyond, help Make-A-Wish and Snappy fulfill more wishes while also finding meaningful gifts for those in your life. To learn more about how you can help make a child's wish come true, visit Wish.org.

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A college education is gift we can give to children of our American heroes

Ashley Audo, a student at Eastern Illinois University, poses with a photo of her father U.S. Army Major David Audo, who died while serving in Iraq in 2009. Audo is a recepient of a scholarship from the Children of Fallen Patriots.

Photo provided

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NAPSI - While the holiday season is generally a time of joy and celebration, military families can often experience a very different range of emotions. Active service members and veterans returning home for the holidays might struggle to participate in family gatherings or even find the season particularly distressing. And, for the families of those service members who do not return, the holidays can be an agonizing reminder of a loved one’s absence. 

In the spirit of the season, honoring the sacrifice of all men and women who proudly served in our armed forces through charitable giving can make a big difference, especially for students like Ashley Audo.

"It means that he was willing to put his life on the line for his country, as well as his family," Ashley Audo, a student at Eastern Illinois University, said in her student spotlight on the Children of Fallen Patriots website. "My Dad loved what he did, and I am proud that he was able to find happiness in life."

Audo added: "Receiving this scholarship from Children of Fallen Patriots has impacted my life because, without it, I would not be able to reach my goals and achieve my dreams of being a nurse.".

Children of Fallen Patriots, a foundation that honors the sacrifices of fallen military heroes by helping ensure the success of their children through college education, has outlined several ways that showcase how charitable giving ensures strong futures. 

Support Veteran-Serving Organizations

Tens of thousands of non-profits exist in the United States dedicated to serving veterans and their families. With so many different veteran-serving organizations in the States, it’s crucial to ensure donations are doing the most good for heroes in need. 

A good way to evaluate an organization is to use Charity Navigator, a renowned nonprofit evaluation site. The site rates charities on the cost-effectiveness and overall health of their programs on a four-star scale, evaluating their measures of stability, efficiency, and sustainability. 

Care for Military Families in Need

Service members selflessly put their own lives on the line to ensure better lives for all Americans, but their families sacrifice much as well. While many organizations offer support directly to veterans, the family back home can get lost in the shuffle. 

Children of Fallen Patriots provides college scholarships and educational counseling to military children who lost a parent in the line of duty. Studies show that almost 25,000 children have lost a parent in the line of duty over the last 35 years. A college education is a significant financial burden, and the majority of surviving military spouses make less than $50,000 annually. 

Since 2002, Children of Fallen Patriots has provided over $61 million in support to over 2,700 children, including over 1,300 graduates. Additionally, the Gold Star family-focused nonprofit earned a perfect rating from Charity Navigator—an accomplishment less than 1% of the 200,000 rated charities have earned. 

"The best way to honor the sacrifice of our service members is to ensure better futures for their children," said David Kim, co-founder and CEO of Children of Fallen Patriots. "A college education is the single most important gift we can give to the children of our fallen heroes, especially during the holiday season—a particularly difficult and stressful time for Gold Star families."

Generosity Goes Beyond The Wallet

Making a donation is one of the easiest ways to support veteran-serving organizations, but plenty of options exist. 

More and more people give their time by coordinating fundraising events, such as bake sales and 5k runs. They also spread the word on social media so the country’s veteran community is supported and speak up about the issues that adversely affect them. 

For more information on how you can support the foundation, visit www.fallenpatriots.org. 

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Update: This article has been updated to reflect that Maj. Audo lost his life in a non-combat related incident as reported by Military Times. Press release at the time of his demise indicate that Audo, 35, of St. Joseph, died on October 27, in Baghdad, from injuries sustained while assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment of the 22nd Military Police Battalion, 6th Military Police Group.

Tolono's Giving Place helps 10 families

TOLONO -- Located at 113 North Bourne in Tolono, The Giving Place is seeking donations of canned fruit, canned beans, canned tomato products, canned spaghetti sauce, canned vegetables, peanut butter, jelly, mac & cheese and pasta meals to serve families in the Unit 7 school district. The Christian ministry food pantry is open one day a week on Wednesdays from 4:00 – 6:00.

The Giving Place also publicly thanked The Sweet Adelines "for their generous food donations" at the recent holiday party. Last week, they were able to help ten families with the Food Pantry.

TGP will hold its next monthly free clothing giveaway on Saturday, January 7, 2023.

Giving Place continues to help local families in need

TOLONO -- The Giving Place seeking donations of canned fruit, canned beans, canned tomato products, canned spaghetti sauce, 100% juice, canned vegetables, mac & cheese, and pasta meals.

The Christian ministry also publicly thanked the Tolono Presbyterian WYN Youth Group for donating over 100 boxes of cereal.

Located at 113 North Bourne in Tolono, TGP is a Christian ministry serving families in need in the Unit 7 School District on Wednesdays from 4:00 – 6:00. Last week, the organization helped nine families, including a new one, which included 28 people and 16 children with the weekly food pantry.

TGP's next free-clothing giveaway will be from 9 am to noon on Saturday, December 3.

The Giving Place seeks donations

TOLONO -- The Giving Place seeking donations of cereal, canned fruit, canned beans, canned tomato products, canned spaghetti sauce, canned meats, 64 oz. 100% juice, mac & cheese, and other pasta meals for their ministry.

Located at 113 North Bourne in Tolono, TGP is a Christian ministry serving families in need in the Unit 7 School District on Wednesdays from 4:00 – 6:00.

The Giving Place is also looking for fall and winter clothing donations.

"If you have any gently used clothing - especially jackets/coats, they would be greatly appreciated," Mike Williams said. He added: "If you know of any families in Unit Seven that are in need, please encourage them to visit The Giving Place."

The local charity organization will host a Free Clothing Giveaway on Saturday, November 5, from 9 am to noon.

The Giving Place helped Unit 7 families

The Giving Place is a community outreach program that helps those going through hard times economically. Designed to help families in the Unit 7 school district, the ministry provides food and clothing for those in need.

In the past week, The Giving Place provided assistance to 12 families, 25 adults and eight children.

The charitable organization thanked Pastor Catherine Thomas and several volunteers for serving those who sought help during the past week and for their help in cleaning, sorting and stocking racks on Wednesday. They also thanked everyone who generously donated food or money to the ministry to make their work possible.

"We are in need of the following items: canned fruit, (especially pears, fruit cocktail, mandarin oranges, pineapple & applesauce), snack items of all kinds, and peanut butter," wrote Mike Williams in an email.

Normally, The Giving Place does not accepting clothing items, but with cold, winter weather now settling in East Central Illinois, they are now accepting donations of new or gently used, clean winter coats, hats and gloves/mittens. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the organization is not accepting new volunteers at this time.