In 2010 thousands of MDA families across the country joined our Shamrocks Crusade, making a HUGE impact on the success of our Shamrocks Campaign. Once again thousands of restaurants and retailers nationwide have teamed up with MDA to sell paper Shamrocks and decorate their establishments for Saint Patrick’s Day 2011.

One simple question — “Would you like to buy a Shamrock for MDA?” — has rallied the support of millions of customers in behalf of families affected by muscle disease. Shamrocks cost either $1 or $5 and the money raised goes towards research and treatment.

We’re asking you and your family to join the MDA Shamrocks Crusade by visiting participating Shamrocks partners to help show appreciation for their support. By thanking associates and managers, you’ll help make 2011 a record-breaking Shamrocks year and have a lot of fun at the same time.

How To Help

1. Visit locations and thank as many associates and managers as possible and make a difference!

2. Pass out goodies, cards and letters to show appreciation.

3. Secret Shop participating locations and see if they ask you to buy a Shamrock:

• If they do, award them with thanks and a small token of appreciation.
• If they don’t, introduce yourself as a Shamrocks Crusader, offer them a second chance at a prize, and tell them how much their support means.

4. Take pictures of associates in front of their Shamrocks displays and with you – our “Shambassadors”.

5. Help MDA promote shamrocks – add a shamrock badge to your Facebook and Twitter messages, encouraging friends to buy a shamrock or text “IRISH” to 20222.

6. Tweet  a photo of you and an MDA Shamrock to @MDANews with the hashtag  #MDAShamrocks and @MDAnews will retweet your photo! Add you photo to the MDANational Facebook wall and get more people involved!

Information provided by the MDA

Stand Up To Cancer will be working with the hit show Survivor and issue the “Challenge The Odds” Team Challenge with Stand Up To Cancer Ambassador and winner of Survivor: Africa Ethan Zohn. Zohn is in remission from Hodgkin’s lymphoma and is the spokesperson for the Survivor teams SU2C fundraising efforts.

CBS will engage its viewers on-air and online through Survivor fan sites in the challenge. The SU2C fundraising widget is available to all SU2C Team Community participants to share on blogs and social media platforms (i.e., Facebook and Twitter) in order to rally support and encourage donations. Top fundraisers between Aug. 17 & Sept. 1, 2010 will be announced on the September 10th show. One lucky team member may have the chance to Skype with a celebrity on air!

In addition, a CBS PSA campaign driving viewers to the Survivor SU2C donations page will launch tonight and run throughout the year.   Among the Survivors participating in the spots are fan-favorites such as Rupert Boneham, Amber Brkich-Mariano, James Clement, Colby Donaldson, Cirie Fields, Russell Hantz, Jerri Manthey, Rob Mariano, Jenna Morasca, Parvati Shallow, James ”JT” Thomas Jr., Sandra Diaz-Twine, Benjamin “Coach” Wade, Tom Westman and Ethan Zohn.

Watch the SU2C TV show on September 10, 2010, at 8PM EST & PST / 7PM CT. The one-hour fundraising event will be simulcast live and commercial-free on ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Bio, Discovery Health, E!, G4, HBO, HBO Latino, MLB Network, mun2, Showtime, Smithsonian Channel, The Style Network, TV One, and VH1.

To get involved by starting a team, becoming a member of Stand Up To Cancer, keeping informed of their work on Facebook and Twitter or to make a donation, visit the Stand Up To Cancer Survivor site.

Stand Up To Cancer is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. EIF meets all 20 BBB Charity Standards.

For those of us with a chronic illness, health issues or a disability we may not be able to volunteer in real life or at all. This is an easy way to pay it forward with Elmer’s Bag It Forward though. Just copy and paste the following:

This Back to School season, Elmer’s is celebrating it’s every day low pricing on back to school supplies at Walmart by partnering with Adopt-A-Classroom to help make a difference in classrooms across the country.
Elmer’s will donate up to $10,000 to Adopt-A-Classroom with your participation. Join now!

The Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward is charity blog meme, bloggers are able to raise $10 per blog post for Adopt-A-Classroom by writing a blog post or Facebook note and donating a virtual bag of school supplies . Elmer’s will donate $10 per each post written for Adopt-A-Classroom, up to $10,000.

HOW CAN YOU JOIN? It’s easy.

* Participate in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward by giving away a virtual bag of school supplies and creating a blog post or Facebook note with specific rules described below.
* Elmer’s will donate up to $10,000 to Adopt-A-Classroom.
* You can give as many virtual bags as you want.
* The Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward will officially begin at 12 AM EST on July 22, 2010 and end at 11:59 PM EST on September 10, 2010. Blog posts submitted to us before or after that time period will not be counted.
* The blog post link has to be submitted in the comment section below for your participation to be counted.
* In addition copy and paste the following text into your blog post:

ELMER’S VIRTUAL BAG IT FORWARD RULES

* Copy and paste these rules into your blog post or Facebook note.
* Create a post giving a “virtual bag of school supplies” to other bloggers or write about your Back to School shopping trip at Walmart.
* Link back to the person who gave you a bag of school supplies.
* Let each person you are giving a virtual bag of school supplies know you have given them a bag.
* Leave your link in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward comment section. You can also find the official rules of this virtual #bagitforward program there.
* Elmer’s is donating $10 for each blog participating in the Virtual Bag It Forward Donation to Adopt-A-Classroom (up to total of $10,000 for blog posts written by September 10,2010).
* Please note that only one blog post per blog url will count towards the donation.

Here is the photo you can use for your virtual bag or create your own!

I’m tagging anyone who wants to pay it forward with Elmer’s Bag It Forward.