New Year’s Resolutions Blog
Happy New Year! To start off the New Year, we make resolutions we hope to achieve throughout the year. The most common are getting fit, finding a new job, or going on that special trip you have wanted to do for awhile. Mirror Me Foundation wants to give you advice on how to stick to these resolutions. We don’t want you to be one of those people who gives up after only 2 weeks into the New Year.
Tip #1: Be realistic
Be sure not to make your goals unattainable.
Tip #2: Make a Plan
Do not make sudden resolutions. Plan them ahead of time so you can be sure it is something you want to do and can achieve. Outline how you will deal with sudden imperfections that may pop up throughout the year; such as temptations (food, smoking, etc.). Be sure to include things/ideas that will keep you motivated to attain the resolution goal throughout the year.
Tip #3: Track Yourself
Keep track of your progress, good and bad. Small accomplishments will keep you motivated to achieve the larger goal.
Tip #4: Take it One Day at a Time
Do not beat yourself up over one slip up. Take it slow.
Tip #5: Reward Yourself
Celebrate each success by treating yourself to something you enjoy that does not contradict your resolution.
If your resolution is to kick habits, such as smoking, counselors are available here at Mirror Me Foundation to help talk you through the rough patches. Call us today at 260-420-1333.
Volunteers Needed
If you have been following us on Facebook and Twitter, you may have noticed a sudden pique in feedback that we have been asking from our friends. We are currently in the process of setting up the Summer Program for this year. Please make sure you have signed up to receive our newsletter and any social media site we have so that we can make this a great experience for your children.
This program is for girls’ ages 13-19 years of age. This will be a three-week summer program. They will be taught various lessons such as life skills, self-respect and self-esteem, educational tools, job skills, etc. There will be various activities and events, special guests and speakers. There will be an adult team leader assigned to every group of girls in the summer program. This team leader will monitor the girls, counsel if needed, and help them with any assessments that may be given as homework during the program.
We are now looking for women who are interested in volunteering their time to be these team leaders. If you know someone who may be interested or you are interested yourself, please contact us either by phone 260-420-1333 or by email info@mirrormefoundation.org for more information. We expect roughly 25 girls and we want to assign 5 girls to each team leader. Therefore, we are looking for at least 5 volunteers this year.
New Way to Donate Blog
There are many ways to donate to local nonprofit organizations. There are fundraisers and cash donations just to name a few. But, fundraisers do not happen all the time. They usually occur only a few times a year. Not everyone is a fan of giving out cash donations due to a lack of incentives. Mirror Me Foundation, Inc. is trying to change that. We are now offering a new way for people to donate and get a little something out of it. This new way to help can be done in the comfort of your own home. Make an impact when you shop. We have partnered with sellers on eBay. Every time you buy an item on our page, the seller will donate 10% or more of the final sale price to our cause. The items will continuously change; therefore if you do not like any of the products we offer, wait a couple days and then check the page again. The items are more oriented towards women. If you have a loved one in your life who enjoys jewelry, please check out the page. Even the smallest purchase will make the largest impact for us. Our eBay page can be found here: http://donations.ebay.com/charity/charity.jsp?NP_ID=55041 . If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please do not hesitate to contact us at 260-420-1333 or info@mirrormefoundation.org.
Giving Back to Your Community Blog
I think many people get caught up in the excitement of the holiday season, but forget that it is not about the material items one receives. The most important gift someone can give is donations. When one hears “donate”, the person automatically thinks to donate money. Money is a very sensitive subject, especially when it involves donations because there are many personal stresses. However, there are many ways a person can donate.
1.) Donate Your Time
Another word for this is: “volunteer”. Around the holidays, many organizations around town begin hosting different Christmas-themed activities and benefits; which make for perfect volunteer opportunities. The best places to look if you would like to help out your community include, but are not limited to, the Salvation Army and the local Soup kitchen.
2.) Donate Material Items
Along with Mirror Me Foundation, Inc., many organizations host little benefits for items that will be donated to any person in need. Right now, we are in the middle of a Coat Drive. All coats will be donated to women and children who do not have the means to purchase new ones this winter. The Salvation Army hosts Angel Trees at local businesses around town that allow a person to purchase an item of clothing that someone on the card needs.
Be sure to check out Mirror Me Foundation’s social media pages these next couple weeks for ideas on how to help out people in need this season. Also, make sure to not limit your donations to only the holiday season, help is needed during all times of the year. Habitat for Humanity is continually looking for people to help build homes for those in need. Local food banks are also a great organization to volunteer your time year round.
Mirror Me Foundation Inc.
1-888-326-6896
Adoption Blog
Are you pregnant and do not feel like you are ready to raise a child or do not have the means necessary to provide it a good life? Mirror Me Foundation, Inc. wants to show you that there are other options available. One of those options is adoption. Adoption is where you would birth the child, but all rights would be transferred to a loving family of your choice. The terms would be decided between you and the adoptive parents.
Types of adoption available:
1.) Open adoption: birth parents are in the child’s life. There is a constant interaction and visitation right with the child. The child knows who the birth parents are.
2.) Semi-open adoption: non-identifying information is shared between the adopting parents and the birth parents. It consists of exchanging letters, photos, emails, etc. through a third party (agency) or directly. It does not usually involve face-to-face visitations after placement.
3.) Closed adoption: adoptive parents and birth parents never meet and they know little about each other. There will be no visitation after placement. The adoptive parents are usually chosen by an agency or adoption professional.
This may be the right choice for you because you would be giving the unborn child the life you cannot provide for one reason or another. You are giving it the chance of life. When choosing adoption, you can personalize the plan to what you want. Financial assistance is available through many agencies. Please call Mirror Me Foundation, Inc. at 260-420-1333 or American Adoptions at 1-800-ADOPTION for more information or simply to have someone listen. We are here to help you through this difficult time.
Coat Drive Blog
This is the time of year to donate! There are many women and children in Fort Wayne who cannot afford to purchase new coats and winter accessories. You can help. Mirror Me Foundation, Inc. is holding a coat drive beginning on December 3rd and lasting until December 10th. All that we ask is that the coats are gently used or new and the winter accessories new. We will be donating the coats to the homeless and organizations around town that help women and children. There will be 2 drop off centers so you will be able to drop them off any time of the day. One drop off bin will be at our central office at 2200 Lake Avenue, Suite 220, Fort Wayne, IN. If by chance, you show up to the office after we are closed, the bin will be available in the downstairs lobby. The second drop off bin will be at 1602 E. Wayne Street, Fort Wayne, IN. It will be on the daycare side of the building. We strongly encourage you to participate. If you are unable to donate a coat, please feel free to send us a donation so that we may purchase coats for those in need. We can be contacted by phone at 260-420-1333 or by email at info@mirrormefoundation.org.
Flu Shot
We encountered our first snow over this past Monday. As it begins getting colder, we all know that it means flu season is right around the corner. Everywhere we turn, we see some advertisement regarding the flu shot and why we should get it. It has become second nature to get the shot as soon as it starts getting cold to many American families. Parents do not think twice about making their children get the dreaded shot. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) encourages everyone 6 months and older to receive a flu shot each year. Their reasoning why it is needed each year is because the virus is continually changing; therefore the vaccine we got during the previous year may not be effective on this year’s flu strain. Since the CDC website says it continually changes, we are going to believe them, right? According to a study conducted at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, the current influenza vaccines offer less protection than being reported. It is very important to get the shot to protect yourself as best as you can throughout this flu season. However, do not believe that just because you get the shot, that you will not get the flu this year. There is always a possibility that the vaccine will not overpower the influenza. Also, do research regarding what the shot is covering this year. Information regarding the 2012-2013 influenza can be found here: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2012-2013.htm. If you are unsure of where to go to get the shot, please contact Mirror Me Foundation, Inc. at 260-420-1333 and we will help you find the nearest location to you!
As you walk down the checkout lanes at the supermarket, one thing that is hard to notice is all of the beautiful women that embellish the covers of every magazine. As you look as these magazines, you notice how perfect these women are. They have the unattainable body, the perfect skin, the perfect hair. They have everything a girl or women could only hope for themselves. Girls look up to these women and feel pressure to be perfect like them. The only problem with this is that these girls do not get the opportunity to embrace their differences. Instead, they feel embarrassed to be of average weight, height, and have acne. What many people do not realize while looking at magazines is that many of these women are airbrushed. It is very common for a magazine company to airbrush and Photoshop the women on the covers in order to make them look perfect. Magazine’s will take pounds off of everyone to make them the unattainable size 0; they will enhance cleavage, take off wrinkles and any blemishes. One of the most recent celebs to undergo dramatic Photoshop on the cover of a magazine is Lady Gaga in Vogue. The article and video surrounding this story can be found here: http://www.wetpaint.com/network/articles/photoshop-gone-too-far-lady-gagas-vogue-transformation.
What we here at Mirror Me Foundation, Inc. ask is that you take the time to talk to your daughters, nieces, and cousins and make sure they know what they see in the magazines is not real. They should not harm themselves in order to succumb to the pressures to have these so-called “perfect bodies”. If you feel like your daughter/niece/cousin is doing harm to herself in order to “fit in”, please do not hesitate to contact us at 260-420-1222 for someone to talk to. We are here to help in difficult times that those.
Upcoming Events with Mirror Me Foundation
November
Mirror Me Foundation, Inc. will be in partnership with the Fort Wayne Housing Authority to host monthly events at apartment complexes around the greater Fort Wayne area. On November 12, we will be heading to Brookmill Court for Makeover Monday. Come join us for tutorials on how to do makeup and hair; along with conversation revolving around self esteem and the programs we offer.
December
Mirror Me Foundation, Inc. plans to host a coast drive within the first couple weeks of December. Subscribe to our newsletter from our website because we will be sending out more information regarding it once it is known.
Call us at 888-326-6896 or email us at info@mirrormefoundation.org for more info!
This past weekend was out Red Carpet Benefit Dinner. We want to give out a huge THANK YOU to all who were able to make it out and help contribute to the upcoming programs we plan to initiate. We also want to give a huge THANK YOU to all of the companies who were able to contribute to the silent auction and all those people who wanted to come and were unable, but still donated what they could. We appreciate all the help we have gotten these past few weeks.
Now, our main focus will be on the programs we plan to launch in January 2013. We are looking for any counselors who are looking for experience and willing to volunteer their time to help out those in need. We would also like to mention that if there are any friendly faces who would like an internship or experience in an office setting, please contact us at your earliest convenience at 260-420-1333 or info@mirrormefoundation.org. Mirror Me Foundation, Inc. is looking for someone just like you!
*Picture of Nina Carter, founder of Mirror Me Foundation, Inc. (left) and Christine Carter, Founder of Against All Odds the keynote speaker (right)
