Vote to Give LeapFrog Toys to Kids in Need!

Since last week’s call for help, I received some great ideas about recipients for LeapFrog’s The Gift of Giving.

It is time to vote and I need your help! As I mentioned in my original post, I want you to decide who should receive this generous donation of LeapFrog toys.

Here’s some information about each of the organizations a donation of LeapFrog toys could benefit. You are welcome to vote for your favorite organization as many times as you’d like between now and Wednesday at 5 pm EST.

Greentree Shelter in Bethesda, Maryland

• Greentree Shelter serves as a transitional home for families and assists mostly single mothers and children by providing support systems as they rebuild their lives. Greentree provides basic needs as well as a counseling, case management, life and career skills training, and substance abuse prevention and education that aid families in developing a sense of self-esteem, self-help skills, and healthier relationships which help them to avoid the recurrence of homelessness. Greentree is also the only shelter for homeless families in Montgomery County, Maryland with an on-site child care center. Thanks to Alexis for nominating Greentree.

MetroWest, serving Boston area communities in Massachusetts

• MetroWest is foundation that supports over 30 communities west of the greater Boston area. Executive Director, Judith Salerno, saw my tweet about The Gift of Giving and wrote the following to nominate her organization: “We are a community foundation serving the cities west of Boston. This year, Massachusetts has closed transitional shelters and families are now housed at hotels until permanent housing is found 6-10 most for many families. In one hotel in our community 95 families with 125 under age 5 live without any services. Recently the children were each given one book, collected by a local school. Leapfrog would be an amazing gift for these children, who have no access to early childhood ed. or services. Please consider helping these children who have no permanent home.”

Parent Resource Center in Montgomery County, Maryland

• The Parent Resource Center with multiple locations throughout Montgomery County, Maryland is a county run program that provides children ages infant to age five with preschool activities, learning toys, art supplies, and circle and story times led by parent educators. Membership provides a preschool-like experience on a drop in basis and is affordable to all families since cost is based on a sliding scale. Kim, a regular reader, blogger, and a mom who often visits the Parent Resource Center with her daughter, wrote to nominate the Silver Spring location of the Parent Resource center because it has no money for new toys or materials. The parent educator in charge of the Silver Spring Parent Resource Center reduced the number of days and hours per week she works just to keep the location open.

Treehouse for Kids in Seattle, Washington

• Treehouse for Kids is a Seattle-based organization that helps foster children and foster parents. Foster parents receive up to $300 from the state each year that is supposed to cover the cost of clothing for the growing child. A donation of LeapFrog toys would greatly assist foster families provide toys to the children in their care. Treehouse relies on the generosity of individuals and community businesses to stock their Warehouse, a unique facility where kids and caregivers shop for free so foster posterns can stretch their family budget a little bit farther. Nominated by Heather, a regular reader and supporter of Treehouse for Kids.

Who would you choose? Vote as many times as you like here between now and Wednesday at 5 pm EST!

I am not receiving any compensation from LeapFrog for participating in their The Gift of Giving campaign other than payment for posts that are part of my weekly column in the LeapFrog Community. Participating in The Gift of Giving was completely voluntary.