If you’re looking for a ridiculously fun Christmas activity for the family, why not support a charity at the same time? The Ugly Sweater Run is being held in 18 cities across the nation, and it raises funds and awareness for Save the Children. This year, Save the Children is asking people to make the world better with a sweater. What better way to do that than to don your ugliest, merriest, or wooliest Christmas sweater in a 5K?
On race day, participants will enjoy an array of festivities along the 5K route: a giant inflatable Santa, refreshment stations where you can gulp down hot cocoa (you gotta keep your stamina up, right?), snow machines, and tons of other folks walking alongside you. Perhaps you’ll make a new friend and boldly belt out Christmas songs together! 😉 Oh, and how could I not mention that awesome knit hat? It’s included in your registration, and the only way to get one is by participating in this run.
Who can come to the run?
The Ugly Sweater Run welcomes participants of all ages! Kids under 5 years are free to attend, but if they want a hat, you’ll need to add it onto your registration. Parents are welcome to bring strollers to push their mini-me’s through the race. Decorated strollers are a plus! Even your furry, four-legged children are welcome to attend the race. (Double-check that the venue in your city allows it.)
Do I have to run?
Haha—no! You can walk, jog, run, skip, or jump your way through the course. Just be mindful of everyone’s safety. After you get through the course, stick around because they’ll give out prizes for the best mustache, best beard, and ugliest sweater.
How can I register?
A few runs are being held this weekend, and the rest will happen later this month. (So sorry to the folks in Pittsburgh, Seattle, and the Twin Cities, but your dates have already passed!) Click on your city below to register. You can register in person at the event, but only if the race hasn’t sold out, so go ahead and sign up online to reserve your spot in the merriest 5K of the season!
Unable to attend The Ugly Sweater Run? You can still make a difference in children’s lives by simply donating to Save the Children online. If you’re aching for a festive experience you can celebrate National Ugly Sweater Day on December 18th. Get your coworkers to wear their ugly Christmas sweaters to the office that day and encourage folks to make a small donation to Save the Children.
In 2007 Gretchen and Larry Witt’s 2-year-old son Liam was diagnosed with cancer, and they were rather surprised to find out that only a very small percentage of money spent on cancer research goes towards researching better treatments for pediatric cancer. The Witts decided they needed to do something about this, so Gretchen—along with 250 volunteers—baked and sold 96,000 cookies. This massive bake sale raised more than $400,000 for childhood cancer research! With the success of their first bake sale, the Witts decided to establish Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, an organization that raises funds for research for developing improved treatments for pediatric cancer.
Since its inception, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer has funded dozens of pediatric cancer research grants, which have lead to a number of promising new treatments and clinical trials. The decision on where the funds go is overseen by a Medical Advisory Board, which is made up of leading pediatric oncologists from top hospitals, such as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
If you would like to get involved with this admirable organization, there are several ways to do so.
Host a Bake Sale or Cookie Swap
In the spirit of how this charity was started, you could host a bake sale or cookie swap to raise money. Cookies for Kids’ Cancer wants to make it easy for you to host your event, so if you register your bake sale with them, they will provide support and tips to make the entire process simple.
Send Cookies to a Loved One
The cookies offered by Cookies for Kids’ Cancer contain all-natural ingredients and are shipped on the same day that they are baked. On top of that, 100% of the profits from the cookies go directly to pediatric cancer reseach, and each box includes a note explaining the significance of your gift. With a variety of flavours, such as Liam’s Lemon Sugar, Chocolate Almond Coconut Crunch, and Ginger Spice, these cookies will fill the tummies and the hearts of the recipients. Order a box for someone on your gift list or for your own family to enjoy this holiday season.
Attend Family Fun Day in NYC
If you live in the NYC area, you could attend Family Fun Day on Saturday, 5 December. Hosted by Milk Bar’s Christina Tosi, this event includes a meet, greet, and eat where you will get to sample and receive cookies from some of the USA’s top pastry chefs and award-winning bakers. Family Fun Day also features cupcake & cookie decorating, a photo booth, live music & a DJ, face painters, kid [and adult!] beverages, gift bags, and much more. Buy tickets for the event here.
Family Fun Day
Metropolitan Pavilion
123 West 18th Street, 2nd Floor (Between 6th & 7th Avenues)
New York City, NY
Saturday, 5 December
2–5pm
Founded by Danny Thomas over a half century ago, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a treatment and research facility located in Memphis, Tennessee. St. Jude’s mission is beyond commendable: to advance cures and means of prevention for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. No child is denied treatment based on race, religion, or a family’s ability to pay. Not only do patients’ families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, they also don’t have to pay for lodging, travel, or food. On top of that, treatments invented at St. Jude have helped increase the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to over 80%. Incredible!!
If you’re feeling some warm fuzzies about this amazing organization and want to help, there are several ways you can get involved this holiday season.
Make an Honourary Donation
For a unique gift this Christmas, make a donation in honour of a loved one. With your donation, St. Jude offers a variety of cards to bid festive tidings to the honouree, as well as let them know about your honourary donation. You can select between ecards, mailable cards, or print-at-home cards.
Did you know that a donation of $69 could fund a St. Jude child’s platelet count test? Or a donation of $30 could fund meals for a St. Jude family for an entire day?
Decorate the St. Jude Tree
Send a holiday greeting or a message of love & hope to the children and families at St. Jude by customizing a Christmas ornament and placing it on their interactive tree.
Select a ball ornament, angel, elf, or candy cane [designed by a St. Jude patient!] and write a sweet message to go along with your ornament. After “hanging” your ornament, you have the option to also make a donation to St. Jude.
Donate through St. Jude’s Partners
A multitude of companies—such as Delta, The Coca-Cola Company, and The Melting Pot—have teamed up with St. Jude to help raise even more money to provide treatment for ill children. Some of these companies offer specialized merchandise to benefit St. Jude, while others allow you to donate when making a purchase online or in store. These programs have made a huge difference, as some companies, like Williams-Sonoma, have raised tens of millions of dollars for St. Jude! Visit the St. Jude website to find out how your favourite brand is involved.
Simply Donate
If you want to simply give to St. Jude in order to help out this wonderful organization, you may easily donate online.
The winter months are chilly, but especially frigid for folks who don’t have the luxury of a cozy coat. One Warm Coat® has been collecting coats since 1992 and giving them to people in need. The organization has grown over the years and has given away nearly 4 million coats to date!
While that sounds like a lot of coats, there is indeed still a great need for more. The economic climate, unemployment, and natural disasters have contributed to the hardships that many people are facing. Did you know that 1 in 5 children live in poverty? That is a staggering number of children—not to mention families—that are experiencing hard times.
The good news is that there are several ways for you to get involved and help! If you have an extra coat or two in your closet, you can give it to someone who needs it. In addition to coats, One Warm Coat encourages donors to give any type of outerwear, such as sweaters, sweatshirts, hats, scarves, or mittens. And, for any crafters out there, you can donate a handmade scarf, mittens, or hat. 😉
You can donate your coats at any drop off location. Go to One Warm Coat’s website to locate a coat drive near you.
Want to do more to help?
Another way to get involved is to volunteer your time. One Warm Coat provides you with many resources to start your own coat drive and help you find an agency who will distribute the coats you collect. One Warm Coat provides you with a toolkit if you want to organize your own coat drive. Together, we can make a difference and spread the warmth of Christmas through the act of giving.
Established in 1992, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is devoted to helping find adoptive homes for children currently in foster care. Dave Thomas himself was adopted, so throughout his life, Dave spread the word about adoption and encouraged folks to consider foster care adoption. Unfortunately Dave passed away in 2002, but his legacy lives on with DTFA and Wendy’s. [Yep, Dave Thomas was also the founder of Wendy’s!]
Another way you can get involved and learn more about adoption this month is to watch the CBS special “A Home for the Holidays.” Presented in association with the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and the Children’s Action Network, this show features heartwarming stories about adoptive families, along with performances from popular artists. The 16th annual “A Home for the Holidays” will include entertainment from Jennifer Hudson, Train, Earth Wind & Fire, Rixton, Katharine McPhee, Ashley Monroe, Dan & Shay, and Jillian Michaels. Tune in on Friday, 19 December at 9pm ET/PT to catch this uplifting television special. Perhaps watching this will become a new holiday tradition for you.
If you’re looking for a ridiculously fun Christmas activity for the family, why not support a charity at the same time? The Ugly Sweater Run is being held in 18 cities across the nation, and it raises funds and awareness for Save the Children. This year, Save the Children is asking people to make the world better with a sweater. What better way to do that than to don your ugliest, merriest, or wooliest Christmas sweater in a 5K?
