Giveaway and other “giveaways”

The holidays are almost upon us (how did that happen, you wonder?? Me, too!) and in addition to kicking off the first of several giveaways that I promised, I wanted to talk briefly about some other “giveaways” going on.

I’d never heard of Operation Christmas Child until the other weekend, when a young man named Alex came to speak at my church. His story started out as grim as you can get: He lived through the Rwandan genocide, but most of his family did not. When he was four, he watched as his grandmother, his primary caretaker after his mother died, was tortured and murdered by their neighbors. His aunt and uncle took him and his brother in, but then his uncle was murdered, and not long after, his aunt died. Alex was also targeted, and narrowly escaped death on several occasions (the genocide didn’t spare children). Before she passed on, his aunt made arrangements for him and his brother to enter a local orphanage, and that’s where they stayed until they were adopted by an American family several years later.

Alex talked about how one of the bright spots during those dark years was receiving a “shoe box” from Operation Christmas Child, which was filled with practical and fun gifts. He said getting the box made him feel like the world had not forgotten him, although he had every reason to believe it had. Now an adult, Alex is involved in Operation Christmas Child, and recently delivered shoe boxes to the orphanage in Rwanda where he used to live. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has delivered more than 100 million gift boxes to needy children all around the world (food and medical supplies are handled through Samaritan’s Purse).  To see a video of Alex telling his story, go here. If you are interested in knowing more about this charity, go here.

Doctors Without Borders is a charity I’ve been involved with for years now. If you’re not familiar with them, Doctors Without Borders (or Médecins Sans Frontières) provides medical aid to countries most in need, whether by violence, epidemics, or natural disasters. In addition to medical treatment, vaccines, opening hospitals, water sanitation, and providing nutrition, they also are activists by bringing attention to often-overlooked humanitarian crisis’s. To watch a video about DWB, go here or click the box below.

Sometimes, the issues affecting our world seem so overwhelming that it feels like only the super-rich can do anything about them, but if everyone who wanted to help found a way to donate $5.00 this holiday season (and there are countless great charities, plus Charity Navigator can help you avoid the scam ones), it would make a difference. As Mother Teresa once said, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”

And now, to my giveaway, which pales in comparison to what these organizations are doing, but if it brings a smile to someone’s face, that’s a start :). Courtesy of HarperAudio, I have 7 (seven) free digital audiobook downloads of Once Burned up for grabs, narrated by the very talented Tavia Gilbert. Note: In order to get the free download, HarperAudio requires that you enter your email address for their mailing list (I can’t make it avoid this step, sorry!) However, once you download the audiobook, you can cancel your subscription to their mailing list, if you choose.

If you’re interested in winning a digital audio download of Once Burned:

1. Send an email to  jeanieneprizes AT gmail DOT com.  (obviously replace the “AT” with an “@” and the “DOT” with a “.” in your email.)

2. Make sure to include your name and the email address you want to be contacted at if you win, if it’s not the email you’re sending your entry from.

3. You can only enter ONCE. Duplicate entries will be deleted.

Contest opens today and ends on Monday, November 25th at 11:59pm EST. Winners will be contacted by email and announced on my blog. International entries are welcome. Good luck!