And this week, three lucky winners will be able to take advantage of the amenities and services there.

The Prize

Three lucky winners will receive one of the following, good through July 9, 2011:

• Grand prize: A 2-Night Stay at one of The Canyons’ properties and a spa treatment at The Grand Summit Spa
• 1st Prize: A Swedish Massage at The Golden Door Spa
• 2nd Prize: Dinner for Two at the Alpine House

Entry Requirements

For a chance to enter and win, please complete the following three requirements and leave a separate comment for each:

1. Follow @thecanyons on Twitter.
2. Visit The Canyons website and leave a comment on this post, sharing one of the following: the property you’d most like to stay at, at The Canyons; the spa treatment you’d most like to get; or the restaurant you’d like to visit.
3. Tweet the following:

• GIVEAWAY! Enter 2 win a 2-nite stay, dinner 4 two, or a spa treatment from @thecanyons http://bit.ly/ajZdHW #thecanyons #gno PLS RT
• Join @thecanyons Tues 7/20 @ #gno Twitter party 2 chat summer resort vacays & travel tips: http://bit.ly/bCZTtz PLS RT

Extra Entries

The following entry is completely optional and will earn you one extra entry for this giveaway. Leave a separate comment on this post for this completed entry.

1. Follow @momitforward on Twitter.
2. Follow Mom It Forward on Facebook at http://facebook.com/momitforward.
3. Become a Friend of Mom It Forward’s Google Friend Connect (see box in right sidebar).
4. Subscribe to the Mom It Forward RSS feed (click on orange heart at the bottom left on the homepage).

Terms and Conditions

No purchase necessary to enter. Giveaway ends on at midnight PT Saturday, July 24, 2010. See all terms and conditions here.

All of the service projects we participated in had one thing in common: we went outside of our home and worked!

Fast forward to adulthood where the landscape of charity looks vastly different from that from my childhood. The internet has made giving easier and faster not to mention, convenient.

Here are five simple ways you can take advantage of giving from the comforts of your own home.

1. Make Micro Donations

Micro donation/lending organizations like Choice Humanitarian, Kiva, and The Tipping Bucket have made donating to various causes on a regular basis not only possible because donations can be as low as $5, but also simple because all that is required is the click of a mouse and inputting a bit of information.

Even the established non-profit organization the Make-A-Wish Foundation is applying principles of micro donating in its new symbolic giving program this summer: Summer of 5000 Wishes. To make a donation, just check a box for the symbolic item you’d like to purchase—items as low costing as sun screen and as costly as a flights. Then, check out the impact your donation made on the overall wish through a financial thermometer (see example on right).

2. Get Information Via Websites

The internet has made information about issues easily accessible and readily available. In days past, we were reliant on newspapers, magazines, or research at the local library. Now, all you need to do is search for terms and a variety of articles, information, and sites pops up with both information as well as ways to help. For example, do you want to learn more about ways in which to help erase teacher-funded classrooms? Three non-profits come to mind spearheaded by these large companies: Bing, General Mills, and OfficeMax.

3. Get Up Close and Personal With Causes Through Blogs

Blogs have personalized causes for us by introducing us to the people who suffer from them.

We’ve learned more and have championed causes like The March of Dimes because of people like Heather Spohr and the unfortunate death of her sweet daughter, Maddie. She has inspired us to raise not only awareness, but funds in her memory.

We’ve supported each other through tough times, like when Anissa suffered a stroke, when Melissa’s house flooded, and when Stellan was hanging on for dear life.

And we rally for people who need our help, thoughts, and love on a daily basis like Tammy and Stephanie.

Through blogs, we’ve learned the power that comes from reading, sharing, and supporting—even from behind the computer screen. Service comes in many different forms and sometimes, a prayer, a kind comment on a blog post, a letter dropped in the mail, or supporting an online auction to benefit someone during rough times is exactly what is most needed.

4. Connect With Others Via Online Communities

Twenty years ago, my brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I remember the process that diagnosis entailed. My mom spent hours and hours researching in the local library. My brother received diagnosis after mis-diagnosis. My mom didn’t know of any other moms facing similar issues and had no one she could relate to. Learning to parent a mentally ill child was a long and lonely learning process.

Not that all of those problems would be simplified in today’s online world, but the power of online communities goes a long way in providing answers, support, and encouragement. Moms can talk openly about everything from autism and diabetes to home schooling and general parenting issues. The support is an act of service in and of itself that benefits both the giver and the receiver.

5. Create Buzz About a Cause on Social Networking Sites

Thanks to tools in social media, groups don’t have to travel to Africa to offer humanitarian aid. Social Networking Sites like Twitter and Facebook are another great way to share and receive information, raise awareness and funds, and connect with people who share your passions and with whom you can relate—and are no further than a step and a click away.

In April of 2009, I ran a campaign, including online and offline events for Yehu Microfinance in support of women entrepreneurs in Kenya. In one month, and in partnership with the 12for12K organization, we raised $15,000 and got the word out in a huge way. People in 10 markets had the opportunity to attend events, but people all over the world had the luxury to interact from the comfort of their own homes with people in Kenya via a Twitter party and donate via a Chip In widget in as small as $2 amounts. Twitter and Facebook helped generate buzz and excitement and information and made all the difference in raising both awareness and funds.

The next time you are wondering how you can better your community or make a difference in the world around you, stop! Get online. If you have time to go out into your community, research options to do so. If you don’t, identify ways to serve online. Making a difference in the world is as simple as the click of a mouse! Start today!

And you can share in that giddiness with us by saving $100 on a full-access conference pass when you click here to register using the code: MOTHERSDAY. But hurry! When Mother’s Day ends, so will this discount.

Still undecided? Check out our crazy fabulous keynote line up for Evo’10:
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Opening Keynote—Evolution Defined: Where Are You Going?

Anyone that has asked themselves “where am I going” has also had to ponder, “where have I been.” Our opening keynote speakers have shared their stories, their heartbreaks and their triumphs through blogging. By sharing the events that changed their lives, they’ve changed us as readers. They’ve shown us how to move forward with courage and optimism. Join us as Nirasha Jaganath of MommyNiri , Heather Spohr of TheSpohrsAreMultiplying, and Stephanie Quilao of BackinSkinnyJeans/Noshtopia share how they answer the question, “Where are you going?”

The Evolution of Social Good —Make A Wish Foundation

Social: pertaining to or characterized by friendly relations.

Good: kind, beneficent, or friendly: to do a good deed.

Sounds like a fantastic combo to us. Join us for a keynote discussion about the power of online social activism. Learn how an organization like the Make A Wish Foundation uses social media to raise money, build strategic partnerships and share its message.

The Evolution of Entertainment

In a world where breaking news, inspiring stories and gut-busting hilarity can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and websites with a few taps on an iPhone, traditional media has been forced to evolve in dynamic ways. Join us for a candid conversation with Andrea Wishom a 17-year veteran Supervising Producer with the Oprah Winfrey Show and Jon Sinclair, VP of Development and Creative Services for the HARPO Studios, as they discuss how social media has changed the way they create, produce and develop ideas as well as what’s next after Oprah.

The Evolution of a New Generation

Technology and dynamic media will transform learning for children in ways we can’t even imagine. Lesli Rotenberg, the Senior Vice President of Children’s Media at PBS will join us to share how a new generation of children, parents and teachers are using these tools and how they are shaping the future.

Closing Keynote—The Evolution of YOU! Living Authentically Online

Odds are that the bloggers that leave you feeling incredibly enriched…beaming with a wide grin…a fierce case of warm fuzzies…or with an empowered desire to get up and tackle a project/recipe/hobby/life-altering change do so because they’re bravely sharing an authentic version of themselves online. Join champions of authenticity, Karen Walrond and Brene Brown, for a discussion about how to embrace what makes you special and wonderful and how to share it online.

Awesome, right?!

Evo’10 is a conference that blends workshops, networking, parties and the wind-in-your-hair relaxation that can only be found by spending summertime in the mountains.

Learning, camaraderie, fresh mountain air…it’s like summer camp for bloggers. Check out all the details here!

Then she is off and running – blogging at her own site, ArmyHousehold6, managing the PTO as its President, cleaning her house, and talking to her husband for 30 minutes a day, sometimes on the phone and sometimes by instant message.

For the last 90 days, Tammy has done her job as a parent alone.  Her husband, Sgt. Dan Munson is in the middle of a 365 day deployment.  This mother of two does it all with a smile, knowing her husband’s job is dangerous, but necessary, “He is protecting our freedom and providing for our future.  I just keep things going until he can come back to us.”

Being the one at home is challenging, as much of the information she gets about her husband is ‘need to know’ only.  She explains, “You don’t know what he is doing, if he is safe, if he is hot or cold.” 

So Tammy keeps busy, very busy.  She checks on the needs of her ‘adopted troops’, gathers expired coupons for military families abroad to use, generates donations for care packages for the troops in her husband’s platoon, and does everything in her power to honor the men and women who serve our country.

The program she is most proud of is Help A Service Member Out (HASMO).   HASMO is a rapid reaction team that responds to the needs of military service members and their families. Just about a year ago, Tammy learned of a young soldier severely, Pfc. Hunter Levine wounded in Iraq.  Moved beyond words, Tammy created HASMO to help soldiers like Levine and their families get the support they need.  HASMO has an email list of people willing to help as well as a list of those in need. 

Tammy comes by her respect of the military honestly – her grandfather spent more than 30 years in the service and her father was a member of the National Guard.

Now, her husband, her children’s father, fights for freedom.  He will be home in the Spring for a short time and then he will be gone again.  His deployment ends in Summer 2010. He is guaranteed to be home for 12 months once he is comes back to his family.

Here at home, Tammy counts the days, takes care of her own children and protects her extended military family with her every thought and action.

About the Author: Danielle Smith is a mommy to two smart and sassy small people, as well as the founder and primary author of ExtraordinaryMommy.com. You can catch her hosting a brand new live show, The Spin Cycle, on MomTV.com every Wednesday at 9pmEST. She also hosts a show on Blog Talk Radio and contributes to WhyMomsMatter. Danielle is thrilled to be contributing to MomItForward as ‘giving back’ has always been an important part of who she is and what she hopes to teach her children.

Prize

Three lucky winners will receive one of the following. (See entry requirements below.)

• Grand prize: Dyson DC 31 (handheld)
• 1st place: Dyson DC 24 (upright)
• 2nd place: Dyson DC 23 (canister)

Entry Requirements

To enter for a chance to win, you are required to do four things (make sure you leave a separate comment for each of your entries).
Note: Entries that do not follow all of these requirements will not be considered.

1. Become a fan of the Mom It Forward Facebook page.
2. Join Mom It Forward Google Friend Connect (see right sidebar).
3. Follow @momitforward on Twitter.
4. Post these messages on Facebook and/or on Twitter and leave comments here, linking to your messages:

Check out these housework/cleaning nightmares & share your own: http://facebook.com/momitforward PLS RT

GIVEAWAY! Enter 4 a chance 2 win a #dyson vacuum cleaner (3 winners) http://bit.ly/7cqtk Ends Sunday! PLS RT

Extra Entries

You can earn up to five extra entries for this week’s giveaway. Leave an additional comment for each.

1. Share your best or worst housework experience on the Mom It Forward Facebook fan page.
2. Read the Summer of Service post this week and either share how you completed the challenge or leave one cleaning or organizing tip.
3. Nominate a mom to be featured in the “inspiring moms” section of the Mom It Forward blog.
4. Join the Mom It Forward Facebook group.
5. Post the “Mom Is a Verb” button on your blog. (See right-hand sidebar for button with code.)

The Fine Print

No purchase necessary to enter. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. Dyson and Mom It Forward employees are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Sunday, September 6 at midnight PDT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered. Winners will be notified and will have 24 hours to confirm receipt of the e-mail. If they do not reply within 24 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to participants in the US and Canada 18 years and older.

1. Make time to clean or organize one area of your house/apartment each day this week no matter how big or small.
2. Put the days of the week on a different piece of paper and have your children draw a different day out of a hat. On the assigned day, help your child clean his or her room, teaching the skills needed to do it on their own.
3. Go through all the sock drawers in your house, matching up all the pairs and throwing out those without a match.
4. Have a family cleaning party. One example is to play songs like “Whistle while you work!” and see who can pick up the most things or get the most accomplished before the song ends.
5. Be a clean person by living according to your values. For example, be honest and fair in all of your dealings, be a person of integrity, etc.
6. Identify a friend or family who is sick, having a difficult time, or who could use a break. Stop by their house unannounced and do their dishes, empty their garbage, sweep and mop their floor, or clean the guest bathroom. If you know this person well and have access to their house, do it anonymously!
7. Take your children to a local park or cemetery and spend 15 minutes picking up the trash.
8. Call a local non-profit agency or church and make arrangements to help weed, pick up trash, or clean the facilities. If appropriate, take your children along to help.
9. The next time you are at a friends, family members, or in laws for dinner, offer to do all the dishes after the meal.
10. Have a laundry folding party as a family and play games as you fold and put away the clothes.

How Will You Give to Others This Week?

• What other ideas do you have for being squeaky clean this week?
• What are things that get in the way of cleaning for yourself, your family and friends, or your community?
• What are ways to overcome these challenges?
• How has being squeaky clean this week made a meaningful difference for you? For others?

Remember to enter this week’s giveaway where 3 lucky winners will get a Dyson vacuum cleaner!

1. Make today loud by screaming with excitement when good things happen.
2. Make today pop by wearing bold colors.
3. Make today frisky by… well, I’ll leave that up to you .
4. Make today playful by flirting with your spouse.
5. Make today lyrical by playing and bringing classical music to life in your home and making up and telling fun stories to your children about what the music means.
6. Make today glamorous by being beautiful on the inside!
7. Make today fearless by stepping outside your comfort zone to serve someone you may not know well or at all.
8. Make today heroic by being someone’s hero in whatever way they need to be saved, served, or made to feel special.
9. Make today huge by making a triple batch of cookies and surprising your kids with some when they walk in the door from school, sharing some with your neighbors, and giving some to your friends as a thank you just for being in your life.
10. Make today electric by shocking someone. Call someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Drop in on someone unexpectedly just to let them know you care about them. Do something for yourself that you don’t typically do that will make you feel really good.
11. Make today dangerous by taking a leap of faith. Only you know what that will be, but do it. You know you’ve been wanting to for a while. Don’t hold back!

These ideas were prompted by this fun video by Famous Footwear!

How Will You Give to Others This Week?

• What other ideas do you have for making today unexpected?
• What are things that get in the way of adding variety between the days in your week?
• What are ways to overcome these challenges?
• How has making today unexpected made a meaningful difference for you? For others?

How Else Can You Make a Difference This Summer?

Make a meaningful difference this summer by taking the Summer of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here’s how you can participate:

• Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week’s challenge.
• Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week’s challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
• Grab the SOS button in the sidebar and put it on your blog or social networking site.
• Enter to win each week’s giveaway. Click here to check out this week’s prize from Famous Footwear.
• Click here to join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.

1. Run up to a loved one and give him or her an enthusiastic bear hug.
2. Smile to those you pass on the street.
3. Ask someone how they are doing, listen to the answer, and comment on it.
4. Give others heartfelt compliments.
5. Give someone a bouquet of flowers just because.
6. Together as a family, identify another family whose day needs brightening, prepare some artwork (each person preparing something that is special to him or her)—even something as simple as coloring a page from a coloring book—and deliver it to the family together.
7. For a date night with just you and your spouse, get some butcher paper and finger paint a picture for your children, hang it on the wall, and let them see it when they wake up.
8. Kiss everyone in your family at least five times in a day!
9. Gather your family together, turn on some upbeat music, and start dancing. Dance with each of your children, even if you have to do it while holding them.
10. Give each member of your family a gift that relates to their favorite color (this can be store bought or homemade).

How Will You Give to Others This Week?

• What other ideas do you have for brightening someone’s day this week?
• What are things that get in the way of brightening someone’s day?
• What are ways to overcome these challenges?
• How has brightening someone’s day made a meaningful difference for you? For others?

How Else Can You Make a Difference This Summer?

Make a meaningful difference this summer by taking the Summer of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here’s how you can participate:

• Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week’s challenge.
• Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week’s challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
• Grab the SOS button in the sidebar and put it on your blog or social networking site.
• Enter to win each week’s giveaway. Click here to check out this week’s prize from Crayola.
• Click here to join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.

1. Write a list of ten questions you’d like to know about a family member or friend and schedule an interview with them to get to know them better. Encourage your children to interview someone they’d like to get to know better as well. If they are younger, help them create the list of questions.
2. Write a note to a family member or friend, telling them how much you appreciate, love, or admire them. Use your talents in drawing, painting, stamping, hand writing, letter writing, or your favorite form of creativity to put your personal stamp on the card.
3. Involve your family in putting together a progressive dinner right within the walls of your own home. Assign each person to be in charge of a specific room and portion of the meal. Work together to make the meal and set up the rooms. Award prizes for most creative, yummiest, most colorful, etc.
4. Welcome your spouse home from work or your children home from school with a picture or note on one of your windows or mirrors using Crayola’s window markers.
5. Encourage your children to welcome their mom or dad (or both!) home from work or other outing by helping them write a love note using Crayola’s sidewalk chalk on the driveway.
6. Have a family art gallery night where each of you prepares a drawing, painting, photograph, Model Magic sculpture, or other artistic project and showcases it for each other. Award participants with certificates or ribbons, indicating most creative, best use of color, best use of black and white, best use of emotions, etc.
7. Encourage your children to get to know their grandparents better by having them record (through audio and/or video) an interview with them about what life was like when they were growing up. Help your children prepare the questions, get the recording equipment ready, and set up an appointment. Then help them put together the audio/video project and share it with the rest of the family, including their grandparents.
8. Have a girls’ night out that’s a blast from the past with activities like finger painting, running through sprinklers, jumping on the trampoline, or other fun things you enjoyed as a child. Make sure to feature your favorite childhood snacks and drinks. Tang anyone?
9. Have a “walk down memory lane” party with your family, your friends, other couples, or others where you all bring photo albums and share your favorite memories. One fun group date is to all bring your wedding photo albums and each take turns sharing favorite memories from your wedding and your newlywed years.
10. Schedule a family coloring night, where you each choose a favorite page from a coloring book or your own coloring books and color together while chatting and enjoying your favorite snacks.

How Will You Give to Others This Week?

• What other ideas do you have for strengthening your relationships this week using creativity?
• What are things that get in the way of strengthening your relationships using creativity?
• What are ways to overcome these challenges?
• How has strengthening your relationships this week using creativity others made a meaningful difference for you? For others?

How Else Can You Make a Difference This Summer?

Make a meaningful difference this summer by taking the Summer of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here’s how you can participate:

• Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week’s challenge.
• Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week’s challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
• Grab the SOS button in the sidebar and put it on your blog or social networking site.
• Enter to win each week’s giveaway. Click here to check out this week’s prize from Crayola.
• Join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.

10 Ways to Include Others This Week

Feeling included is a great feeling. Walking into a room—whether it be at an event, an activity, a conference, church, a school function, or otherwise—and not knowing a single soul in the room can be difficult. What a difference it makes when, in that same situation, someone extends the hand of friendship, reaches out and introduces themselves to you, takes up that empty seat next to you, starts a conversation, and helps you feel welcome. Taking a step outside of our comfort zones to help someone else feel included and a part of things is an amazing act of service. It is also an important skill and characteristic to teach our children, especially as they transition from summer activities to back to school, where they will meet new kids, join sports teams, etc.

You can take this week’s Summer of Service challenge, sponsored by Crayola, by doing one of the following things. If you have more ideas for including others, please share them in the comments!

1. Invite someone new to an event you’ll be attending soon—a book club, scrapbooking club, school meeting, play group, a church activity, a professional club or organization, etc.
2. When you attend an event, look around for someone who is sitting by themselves and sit next to them and introduce yourself to them.
3. Invite someone you have recently met, but don’t know well, to lunch just to get to know him or her.
4. Plan a girl’s night out activity with your friends and encourage everyone to bring someone new.
5. Invite a family in your neighborhood or from your children’s school over for dinner.
6. Write a thank-you note to someone who has made an impact on your life recently, but who you don’t know well.
7. Identify five people you’d like to get to know better and determine what you will do this week to take steps toward doing that.
8. Role play with your children the act of including others at school—inviting them to their lunch table, including them on their sports team, playing with them at recess, etc.
9. Have a date night with your husband and invite another couple you haven’t done something with before.
10. When your friends are successful in their endeavors, pour on the compliments and share the love publicly. A little affirmation and abundance thinking goes a long way to strengthen friendships!

How Will You Give to Others This Week?

• What other ideas do you have for including others this week?
• What are things that get in the way of including others?
• What are ways to overcome these challenges?
• How has including others made a meaningful difference this week for you? For others?

How Else Can You Make a Difference This Summer?

Make a meaningful difference this summer by taking the Summer of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here’s how you can participate:

• Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week’s challenge.
• Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week’s challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
• Grab the SOS button in the sidebar and put it on your blog or social networking site.
• Enter to win each week’s giveaway. Check out this week’s prize from Crayola.
• Join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.