Article as It Appeared on "I Heart Publix" Today!

This is a guest post by Heather over at Clipping For A Cause. When she emailed me about her new blog I thought it might be nice to bring the concept of giving back to the forefront. I know many people are struggling to make ends meet. I have seen numerous news reports about the great need at food banks and shelters! Many of you have emailed me about where to donate so I thought this post might be a great way to share some info. I get emails regularly asking me where to take the Diabetes meters, Bayer Aspirin, and Phazyme that have been plentiful lately. So feel free to share ideas and even contact info of local drop off spot that you might use. I bet there are a lot of you out there who may have a lot to give but are unsure how or where to start!!
Just days ago, I began my own blog called "Clipping for a Cause." You all can relate to the feeling of being overjoyed at the sight of all your good deals as you quickly dump out the bags of groceries on the countertops once you get home. It seriously makes me want to do a cartwheel in the middle of the kitchen! I don't know about you, but as a stay-at-home mom, the entire clipping/shopping process has given me a sense of purpose; something to look forward to each week. Don't get me wrong, I love being with my children and family, but if you think about it, couponing and saving as much as we all can at the grocery store is EARNED INCOME for our families. This is my job and duty now.

Having said that, each week that goes by, more and more "money-maker" and "overage" items have piled up on our shelves and in our freezer at home. Weeks ago, I started feeling little taps on my shoulder and began to get the feeling that this wasn't the only thing that I was supposed to be doing. Why are these items stockpiling on our shelves? Something suddenly came over me: do we really need 20 packages of Yakisoba noodles, 15 bottles of vitamins, 7 bottles of French's mustard, and 25 bags of Chex mix? Absolutely not...but so many others do.Do not get me wrong...I firmly believe in providing for our own families. As we face each day amongst a spiraling economy, it's important now more than ever to have food on the table for our families. However, perhaps our acquired couponing skills can not only provide for our own families, but it can help others too.

I truly feel like I have been blessed by people like Michelle who have taken their time to share with others how just a few changes can keep those precious dollars in our bank accounts. Now..my hope is that we can all feel inspired to give back. "Clipping for a Cause" says it all in the name. It has been created so that those extra items we have piling up on the shelves can be donated to food banks in your area or directly to the homeless themselves. Just Google "Food Banks" next time you have an opportunity. Unfortunately, what you will find is that food banks everywhere are bare due to the significant increase in requests for assistance. People who "had it all" so to speak, have become jobless and have had to start asking for handouts. That is by far the last thing they ever thought they would be doing. It's almost as though what we have learned to do at the grocery store with coupons goes hand in hand with helping those in need.

I would love for you to visit my blog Clipping For A Cause if you have a chance. Together, we can stock the shelves of various food banks and feed the homeless who may not know where their next meal is coming from.

Thank you to Michelle for allowing me to post this article on her website and thanks to all of you who took the time to read it!