Next Mobile Food Drive: Thursday, April 29th!

Mark it on your calendar! "Clipping for a Cause" will be doing another mobile food drive on April 29th! If you are new to the concept of a mobile food drive, here is how it works. Friends, family members and neighbors (in my area) are asked to place one bag of non-perishables outside of their doors on a designated day to be picked up and delivered for them. If you happen to be looking at the blog and go back to February and March, you can see that over 1,000 items have been collected during the Mobile Food Drives alone! They are quite a success and an easy way for others to give!

During April, all donations received through "Clipping for a Cause" will benefit three different organizations. Again, we like to rotate between different organizations to ensure we are helping many different groups in need. So, for this month it will be: the Southeast Gwinnett Co-op (food), The Quinn House of Lawrenceville (frozen and cold items), and Villa Lodge and Suites of Lawrenceville (personal care items).

Meet the Need 5K Race to Benefit the Southeast Gwinnett Co-op!

Throughout the month of April, "Clipping for a Cause" will be clipping and shopping for food items to donate to the Southeast Gwinnett Co-op located in Grayson, GA. As most of you know, we like to "rotate" between different organizations to ensure that we are reaching out to a lot of different people in need.

So..I thought this would be the perfect time to tell you another way you could get involved with helping the Southeast Gwinnett Co-op. On April 17th, there will be a
5K race to benefit this wonderful organization. The minimum you have to raise is $25, but each participant is strongly encouraged to ask for more in sponsorships from friends or family members. Every single dollar after $12 (cost of the race) will go directly towards "meeting the needs" of their clients. For more information, please visit: http://www.segwinnettcoop.org

2nd Mobile Food Drive: Another Overwhelming Success!

As you can see from the photos, Friday's Mobile Food Drive was unbelievable! Friends, family members, and neighbors got in on the excitement and altogether, we were able to donate 710 items in one day! There were about 300 more items collected compared to February's drive, which proves that word is spreading about "Clipping for a Cause!" Thanks to everyone who made it possible...especially my cousins Kristy and Dylan. They are determined to help by counting, sorting, and delivering each time we have a mobile drive. I don't know what I would do without them! This month's donations were divided between 3 different organizations: the Lawrenceville Co-op, Family Promise of Gwinnett, and the Quinn House. I haven't written much about the Quinn House so I thought I would add a little blurb about their purpose. They have served Gwinnett for 25 years and I really think it would be worthwhile for you to read about what they do! I will be posting information on the next Mobile Drive for April soon! Please let me know if you are interested in donating!

The Quinn House:
Located in downtown Lawrenceville, GA for the past 25 years, The Quinn House was founded by John and Carrol Quinn because they recognized a great need in Gwinnett County for assisting individuals and families on all levels. They began by bringing homeless families into their own home and as their outreach grew, so did The Quinn House. Over those 25 years, The Quinn House is now a multi-task, non-profit Outreach Operation that assists hundreds of people in Gwinnett County and in other areas of the State.
Our Residential Program not only provides housing for the homeless, but also offers a 40-day Drug and Alcohol Program to help individuals get back on their feet and re-enter society in a stable and productive way. This Program is free and offers our residents an opportunity to develop a new way of thinking and developing self-esteem, along with decision-making that can lead them to steady employment and independent living again. We have approximately an 80% success rate with our residents for completion of the 40-day Program. At this time there are three homes available for housing of men and women, in addition to women with children in Gwinnett County. While we do not provide housing at our location in South Central Georgia (Washington County), at this time we do provide food, clothing, and furniture to those in need from our thrift store located there.


The Quinn House is a licensed Food Bank in Georgia that operates out of our downtown Lawrenceville location. From this location we are able to assist individuals and families with food boxes. And we also have a long standing Senior Food Box Program that helps assist our local Senior citizens once a month with food to supplement their limited incomes. We are partners with sponsors such as Kroger, Publix, Kraft Foods, and Pepperidge Farms who enable us to feed not just the people in our county but also with other smaller pantries that serve families in North and South Central Georgia. During the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays we are also supplying boxes for Family Holiday meals. As are all of our services, these food boxes are distributed free of charge.

The Quinn House operates thrift stores that help people in need with donated clothes, furniture, appliances and household items. Our dedicated drivers spend many hours traveling around Gwinnett County to pick up donated items for these stores. Based upon their situation and need, donated items are furnished to these families and individuals. Also, residents who have completed our Program mentioned above are furnished with needed items to establish their new homes when they leave. Profits generated through these thrift stores are used to support our day to day operations (rent, utilities, gasoline, etc.).

As part of our on-going outreach during the year, The Quinn House enjoys special opportunities to assist families in addition to children. In springtime, we distribute Easter Baskets to children in need, along with a special group of seniors in our area who are excited to wake up Easter Morning also and find a special basket on their doorstep. Prior to the start of the new School Year, we also provide new school book bags to children who have registered with our School Book Bag Program. Filled with donated school supplies, these book bags get the children off to a positive start for the new School Year. In addition, our Annual Children's Christmas Gift Program is still a big hit here. For many years, we have been able to provide Christmas gifts to over 300 children of needy families on Christmas morning. With the population growth of Gwinnett County, this Program continues to grow every year. These special Holiday Programs are possible because of the generous people in Gwinnett County who call to donate items for these Programs

"Clipping for a Cause" Donation: 71 Items Purchased for 25 Cents!!!!

Last night, the "Clipping for a Cause" ministry met at FUMC. My very good friends Kellie and Jason lead the class every 4th Wednesday. How exciting it was to see the volunteers come in, eager to clip away! Not only that, but the amount of coupon inserts donated by fellow congregation members was unreal! Already, the binders we have to organize each week's coupons are filling up fast. I felt like I had gotten a good workout after picking them up and putting them back in the cabinet! Combined with the overwhelming response to help, the donated coupons, and especially today's shopping experience, there is no doubt that God has great things planned for this ministry to others.

I had two separate transactions as I wasn't aware that ALL Birdseye Frozen Veggies were on sale including Steamfresh. So here is everything included in the two trips:

(17) Bags of Birdseye Frozen Veggies @ 90 cents
USED: (17) 0.50/1 Coupons from 3/21 Smart Source
TOTAL: Free plus overage

(4) Nyquil 2-packs @ $1.29
USED: (4) $1.50/1 Vick's Product Coupon from 3/7/10 P&G
TOTAL: Free plus overage

(2) Puff's Tissue @ $1.99
USED: (2) "Free Puffs When You Buy 2 Vick's" 2/7/10 P&G

(4) Yakisoba Noodles @ 0.79
USED: (2) $1/2 Coupons from 3/14/10 Smart Source
TOTAL: $1.16

(4) J&J Buddy Bar @ $1.09
USED: (4) $1/1 Johnson and Johnson Baby Product Coupon
TOTAL: 0.36 cents

(12) Boxes of Chocolate Cheerios @ $2
USED: (12) 0.50/1 Coupons from 2/21 Smart Source
(12) $1/1 Publix Coupon from 3/7 Smart Source
TOTAL: Free

(2) Lysol 4 in 1 Cleaner @ $1.35
USED: (2) 0.50/1 Coupon from 3/14 Smart Source
TOTAL: 0.70

(4) Schick Razors @ 0.99
USED: (4) $3/1 Coupons from 3/21 Smart Source
TOTAL: Free Plus Overage

(2) Sure Deodorant @ $2.39
USED: (2) $1/1 Coupons from 2/28 Smart Source
(2) $1/1 Publix Coupon in Green Flyer
TOTAL: 0.80 cents

(4) Small bags of Doritos @ 0.33
TOTAL: $1.32

That trip totaled NEGATIVE 51 Cents!!!!!!!

Next Trip:

(15) Bags of Steamfresh Veggies
USED: (15) 0.50/1 Coupons from 3/21 Smart Source
(7) $1/2 Publix Coupons in Yellow Flyer
TOTAL: Free Plus about $7 in Overage!

(1) Quilted Northern 12-pk TP @ $6.49

(1) Kraft Velveeta Shells @ $1

(3) Boxes of Chocolate Cheerios @ $2
USED: (3) 2/21 SS Coupons
(3) 3/7 SS Publix Coupons
TOTAL: Free!

This trip totaled 77 Cents!

Combined with the first trip that equals a big ole whopping QUARTER while saving $163.20!

2 Great Ways to Donate to the Co-op for FREE this Week at Publix!

I wanted to share two great ways to donate to the co-op for free this week at Publix! If you don't have a filing system yet for your coupons, this is encouragement to do so. You will see that if you save just your coupon inserts instead of clipping everything out of them right away and just hold on to them until things go on sale later, it will save a TON of time!

Here are the two freebies!

Chocolate Cheerios-$2 each
Use: (1) 0.50/1 Coupon from 2/21 Smart Source
(1) $1/1 Publix Coupon from 3/7 Smart Source
Combine the two and the cereal is free!

Birds Eye Vegetables..including Steamfresh Varieties: ALL 50% off (This makes some bags 90 cents!)
Use: (1) 0.50/1 "Birds Eye Vegetables" from 3/21 Smart Source
(1) 0.50/1 "Birds Eye Steamfresh" from 3/21 Smart Source
(1) Publix Coupon from the Yellow Advantage flyer for $1 off 2 Steamfresh
Note: You can actually get overage if you have 2 coupons for the 0.50/1 Steamfresh combined with 1 Publix Coupon for $1 off 2

Libby's Awesome Donation!

Michelle at "I Heart Publix" was so sweet to think of me today when she received this press release from her contact over at Libby's. After reading this article, I wanted to share it with all of my "Clipping for a Cause" readers. What an inspiration to continue doing what we are doing for others! It may not be 5 million pounds that we've donated (yet!)...but as we approach 1,000 items in 6-7 weeks, it's such a blessing to know that next week, next month, and next year, that number will only grow and make that much more difference!!!!

Libby’s Donates Five Million Pounds of Canned Food to Feeding America

We’re proud to announce that Seneca Foods Corporation, manufacturer of Libby’s canned fruits and vegetables, is donating five million pounds of canned food to Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger-relief organization! This is the largest one-time donation of canned fruits and vegetables combined in Feeding America’s history.

This comes at a time when more Americans go hungry than ever before. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported in November 2009 that one in six Americans, and nearly one in four children, across the nation are struggling with hunger. This is the highest rate reported since the government agency began surveying 15 years ago.

The first food banks to receive donations throughout March are:

•Foodlink, Inc. in Rochester, NY
•Channel One, Inc. Food Bank and Food Shelf in Rochester, MN
•The Idaho Foodbank in Boise, ID
•Second Harvest Heartland in Maplewood, MN
•Second Harvest Food Bank of San Joaquin & Stanislaus Counties in Manteca, CA
•Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI
•Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin in Madison, WI

Additional donations will be distributed among Feeding America’s food bank network this spring. Check back for additional information and to see if a donation is being made to a food bank near you!

To read more about this effort visit www.getbacktothetable.com

Who Said Nothing in Life is Free??

Now if this picture isn't inspiration to start clipping coups, I don't know what would be! All of these items were completely FREE! Now, when I hear the word free, something just comes over me. My friends and family members laugh because you don't even have to say another thing in a sentence, but if you just say, "Hey Heather, would you want this free..." YES! Don't bother finishing..because the answer is YES no matter what it is!!! So..wouldn't it be awesome if just through couponing you could get all of this for your own family, AND others in need, all without spending a dime? It's the greatest feeling in the world! Sometimes it is hard to make out everything in a picture so here is the breakdown:

(10) Packs of Buddig deli meat
(18) Snickers bars
(10) Boxes of Uncle Ben's Rice
(12) EAS Protein Bars
(5) Yoplait Greek Yogurts
(8) Packs of Kraft Cheese
(20) Cover Girl Cosmetics!!!!!!!!!! (That's the best one as some of these retailed at $9.50)