First and foremost you'd like to know what RSV is right? 

• RSV is a common seasonal virus, contracted by nearly all children by the age of two, and typically causes mild to moderate cold-like symptoms in healthy, full-term babies.
• RSV occurs in epidemics each year, typically from November through March, though it can vary by geography and year-to-year.
• RSV disease is the leading cause of hospitalization for babies during their first year of life in the United States, with approximately 125,000 hospitalizations and up to 200 infant deaths each year.

You'd think that all parents should be aware of something that can be so dangerous to their baby... WRONG! RSV can also be associated as the "Baby FLU," practically everyone in the US is aware of the FLU Season, why not the RSV Season?

You may be asking, well how do I know if my baby may be suffering from this Virus? Here is a list of symptoms you should look out for:

• Persistent coughing or wheezing
• Bluish color around the mouth or fingernails
• Rapid, difficult, or gasping breaths
• Fever (especially if it is over 100.4°F [rectal] in infants under 3 months of age)

There is no treatment for RSV disease once it’s contracted, so prevention is critical. To help minimize the spread of RSV disease, all parents should:

• Wash their hands and ask others to do the same
• Keep toys, clothes, blanket and sheets clean
• Avoid crowds and other young children during RSV season
• Never let anyone smoke around your baby
• Steer clear of people who are sick or who have recently been sick

If you haven't noticed your baby having any of these symptoms recently, GOOD. Let's keep it that way by protecting them in every way possible. This Virus is highly contagious like any other "FLU" so being extra sanitary during this season is a must. There is no treatment for RSV disease once it’s contracted, so prevention is critical. To help minimize the spread of RSV disease, all parents should:

• Wash their hands and ask others to do the same
• Keep toys, clothes, blanket and sheets clean
• Avoid crowds and other young children during RSV season
• Never let anyone smoke around your baby
• Steer clear of people who are sick or who have recently been sick

Education is an important achievement among Latino families so Coca-Cola and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund are teaming up to help make a difference this summer. As families plan for the next step in their teen’s education process it’s time to think about not only potential schools to attend but also financial aid, scholarships and getting students and their families prepared for the many changes that lie ahead for both. 

My inspiration to go to College was not only myself, but also my mother and siblings. It was important to me for my brother and sister to see the commitment it takes to be a scholar, and I've continued to strive for that mission in hopes of one day completing a PHD. 

Coca-Cola is a beloved brand among Latinos - shares its appreciation of Latino culture and its strong connection to educational goals by supporting the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.  The #ForTheDream Hispanic Education Program aims to inspire consumers to engage and participate in the #ForTheDream movement and #ForTheDreamSweeps sweepstakes. Visit http://coke.com/forthedream and enter the sweepstakes which run through August 31st. 
This summer Coca-Cola is donating $100,000 to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and to help raise additional money toward the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Coca-Cola is donating $1 for every social media post with the hashtag #ForTheDream, up to $10,000. So get to sharing!

There’s never a bad time to clear the clut­ter out of your home or garage or to do a wardrobe purge.  When you donate your stuff to Good­will, the rev­enue from the sale of your dona­tions helps fund job train­ing and place­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties for peo­ple with dis­abil­i­ties and dis­ad­van­tages directly in your com­mu­nity. That’s clean­ing with a purpose.

Good­will in cur­rently run­ning the “Donate Stuff. Cre­ate Jobs” cam­paign. Thanks to the pro­grams and sup­port ser­vices made pos­si­ble by dona­tions of clothes and house­hold items, more than 261,000 peo­ple earned jobs in 2013 – that’s one per­son find­ing a job every 27 sec­onds of every busi­ness day. So you’re lit­er­ally donat­ing your stuff AND help­ing to cre­ate jobs.

Check out this quick PSA:

Check out some other videos on how you can help here;

• Job Training & Employment- Bike (30 seconds)
• Job Training & Employment- Bike (60 seconds)
• Job Training & Employment- A Better Answer (60 seconds)

You can even cal­cu­late how much your donation helps your local com­mu­nity by using
 Goodwill’s Dona­tion Impact Cal­cu­la­tor. Sim­ply input the items you’re donat­ing to cal­cu­late the num­ber of hours of career coun­sel­ing, on-the-job train­ing, résumé prepa­ra­tion, finan­cial plan­ning classes, and other ser­vices you’ve helped pro­vide some­one fac­ing chal­lenges to find­ing employment.



Blog­gin’ Mamas is sup­port­ing the Ad Coun­cil in spread­ing the word about Good­will®, by spon­sor­ing this $100 Ama­zon Gift­card Give­away. It runs 5/19/15 12:01am EST through 6/2/15 at 11:59pm EST, and is open to US res­i­dents 18+.

ENTER BELOW!

Have a child that would love to help? Have them color a Lemonade Stand Coloring Page: http://www.alexslemonade.org/campaign/kids-corner/coloring-activity-pages

This week, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Mazda Motorsports, National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS), U-Haul and the Ad Council announced the high school and college winners of their fourth annual Project Yellow Light college scholarship competition. <strong>Project Yellow Light is a national contest and scholarship program that calls on students to create short videos educating their peers on the dangers of using mobile devices while driving.

According to a 2013 NHTSA report, ten percent of all drivers aged 15-19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted.  To further the reach and impact of the peer-generated content, NHTSA has partnered with the Ad Council to turn the winning videos into public service advertisements, which will be distributed to more than 1,600 media outlets nationwide.

"Distracted driving is deadly and young drivers are most at risk, so we need to make sure they get the message," said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. "The Project Yellow Light contest, which uses peer-to-peer messaging, demonstrates how creative public awareness efforts can reduce distracted driving on our roads."

Established in 2007, Project Yellow Light was started by Julie Garner of The Martin Agency, in memory of her teenage son Hunter Garner who was killed in a fatal car crash. The annual competition aims to encourage young adults to be safe on the road, and generate education and engagement around this issue.

“We’re thrilled with this year’s contest; we had a record number of participants from all over the country,” said Julie Garner, Founder of Project Yellow Light. “All of the students produced top-notch films and are doing their part to save lives. I couldn’t be prouder of the youth and their effective efforts to stop distracted driving.”

Winners were selected from two age categories: high school juniors and seniors, and college students. The high school grand prize was awarded to Marlowe Lexvold of South Haven, Minnesota. The college grand prize was awarded to brothers Sam and Wrenn Senser from South Bend, Nebraska. The winning videos can be viewed below:

“Teaming up Project Yellow Light with our young Mazda racers has been a great match. The creativity of the students matched with the courage and conviction of our racers gives us two paths to share the message of the dangers of distracted driving. We’ve been very impressed with how Mazda racers like Ben Albano, Kenton Koch, Tristan Nunez, among many, have embraced this program. Their efforts are a clear example of Mazda’s Drive 4 Good efforts in the local, regional, and national marketplace” said John M. Doonam, Director of Mazda Motorsports Mazda North American Operations. Ben Albano, a Mazda racer, who started a karting event in his hometown that raised $4,500 for Project Yellow Light, was among the judges.“With almost 600 videos submitted this year, I was blown away by the incredible creativity and raw emotion that each of the finalists conveyed. Distracted driving is a growing epidemic in our country and it is reassuring to watch my generation through the PYL scholarship contest get that message out.”“Project Yellow Light empowers youth to create and share messages with each other about the consequences of distracted driving. Peer-to-peer education models are powerful and NOYS is proud to partner with Project Yellow Light as they mobilize youth to positively influence their peers,” said Anita Boles, Chief Executive Officer of NOYS. “Congratulations to all the talented creators who submitted videos for this competition,” said Lisa Sherman, president and CEO of the Ad Council. “Peer influence is such an important factor in changing minds around issues like distracted driving, and we hope that these authentic PSAs will resonate with young drivers across the country.” This year’s contest ran from October 31, 2014 through March 17, 2015 and received nearly 600 submissions. 

Buckling-up is an important habit to instill in children at a young age. Parents can lead by example by wearing a seat belt themselves and by insisting on seat belt use for every passenger in their vehicle. Seat belts and safety seats, if used correctly, dramatically reduce the risk of fatality or injury to children.

The 100 Good Deeds Bracelet is hand-braided by vulnerable women worldwide in countries such as Zambia, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, India, Indonesia, and Haiti. The braided cord is then strung with one hundred unique glass beads and a single rubber ring. They are available for purchase at 100GoodDeeds.org in nineteen colors and two sizes, medium/large or petite/small. One hundred percent of proceeds from sales are reinvested in the 100 Good Deeds program. 

Join us Tuesday, December 30th from 9-10 pm ET for the #DeedADay #GNO hosted by the Mom it Forward team. 100 Good Deed Bracelet founder, Mary Fisher, will be joining us for what is sure to be an inspiring conversation! For more information or to RSVP, visit http://momitforward.com/100-good-deeds-win-a-deedaday-bracelet. 

Today, 402,000 children are in the foster care system in the United States. Nearly 102,000 children (under 18 years of age) waiting for adoption.

During this holiday season, there’s an extra push to help them find homes. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, AdoptUSKids and the Ad Council recently unveiled a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) designed to continue to encourage the adoption of children from foster care with an emphasis on the importance of keeping siblings together.

Check out this PSA video from the Ad Council:

Since the launch of the campaign in 2004, more than 22,000 children who were once photo-listed on the AdoptUSKids website are now with their adoptive families and over 35,000 families have registered to adopt through AdoptUSKids.

Many times, there are siblings also listed.  Approximately 23% of children and youth actively photolisted on the AdoptUSKids website and waiting for placement in adoptive homes were registered with one or more siblings. Sibling relationships are often the longest-lasting relationships for children in foster care.

For more information about adoption, or about becoming an adoptive parent to a child from foster care, please visit www.AdoptUSKids.org or visit the campaign’s communities on Facebook: AdoptUSKids , Twitter: @AdoptUSKids


Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. I am donating this space towards sharing this message. Bloggin' Mamas and Element Associates will be donating a toy to a foster child in exchange for my post, in support of AdoptUSKids.

Here are some facts:

Did you know that Hispanics account for 19% of all college students, ages 18-24? That’s a major increase, up from 12% in 2008. What’s more, 69% of Hispanic graduates are now going directly to college after graduating high school, a rate that is higher than that of the general population.

But the surge in Hispanic college-bound students presents a greater need for more information about college and financial support. 


Remember Scholarship season runs from Jan 1-Mar 30, but students can begin the application process now by creating a profile on HSF.net!

Here I am holding my Grad Cap real tight on my head, from when I graduated MDC (Miami Dade College) in 2012. You work so hard for a  year and half to achieve that first step into your Higher Education, that wearing your Grad-Gear for just a couple of hours in your Ceremony is a little unsatisfying so I wore mines all-day. To some now-a-days an A.A. means nothing, just a High School diploma that you have to pay for. If you thought achieving an Associates wasn't a walk in the park, wait until your Bachelors, or better yet your Masters and Doctorates. Those will most definitely burn a whole in your pocket if you're not right fully prepared. As a Full-Time University Student now, I tell you that working hard on getting those necessary credits and paying for practically everything to achieve the second step of your Higher Education can and pretty much is the most stressful thing in the world. Therefore the lending hand of a parent, guardian, immediate family member or even a friend is absolutely necessary and appreciated from the College kid. As a parent of College Student it is eminent that you are involved as possible for your child's College Adventure to be as smooth as possible. I promise that at the end of the run, you'll be a proud Parent of a Grad, no matter what they've chosen to Master in. Here are some photos of my Graduation Day: MDC Graduation 2012