Give Naturally

"To give without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own." ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh

 

Giving. You do it naturally, you know. We bet you give without even knowing it. When you smile, hold open a door, give a hug, recycle, use the stairs, you're giving. You give so much. You make the world a better, more wonderful place by NATURALLY being in it. 

Because you do this naturally, you're never peeking your head around the corner looking for your reward for being kind. When you water your flowers you're giving. When you yield to another on the road you're giving. When you pick up trash someone else left behind you're giving. How beautiful that you give naturally - often unconsciously - and this helps shape a kinder, more beautiful world for everyone.

One Person's Trash is Another Person's Treasure

Giving comes in so many forms, and what you might dub trash, another can transform into beauty. Take these garbage cans for example, instead of sitting empty and rusting, one creative genius saw a flower pot. Now all who get to walk by the "trash" experience beautiful.

 

One company in the Netherlands, Goedzak, recognized this phenomenon and streamlined the giving process.  Simply place your "trash" that could be another's "treasure" into one of their eco-friendly garbage bags and passer-bys can find pieces they may need. The Goedzak has the ability to produce better sustainability in our reduce, recycle, reuse efforts. 

Any one up for starting something like this in the US? We're not in the trash business, but then again, since it can be beautiful (and it's not really trash), maybe we should be.

Free Ways to Pay It Forward

Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth, “You owe me!” Look what happens with a love like that, it lights up the whole sky. -Hafez

Asking the simple question, "What can I do to create more beautiful in the world?" is a perfect step in a life-changing direction. Paying it forward doesn't have to cost money, take time, or require extra effort that you're already giving in the day. Now, let's not get confused, you most certainly can do amazing things to make a difference in the world - and doing so many cost money, require time and extra effort, but let's be honest, wouldn't you rather live your life creating more beautiful vs suck the beauty out of life. The obvious answer here is emphatically, "of course."

So, here's a quick list of easy-to-do-ideas to pay-it-forward:

• Place this inspiring invitation for others to see beautiful on a community message board (COST: FREE);
• Tell a joke to a colleague to make him/her laugh (ex. What did the teddy bear have for dinner? Nothing, he was already stuffed.) (COST: FREE);
• Write a note to a family member or friend reminding them how special s/he is in your life and why (COST: FREE);
• Take your leftovers to a neighbor the following night for dinner. Call/text/email them the night before when you notice you'll have enough and ask if you could drop a nice meal by their house the following night (COST: FREE);
• Pick some flowers from your yard or a field and place them in a vase at your work or on a neighbor's front door (COST: FREE);
• As you do your spring cleaning, find those articles of clothing you haven't worn in a year and donate them to someone who needs them (COST: FREE);
• Hold the door open for someone (COST: FREE);
• Ask someone how they're doing and stop to really listen - show you want to know and care by doing so (COST: FREE);
• Give a hug. Give a hug. Give a hug. (COST: FREE);
• Donate blood or plasma (COST: FREE);
• Place one of these inspiring bookmarks in a book in a bookstore for another to find (COST: FREE);
•  Leave a kind comment on someone's blog telling the author how much you appreciate his/her words (COST: FREE);
• Write a kind review for a company who did great work for you (COST: FREE);
• Give a compliment to another (COST: FREE).

Which will you dive into this weekend? What should we add to our list?

Happy seeing beautiful!

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Are you looking for a for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a all proceeds are being donated to BullsEye Rescue). Learn more HERE.

The Tooth

Author Avi Slodovnick invites children to think about giving and reminds adult to do the same. Based on a young girl's ability to see beautiful in another person most of society simply steps over, she wants to give - anything she can to simply acknowledge another. Not to be a spoiler, you can infer as much from the title, a tooth goes a long way as a tangible item that is all one person can give, to inspire another to do a little more.

The Tooth is a beautiful reminder to us all that we always have something of ourselves to brighten another's day from a tooth, to the smile offered by the mouth that holds our teeth, there's always something we can do to create a little more beautiful!

What's even more fun is that you can listen to the story online, right now, from Storyline Online, an amazing, free, resource by the Screen Actor's Guild where brilliant actors read beautiful children's books for all the world to enjoy. And that's what we hope you do, sit back and enjoy.  

Visit Storyline Online to review dozens of wonderful additional children's books you can enjoy for free (and if you're a teacher, get excited because there are wonderful activities already designed to accompany each book).

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Are you looking for a for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month 20% of all product sales will be donated to St. Anne's Pet Area at The Lantern House. Click HERE to learn more.

Pay It Forward with Free Complements and Hopping

We're honored to co-host our monthly "Seeing Beautiful in this Moment" blog hop with our friends below, so if you're a blogger, pay it forward and hop with us to meet new friends sharing inspiration.

If you're not a blogger, rest assured you've come to the right place. Going into our Pay It Forward weekend we're dishing up another one of our See Beautiful Freebies. To pay it forward, simply offer others a complement. By posting this flyer anywhere around you're community you're sure to brighten someone's day.

If you were a passerby, which complement would you choose?

Thank you for paying it forward and passing along these complements to those around you who might just need a little dose of seeing beautiful.

You can print download and print the PDF of this flyer HERE. And to see more of the Freebies we've designed, visit HERE and enjoy!

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Are you looking for a for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month 20% of all product sales will be donated to Everyday Service. Click HERE to learn more.

See Beautiful's Grown-Up Book of the Month

logo used with permission and linked back to site

 Founder of Advance Humanity (our September Non-Profit of the month), Travis Hellstrom, wears many hats. Beyond his extraordinary mission to literally "advance humanity" he's written a book that fits a gap for those interested in, currently in, or formerly a part of, the Peace Corps. The Unofficial PeaceCorps Volunteer Handbook invites the reader to be part of the text. Filling a gap in the literature to support those interested in, preparing and training for, and engaged in the Peace Corps, Travis' writing reflects a journal to invite others to connect to the text in their own personal way. 

While some of you might not be thinking that joining the Peace Corps is the next item to cross off on your to-do list, the unique format of the book is a beautiful read for all. Of course, if you know someone who might be interested in this line of work, sharing this book would be a wonderful resource. Perhaps stumbling across the invitation will plant a seed that could end up changing many lives while creating more beautiful in the world. Hence, the Unofficial Handbook is a shoe-in as one of our See Beautiful's. 

What's even more beautiful? Because Travis is awesome and we like giving away freebies, he's given us a direct link to print the book for FREE! That's right, all you have to do is hit PRINT. Thank you, Travis, for all you're doing to make the world a more beautiful place! 

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Are you looking for a for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month 20% of all product sales will be donated to Realize Your Beauty. Click HERE to learn more.

Pay It Forward: Compliment

Kind words can transform another's day in an instant. Today, tomorrow, and everyday thereafter see how you can offer a compliment to another. If you don't feel comfortable voicing it, consider planting our bookmarks around for others to stumble upon and feel loved! Serving up compliments takes no time at all, doesn't cost a cent, and invites so much more beautiful in the world!

You can find these in PDF form on our website HERE.
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Are you looking for a for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month 20% of all product sales will be donated to Advance Humanity. Click HERE to learn more.

Ten Second Effort for a KINDER WORLD

We're sharing the following Newsletter written by Stephen De Groot, founder of the amazing Getting to Better who we've featured as a See Beautiful project of the month. Stephen has coordinated the "10 Second Act of Kindness" wherein we're giving away an amazing loot of goodies for 10 seconds of your time to support our friend and kindness partner, Orly Wahba, founder of Life Vest Inside (another of our See Beautiful Non-Profits of the Month).

By Stephen De Groot:

10 Second Effort for a KINDER WORLD
…and a chance to WIN an Awesome GIFT!

Hello There Everybody!
I want to help you, help make the world a BETTER place in 10 seconds or less and, give you a Chance to WIN an amazing Appreciation Gift for your efforts! See below for the contents of the Appreciation Gift.
As a proud Kindness Partner and Board member of Life Vest Inside (LVI), we at Getting to Better have teamed up with See Beautiful™ and Advance Humanity to support and spread the important messages about KINDNESS and how we can all make the world a Better Place.
Orly Wahba, Founder and CEO of LVI is working to spread such an INSPIRING message through TED talks. She is currently a TED Talks Talent Search Contestant from New York. We would like to help spread her message by supporting her to become a finalist, so that the LVI Kindness message can reach more people!

2 WAYS YOU CAN HELP – HOW TO WIN

• Forward this newsletter to any number of your contacts and your name will be entered to win the AWESOME Appreciation Gift. Be sure to copy steve@gettingtobetter.ca so that we can confirm and enter your name.
• Go to Orly’s video and listen to her INSPIRING message. Make a comment on the video. Once completed, send us an e-mail at steve@gettingtobetter.ca saying “I commented” and your name will be entered 5 TIMES into the draw for the AWESOME Appreciation Gift

Click HERE to see Orly, Listen and Comment on her INSPIRING Message.
Regardless of whether you choose the 10 second Effort or the 5 minute Effort, we will all be Winners as we support Orly, Life Vest Inside and a KINDER, more BEAUTIFUL, BETTER world.
You only have until August 31st to make an effort to help. The Draw will be made on September 3 and announced once the winner has been informed!

AWESOME Appreciation Gift
(All in one Great Package)

Life Vest Inside Contribution - Kindness Package

• Life Vest Inside sweatshirt
• Life Vest Inside hat
• Life Vest Inside folders
• Life Vest Inside wristband
• 25 Witness Cards
• 50 Assorted Acts of Kindness Cards
• 5 Life Vest Inside Stickers
• 5 Life Vest Inside postcards

See Beautiful™ Contribution – Bottle, Tag, Bracelet

  

Getting to Better Contribution
Parenting Seminar (MP3) with Steve de Groot

This MP3 disc was recorded during Steve de Groot’s Getting to Better tour in Australia. It is exceptionally entertaining and packed with over 2 hours of hundreds of effective parenting tips and proven strategies for helping parents and their pre-teens and teens Get to Better.

Advance Humanity Contribution

• The Unofficial Peace Corps Volunteer Handbook brings together Volunteers serving from around the world to help one another through their Peace Corps service by sharing lessons, anticipating challenges and working together as a worldwide community.
• Enough: 3 years of lessons on life, love, and living in Mongolia with the Peace Corps
• Free download of Everyday Service class: a class about amazing everyday humanitarians

Thank you SO MUCH for your support to help with a KINDER and more BEAUTIFUL World.
Click HERE for Orly’s THANK YOU!
With Love and Bunches of BETTER,
Steve de Groot
For archived newsletters click here!
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Are you looking for a for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month 20% of all product sales will be donated to the World Bird Sanctuary. Click HERE to learn more.

Pay It Forward: Read to Give

See Beautiful will be seeing beautiful through the end of the month while traveling (in person) through various countries. During that time, we're going back in time on the blog, back to the beginning and some of our favorite posts that our wonderful following now likely didn't get to experience. P.S., Blogger family, if we seem absent from visiting you know we'll be back soon to catch up!

6.6.11 - If You Read It, They Will Give

The organization, We Give Books, is changing the way we think about reading children's literature. If you read books with children (or know someone who reads to children), you're in a position to donate a book to the charity of your choice for every book you read. Here's what you do:

1. Visit www.wegivebooks.org/
2. Choose a book from their FREE digital library of children's books OR choose a campaign to support.
3. Read the book online!
4. Read it over and over again, or pick a new one, enjoying the comfort of knowing that every time you read that book or a new book, one will be donated to the charity you designate.
5. See beautiful in the fact that you'll be part of the movement to donate hundreds of thousands of children's books to non-profit organizations around the world!


If you teach, you can use this site everyday in your classroom. If you're a parent of a child under 10 years of age and reading this blog, you have the opportunity to read a book on your computer, smartphone, or iPad with your child. If you need to deviate from the world of adult reading and want something to read with less than 20 pages, you can read knowing you're donating a tangible book to a non-profit organization.

There is research that supports the more books in a child's home, regardless of his/her parents' education, occupation, and class, influences his/her academic success (Evans, Keley, Sikora, & Treiman, 2010; Light & Pillemer, 1984). Children with more than 300 books in their home receive an average of three years more schooling than children from bookless homes. Further, this finding holds equal across nations (Evans et al., 2010). Thus, We Give Books can bring hundreds of books into a household, school, or childcare center at the click of a button.

Feel free to share this opportunity to see beautiful with any children's book reader or lover you know!

References:

Evans, M.D.R., Keley, J., Sikora, J., & Treiman, D. (2010). Family scholarly culture and
educational success: Books and schooling in 27 nations. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 28(2), 171-197.

Light, R. J., & Pillemer, D. B. (1984). Summing up: The science of reviewing research. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.


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Are you looking for a for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy. Click HERE.

Pay It Forward with a Little Happy

See Beautiful will be seeing beautiful through the end of the month while traveling (in person) through various countries. During that time, we're going back in time on the blog, back to the beginning and some of our favorite posts that our wonderful following now likely didn't get to experience. P.S., Blogger family, if we seem absent from visiting you know we'll be back soon to catch up!

5.29.11 We Could All Use a Little More Happy 

A few years ago a beautiful woman coined the term "a happy" for out-of-the-blue gifts (or "happy's") she would give to people. If you were the recipient, you didn't expect it, though it most certainly made you feel loved. While shopping, if she noticed something that made her think of someone else, "a happy" was discovered. Many "happy" recipients started doing the same thing in a "Pay It Forward" sort of movement. "A Happy" doesn't have to cost money. It could be the simple act of leaving a "thinking about you" or "have a great day" post-it note message on a co-worker's door or picking flowers from your yard for a friend or neighbor. It could mean leaving a "thank you" note in your mailbox for your mailman/mailwoman, or leaving a little extra tip for your server when you're out to eat.

You see, a beautiful thing happens during the act of giving "a happy," the giver feels it, happy that is.

In the act of giving, one might see a little more beautifully. And when one receives, it is a truly happy feeling.

A little "happy" is a great way to See Beautiful.
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Are you looking for a for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy. Click HERE.

Pay It Forward: Grant

We've come to learn that those of you who visit See Beautiful are natural givers. You've joined us on our mission to make this world a more beautiful place and we are always learning from you. Every Friday we feature a way to pay it forward through the weekend and beyond and we love the feedback we receive from you.

Being that the future of our world is inextricably bound to the education of our children, it makes perfect sense that we're committed to extraordinary, empowering, socially just learning environments and opportunities for youngsters. Supporting teachers and children is seminal to the work we do. Teachers are under-paid and over-stressed. The ridiculous, unprecedented over-use of standardized testing in the United States alone is a phenomenon that's left both educators and students belittled, questioned, and silenced; the problem is more pervasive in schools and school systems that serve under-represented children and their families.

In an effort to support these wonderful teachers and children, we've culled various organizations that offer grants for teacher, or provide those of us interested in making a difference in the classroom ways to do that. Below, you can dive into various ways you can pay it forward in education. If you're a teacher, or know a teacher you'd like to send this to, there are wonderful resources below to support the creative, hands-on, engaging learning environments you know children deserve.

Pay It Forward: GRANT

For those See Beautifuler's wanting to GRANT a teacher/school's needs:

• Adopt-A-Classroom partners with teachers across the country who share their need for critical resources and materials. You can find a classroom and "grant" their wish. Adopt-A-Classroom here.
• Donor's Choose is an online charitable organization that connects you to classroom teachers' needs. Like Adopt-a-classroom, you can locate the classroom, school, or specific need of your choice and pay it forward. Learn more here. 

For Teachers & Educational Stakeholders:

• Adopt-A-Classroom partners donors with teachers so teachers can have funds to purchase critical resources and materials for your classroom. Learn more here. 
• Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy funds various literacy initiatives yearly. Learn more here.
• Donor's Choose is an online charitable organization that connects those interested in giving to schools with your classroom needs. Learn more here.
• NEA Foundation Grants offer two wonderful categories of grants to which you may apply: 1) Student Achievement Grants; and 2) Leadership and Learning grants. Partnering with the NEA and receiving thousands in terms of professional development or creating classrooms fostering critical thinking can transform an entire culture of learning in a school. Go for it. Learn more here.
• Grants 4 Teachers is a database that filters various grants depending on your location and needs. It's a free resource for teachers and offers wonderful ideas for grant-seeking educators (ex. Start a Grant Committee at your school). Learn more here. 
• Lowe's Toolbox for Education awards grants across the country to various schools. Learn more here.
• Target School Grants provide three different categories of support for teachers: 1) field trip grants; 2) early childhood reading grants; & 3) art, culture, & design in schools grants. Learn more here.
• Teacher's Count is an online database of grants with funding opportunities separated by content area. Learn more here.
• The School Funding Center is a hub for various grant opportunities. There is a yearly subscription, but you can sign-up for their free newsletter and receive some wonderful tips. Learn more here.
• The Grant Wrangler is a wonderful resource showcasing revolving grants for teachers. Sign up for their bi-weekly newsletter with hot-off-the-press grant opportunities. Learn more here.

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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Life Vest Inside. Click HERE.  

Pay It Forward: Donate Everyday Items to Schools

Teachers; we'll use anything and everything to bring learning to life for young children. Where one might see an empty paper towel role, a teacher sees a puppet that can increase children's comprehension and love of reading. Have an empty tissue box? Oh, silly, that's not an empty box, it's a tool to teach children about predicting (and even adjectives). Without looking a child reaches into the box and feels an item. The child then describes the item to her/his peers and invites them to predict the wholesome goodness inside.

The list of everyday items like this goes on and on, and that's where you come in! To support the wonderful work of teachers (and yes, parents, guardians, babysitters, you fit into this too), we designed a handy, dandy "Wish List" of items that can be used to facilitate hands-on learning. To keep it fun and exciting, we've crafted the list in alphabetical order. Post this somewhere in your home, and next time you think about tossing out an empty egg crate, think twice. Drop these items off at a local preschool or elementary school as art supplies and you'll be an instant hero.

*NOTE: We're assuming some level of common sense in this list. Items should be clean, free of sharp objects, and not overly used (or not used at all (ex. q-tips)). Right? You get it. 

A: athletic rubber bands, aluminum cans, address book
B: bed sheets, bottle caps (non-alcoholic...I know, sorry), bubble wrap, bucket, buttons, books
C: coat hangers, cereal boxes, cardboard, coffee bag, carpet, cds (scratched) and cd cases
D: dried pasta, dry stamp pad, deck of cards (especially the deck you lost 1 or 2 cards from)
E: empty egg crates, eye dropper
F: film canisters (I know, they're ancient, but you might have a few around your house), fabric, felt, frames
G: glove (especially if you've lost the matching one), greeting cards, game pieces
H: hats, holiday cards
I: ice cream cartons, ice cream sticks
J: jelly jars, juice boxes, jar lids
K: kites, keys, keyboard, key rings
L: laundry baskets, laundry scoops, lamp shade
M: milk carton, magazines, magnets
N: news paper, nuts cans (just make sure its really clean because many children have nut allergies)
O: orange juice bottle,
P: paper towel role, paper plates (unused, of course), paper bags, pillow case, pipe cleaners, puzzle pieces
Q: quart-sized jars, q-tips
R: rubber bands, rope
S: scarf, shoebox, string, socks, straws, shoe laces, sponges
T: toilet paper role, two-liter bottles, tissue box, tins, toothpicks, thread, telephone books
U: umbrella
V: vases, valentines, velvet, vegetable containers
W: wrapping paper (and/or tube), water bottles, wall calendar
X: xrays
Y: yarn
Z: zippers, zoo brochures

Teachers, feel free to use this list as your beginning of the year "wish list" that you send home to parents. You never know what goodies might come your way! The alphabet offers more than phonics today!

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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Life Vest Inside. Click HERE.  

Pay It Forward: Click to Give

Ever wish you had millions billions trillions (is there more than trillions? Gazillions?) of dollars to just GIVE! We wish we had heaping tons of money to simply give away and make the world a better place. However, as we all know, giving isn't just about money. Giving can be done through time, sensitivity, kindness, love, smiling, laughing, supporting, and a slew of other things. Enter clicking! It's all you have do to. With the click of your mouse, you give. And, you can give to the charities of your choice. With the click of a mouse you can even give to charities that aren't your choice. The coolest part of clicking is that it's user-friendly and non-judgmental. Let the clicking take you away.

Why click? Some wonderful companies and organizations will donate to non-profits based on a simple stylish click (or not-so-stylish, whatever you wish) of your mouse. You should try it. You should click. You can pay it forward in a millisecond, in your pajamas, teeth unbrushed, and hair a mess. You can help change the world before you ever crawl out of bed. Just click it!

Here's where you can clickity-clack all day long!

PART I OF CLICK TO GIVE: For the Environmental Clickers*

• A Click for the Forest:  Honestly, we need our Swedish speakers to help translate this site for us, but the gist is that you'll help save forest with the click of your mouse. It's a legit site and focus as a recipient of 1% For the Planet.
  
• Click to Aid: These wonderful folks provide "social and employment assistance to help those less fortunate in the South West Community Development (sidenote: we don't really know if this is the south west of a state in the U.S. or the whole South West of the world or the South West portion of the United States, regardless, you click through online games and for every 100 points you score, 10 cents is donated to the South West District).
• Clicks for Carbon Fund:  "Your free click generates donations from our sponsors. You may click once a day, every day. 100% of the donations raised go directly to Carbonfund.org, which supports renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects globally that reduce carbon dioxide emissions and the threat of climate change."
• Land Care Niagara:  With your help we can make a difference in land conservation. Every time you and your friends click, trees can be planted to restore Niagara's fragmented forest ecosystem. As part of the Niagara Natural Heritage Corridor Program, these trees will help restore Niagara's ecosystems that provide clean air and water for all while providing much needed habitat for wildlife and endangered species. You can visit this site EVERY DAY to plant more trees in the Niagara area! Whew-whoo!
• Plant An Oak Tree:  Navigating this site is easy-breezy! You click on the picture of the oak tree, they plant an oak. Awesome!
• Red Jellyfish: "Visit everyday and click on the "Save Rainforest" and "Feed Chimps" buttons.  When you do, our sponsors' banners will appear.  We donate the money generated from these advertisers to caring for primates and saving rainforest.  It's easy, fun, and has saved millions of square feet of rainforest, and helped some very needy chimps."
•  The Ecology Fund: Simply click their project buttons to preserve land for free! In fact, if you join one of their wonderful groups (for free) at least 500 feet of land will be donated in your name! "EcologyFund is owned and operated by The Hunger Site Network as a way to get new funds for critical habitat and wilderness preservation using the power of the internet. When you "click to give" our sponsors pay the project you selected to preserve the number of square feet shown by each project. You pay nothing. To maximize the contribution, click on each project every day. If you register, The Hunger Site Network will donate 500 square feet of wilderness in your name, and will keep a running tally for you of all the land you have preserved."
• The Environment Site:  "To help protect the environment at no cost to yourself simply click the button below. Our system only allows you to click once per day so bookmark this page and come back everyday to do your part. All money raised goes to the Surrey Wildlife Trust"
• The Nature Conservancy:  "Your free click generates donations from our sponsors. You may click once a day, every day. 100% of the donations raised go directly to The Nature Conservancy, which has protected over 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide since its founding in 1951" (Nature Conservancy, 2012).
• The Rain Forest Site:  Simple: You click. Sponsors pay. Habitats are protected. You feel good. The world is better. Yippee!
• The Solar Site: Your click is converted to 1KW of solar energy (we don't know exactly what this means, but it must be better than 0KW, right?)

 Clicking never sounded so beautiful!

*Other click to give focuses coming soon: Humanity, Hunger, Animals, Education, Poverty, Who knows what else we'll find...
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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Life Vest Inside. Click HERE.  

Pay It Forward: Make a List

What don't you like about your appearance? Is your belly too big? Your nose too odd? Your bottom unruly? The women in the following video had no shortage of body parts that were too imperfect. They represent women internationally who are quick to judge themselves based on their less-than-perfect (in their minds) selves.

What do you love about your appearance? Um. Um. Well. Um. The women in the following video pause for reflection. They stipulate a body part, but only when the body part could be positioned a certain way. They represent women internationally who are quick to stumble for the stunning beauty they carry in themselves at every moment, every day.

Take a gander at this quick video and then learn about our Pay It Forward hope for you and society today.

This got us thinking (uh-oh, I know, right?): What if you generated two lists; one for yourself and one for another special person in your life. Your first list should be things about yourself that you love. It should represents parts of yourself that are beautiful. And we find it an important exercise to complete. The next list should be for a special person in your life. This list should include things about that person you love. It should represent parts of your friend or family member that are beautiful. Then, drop your list about that special someone's beauty in the mail to her/him. Place your list about yourself somewhere you can see it (ex. bathroom mirror, closet door, wallet). When you start to judge and criticize yourself think about your list. Think about all of the beautiful attributes of which you grace the world. Think about all the ways you help others see more beautiful in the world. And then, hold your head higher. Smile bigger. Laugh louder. Love more. The more love you see and feel, the more you have to give.

FREEBIE: Simply print this picture, or visit HERE for a PDF copy.

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Thanks for making this world a better place by simply being in it!

Last Pay It Forward wish: As you pass the list you generate for yourself, promise us one thing, promise us you'll try to see those beautiful things in yourself. You are beautiful.
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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Somalia and American Funds for Education or S.A.F.E.). Click HERE. 

It's A Beautiful Day. And I Can't See It.

Perspective. Every moment of your life is perspective. Do you choose to see, find, and seek beautiful in every moment? Do you share beautiful with others?

It's a beautiful day. See it. Feel it. Give it. Own it.

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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Somalia and American Funds for Education or S.A.F.E.). Click HERE. 

Pay It Forward Freebie: See Beautiful Bookmarks

There tend to be two camps of bookmark readers, those who execute their right as a reader to dog-ear a page when they come to a stopping point in a book, and those who would (gasp!) never fold down a page and always use some sort of bookmark instead. We support both camps because, of course, every reader has her/his own rights for reading. However, as we stare at the beautifully bound backs of books lining the shelves in the room where we write, we realize something significant, something special perhaps...

What we understand:

• "No single literacy activity has a more positive effect on students' comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, spelling, writing ability, and overall academic achievement than free voluntary reading" (Miller, 2009, p. 18).
• "Reading changes your life" (Miller, 2009, p. 18).
• "Reading unlocks worlds unknown or forgotten, taking travelers around the world and through time" (Miller, 2009, p. 18).
• "Through characters - the saints and the sinners, real or imagined - reading shows you how to be a better human being" (Miller, 2009, p. 18).
• "To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life." ~ W. Somerset Maugham
• "The man who does not read great books is no better than the man who can't." ~ Mark Twain

How we can Pay It Forward:

We need readers. Many of us are readers. What if we left a gift, a kind message, an empowering message to see beautiful within the woven words of bound pages? The bookmarks below are for you to cut and leave inside books for others to serendipitously stumble upon. Whether leaving the bookmarks in the pages of books found in a lovely, locally owned bookstore or a heavily paraded thrift store, imagine what the reader feels when turning the page to find a wonderful message. Simply expecting the next page in the unfolding story, s/he find a message from you. A message to leave the reader smiling and reflecting. A message that illustrates the power of written word and the caring of unknown others.

We are headed to the book store and can't wait to fill books with our wondrous words. We're targeting books that people might pick up who are doubting themselves. We're targeting books that young girls might reach to for help, solace, or empowerment. Within which books will you leave a bookmark? Will you keep one for yourself? That's fine too. Peachy, really. Just pay the others forward and share with friends and your book-loving neighbors, known or unknown.

P.S., If you would like a PDF of this document vs. printing the image above, please email lcrissmays@seebeautiful.com

Happy reading and spreading opportunities for others to see beautiful!
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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to The Dressing Room Project). Click HERE.  

Pay It Forward: Tell Someone Why S/He's Beautiful

Hello See Beautifuller's! Here we are with another freebie for you. All you have to do it print the image below, fill in why the recipient of your friendly note is beautiful, and leave it inconspicuously in a space s/he will find it. In this gift-giving time of year, you could also use it as an extra special gift tag. ;)

Now, go pay if forward and make someone's day.

P.S., You are beautiful because it's inherent to your very core.
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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Givology). Click HERE. 

Pay It Forward Friday: Pick up a Stranger's Tab

"Thanks for joining us for lunch. Your bill is $0.00."

"Here's your dry cleaning. The previous customer covered it."

"No worries, you have 30 more minutes on this parking meter."

"Your toll charge is free. The person in front of you took care of the charge."

Today's Pay It Forward opportunity is easy. Offer something as small as a quarter donation in a stranger's parking meter or pay for the person's lunch behind you in the drive thru. 

Give to the person who can't thank you. Be incognito in the "pay it forward" department. 

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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Helen Ross McNabb Children and Youth Services). Click HERE.  

Beautiful is as beautiful does. Happy seeing beautiful.

 

Pay It Forward: Post This On a Community Board

Community boards, we pass them all the time. People post anything from items to sell to services needed. Often seen in coffee shops, college dorms, and subway stations, society asks for and gives a lot. What if we used the board to share more than a thing? What if, instead of advertising guitar lessons or babysitting services, we offered opportunities to see beautiful? All you need to do this is a thumbtack or stapler, See Beautiful has created the rest for you - free of charge. All you have to do is print the picture below and pay it forward by posting around the community.

How lovely would it be if you walked by a community board and these messages were there for you? Which one would you choose? Which would you hope another chose? Spread seeing beautiful by printing and posting. It's that easy.

To save the image:
1. Right click on the image.
2. Select "Save Picture As..."
3. You give the picture a name (ex. See Beautiful Community Flyer).
4. Select a location to save the picture (ex. Desktop).
5. Click "Save"
6. Go to the location you saved the picture and select the document.
7. Once selected, Print the flyer.

We can also send you a PDF of the picture. Simply email info@seebeautiful.com

P.S. It helps if you go ahead and cut along the vertical lines.
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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Life Vest Inside). Click HERE.