It is only the middle of October, but the holiday season is upon us.  Halloween is just around the corner, then for those of us in the United States, Thanksgiving is only 5 weeks away.  Then there is Christmas and New Years.  Yes…….the giving season is upon us!

The National Inclusion Project doesn’t take a break over the holidays.  They still need our help.  There are a few unique fundraising possibilities available to help support their goals.

Wrapping For Inclusion is a nationwide holiday gift-wrapping fundraiser which also creates awareness of the National Inclusion Project. Originally started by Clay’s fan base, the program has grown into a tradition of the holidays.

Volunteers of the National Inclusion Project set up gift-wrapping booths at stores and malls across the country and wrap gifts in exchange for donations.

This wonderful project helps to raise awareness and support for the National Inclusion Project and spread some holiday cheer.  What an exciting way to spend a day having fun with friends and raising some needed financial support.

If you would like to volunteer, please send your contact info to aronhall@inclusionproject.org.

Aron is looking for Area Coordinators and wrappers throughout the country.

Deck The Halls For Inclusion is a new fundraiser this year.  It runs from October 16 to November 16, 2009.

Support the National Inclusion Project’s mission of inclusion for children of ALL abilities while decorating homes and offices with beautiful, handmade Rockdale wreaths and other natural items this holiday season! Wreaths also make wonderful gifts for family and friends.

The National Inclusion Project will receive $9 per item for individual orders and $13 per item for bulk orders (8 wreaths shipped to a single address). Bulk orders also save the purchaser $5 per wreath on purchase price.

Purchases must be made from the Project’s exclusive Rockdale store in order for the National Inclusion Project to receive funds!  If you are a member of a Clay fan board, or belong to a Beta Alpha Chapter, you can check with them to make sure your chapter gets credit.

Deadline for online orders is Monday, November 16, 2009. Prices include shipping & handling and the buyer may also select a preferred shipping date.

Please help by purchasing a wreath-or two-or even ten- this holiday season. Share the gift of inclusion. Inclusion works, and it is a gift worth giving.

To see the beautiful wreaths, visit Rockdale Wreaths

The America’s Giving Challenge gives the National Inclusion Project the opportunity to make lots of money. Aron sent the following information so that we could work on this challenge.

Hi everyone,

The National Inclusion Project just entered in America’s Giving Challenge, which gives us a chance to win $50,000! To win, between now and November 7th we have to get the most donations to our cause (every person can donate once per day between 3pm and 2:59pm the next day and have it count as a unique donation). We can also win daily awards of $1,000 and $500 if we can get the most people to donate in any 24-hour period. The great thing about this Challenge is that it doesn’t matter how much you give, but instead how much you do to encourage friends and family to get involved in our cause. We all need to come together and start promoting the cause if we want to win.

Each of us has tons of friends on Facebook who we can ask to donate to our cause. But let’s think big too-can you put our cause in your email signature, can you throw a party and get people to donate through the cause when they enter, can you organize other people to go out and fundraise from all of their friends? As you reach out to your friends be sure to tell them why this cause matters to you. The possibilities are endless so let’s talk about what we can do to win on the Wall of the cause or by replying to this bulletin.

I think we can do it! But it’s going to take all of us. Check out the Giving Challenge (www.causes.com ), then visit our cause to see how we’re doing so far and get involved.

This fundraiser offers two ways to win .. a daily win, and a contest win.

The daily win is based on number of unique donations per day between 3:00 pm and 2:59 pm.

What is a unique donation you ask…that means one donation per person per day is counted towards that day’s total number of donations!

The minimum donation is $10.00. If you plan to donate more than $10.00, it would probably be best to spread it out over different days instead of all at once, as it would mean a vote for each day that you donate, and might help us to win more of the daily challenges.

You can donate either through Facebook … or without Facebook. You don’t have to be a Facebook member to donate!   Let’s do what we can!!

Personally, I love that there are many ways that we can support the National Inclusion Project. It doesn’t matter if we are blessed with a full bank account or working hard to put food on our table, we can be a part of the Project Family.

After the wonderful Gala on October 17^th, I have a renewed dedication to help the National Inclusion Project in any way I can.  Will you join me?