Donate a star to American Girl's Shine on Now Program

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about American Girl's latest charitable initiative -- the Shine On Now™ program, where girls can log on to a website and donate 1-100 virtual stars each day:

To foster a spirit of goodwill and help make the world a brighter place, American Girl is introducing Shine On Now™—a new charitable initiative that harnesses the collective power of girls to help others in need. Through Shine On Now, American Girl is calling on girls across the country to help the company give $1 million in clothes, books, dolls, and money to the following four organizations: Kids in Distressed Situations, Save the Children U.S.A., National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions, and National Wildlife Federation.

Beginning July 13, 2010, girls can visit shineonnow.com to contribute a free ‘star’ to the effort. The goal is to collect one million stars by the end of the program on July 31, 2010. In addition, for every star a girl contributes (she can donate up to 100 each day!), her name will automatically be entered in a daily drawing to win a new My American Girl™ doll.

As part of the Shine On Now initiative and to further encourage girls to let their spirits shine, American Girl is also launching a brand-new virtual campus, Innerstar University™—a fun, safe online world where girls learn to be their best through a variety of games, quizzes, and other enriching activities that help boost their confidence and strength. Access to the new virtual world is free with each 18-inch My American Girl doll—the company’s newly enhanced contemporary product line that allows a girl to create a special doll as unique as she is.



Well, guess what -- it's July 13, the program has started, and you can now go to ShineOnNow.com and begin donating stars to this great cause! I encourage everyone to take their daughter to the website, become an American Girl Ambassador and begin donating stars. You can donate up to 100 stars each day until July 31st -- for each star you donate, American Girl will donate $1, up to $1 million total.

I'm so grateful to American Girl for giving girls everywhere the opportunity to make a difference. They could have just donated the $1 million outright, but instead they're getting girls involved and aware of all the good that they can do, just by giving a little of their time.

Okay, that's enough reading -- now go to ShineOnNow and start making a difference!

Win an American Girl Doll
My American Girl doll giveaway is still going on, and with this post you can get even more extra entries to increase your chances of winning.


Required Entry
You must enter this giveaway via my first American Girl post -- this post is for extra entries only. To enter, leave a comment on that post to nominate a special girl in your family or community who you think deserves to win this American Girl Doll, AND write about why she deserves this doll -- share with us what kinds of activities she is involved in, how she helps others, etc..... This entry must be completed on my first American Girl post before any extra entries will count.


Extra Entries
For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment on this post for each extra entry, with a way to verify the entry (i.e. tweet link, blog post link, blog comment link, Facebook id, Twitter id, etc.).

1) Go to ShineOnNow.com and donate anywhere from 1 to 100 stars to the cause (1 entry per day -- note, whether you donate 1 or 100 stars, you still only get 1 extra entry per day)

2) Each time you donate a star to ShineOnNow.com, fill in the blank and write this on the Shine On Now Facebook Fan wall (1 entry for each time you donate):

I donated ___ stars to American Girl's Shine On Now program -- and I entered to win an American Girl doll on Bonggamom Finds! http://ow.ly/29d1I #shineOnNow

3) Each time you donate a star to ShineOnNow.com, fill in the blank and tweet this (1 entry for each time you donate):

I donated __ stars to American Girl's #shineOnNow program & entered to win an AG Doll from @AGShineOnNow & @bonggafinds http://ow.ly/29d1I

4) Tweet this daily (1 entry per day)
Donate a star to American Girl's #shineOnNow program, then go to @bonggafinds & enter to win an American Girl doll!) http://ow.ly/29d1I


Even More Extra Entries
Don't forget, you can still gain extra entries on my American Girl Shine On Now post #1 by completing the extra entries on that post -- it all adds up to many, many more chances to win this great prize!


The Rules
This giveaway ends at midnight PST on July 31, 2010; I will draw the winner at random on August 1, from the list of eligible entries on my American Girl Shine On Now post #1 and this post. Winner has 48 hours to respond to my tweets or emails notifying them of their win; otherwise, an alternate winner will be selected. I will post the winner's name in the comments section after he/she confirms acceptance. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!

Disclosure: I am an official Parent Partner of the American Girl Shine on Now program. I will be receiving an American Girl doll as a thank-you for participating in this campaign, but was not paid to review the product, administer this giveaway, promote the program or give my opinions. Product information is provided by the featured company/product and is clearly indicated as such. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.