(ENDED) Sam’s Club: Giving Made Simple – what would you do with $4 million? (giveaway)

In today’s economy, there is a lot of attention paid to unemployment rates and how high they are.  And while it appears we are making some small strides recently and noticed a trend at least that unemployment rates are not going up, it still is not enough.  People are out of work and sometimes, when the going gets tough…the tough have to start their own business.

My husband did last year after losing his job and going to interview after interview being told he was over-qualified.  And it’s not easy.  There are so many hurdles and struggles, money being at the forefront, but there are a lot of other obstacles to overcome – facets of entrepreneurship that you just aren’t taught when you are young.

But the good news is that there are actually charitable organizations out there to help.  From empowering kids to believe in themselves, strengthen their academics, and giving kids the tools and inspiration they need to succeed, to providing education, training and loans for small businesses, these charities aim to to EMPOWER people to create their own jobs.

And Sam’s Club is going to help.

By providing $4 MILLION DOLLARS to help these charities support growth and education in local communities.

The Sam’s Club Giving Made Simple program has identified 8 charities in 2 categories and is challenging YOU to vote to decide who receives the biggest portion of the $4 million dollar donation.

Because you’re a Sam’s Club Member, we believe you play an important role in our organization and should have a say in how we support the community. By voting on your preferred youth education or entrepreneurship organizations, you’ll help determine the portion of the $4 million donation that each will receive.

I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am over this.  It is so amazing that there are people out there who understand that giving someone the tools or teaching someone the information that they need TO DO FOR THEMSELVES can have such a huge, powerful impact on a community.  And for Sam’s Club to want to help these organizations, is just amazing.

Here’s how it works:

Each participating organization will receive a portion of the $4 million donation based on Member votes. The top vote-getter in each category will receive $1 million each, the second-place winners will receive $500,000 each, and the third- and fourth-place winners will receive $250,000 each.

Sam’s Club members can vote an influence which charity takes home the largest donation, but the best part is that all 8 charities will receive something.  Don’t let your favorite charity miss out on the $1 million dollar donation however, all you have to do is vote once per day.  It’s easy!

And I have such faith in you, that I am setting a personal goal of 500 votes that come directly as a result of my readers efforts of voting and promoting.  So make sure you send everyone you can over here to leave a comment and tell me that they voted (and enter to win the great giveaway below).

Important information to keep in mind:

• Sam’s Club Giving Made Simple site – track progress and VOTE
• Sam’s Club Giving Made Simple on Facebook – learn more about the charities and even engage in conversation with them
• Sam’s Club on Twitter – use the hashtag #samsgiving to join the conversation and encourage others to vote
• You can vote in person at your local Sam’s Club on April 10th
• You can vote once per day (every 24hrs) online through May 2nd
• Winners will be announced May 4th

And to help encourage you to vote (or inspire you to encourage others to vote if you don’t have a current Sam’s Club membership), I have some prizes to give away – two $50 Sam’s Club Gift Cards!  You can purchase a membership with it or use it to shop if you already have a Sam’s Club membership.

ENTER TO WIN ONE OF TWO $50 SAM’S CLUB GIFT CARDS

You have two ways that you can enter to win: by voting and/or by encouraging other people to vote (for people who are not Sam’s Club members but still want to enter and help promote this great cause).

You can VOTE and/or PROMOTE to enter!

You can get up to two entries per day!

How to enter if you have a Sam’s Club membership:

Daily entry #1: Go vote for your favorite charity and then come back here and tell us who you voted for – for the first time you vote, we’d love to hear WHY you chose that particular charity, your remaining votes can just be brief…”I voted for so-and-so today”.

Daily entry #2: Encourage others to vote by tweeting about Giving Made simple on Twitter using the hashtag #samsgiving and linking to this post OR encourage others to vote by sharing on your Facebook wall and linking to this post.

Sample Tweet:

You decide who gets $1 million w/ Sam’s Club Giving Made Simple.  Enter to win a $50 gift card (2 winners) http://bit.ly/aR3uxD #samsgiving

OR

Sample for Facebook:

Help decide who gets a share of a $4 Million charity donation from Sam’s Club Giving Made Simple and enter to win one of two $50 gift cards http://bit.ly/aR3uxD

How to enter if you DO NOT have a Sam’s Club membership:

Daily entry #1: Encourage others to vote by tweeting about Giving Made simple on Twitter using the hashtag #samsgiving and linking to this post.

Sample Tweet:

You decide who gets $1 million w/ Sam’s Club Giving Made Simple.  Enter to win a $50 gift card (2 winners) http://bit.ly/aR3uxD #samsgiving

Daily entry #2: Encourage others to vote by sharing on your Facebook wall and linking to the Sam’s Giving Made Simple Facebook page and this post.

Sample for Facebook:

Help decide who gets a share of a $4 Million charity donation from Sam’s Club Giving Made Simple and enter to win one of two $50 gift cards http://bit.ly/aR3uxD

Special entry April 30!

On April 30, for EVERY Tweet you put out to support your favorite charity, you can leave 2 comments here as extra entries into this giveaway.  See this post for more info & required hashtags: Double points.

Winners will be selected at random using random.org.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry, and include the links to Twitter and Facebook posts as appropriate.  Giveaway is open to the USA and ends on May 2, 2010.

“Sam’s Club provided me with two $50 gift cards to give away to my readers and one $100 gift card for my participation in this campaign throughout the month of April.”