The Polls are Open!

What would you do if you had the chance to spend $100,000 on helping others—and could take a year doing it? Who would you help? How would you help them? What if all you had to do to get the money was state your case to IKEA®, the world's largest furniture retailer, better than thousands of others? Well Melissa Matthews, mother of Aiden, a child with Down syndrome at Frankie Lemmon, has almost done just that. I say almost, because her field of worthy competitors in IKEA®'s annual Life Improvement Sabbatical Contest has been reduced to five finalists—and she is one of them! And now she needs YOU to help her over the top. Melissa states her case:

"When I was 28 years old, I gave birth to my second son, who has Down syndrome. Having been a kindergarten teacher and reading specialist before my boys were born, I worried about Aidan's transition to school literally from the day the ultrasound tech noted soft markers for Down syndrome. I will never forget the first day I visited Frankie Lemmon School in Raleigh, NC.

“I saw children with intellectual disabilities, some who doctors said may never talk, not only talking and playing like their typical peers, but reading, working on computers, and playing musical instruments as well!”

The Polls Are Open
It's up to YOU! If you think Melissa should spend a year (and $100,000) helping the Frankie Lemmon School, then vote for her today! From now until midnight December 23rd, you can vote as often as once per day. And every time you vote, IKEA® will donate $1 to Save the Children’s U.S. Program. What a deal—a win-win for everyone!

Here's how:
1. Go to Ikea's website at: IKEA
2. Under "Life, Improved", Click on "Vote now". This takes you to The Life Improvement Project.
3. On the right you'll see a rotating display of five videos. Out of thousands of applicants who want to "build a better tomorrow", only these five finalists remain. Melissa's video is labeled Special Technology for Special Kids!
4. Under the videos, click on "See All Videos".
5. Then click on Melissa's video. (As of December 6, she was in 1st place!)
6. When her page comes up, click on "Submit vote" and follow the directions.

Go ahead ... you can do it ... vote now and vote often! Meanwhile, we'll play some Christmas music.



A Final Note

In the animated movie Toy Story 2, Woody the cowboy puppet has to decide: does he go to a museum where he can live forever and never be loved again, or does he go home to his friends, including that wacky puppet space ranger Buzz Lightyear, where he can be loved but may not last another day. Woody decides on the more perilous of the two. As for myself, I will NOT live in a museum! "To infinity ... and beyond!"

Speaking of friends, I think I can hear them now!