I’d like to alert all of my readers to an online shopping event that will benefit a family in our vast, yet oh-so-small-world blogging community.

During this week, seven blogs, including 7 Clown Circus, Adventures in Babywearing, Buried with Children, Mayhem & Moxie, Mama’s Losin’ It, Scary Mommy and The Extraordinary Ordinary will promote a three day auction called, Blog, Bid, Hope to raise money on behalf of The Liz Logelin Foundation and Anissa Mayhew.

Anissa is a 35 year old blogging mom of three who is currently recovering from a massive stroke she suffered a few weeks ago.

One minute she was planning a trip with her girlfriends and talking about Thanksgiving dinner, and the next she lay unresponsive in a hospital bed.

She and her family need help.

I have never met Anissa. In fact, I was only marginally aware of her blog until her stroke. But I want to help – simply because I can.

The Liz Logelin Foundation was established by Matt Logelin, who started blogging after his wife, Liz tragically died just hours after delivering their daughter Madeline.

From there, he started the foundation to honor Liz. His goal is to financially assist families who are dealing with the loss of a loved one and struggling to move forward.

He wants to help.

Simply because he can.

And isn’t this a much better world when we all try to help others – for no other reason than seeing someone in need and wanting to help? Simply because we can?

So – having no prior connection to Anissa or Matt, I’m up at 4:00 a.m. making time to tell their stories and ask you for your help in kind.

They need your help.

They need to you to shop.

Me? I read the first few paragraphs of this and say, “Just stop already – you had me at ‘shop.’ You had me at ‘shop’….”* And my guess is that most of you reading this would concur.

SO on tomorrow, Wednesday, December 9, visit the following blogs and start shopping for hope.

7 Clown Circus

Adventures in Babywearing

Buried with Children

Mayhem & Moxie

Mama’s Losin’ It

Scary Mommy

The Extraordinary Ordinary

The items up for bid come from the generous donations of mom-preneurs who offer blog designs, toys, art, accessories, baby gear, and more in their online shops. (The group credits Laurie from Tip Junkie for helping to make this happen.)

Each host site will offer a different selection of items, so be sure to visit all of them. Bidding will begin at $10 and bids will increase at $2 increments. If you see an item you’d like to bid on, just leave a comment on that item’s post stating your price.

ALSO, Aiming Low, a community site started by Anissa, is hosting a “Shop for Anissa Day.” On December 10, they will present a list of on-line shops who have promised to share proceeds from that day’s sales with Anissa’s family.

This is a great way to bang out some of that last minute holiday shopping while truly embracing the holiday spirit. So much better than fighting the crowds at Target (Shhhh. I’m just saying that Target – you know how much I love you.)

AND FINALLY (yes Virginia – there is an end to this blog post*), if you don’t have any more gifts to buy or just don’t have the funds to make larger purchases, you can always:

1. Accept Matt’s challenge to to “skip the latte” and donate 7 dollars on the 7th of every month. I don’t think he’ll mind if you do this retroactively this month…

2. Donate directly to Anissa and her family by sending money via PayPal to: anissa.mayhew@gmail.com, or give to The Liz Logelin Foundation.

3. Just pass on this message. Write a blog post, e-mail some friends, forward the links via Twitter or Facebook… Word of mouth can be a very powerful thing.

And now – I am going back to bed. This whole social networking for good business is exhausting.

*Please excuse the gratuitous Jerry Maguire reference AND the Miracle on 34th Street nod. It IS 4:00 a.m. you know…

Last Spring I reviewed a very unique company.

Womily Touch Jewelry is basically fingerprints cast in silver or gold and then made into necklaces, earrings and cuff links.

I love the concept behind this small company. And since I’m all about promoting small companies and indie artists as a holiday gift resource, I thought I’d give this one another plug.

Siobhan Winograd (who earned her stripes at Tiffany’s) developed a way to put your child’s fingerprint on a necklace, cuff links or a charm. A cool way to have your little with you all the time – and years from now when they’re not so little anymore.

And right now you can take advantage of a 10% holiday special. Use Holiday2009 for the discount AND free shipping for orders received before 12/18.

Click HERE to read more about our Womily experience. And HERE for the results.

Remember the Andrea’s Beau giveaway I ran on The Big Piece of Cake several months ago?

Well – they have offered my readers a 15% discount on their holiday shopping for the next two weeks!

There are so many styles to choose from for both women:

And for girls:

Just enter “asgoodascake” as the discount code at check out. The 15% discount will only apply to purchases of $30 or more (not including shipping) and the discount will be reflected in your billing statement – just not right away at check out (so don’t panic if you don’t see it – if you have any issues, let me know and I’ll contact Andrea). This discount is good through Wednesday, December 16.

Thanks Andrea!