an honor to be nominated (no, really)

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buzzmommy Buzz Mommy @diaryofamom I sent you an email last night on behalf of Bloganthropy. Did you receive it? It’s important!

Via Twitter, June 8

**

I, um, huh?

E-mail?

Bloganthropy?

Think, Jess, think.

Oh, wait.

Yup.

Sure did.

And hit delete just as soon as I’d opened it.

Why?

Because it said “Congratulations, you are an award finalist” and “Money for travel expenses to the conference at which you will be recognized by some 350 bloggers” and “Please do not share the news yet” and well, without really thinking it through (cause if I had, the blogger reference might have been a giveaway) I thought, Nice try, guys. I didn’t enter a contest. And if I did, I wouldn’t have won it. Because it’s a rule. I don’t win anything. Well, except that one time that I won a trip to the Bahamas in a bar raffle in college and I swear, to this day I half expect the bartender to hunt me down and tell me that it was all a big mistake and I owe them $400.

So when I get an e-mail out of the blue from someone who I don’t know about a contest that I never entered, I think, “Riiiiight. I’m a finalist. What else ya got? Your mom is in London and lost all her credit cards and is stranded with no way to get home? What’s that? Could I please just reply with my credit card information (and my social security and bank account numbers would be helpful too – you know, for Mom?)

I just wasn’t buying it.

Oops.

**

diaryofamom @buzzmommy – I did but thought it was spam and deleted. If it’s something I should see pls resend. Thx.

via Twitter, June 9

**

Debbie Bookstaber, aka @buzzmommy and Co-Founder of Bloganthropy
could not have been more gracious and patient in the face of my cluelessness. She walked me through the process, telling me that I had been “nominated by MULTIPLE bloggers for the award, and [was] selected by [their] advisory board which consists of 20+ bloggers from some of the biggest blogs in the country.”

.

Yeah, oops.

.

As I began to research Bloganthropy, I became increasingly impressed both with their mission (which is, according to their site, empowering bloggers to become philanthropic leaders in their communities) and the caliber and qualifications (not to mention heart) of the people running it.

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I also became increasingly humbled by the fact that I was being considered for the award. The finalists are a formidable group. Like, holy hell, people, these ladies have it together. Don’t believe me? Read their bios from the press release:

Susan Neibur, Toddler Planet

An astrophysicist and mother of two young boys, Susan has battled inflammatory breast cancer four times, surviving countless surgeries, intense radiation and chemotherapy. Through her blog, Susan has spread awareness about inflammatory breast cancer, “the cancer that kills without the lump,” and has led thousands of women to join the Army of Women, a movement founded by the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and the Avon Foundation for Women that provides women afflicted with breast cancer access to potential research studies and participation in treatment trials. Susan sits on the board of the American Cancer Society, is active in their More Birthdays campaign, and has been featured by media across the country.

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Lydia Yeung, Ever Ours; Henny Vallee and Lucia Dinh Pador, Utterly Engaged

After the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011, Lydia Young, Henny Vallee and Lucia Dinh Pador mobilized to raise money in support of Japan disaster relief efforts. To date, For Japan with Love has raised more than $66,000, with all proceeds going to Shelter Box USA, a charity that provides shelter, water, blankets and other emergency supplies to families affected by disasters around the globe.

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Andrea Roberts, Reece’s Rainbow

Andrea Roberts is the proud mother of 9-year old Reece, who was born with Down syndrome. Out of appreciation for the support they received following Reece’s 2002 birth, in 2004 Andrea and her husband founded Reece’s Rainbow—an outreach program for families with kids born with Down syndrome at an Atlanta, Georgia hospital. In 2006, Reece’s Rainbow expanded to encourage the international adoption of orphaned children with Down syndrome, through grants totaling $1.5 million.

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Melissa Ford, Stirrup Queens

The mom of twins conceived through fertility treatments, Melissa Ford started the Stirrup Queens blog as a result of her own personal struggle with getting pregnant. Stirrup Queens serves as a meeting place and resource for individuals and couples dealing with infertility, prematurity and pregnancy loss. She has been invited to speak at a congressional briefing on infertility and has met with Congressman to discuss the Family Building Act.

See? Wow, right? And then there’s me. Who is a little flabbergasted to be sitting among that group.

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I had a long talk last night with Debbie. We left off with a promise to chat again. She has incredible ideas about leveraging corporate giving and finding creative ways to fuel the philanthropic engine that is so important to all of us. To help further the incredibly promising research I heard described the other night; to support community services for our children and our families; to eliminate discrimination through enactment of laws that will protect our kids; to make the world a better place for our children.

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When I hung up the phone, I was dizzy with the possibilities.

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When I opened my Twitter account a while back (@diaryofamom) I struggled to create a profile description with the 160 allotted characters. Try it, it’s harder than you think. After a few tweaks, I came up with the following:

mom of 2 incredible girls, author of diary of a mom, advocate for autism awareness, research, treatment, believer that a mom w/ a keyboard can change the world

After getting to know the people at Bloganthropy and seeing what they are doing there, I am more convinced than ever.

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Thank you so much to the wonderful folks at Bloganthropy, Child’s Play Communications and P&G. And a hearty congratulations to my fellow finalists. I am honored and humbled to be among you.

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Please click –> HERE <– to read the official press release from Bloganthropy.

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