november braininsights winner

Congratulations to Cherie W--the winner of the kidandcaboodle/braininsights November giveaway contest. We loved her story about telling stories to her granddaughter so we're sending her a braininsights free gift set for newborn- to three-year-olds featuring fun activities she can do with her kids to promote brain development. Look for another great giveaway coming soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cherie's story:

"My granddaughter who is 4 now is one of the best story tellers. Ever since she has been a baby I have told her stories. We attend the YMCA and after swimming we always take a shower. During the shower, is when I tell the story. Her favorite has always been "The Three Little Pigs". She has down the voice inflections for the wolf and for the 3 pigs. Because of her interest, she was in a Children's Pageant "New Star Discovery". This year they had a talent show. We debated what we should have her do. We chose for her to tell "The Three Pigs" story and act it out with props. She competed against 0-10 yr old. Others had singing, dancing, karate,and piano playing as their talents. My granddaughter took Supreme Title #1 winner of this talent show. I have never been so proud of her in my whole life as I was at that point in time. You see, storytelling does pay off. I now have a 14 month old and another on the way. I will continue my storytelling with them also!"

clothes for kids: rollingrack.net

All of us with young kids can relate: Our child gets an outfit as a gift and it sits in his/her closet until one day we remember it's there and suddenly realize he/she's outgrown it. Or, we just buy too many adorable dresses in size 12-18 months! How many can one kid wear? Newsflash: There are plenty of kids who could use all of those unworn items and the Rolling Rock Fashion and Apparel Group has found a way to get them to them.

A collective of talent dedicated to the Fashion Industry and the people who make it happen, the organization's screened members include couture designers, high-level company executives, retail designers, buyers, merchandisers, public relations professionals, photographers, make-up artists and others. Rolling Rack members represent the fashion spectrum from Armani, Estee Lauder, Benneton, Lacoste, Guess, Puma, Nike, Calvin Klein, La Perla, Lloyd Klein Couture, Girbaud, Levi's and everyone in between.

Last year, Rolling Rack, along with Marc Ecko, Russell Corp and Kate Quinn Organics generously donated over $1200 of brand new clothing to the students of Port Monmouth Road Elementary School in Keansburg, NJ. The school staff raffled off beautiful clothing gift baskets. The winners of the baskets took home hundreds of dollars of new clothing and the school raised over $500 for their student activity fund and to purchase new children's books. "It broke my heart when a first grader came up to me and she was so proud of her new winter coat; I knew her parents had gotten it from the local charity," says Founder/President Gary Montgomery.

This year the urgent need continues. Montgomery was contacted by another elementary school in North Carolina where 90% of the children cannot afford a daily lunch and many of them are proud of their second hand clothing purchased from charity shops.

If you'd like to help these children, most of whom live under the poverty level, you can do so through Rolling Rack's/Meet The Fashion Press's combined effort, the Threads of Gold program. You can donate brand new children's clothing, or make a donation. Go to www.rollingrack.net or email gary@rollingrack.net with questions or to give now.