Shopping with the Smith’s Rewards Card allows you to buy groceries and everyday necessities while donating a portion of the proceeds to the Northern Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation (NNCCF). Launched by Smith’s Food and Drug store in July of 2017, the company replaced all previous donation reward programs with Smith’s Inspiring Donations.
This program donates 0.5% of all eligible spending to NNCCF at no extra cost and does not affect the fuel points or coupon discounts already linked to your Smith’s account. Kroger, the parent company of Smith’s, has contributed more than $220 million annually in food, funds, and other products to support communities and nonprofit organizations. Kroger is dedicated to “community engagement, positive social impact, and charitable giving at the national and local levels.”
With Smith’s Inspiring Donations program, you can easily earn rewards on most items located in stores every time you shop. It is important to remember to swipe the Rewards Card or use the phone number linked to your account when checking out.
An account is mandatory to participate in Smith’s Inspiring Donations program. Link your Shopper’s Card to your active account to ensure the transactions are applied and donated to NNCCF.
Type in Northern Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation or enter the code TH865.
Sign up for Smith’s Inspiring Donations Program and support childhood cancer in the northern Nevada region.
By: Lindsey Gross
Happy first day of fall! We are officially in pumpkin season – pumpkin coffee, pumpkin cookies and pumpkin candles! Check out these 8 ways to rock the fall while raising funds for kids affected by cancer.
1. Pumpkin Carving Contest – Pumpkin carving is a perfect way to engage the kids and show off some amazing talent! Ask participants to pay a small fee to compete. Send us a picture of the winning pumpkin and earn bragging rights for the rest of the year.
2. Chili Cook-off – Warm some tummies and raise some monies! A fee upon entry gives attendants the opportunity to sample all teams then cast their vote for their favorite chili master.
3. Flag Football Tournament – Recruit your neighbors, family and friends. Adults and kids can play!
4. Host a Trivia Night – Do you know what a baby turkey is called? It’s a poult! Maybe throw some trivia about NNCCF in there too.
5. Harvest Festival – Fall is a perfect time to be outside and get together with family, friends and neighbors. Host a festival for your community or church and donate the proceeds.
6. Costume Contest – Who has the best costume or spookiest office at your workplace? Encourage coworkers to dress up or decorate their space – everyone pitches in a donation and winner gets featured on our site!
7. Football Tailgate – Host a family-friendly tailgate for a Nevada game. Bust out your corn-hole sets, grill hotdogs and hamburgers and wear Nevada blue! Have attendees donate to enjoy your tailgate fundraiser.
8. Fall 5k – Host a Turkey Trot or Great Pumpkin Run! Encourage individuals and teams to run or walk 3.1 miles this fall and donate the entry fees.
There are many creative ways to raise funds for kids here in northern Nevada that are in treatment for cancer. Your fundraising efforts and donations go a long way, as they help pay for expenses including travel costs, copays and bills that insurance will not cover.
Northern Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation wants your fundraiser to be a success! Please contact us with information about your fundraiser so we can put your event on our website. We will also equip you with a banner, book marks with gold ribbon pins, and more information about our foundation.
Contact Lisa Shaffer – Lisa@nvchildrenscancer.org | 775.825.0888
By Natalie Van Hoozer
As a college freshman, everyone asks me what my plans are for the summer and the coming school year. I am happy to tell them that a large portion of my time spent outside of the classroom will be spent volunteering with NNCCF.
When I first started volunteering at NNCCF, I was a senior in high school looking for somewhere to intern for a school class. Once I visited NNCCF, I knew it was the place for me. I received the “tour” around the office and got to meet all of the lovely staff.
After that welcoming experience, I was put to work preparing for the 2013 Tournament of Hope. I had the opportunity to meet even more kind, generous, and ambitious people through this experience. As a volunteer, I have found that you don’t just sit behind a table and perform one task most of the time at NNCCF; at events you have the opportunity to really interact with the other volunteers and event participants.
Since that time, Poker Tournaments, Radiothons, and other events have come and gone, each event being efficiently organized and run. All of them have been learning opportunities for me, as everyone, staff and otherwise, is always extremely helpful and happy to answer all of my questions.
Most importantly, my own knowledge of childhood cancer has increased, which has helped me become an advocate for the many worthy causes related to it. I now let people know about NNCCF events and fundraisers, direct them to the website, and tell them about the importance of cancer research and clinical trials. My only hope is that people take my information to heart and learn to spread the word about childhood cancer.
The most recent event I volunteered for was the 2015 St. Baldrick’s “Brave the Shave” event. For me, it was the best opportunity I have had to see the community of the Northern Nevada area come together and stand in solidarity with those who have childhood and other cancers. The fact that almost $200,000 dollars was raised just made the experience even better. As a volunteer, one of the aspects I love about the event the most is getting to see people, familiar and new alike, come together despite differences to make a positive impact in the world. My opinions about NNCCF and nonprofit organizations have only been reinforced since this event a few weeks ago. I am still encouraged that one day I will be able to work for a nonprofit organization like NNCCF full time and help to make the difference that I see people at NNCCF making every day.
By Natalie Van Hoozer
Here at NNCCF, we are extremely thankful for all of the passionate, talented people who offer their time and skills to volunteer. You might be wondering though, “What can I do in addition to office volunteer work?”
Great question! Here are a variety of ways to volunteer your time and resources to help out NNCCF:
We always need dedicated volunteers to help with fundraising events like Brave the Shave! To do this, it is important to notify the staff at NNCCF that you are interested. It is even better if you can commit to helping in advance so we can plan volunteer tasks with you in mind!
Do you make crafts in you free time? Are you a photographer? If you have a special skill, NNCCF would love to utilize your expertise. By letting the NNCCF staff know what you can contribute, you can volunteer in ways no one has volunteered before! You might be orchestrating a fun new craft at our next event, for example.
Though this may sound like an ordinary way to contribute to the NNCCF cause, it is always an appreciated form of participating with our organization. Whether you make a monetary contribution, donate gift certificates, or donate some other item or service, the time and effort it takes to provide these donations is just as valuable as other volunteer activities.
Continuing with the theme of donating, a great way to raise funds for NNCCF is to donate the proceeds of an event to NNCCF. This event might be a bake sale, a neighborhood garage sale, a smoothie/lemonade stand, or a car wash at your school, church, or in your neighborhood- the possibilities are endless. These activities are also a great way to spread awareness about NNCCF in the community, so they have multiple benefits.
Even if it isn’t possible to hold a bake sale or other event, spreading knowledge of NNCCF is a great way to contribute to the NNCCF cause. “Word of mouth” is always effective, but using email and social networking sites are also ways to let the world know about NNCCF. Liking the NNCCF Facebook page and sharing information from the page are just a few examples of how to promote awareness. Liking pages for related organizations like St. Baldrick’s is also helpful!
These are just a few ways to get involved with NNCCF. If you have any other ideas for how you or someone else can help NNCCF, please let us know!