Paying it Forward

The families who will be receiving our gift have been chosen.  You can read about them here.  I will be doing the same thing again.  Start thinking about who you want to nominate now!

Note: This post is LONG, but VERY VERY important.  Please read it!

With your help, we will likely be able to give away thousands in free product to families who need it this month.  If you just want the details, just skip down to the section titled “The Details” below.  And be sure to nominate a family by filling out the form at the very end of this post!

 

My tag line / motto on this site is “Empowering Self-Reliance, Prosperity & Charity.”  ( I stole it (with permission) from THRIVE Life (formerly Shelf Reliance)’s mission statement.)  I want to touch on that motto for a minute today.

Self-Reliance

This part is pretty obvious since I talk a lot about preparedness and self-reliance.  Almost every post on this site relates directly to this topic.

Prosperity

This may not be quite so obvious, but it is there.  You must be self-reliant to ever become truly prosperous.  In addition the business opportunity that is offered through THRIVE Life (formerly Shelf Reliance) is helping many people (myself included) become far more prosperous than they could be otherwise.

Charity

This one is occasionally a little more difficult to find.  I’ve done a few posts on some great charities here.  I also donate 1/2 of all the free product I earn as a THRIVE Life (formerly Shelf Reliance) consultant to charity in one way or another.  In addition, I give away emergency supplies to readers each week as part of the Survival Kit Series in order to help make it a bit more affordable for a few of you.  But I don’t really feel this part of my motto gets enough attention and yet it is very important to me.

I am a very firm believer in “paying it forward,” and also believe that self-reliance and prosperity is what makes that possible.  There have been times in my life when I was not as self-reliant as I am now and I had to rely on the kindness of others.  One such time was when my husband lost his job 3 months out of law school.  We’d had three kids during law school and were pregnant with our fourth.  We had a lot of school debt and no savings b/c it had all been spent on school.  Many, many people who were self-reliant and relatively “prosperous” stepped in and helped us out.  I vowed that I would do my best in the future to become self-reliant so that I could do the same for others someday.  That is one of my biggest motivations for working so hard at this business.

Doing More:

I recently asked (on facebook) what it is that makes building a food storage difficult.  The #1 answer?  Affording it!  I also get comment after comment on my Survival Kit Series from people with sincere desires to be better prepared who simply can’t afford it right now.  Finances are tight and it can be hard to find the money to spend on food storage and emergency supplies since they aren’t often immediately needed!

Since becoming a THRIVE Life (formerly Shelf Reliance) Consultant in November of 2010, I’ve earned a lot of free product which has helped our family become more self reliant.  In addition, the income I’m earning is helping us pay down debt and build up savings.  In other words, I’ve been blessed!  And where “much is given, much is required.”   I’ve decided it is time for me to step it up a notch, and start “paying it forward” a bit more.  I’d like to do something more and start sharing my free product with families in need.

I’d like help those who want to prepare, but can’t afford to. I’d also like to empower YOU to be a part of paying it forward.  I’ve been thinking about this for some time and was especially motivated by the “Extreme Makeover: Helping Families in Need” that Jodi and Julie from Food Storage Made Easy did last year.  With their permission, I am going to do something similar.  So, thank you Jodi and Julie for the fabulous idea and motivation!

The Details:

Did you know that THRIVE Life (formerly Shelf Reliance) sells most of their products through home parties?  Well if you host a home party, you get “host benefits,” which are 10% of the total amount purchased back in FREE product.  Since I am a THRIVE Life (formerly Shelf Reliance) Consultant with a website, I can host an ONLINE PARTY!  I’ve decided to do this for the first month of every quarter. I will then donate the “host benefit’s” (free product) earned to families in need.

As many of you know, I have my own “THRIVE Life (formerly Shelf Reliance) Store” here: https://YourOwnHomeStore.ShelfReliance.com/Home  Anything purchased through my online store during the first month of each quarter will count toward my online party! When you shop through my store during the party, not only will you get a discount on THRIVE Life (formerly Shelf Reliance)’s products but in addition, 10% of everything you purchase will be added to the total amount of free product I give to a family in need that quarter!  These families will each also receive one-on-one phone time with me to help answer any questions they may have and build a plan that will best suit their needs and situation.

You can help in many ways:

• Spread the word!  The more people who know about this, the better! Use facebook, pinterest, twitter, blogs, email and even good old fashioned phone calls and face to face conversations.  You can do this even if you aren’t in the market for supplies from THRIVE Life (formerly Shelf Reliance).
• If you are in the market for THRIVE Life (formerly Shelf Reliance) products during the first month of each quarter (Jan, April, July, Oct), shop through my online store (https://YourOwnHomeStore.ShelfReliance.com/Home ) to give 10% of your purchase back to a family in need.  You will also get great discounts by shopping there!
• If you aren’t in the market for THRIVE Life (formerly Shelf Reliance) products, but would still like to help, you can donate any amount here (even a dollar will help) which will be used to pay the shipping on the products donated and purchase even more product once shipping costs are met.

• If you’re not in a position to purchase or donate, you can still help!  Send me some tips ([email protected]) on what you do to prepare on a budget.  How do you keep costs down?  Do you do anything that is free?  I will compile these tips into blog posts with printable handouts you can use and share!  Each family in need will also receive a copy.
• Nominate a family in need!  That is right!  These families will not be chosen randomly, they will be chosen by nomination.  Learn more below!

How to Nominate a Family

I’m looking for families in need that also have a strong desire to prepare and be self-reliant.  I’m looking for people who make efforts to do so even when times are tough.  I’m looking for families who give back to others or would if they were able.  If you know of someone who you believe deserves a nomination, simply fill out the form below!  All nominations will be reviewed by me and a few other family members, but will be kept private otherwise.