ClausNet Raises Funds for Santa-America
Michael Rielly, founder of ClausNet.com announced today that ClausNet will team with Santa-America for charitable support. Funded solely by private donations, Santa-America’s volunteers support local hospices and children’s hospitals in their hometowns.
“We are thrilled to be helping such a wonderful organization like Santa-America and look forward to this opportunity,†said Michael Rielly, founder of ClausNet.com. “Santa-America is truly an organization focused on bringing joy to so many. With such obvious ties to the mission of ClausNet, we are extremely excited about this opportunity.â€
Santa-America is a national volunteer service organization dedicated to bringing unconditional love, hope, and joy to special children and their families in hospice, bereavement, chronic pediatric care, or post traumatic stress.
“Santa-America is dedicated to delivering Love, Hope, and Joy wrapped in a Santa hug 365 days a year.†says Santa John Scheuch, executive director of Santa-America. “We are honored that ClausNet is willing to help us raise funds as part of our mission. It is truly marvelous to have the largest Santa Claus network on the Internet to lend its support and links to help us visit our special children.â€
About Santa-America
Santa-America is a non-profit, tax-exempt, 501 (c) 3 national volunteer service organization that brings unconditional love, hope, and joy to special children and their families in hospice, bereavement, chronic pediatric care, or post traumatic stress.
Santa-America has over one-hundred authentically costumed, backgrounded, and highly trained Santas—sensitive to the special needs of our special children, their siblings, and parents in crisis. Our family visits are warm and loving, meaningful and credible. We build on past memories and create new, lasting memories 365 days a year.
Santa-America recently launched a new initiative with the Autism Society of America to provide specially designed experiences with Santa for children and families dealing with Autism. We are also working with the Wounded Warrior Transition units of the US Army to provide support for wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. For more information about Santa-America, visit www.santa-america.org.
About ClausNet
Launched in 2007, ClausNet is the premier Santa Claus community for men and women dedicated to the faithful portrayal of Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, Elves, and all others who devote their time to bringing the magic of Christmas to children and adults throughout the world!
ClausNet.com is the Internet’s largest resource and social network for Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and Elves for the purposes of sharing stories, advice, news, and information. Most importantly, ClausNet brings people together to build friendships that help spread happiness to the true believers of Santa Claus – the child inside of us. For more information about ClausNet, visit www.clausnet.com.
American Family Christmas Photo Ends Up in Czech Ad
ST. LOUIS – It’s an international mystery: How did a Missouri family’s Christmas card photo end up in the Czech Republic, splashed across a huge storefront advertisement? Danielle Smith said Wednesday that the photo taken of her family last year got sent to family and friends, and was posted on her blog and a few social networking sites. The photo showed her and her husband Jeff holding their two young children.
About 10 days ago, one of Smith’s college friends was driving through Prague when he spotted their huge smiling faces in the window of a store specializing in Europeann food. He snapped a few pictures and sent them to a flabbergasted Smith.
“It’s a life-size picture in a grocery store window in Prague — my Christmas card photo!” said Smith, 36, who lives in the St. Louis suburb of O’Fallon.
Mario Bertuccio, who owns the Grazie store in Prague, said the photo was from the Internet. Details were sparse, but he said he thought it was computer-generated. When told it was a real photo — of a real family — he said he started taking steps to remove it.
“We’ll be happy to write an e-mail with our apology,” said Bertuccio, who said he would send the Smiths a bottle of good wine if they lived in his eastern European country.
The Smiths and photographer Gina Kelly hadn’t authorized anyone to use the pictures. Kelly said she has asked a professional photographers’ organization to help figure out how her image wound up in Prague.
Smith has gotten 180,000 hits to her Web site since she recently posted the story about the well-traveled snapshot. She said the photo wasn’t used in an unseemly manner, it was just used to tell potential shoppers about the store’s delivery service.
Smith said next time she posts a photo on the Internet, she’s going to lower the resolution or add an electronic watermark to make it hard to reproduce.
“This story doesn’t frighten me, but the potential frightens me,” Smith said.
13 Year Old’s Winning Design for Celebrates Big Ben
Christmas has come early for a 13-year-old schoolgirl after she won a contest to design a festive card to celebrate Big Ben’s 150th anniversary.
Ellie Williams of Cefn Saeson comprehensive school, Neath, beat competition from 2,500 UK schools.
Ellie, from Tonna, received her winning certificate during her first ever visit to London where she was welcomed by her local MP Peter Hain.
She said: “It was a thrill to visit Parliament.”
The competition began for Ellie in December 2008 when Mr Hain wrote to all schools in his constituency encouraging them to take part.
The MP’s office was inundated with entries and her entry, along with four runners-up, was chosen out of hundreds to represent Neath at the national finals in London.
As part of the prize for winning, Ellie met Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons, and Jill Pay, Serjeant at Arms, as well as Mike McCann, Keeper of the Clock and the Clock Mechanics.
She then attended a reception in the evening where winners were presented with certificates and gift packs.
Certificates and limited edition badges for runners-up will be presented in the coming weeks.
Welcoming Ellie to Westminster, Mr Hain commented: “There was a very high standard locally and at a national level so this is a fantastic achievement.”
Mr Hain added that it was fast becoming a tradition for Neath schools to win such competitions, as Ellie’s victory came months after Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Cwmgors won the EU Year of Intercultural Dialogue painting competition.
Big Ben was completed in 1859, the great clock started on 31 May and the great bell itself was first struck on 11 July.
