This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of JOLLY TIME® Pop Corn in support of their Kernels of Kindness™ Campaign with MomDotMedia. All opinions are my own.
Have you heard of JOLLY TIME® Pop Corn? I’m sure you have, but just in case, JOLLY TIME® is America’s first-ever brand of popcorn and has been popping up fun ever since 1914. The American Pop Corn Company is family owned and operated, and plants NO genetically modified organism seed. Their pop corn is peanut and tree nut free and even earned the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval back in 1925. (FYI – this recognition still stands today!)
Being sisters, we love hearing about successful family-run companies — especially when they believe in the importance of being charitable too, which is how we came to work with JOLLY TIME® Pop Corn in the first place. Today marks the start of their grassroots campaign, Kernels of Kindness, and we are so excited to share it with all of you.
JOLLY TIME® Pop Corn will award 100, $1,000 grants to people and organizations around the country who bring joy and happiness to others by doing good in the community. How fantastic is that? And, if you’re like us, you’re lucky to know several people worthy of such a grant and we encourage you to nominate them here.
As to who we’ll be nominating, well we’re putting our vote behind someone who believes in the same things we do.
- That every child deserve a chance at happiness.
- That, as parents, it’s our job to help our children be the best that they can be.
- That if we work alongside medical professionals, educators and politicians, we can ensure that every child gets the best care, services and supports that they can, so that they can lead happy and healthy lives.
- That all it takes is one person to make a difference.
And we’re really blessed to know some pretty fantastic children’s rights advocates right here in our very own communities. But if you have any connection to the children’s mental health world on Long Island, you can probably guess who I’m about to mention. We’re nominating Eileen Kadletz, from Long Island Families Together, for the Kernels of Kindness grant. Eileen is a wife, mother, sister, friend, co-worker…and so much more to so many people in our communities.
As the Mother of four (yes, four!) adopted children from Russia, and a new Grandmother, Eileen is also a tireless advocate for children’s mental health. With a passion for educating families and professionals about trauma, therapeutic parenting and adoption, Eileen goes above and beyond the call of duty each and every day.
She is not just a co-worker. She is my friend. And when we share stories about our families, our struggles, our triumphs, our goals — my eyes often well up with tears. For in all honesty, I have never met another person like Eileen in my entire life. A very spiritual woman who gives so unselfishly to all who come into her path, she is the true meaning of a “Universal Mother”. For even when she’s struggling with her own personal needs, she is still there to always lend an ear, a hug, or verbal reassurance that you’re not alone.
I have no idea how Eileen manages to do it all, but let’s just say, she’s a pretty amazing person. I could talk about Eileen for hours, but she’d probably be mortified – so here’s a quick list of some of the reasons we think she’s so inspiring:
- she adopted and raised four children from Russia with her husband,
- she started an Adoption Support Group for Long Island families (see her adoption story in Adoptive Families Magazine about her first two children: From Russia, With Love—Again),
- she organizes an incredibly well-attended Legislative Breakfast each year,
- she’s a new Grandmother,
- she conducts weeks-long parenting workshops to help families on Long Island (currently, she’s taking families through the very popular Beyond Consequences series — and she’s getting trained in Simplicity Parenting next)
- and, she’s always coming up with even more ways to do good for families in need on Long Island.
The funny thing is, she’s also incredibly humble and never toots her own horn. That’s why she has us – toot toot!! So with much love in our hearts, we are nominating Eileen Kadletz for the Kernels of Kindness™ Campaign and we encourage you to vote for her at jollytime.com/kernelsofkindness. (Or, nominate someone equally worthy for this fantastic grant opportunity.)
P.S. Don’t forget to enter JOLLY TIME® Pop Corn’s giveaway over on their site. You can win a $50 popcorn prize pack and a $100 Amazon gift card. The contest ends on June 15th.
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Make a difference and nominate someone today,
Denine
There are several people at my church I would nominate who spent their time and treasure on helping people for years.
You should nominate them!
Eileen sounds like she is a great nomination.
She is an amazing person!
I love that quote from JFK . . . it seems like such a small thing, but sometimes that one small thing ripples and it becomes great. It sounds like Long Island Families together is doing just that and making a lasting impact on the families they serve. I hope she gets one of these grants; mental health awareness – especially in the youth community is so important, and it’s close to my heart.
We couldn’t agree more! We really hope she gets the grant, she is an amazing woman!
Eileen sounds like an incredibly caring and inspirational woman. But it sounds like she’s surrounded by some pretty amazing women herself. 🙂
Good luck to her!!!
She is amazing! Thank you for the kind words!
What a great nominee. I would nominate my Mom. She served as a volunteer firefighter for over twenty years and now volunteers at a local food pantry.
Wow – that is awesome! A mom, a firefighter AND a volunteer – she sounds like an amazing woman!
Wow, Eileen sounds like an amazing woman! What a great person to nominate!
Thanks! She really is incredible…we hope she gets a shot at it. Denine
I would nominate Eileen – the perfect candidate!
Thanks Tiff – she’s pretty spectacular. I am in awe of all that she does, each and every day. Denine
This is such an amazing campaign and all the people they are helping- its wonderful.
Hi Trish, Yes, I really love this campaign. So many people do so much good, and they do it without recognition because it’s what’s in their hearts. This is a lovely way to call attention to their wonderful work. Denine
Eileen seems perfect for this award. She seems like a wonderful giving soul.
She really is a giving soul. I am blessed to have a friend like her in my life. Denine
I would nominate my neighbor. She goes to Africa almost yearly to work with an opthmologist in helping people with their site. Those of us with good site or easy access to an eye doctor take it for granted!
Heather, that’s amazing. Please nominate her – think of all the good she could do in Africa with $1,000!!
Wow, she sounds like an amazing lady! I hope she wins!
Thanks Michelle, We have our fingers crossed…
What an awesome campaign! I love companies that do stuff like this.
I know – it’s really sweet. And their popcorn is pretty tasty too! Denine
Wow, Eileen is the perfect nominee for these grant!
Thanks Kimberly – we think so too….
I feel bad for saying this but I wish I could nominate myself. I plan community events and activities for the kids in my neighborhood with little to no help from the other parents. My hubby is always complaining because I spend so much money putting these things together, but it is great for our kids and everyone has a good time so me it is worth it. But if I did receive a grant, it would lessen the burden of putting these activities together and I could plan more!
You shouldn’t feel bad…that’s really terrific that you plan community events. Make your husband nominate you! 😉
Eileen sounds like she is very worthy! What an amazing woman!
She’s lovely. Thank you for stopping by – are you going to nominate someone?
Eileen definitely deserves votes for her selflessness and kindness!
Yes, she does. Even her days off from “work” are filled with doing for others. It’s amazing.
Wow, Eileen is my hero!! Amazing!
She’s one of my heroes too!
I would nominate JoAnn Thraikill who founded the Pablove foundation with her husband Jeff after they lost their six year old son to cancer. They now support hundreds of families faced with similar situations and provide various activities for children living with cancer. JoAnn is really an amazing and inspiring mom!
Thanks Valerie, I’ll check her out. Did you go ahead and nominate her? The link is in the post. I’m sure she would love it!
It sounds like Eileen is a great nominee. I love that Jolly Time Kernels of Kindness is all about helping people.
Hi Holly, She is a great nominee – and we’re really proud of the Kernels of Kindness campaign for giving them a shot at winning some grant money.
Hi Holly, We’re really proud of the Kernels of Kindness campaign for giving them a shot at winning some grant money.
I would nominate Dr. Aune. He is a fantastic friend, but he also works to find cures for childhood cancer. He raises money for St. Baldrick’s every year and does a phenomenal job!
That’s amazing – did you nominate him? You should!!