Monday, January 5, 2015

Blanket and Teddy Update

"Blanket and Teddy" update!

Did you know?

A record high one out of every 45 children - about 1.6 million - in the United States is homeless.

Homelessness affects the emotional health of children, who often lose their toys and belongings, as well as their feeling of safety and security. Providing a homeless child with a new blanket and teddy bear restores a bit of that lost warmth and hope for years to come. Bringing a little joy to their hearts goes a long way toward recuperation and improving their life condition.

Your $5 donation will provide 1 new blanket and teddy bear for a homeless child. Our goal is to deliver 500 blankets and teddy bears to homeless shelters by Christmas day. Many children there do not have parents or their parents cannot provide the type of Christmas that most children enjoy.

Please help make this holiday season brighter for a homeless child by donating on our websiteAndroid appiPhone appBlackberry app, or with Google's "One Today" app.

Thank you to everyone who donated to the Blanket and Teddy project!

Your donations provided nearly 400 blankets and teddy bears for homeless children, making their holidays that much brighter.

This same project will be running all year 2015, so let's double our impact next Christmas with blankets and teddy bears for another 800 homeless children!

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Android app update

A new version of the Give a Heart to Charity app has been uploaded to Google Play Store. Download the app today or update your version by clicking here... https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.give.aheart
If you have an Amazon device, the app can also be downloaded at Amazon here... Give a Heart to Charity on Amazon.com

Updates Overview:


The new version has some improved graphics as seen here on the sign in page. The user interface has also been updated along with the layout to take advantage of bigger screens on HD devices. All of the bugs and crashes experienced by users with newer HD devices have also been fixed.

Other major updates have been made in the game:
- new background image
- new blue hearts with x2,x5,x10 written in white (easier to see)
- heart speed has decreased to lighten difficulty level and extend game play
- gold hearts fall every 500 points
- ad banner added to start screen (every click helps sponsor the gold hearts, so click away :)
- various sound effects added when catching hearts
- added background music


App Overview:


Donating to your favorite charities is fun and easy with the new Give a Heart to Charity app. Search for charities by category, learn more about them, and make donations. If your favorite charity isn't listed, send us an email and we’ll add it.

After creating an account, sign in and make a PayPal donation or play the game to get more hearts for free. You receive 10 hearts for every dollar donated which you can then distribute to your favorite charities. At the end of the month, we send checks to all the charities based on how many hearts each received, 10 cents for each heart.

100% of your donation goes to the charities you choose! We do not charge any processing fees or keep any portion of the donations made to other charities through our organization.

The My Hearts page will show how many hearts you've given, list the charities you've donated to, and display your heart awards. Keep a pulse on who everyone is donating to at the Heart Beats page. Want more hearts for free? Play the Heart Game to win hearts you can give to your favorite charities, donated by the monthly sponsor. Quick access buttons throughout the app let you spread the love by posting to Facebook and Twitter, email or sms.

You don’t have to be rich to donate. Do your part by donating as little or as much as you can afford. When everyone chips in, it all adds up to great change for a better world.

Rate It!

Love it? Hate it? Rate it! If you haven't had the chance to rate the app yet, pleeease do and give it stars if you really like it. The more positive ratings and downloads we get, the more it will show up in the PlayStore for people to find, and the more good we can all do supporting charity work. We're always open to suggestions to make the app even better, so let us know what you think of the changes at give@giveaheart.org.

Friday, December 12, 2014

iPhone 5 app update

A new version of the Give a Heart to Charity app has been uploaded to iTunes. Download the app today or update your version by clicking here... https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/give-a-heart/id470464429

The new version has some improved graphics as seen here on the sign in page. The user interface has also been updated along with the layout to take advantage of the bigger screen on the iPhone 5.

Other major updates have been made in the game:
- new background image
- new blue hearts with x2,x5,x10 written in white (easier to see)
- heart speed has decreased to lighten difficulty level and extend game play
- gold hearts fall every 500 points
- ad banner added to start screen (every click helps sponsor the gold hearts, so click away :)
- various sound effects added when catching hearts
- added background music


App Overview:

Donating to your favorite charities is fun and easy with the new Give a Heart to Charity app. Search for charities by category, learn more about them, and make donations. If your favorite charity isn't listed, send us an email and we’ll add it.

After creating an account, sign in and make a PayPal donation or play the game to get more hearts for free. You receive 10 hearts for every dollar donated which you can then distribute to your favorite charities. At the end of the month, we send checks to all the charities based on how many hearts each received, 10 cents for each heart.
100% of your donation goes to the charities you choose! We do not charge any processing fees or keep any portion of the donations made to other charities through our organization.

The My Hearts page will show how many hearts you've given, list the charities you've donated to, and display your heart awards. Keep a pulse on who everyone is donating to at the Heart Beats page. Want more hearts for free? Play the Heart Game to win hearts you can give to your favorite charities, donated by the monthly sponsor. Quick access buttons throughout the app let you spread the love by posting to Facebook and Twitter, email or sms.

You don’t have to be rich to donate. Do your part by donating as little or as much as you can afford. When everyone chips in, it all adds up to great change for a better world.

Rate It!

Love it? Hate it? Rate it! If you haven't had the chance to rate the app yet, pleeease do and give it 5 stars if you really like it. The more positive ratings and downloads we get, the more it will show up in iTunes for people to find, and the more good we can all do supporting charity work. We're always open to suggestions to make the app even better, so let us know what you think of the changes at give@giveaheart.org.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Blanket and Teddy

Please support this year's holiday project: 

"Blanket and Teddy"

Did you know?

A record high one out of every 45 children - about 1.6 million - in the United States is homeless.

Homelessness affects the emotional health of children, who often lose their toys and belongings, as well as their feeling of safety and security. Providing a homeless child with a new blanket and teddy bear restores a bit of that lost warmth and hope for years to come. Bringing a little joy to their hearts goes a long way toward recuperation and improving their life condition.

Your $5 donation will provide 1 new blanket and teddy bear for a homeless child. Our goal is to deliver 500 blankets and teddy bears to homeless shelters by Christmas day. Many children there do not have parents or their parents cannot provide the type of Christmas that most children enjoy.

Please help make this holiday season brighter for a homeless child by donating on our websiteAndroid appiPhone app, Blackberry app, or with Google's "One Today" app.

We'll post an update to the project after Christmas, so check back to see how your donation helped.

Thank you!



Friday, October 10, 2014

H2O for the Homeless

Thank you to everyone who supported our summer project "H2O for the Homeless"!


Your donations provided 15,000 bottles of water this summer to keep the homeless hydrated!


Google has a great charity app for Android phones called "One Today". You can view our project there by clicking on this link... One Today for H2O for the Homeless ...and you can even donate a dollar if you have a Google account. You can also open the link from your Android phone and donate through the app itself.

The Phoenix Heat Relief Network has stations set up all over town where the homeless can find respite from the 100+ degree Phoenix temperatures and cool off with a cold bottle of water.


Although the summer heat is subsiding, we'll still be stocking up the supply stations throughout the winter in preparation for next summer. So keep the donations coming if you'd like to help out the thirsty homeless.


Everyone can also donate through our own charity app, Give a Heart (slightly better than Google's app we must admit :), on 4 different platforms- Android, iPhone, Blackberry, and our website!

Did you know? On average, 675 people die from complications related to extreme heat each year in the United States - more than all other weather events combined, including hurricanes, tornadoes and blizzards.

Just $1 provides 10 bottles of water to help keep the homeless hydrated during the hot Phoenix summer.

Thank you again to all the volunteers and supporters who helped make this summer project a success!

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Welcome!

Welcome to the Give a Heart blog site where we'll keep you updated on all the latest news about the smartphone apps and current projects helping homeless families and children in Phoenix, AZ.

First a little about our charity...


Mission Statement:

Give a Heart, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing relief and moral support for children who are homeless, hungry, sick or have disabilities. Toward that end, we also provide a website and mobile applications that unite donors and charities around the world to utilize the power of micro-donations in improving the human condition.


About us:

The idea for Give a Heart sprang from the desire to help the many unfortunate children suffering in the world today. By helping to improve children’s life conditions, they and everyone they associate with for the rest of their lives will benefit.

Wanting to utilize today’s technology and social media avenues to achieve the farthest reach, the Give a Heart website and mobile phone apps were created. The idea grew from collecting donations for children in the Phoenix Valley, to including other children’s charities providing aid around the world. In a natural progression, and to make an even greater impact to improve the overall human condition, eventually a variety of charities were included in categories such as animals, disaster relief, environment, and health.

Sometimes people wonder what their little part can do to help. Yet the power of micro donations has been demonstrated over and again. If the 200-some million American adults each gave $1 a month to a charity, a lot of good could come about. The Give a Heart website and mobile phone apps aim to provide a convenient, interactive, and fun way for people to keep their favorite charities in mind in their everyday lives and donate often. Now anyone with a cell phone or computer can do their little part to effect grand change in the world.

The continuing operation of Give a Heart is provided by volunteers and the financial support of the directors. We do not charge any processing fees or keep any portion of the donations made to other charities through our organization. All current donations directed to Give a Heart are committed to supporting homeless centers for children in the Phoenix Valley. Donations are used to purchase shelter supplies and toys and crafts, which are distributed to children that are experiencing a challenging time, physically or emotionally, in their young lives. Bringing a little joy to their hearts goes a long way toward recuperation and improving their life condition.

Visit our website to learn more: www.giveaheart.org