Help Sprite Refresh our Parks and Get Kids Playing

(Update 5/26/11: The giveaway has been extended to 5/31/11! ) (Update 5/19/11: See below for a new, easy method to enter to win a $100 Shutterfly gift card!) When my twins were little we used to joke about how they needed to be "let out" to run around and get their wiggles out, every single day, rain or shine, as if they were puppies. The day was just not complete until they had a chance to get outside and play. We don't live near a park, so on cold days I was only too happy to open the door and let the boys run out into our gated back yard. I'll never forget the time we realized that a simple latch was no longer enough to keep them in -- at age two, 3Po and Jammy figured out how to ram their Little Tykes car into the gate hard enough to loosen the latch. I only found out about their new little trick when I poked my head out the door and saw them racing down the driveway into the street! Now that they're older, their need for outdoor play is as strong as ever; if anything, it has intensified. As they've grown bigger, our back yard has "shrunk" (I found that out when a missed basketball shot broke our guest bedroom window) -- so I'm really glad that our local school places so much importance on the value of play. The boys get time to play during recess and lunch, PE twice a week, and the school fields are open after school and on weekends. I've found that they are actually more prepared to settle down and concentrate if they've just had a long, satisfying bout of outdoor play, so it's good for more than just getting them to sleep at night -- it's good for their mind, body and soul.
You don't have to believe me; just ask the experts. Studies have shown how play enhances learning skills (along with social and emotional skills) and that physical activity boosts student performance (the New York Times even calls it the "Fourth R"). In fact, play is so important to optimal child development that it has been recognized by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as a right of every child. That's why I'm so happy to blog about Sprite's ongoing effort, Spark Parks, to refresh parks, playgrounds and active spaces across the nation. In April, The Sprite Spark Parks Project is teaming up with Habitat for Humanity to build and refurbish homes and active spaces. Now everyone can help out by collecting special green tabs from Sprite cans!
Here's how it works: 1) Look for Sprite or Sprite Zero cans with green tabs during the month of April. 2) Start collecting Sprite green tabs now and help raise money to build and refurbish homes and active spaces. For each green tab from Sprite or Sprite Zero received by 6/30/2011, Sprite will donate 10 cents per tab, up to $500,000 (Sprite has guaranteed a minimum $250k donation), to Habitat for Humanity. 3) Place the green tabs in a regular or padded envelope. If using a regular envelope, please limit the number of tabs to 20 per envelope. Affix the appropriate postage and check with your post office to confirm the postage if necessary. Mail the tabs by 6/30/2011 to: Sprite Green Tabs PO Box 52666 Knoxville, TN 37950 Visit the official Spark Park Sprite Hub page for more information. How simple is that? I can't wait to start my own green tab collection so we can help other kids reap the benefits of outdoor play! Need a bit more motivation to start collecting those green tabs? How about the thought of an extra $2,000 donation from BlogHer to Habitat for Humanity?! If you upload a photo of your Sprite green tab collection to your blog or Facebook page, then leave a link to your photo in the comments section of this post, BlogHer will donate 10 cents to Habitat for Humanity, up to $2,000! Still need more convincing? How about the chance to win a $100 Shutterfly.com gift card? Win a $100 gift card to Shutterfly.com One lucky Bonggamom Finds winner will receive a $100 Shutterfly.com gift card! To enter, you can do any of the following: (Update 5/26/11: The giveaway has been extended to 5/31/11! ) (Update 5/19/11: I've added a fifth entry method to make it easier than ever to enter! Choose up to two entry methods below.) a) New, easy entry method: Leave a comment telling us how you plan to keep your family in motion this summer. Volunteering, community/team sports, or how about summer camps? Tell us! b) Take a fun photo of your Green Tab collection, upload the photo onto your blog or Facebook page, then leave a comment on this post with a link to the blog/FB post. c) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post. d) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post. e) No Twitter account or blog? Visit the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. As mentioned above, any of these 5 entry methods counts, but it would be awesome if you chose option (b) as one of your entries, because BlogHer is donating 10 cents to Habitat for Humanity for every photo uploaded, up to $2000! Don't have a blog or Facebook account? Don't want to post to yours? No problem! Use mine! Put your photo up on facebook.com/bonggamomfinds! You can also gain an extra entry by completing any of the 4 remaining options, for a total of 2 entries. Entries will be accepted between 5/5/2011 and (new deadline!) 5/31/2011. Don't forget to visit the BlogHer Promotions & Prizes section for more chances to win a $100 Shutterfly gift card. Good luck! Rules: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The official rules are available here Disclaimer: This is a compensated post. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.