It’s the final day of my 12 Days of Charitable Giving. Readers have suggested deserving charities over the past few weeks and I’ll be posting one a day for – well, 12 days (I’m clever that way). Today’s charity is Lexi’s LAMB (sometimes referred to as Lexi’s LAMB Foundation).
Alexis Christine Sparks was born eight weeks premature on June 30, 2006. When Alexis was about a week old, she became extremely sick from a common intestinal infection which affects many preemies. She would spend the next few months fighting an array of illnesses, including pneumonia, and facing a number of surgeries. On December 11, 2006, her heart became weak and she passed away.
Lexi’s LAMB was established in early 2007 in memory of Alexis Christine Sparks in order to help other special needs children. After watching Alexis fight a daily battle, Alexis’ family wanted to help other children and their families through their own trials and tribulations.
LAMB stands for Little Angel Memorial Benefit. The hospital where Alexis, or Lexi, spent most of her time made a space called Lexi’s Closet, which is kept filled with toys and activities year round. The organization works with hospital staff to meet their needs, whether they need sippy cups, bouncers, underwear, or socks. The organization also keeps welcome bags and activity kits on hand at the hospital for new admissions.
On Christmas Eve, Lexi’s LAMB goes to the hospital with Santa and Mrs. Claus, as well as wagons full of presents for the kids as well as parent bags and goodies for the nurses. The Easter Bunny also makes an appearance the day before Easter, courtesy of Lexi’s LAMB. In 2016, the organization partnered with a small hospital in a nearby county to provide activity kits for children.
Lexi’s hopes to spread the cheer around since being sick in the hospital on a holiday is no fun.
So how can you help?
To make a donation by debit or credit card through Paypal, click here.
You can also shop your way to supporting Lexi’s LAMB. To shop through AmazonSmile, simply go to smile.amazon.com from the web browser on your computer or mobile device – or straight from Lexi’s website. Select a charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping: eligible products will be marked “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on their product detail pages. The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization that you choose. Keep in mind that you’re shopping just like normal and you’re paying the same price as you would normally: as a result, donations are made by the AmazonSmile Foundation and are not tax deductible by you.
Lexi’s does accept in-kind gifts. They have specifically such items as bouncer seats and swings for babies (need to be able to remove the cloth or plastic covers so that they can be washed); new stuffed animals and toys; new craft supplies such as markers, crayons, coloring books, colored pencils, stickers, construction paper, glue sticks, play-doh, and scrapbook kits. You can find the entire list here. Remember that you can deduct the cost of in-kind items donated to a qualifying charitable organization: be sure to get an acknowledgment and have supporting documentation handy at tax time.
As always, you want to make sure that your donation is going to a qualified charitable organization. A search using the IRS’ Exempt Organizations Select Check reveals that Lexi’s Lamb Little Angel Memorial Benefit is on the list. Don’t be thrown by the word “Foundation” in the common name: the charity is registered as a public charity. You can check the status on Select Check by clicking on the initials found in the deductibility status column. A “PC” means public charity while a private foundation would be listed as “PF” (a “POF” is a private operating foundation). You can find a list of abbreviations used to describe the organizations here.
To find out more about the work of the organization, check out their website. You can also follow them on Twitter.
I often suggest checking out third-party sites like Charity Navigator for more information about charitable organizations, including evaluations and access to tax forms and other financials. Lexi’s LAMB is not rated by Charity Navigator because it is not required to file a form 990 (this is typically determined by gross revenue received). You can find out more about how to evaluate charities not listed on the site by using Charity Navigator’s handy guide here.
Remember: submissions to the 12 Days of Charitable Giving are made by readers and in most cases, I can’t personally vouch for the good work that these folks do. So be generous. But be smart. Do your homework.
For more on making charitable donations, check out this prior post.
Thank you so much for featuring Lexi’s LAMB Foundation in your 12 Days of Giving 2016. We greatly appreciate it. A few days ago we made our 10th annual Christmas Eve visit with Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and Elf. 🙂