American Girl Shine On Now Initiative

American Girl has been a part of my family for a while now. I don't remember American Girl when I was growing up. I was a child in the seventies or at least this was when I would have had an American Girl doll. I didn't have one.

When my son was born, I became firmly convinced that any other child I had would be a boy or boys too. Not sure why but that was my thinking. Fast forward a few years to the birth of my first (now I have two girls) daughter. I was stunned. So stunned that I asked them to make certain in the delivery room.

It took me a while to get into the girl thing. At first, my daughter wore unisex clothes. This lasted about a month or so or until I went shopping for girl clothes. Then it was all girl, all the time.

Suddenly I couldn't get enough of the girl stuff. And this included American Girl. By the age of 1, my child was given her first Bitty Baby and it looked just like her! We became hooked on American Girl.

My daughter wanted (and still wants) to dress like her doll. We go to the American Girl store several times a year for a special lunch or dinner and to shop for her doll. The day my daughter got her ears pierced, her doll got her ears pierced as well. My daughter has even been in the American Girl fashion show put on here by the Junior League every year.

American Girl is definitely a part of our lives. Now my youngest daughter (age 3) has inherited her sister's Bitty Baby and all the great that comes with it. She loves her dolly. She sleeps with her every night.

This year when my oldest daughter turned five, we took her American Girl with us to New York for a special birthday trip. My sister, her daughter and her daughter's American made the trip as well. We had a spa day at the New York American Girl store. It was a blast!

I am really excited to partner with American Girl this year. They have been a part of my family for years and now we are a part of theirs too. I am an official Parent Partner of American Girl and the Shine on Initiative.

American Girl’s mission with the Shine On Now program is to inspire young girls to make a difference in their communities. To do that, they have createdwww.ShineOnNow.com which is launching today, June 28, 2010 an interactive site where girls (with mom’s help) can contribute one star towards four charitable organizations – the National Wildlife Federation, Kids in Distressed Situations, Save the Children and National Association of Children’s Hospitals. American Girl is pledging up to $1M in goods and money based on the number of ‘stars’ girls contribute (there is no cost associated with contributing a star and for each star we will donate $1).

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Check back soon for an exciting American Girl giveaway and other news!