Food for Fines

Do you have library fines? Don't worry, no one is judging you. The good news is you have a chance to repent for your evil late book returning ways!

For the month of September, if you live in Jefferson County, Alabama you can exchange a can of food for every dollar you have in fines! This is so great because you give to the needy, pay off your debts and save money doing it too!

Just grab some non-perishable food from your stockpile and ta-da! All is well with the world!

Most libraries around the country have a program like this to pay off fines. Call your local library and ask when their food for fines program is.

Free Immunizations For Your Kids

Immunizations can get really expensive! Even if you have health insurance the co-pays can really add up. Did you know that you can get free immunizations for your kids?

Jefferson County here in Alabama has a program called Tot Shots. Each month at various places around town (mostly churches) nurses from area hospitals as well as nurses from the health department administer immunizations to children.

How it works: You call or go to the website and find the location and time of the Tot Shot Clinic near you. Clinics are held several places each month. Bring your child's prior immunization forms and they will give your child the immunizations that they need for their age. There is no financial hardship requirement or insurance necessary. Even if you have insurance you are welcome. Anyone is allowed to participate in this program. There is usually a short wait 15-30 minutes. They are very professional and take good care of the children. They also record and send the immunization information to your child's doctor. If you are not happy with the program you are not obligated to continue with it. But I would strongly recommend continuing to get immunizations through your family doctor.

If you don't live in Jefferson County, Alabama, call your local health department or ask your pediatrician for information about your areas' immunization program. Many health departments offer free or greatly discounted immunizations for children.

Don't allow your children to be unprotected from disease just to save cash. Check out programs like these and you will be glad you did.

Free Books for Your Preschooler

Dolly Parton has created a wonderful foundation for children called Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

What it is: It is a program for preschool age children to receive a free book once a month.

Who can sign up: Any child ages 0-5 who lives in an area that participates in the program.

How it works: This description was taken directly from her site:

"A community must make the program accessible to all preschool children in their area. The community pays for the books and mailing, promotes the program, registers the children, and enters the information into the database.
From there The Dollywood Foundation takes over and manages the system to deliver the books to the home."

How to sign up: Visit her website . You can sign up and get all details there.

How I feel about it: My daughter is a participant and I think it is great! Each month she gets a new book in the mail. It is a lot of fun. They are very nice quality books and age appropriate. Thank you Dolly! We love reading your books!

WIC Program

What it is: WIC stands for Women, Infants and Children, and is a prenatal and post natal nutrition program provided by the government.

How it works: After you go through the initial application and process to sign up (see site for details) you are given "checks" each month with the items that you are able to purchase, appropriate to age. Each check will have a list and quantity of what you can get. You simply get the items on the list and use the check to pay for them. Most stores are participants. Items include, formula, juice, milk, cheese, tuna, beans, cereal.

Who is eligible:
Women:
pregnant (during pregnancy and up to 6 weeks after the birth of an infant or the end
of the pregnancy)
postpartum (up to six months after the birth of the infant or the end of the pregnancy)
breastfeeding (up to the infant's first birthday)

Infants: (up to the infant's first birthday)

Children:(up to the child's fifth birthday)

*There are also income guidelines. Many people are surprised that they qualify. Check out this chart to see if you are one of them.

What I think about it: I think that this is a great program to help parents give their children the nutrition they need. Especially young parents who struggle to make ends meet. You can save your family a lot of money, especially on things like formula and dairy. It is also a fairly simple program to sign up for and participate in. If you are hesitant to use a government program remember this, you pay (or will pay) a lot in taxes, also it is not fair to your child to withhold nutrition in an attempt to save money. If you need it, use it!