Make A Child Smile

CHILD'S PERSONAL WEBSITE:

In order for your child to be featured on MACS, it is required that he/she has his/her own website which we will share with our viewers.

The main reason for this requirement, is that you as the parent, can keep a Journal so that everyone can follow your child's progress and therefore, give you some extra support and prayers when needed.

We strongly suggest that you create either a CaringBridge website or a CarePage website. CaringBridge is preferred, as it usually does not require that people log in (which may decrease the amount of visitors to your child's website).

If you already have a website, it needs to be CURRENT! We will not accept websites that haven't been edited in years (with an old photo and no recent journal updates).

Child's website needs to have a Journal/Updates section.

IMPORTANT: We discourage you from adding personal information to your child's website, such as Last Names; personal Phone Numbers; the Hospital name, address and room number where your child is inpatient; the name of the school which your child attends, etc... REMEMBER: You never know who's reading that information!

MAILBOX ADDRESS:

The MAIN PURPOSE of our website, is for your child to receive POSTAL MAIL (not email). So you need an address for that.

We STRONGLY suggest that you rent a P.O. Box in order to protect your family's privacy and safety. It should not cost more than $50 a YEAR. That's around 14 cents a day!! A small price to pay for your peace of mind.

Visit the USPS website and type in your Zip Code to see prices in your area. Prices vary even in the same area. One Post Office could be a lot cheaper than another one nearby.

If you wish to use your Home Address or other address, you may, AT YOUR OWN RISK, that's why you will be signing the Disclosures on Page 5. Remember that when using a Home Address, there's no way of STOPPING the mail from coming, if you ever wish to NOT receive mail anymore. With a P.O. Box rental, you just close it down and that's it.

P.O. Box Tips:
When you rent a P.O. Box, make sure to leave your mailbox open to ANY NAME. Mail may also come for your child's siblings, so make sure they will accept any name or list all first names (mom, dad, kids) on your mailbox, even nicknames if your child is being featured on MACS using his/her nickname. We will NOT list your child's last name on our website, only the last name initial.

Try renting a mailbox that your child can REACH, so that he/she can retrieve his/her own mail!! Much more exciting, right??!!

You can rent a SMALL mailbox from the United States Postal Service. You don't need to rent the larger sizes, even though your child will receive quite a bit of mail when featured. The Post Office will hold extra mail that does not fit in your mailbox, as long as you pick them up often.

Mailboxes at The UPS Store and similar places, are a lot more expensive than the Post Office.

ATTENTION:
If you plan on renting a P.O. Box, you should wait until you hear back from us, confirming which month your child will be featured, so you can rent the mailbox closer to that time.

BIOGRAPHY:

On Page 6, when you fill out the Online Application Form, you will need to paste a Biography of your child there.

The child's biography should be written by mom or dad. We suggest that you begin the story from birth, then add when and what were the first signs/symptoms of the illness. Then include how and WHEN your child was diagnosed and what your child has been through until today (treatment, surgeries, emotional distress, etc...) Make sure you mention what type of treatment your child is undergoing and for how long.

Please explain your child's illness and medical terms in simple words so that everyone can understand (and learn!).

We STRONGLY suggest that you write the Biography before you fill out the Online Application on Page 6, and save it!!! If you write it while you're there, and the Form gives you an error or your browser crashes, you'll have to write it all over again.

IMPORTANT: Biographies NEED to have a minimum of 3,000 characters and no more than 7,500 characters. THIS PAGE will count characters for you. Believe it or not, 3,000 characters is not much.