xtra xtra is always developing new partnerships with non-profit organizations that support our local communities. As a site dedicated to announcements and milestones, we admire the tremendous work that these non-profits do in our neighborhoods and cities. We’ve featured some of these partners in the past, and today we’re excited to introduce you to another incredible organization that’s doing tremendous work in the Boston area.

The Massachusetts Iraq & Afghanistan Fallen Heroes Memorial Fund (MIAFHM) is a nonprofit organization with a really special mission. This group is working tirelessly to create a permanent memorial for the men and women from Massachusetts who have given their lives in military service since September 11th. The organization includes combat veterans, Gold Star families, firefighters and police officers, and others dedicated to honoring those who have fallen in battle.

The MIAFHM was founded in 2010, and they are currently working to find a site for the memorial. Fundraising plans are in motion, and of course you can make a donation at their website, www.massfallenheroes.org. A traveling interactive memorial has been created that features photos, videos, and information about those who have given their lives in service. You can see the memorial in towns across the state, and it also makes frequent appearances at the State House in an effort to raise awareness about these heroes’ sacrifices.

In the coming months, xtra xtra will help the MIAFMH promote events and fundraisers, and we’ll also be hosting advertisements to assist in the organization’s fundraising efforts. We have always been proud to feature comprehensive military announcements on our site, and we view these efforts with the MIAFMH as another step in helping communities across the country celebrate and honor their local heroes.

Above you can view a special video from the Massachusetts Iraq & Afghanistan Fallen Heroes Memorial Fund. We hope you’ll also visit their website to learn more about the program and donate to support their efforts.

The xtra xtra team is always busy promoting our site for hometown announcements, but we’re also working with people to find the perfect way to celebrate their milestones and achievements. We do this by attending local events, networking with milestone-minded businesses, and reaching out on our Facebook and Twitter accounts. We also connect with brides and grooms by writing a recurring column at WedLoft, the official blog of our good friends and partner, Wedding Window.

We’ve enjoyed guest-blogging with this fun destination for brides and grooms-to-be, and we wanted to take a moment and share a few of our posts with you.

• Adorable Announcements!—Set the tone for the wedding way before your guests arrive by using bright designs and invitations. We offer examples in this colorful blog post.
• Make the Shower a Couples Affair—Learn about the perks and fun of a couples shower as you look forward to celebrating your wedding milestone.
• Our Favorite Proposal Videos—We compiled clever proposal videos from YouTube and shared our favorites in one sweet and sentimental post.
• Why Share Your Announcements Online?—We make the case for creating online announcements and urge brides and grooms to use the web as they celebrate their big day.

Take a look at these posts, and then explore the other great posts and entries at WedLoft. We have more posts coming soon, so stay tuned for further updates!

One of xtra xtra’s New Year’s Resolutions was to continue building partnerships with high schools, colleges, and universities. These schools have stories and events that need to be shared with communities all across the country, and they need easy and accessible tools to do it. That’s why we’re inviting your favorite schools and alma maters to share their stories at xtraxtra.com!

As you likely know, xtra xtra hosts unique announcement pages for over 30,000 schools. You can visit xtra xtra, search for your school, and find the latest announcements from your fellow classmates. We’re creating partnerships with schools so we can make their content more accessible by featuring it on xtra xtra. This means your favorite campus headlines could be a click away on your alma mater’s xtra xtra page, and you could then share them on Facebook, Twitter, and via email to spread the word even farther.

We know budgets are tight, but we also know that students and faculty continue to achieve new successes with each passing day, and those are stories that deserve a spotlight. We look forward to working with colleges, universities, and high schools from around the country.

If you want to find more of your classmates’ headlines, encourage your alma mater to share their news with xtra xtra. You can also create your own announcements and tag them to the schools that are connected to the story.

Til next time,
CH

Lots of couples planned their weddings for October 10^th (10-10-10), but there are still many more engaged couples who are making arrangements for memorable ceremonies. If you’re planning a wedding, here are a few tools and resources you should check out…

• Wedding Window—This site is one of xtra xtra’s favorite partners, and they feature fantastic resources for couples sharing their wedding plans with family and guests. Create acustomized website for your wedding to keep everyone in the loop, and use their privacy settings to make your wedding website an intimate affair or a community event.
• The Wedding Event—If you’re about to tie the knot in Boston, you won’t want to miss The Wedding Event at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on October 17. The event in Wellesley will introduce you to local vendors and resources to ensure that your wedding is unforgettable. Get goodies and ideas from a variety of local vendors while trading secrets with other brides in the area. Our friends from Beantown Bride will be there, too, so you know it’s going to be a classy affair.
• Blogs Abound—Use blogs to get ideas and inspiration. Beantown Bride offers fabulous tools and photos from creative brides and grooms, while WedLoft.com features insights from wedding professionals that will make your big day all the more memorable. You also don’t want to miss Style Me Pretty, which offers breathtaking images and inspiration for your wedding.

What are your favorite wedding resources? Share them in a comment below, and don’t forget to create your free wedding announcement at xtraxtra.com, too!

Till next time,
CH

Keith Toffling is one of our favorite local photographers, and we’re excited to feature photos from his collection on our blog. His work has taken him to different venues and events, and we were delighted to discover all of the milestones represented in his portfolio.

We always encourage xtra xtra users to add images to their milestones, so we’re spotlighting a few of his photos to demonstrate how a good picture can give a milestone new meaning. Whether it’s a community event, an intimate wedding, or a splashing good time on a hot summer day, Keith has been there to catch life’s special milestones. Click the image below to see some of his fantastic photographs on Flickr!

We wanted to get better acquainted with the artist behind the camera, so we asked Keith a few questions.

Communities You’ve Called Home
Tyngsboro, Amherst, and many of its surrounding towns

Schools You’ve Attended
Tyngsboro High School and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (B.S in Animal Science and completing an M.S. in Wetland Ecology)

How did you get involved in photography?
As long as I can remember growing up I was always interested in clicking and capturing the moment.

What’s your favorite part about being a photographer?
Using the art and science of photography to create images that trigger a response

What’s an exciting challenge you face in your work?
Creating a unique perspective and image that will satisfy my expectations as well as the customer or the members involved.

What’s one of the best milestones you’ve caught on film?
The Red Sox pennant clinch in 2008 was very cool to witness and to capture the celebration at Fenway.

Tell us about a photo shoot or event that was particularly memorable.
When I was in Alaska visiting the Hubbard Glacier this past June I was fortunate enough to witness a glacier calving. This was the equivalent to seeing a 10 story building come crashing into the bay.

If you’d like to view more of Keith’s work, visit his Flickr page. You can also contact him on his Facebook page.

Til next time,

The xtra xtra team

We are excited to announce our partnership with The Boston Globe and Boston.com.  xtra xtra is extremely proud of its Boston roots, and we are happy to kick off our first newspaper partnership with a prestigious publication from our own backyard. This relationship will deliver more local announcements to Boston.com readers, and it also means more attention for your milestones at xtra xtra!

We’ve been working with the Globe for several months to develop a partnership that will connect our local announcements to one of the largest news outlets in the region.  Their Your Town sites are already putting a spotlight on the busy communities surrounding Boston. This partnership will make your milestones part of the buzz!

What the Partnership Means For Our Friends in the Boston Area

• Heightened visibility for your milestones in your favorite communities
• More users and more posts for you to enjoy
• A stronger connection to a trusted media publisher
• Access the local content you crave at Boston.com

Wondering how to find us at Boston.com? xtra xtra is now powering Your Town announcements, so you can find us wherever announcements are posted.  Milestones that are tagged to any of those towns will now appear on the corresponding Your Town page. This means greater visibility for our milestones and more user-created local content created at Boston.com.

Find the latest postings in the local announcements section.

xtra xtra milestones are also available in the left column of the “News” section in a Your Town site.

Clicking “Powered by xtra xtra” or “Submit Your Announcement” will take you to the local xtra xtra page that is sponsored by Boston.com. Here’s the Milton page as an example.

This is big news for us, and whether you’re in Boston or Seattle, it’s big news for you, too. Help us celebrate this victory by sharing a milestone today, and please let us know if you have any questions about this partnership and what it means for your xtra xtra experience!

Best,

The xtra xtra team (and Boston.com!)

The xtra xtra team got some exciting news today. We’re officially partnering with Boston.com, the official website of The Boston Globe. This partnership will complement Boston.com’s hyperlocal “Your Town” pages, which offer an insider’s look at the towns and communities in the greater Boston area. Today, the contract was signed, and we will officially kick off the partnership within the next few weeks!

This is big news for xtra xtra. We have always planned to create newspaper and media partnerships, and we are excited to have our first one ready for launch. It will help us bring more local announcements to different communities across the country, and we hope you’ll join us by sharing your announcements and events for free on our site.

Keep an eye on our blog. We’ll be hosting many exciting contests and giveaways as we celebrate the launch of our cobranded page with Boston.com and their Your Town pages. We hope it’s the first of many partnerships we’ll form with communities across the country, and we look forward to everything that’s still to come.

What else are we looking forward to? Game 7 of the NBA Finals tonight!! How do you think it will end—will the Celtics take the banner back to Boston, or will the LA Lakers score a win at home?

Till next time (and go Celtics!),

CH

When I was a kid, the coolest birthday parties in town were held at the skating rink. They were evenings of breathless fun, 90s pop music, and cake-fueled sugar highs. We gave each other Beanie Babies, board games, Silly String, and posters of the Backstreet Boys (again, it was the 90s). We were excited and exhilarated, but we didn’t really realize how lucky we were.

There are many kids who don’t get that sort of thrill on their birthdays. For children in poverty and those in need, a birthday wish is just that: a wish.

Cheerful Givers has been helping to make those wishes come true since 1994. This nonprofit organization is one of xtra xtra’s earliest partners, and we continue to be inspired by all of the work they are doing for children in need. Based in Minnesota with a reach across the country, Cheerful Givers organizes special gift bags so that parents living in poverty can give their kids a special birthday.

You can get involved to make a child’s birthday a milestone to remember. Invite some people over and make it a group effort with a Birthday Bag Blitz! You can also get involved in your community by delivering your bags to a local shelter to make birthday dreams come true. Let Cheerful Givers know where you donated them so they can keep track of the impact they’re making on these special birthdays, and don’t forget to follow them on Twitter!

Till next time,

CH

xtra xtra has a “sweet” new advertising partner! Cakes for Occasions is a gourmet bakery located in Danvers, Massachusetts. They are creating delicious baked goods for the North Shore, but they also ship their treats to 48 states and make sugary dreams come true with delectable cakes, cookies, and pastries.

Cakes for Occasions has received a lot of attention since its early beginnings in owner Kelly Delaney’s family kitchen. The bakery produces over 700 wedding cakes each year, and Delaney is regarded as a national baking expert. Customers from across the country turn to Cakes for Occasions for colorful desserts that make anniversaries, showers, birthdays, and other milestones all the more memorable.

I was particularly interested in Cakes for Occasions’ Resume Cookies, which have been featured on The Today Show, CNBC, and a variety of news outlets throughout the northeast. These 8.5×11” cookies feature your resume on edible sugar paper, so they are sure to make a memorable (and delicious!) impression on a potential employer. We hope folks will create a professional milestone at xtra xtra if their Resume Cookies help them get a new job!

We’re so excited to be working with Cakes for Occasions. Find them on Facebook or Twitter, and be sure to visit their website and see what gourmet goodies might find their way to your table.

Till next time,

CH

As xtra xtra reaches more users in more communities, we’ve been working hard to create partnerships with nonprofit organizations. We’re seeking out organizations that connect to our milestone categories. You might remember a post about Iridescent, a partner focused on academic achievements, and we’re also working with the Boys and Girls Club of Boston, Cheerful Givers, and other organizations.

Today we’re highlighting our newest partner. Room to Grow has offices in New York and Boston, and it’s on a mission to help babies born into poverty. Parents participating in Room to Grow programs get valuable one-on-one support and important items to help their babies grow and thrive in the first three years of infancy. Room to Grow makes a three year commitment to its clients, and the organization’s eagerness to celebrate and enrich the birth of a new baby makes it important to xtra xtra.

At xtra xtra, users can create free birth announcements on the site, and we invite people to share their favorite baby pictures with the community, as well. We’re dedicated to the moments and memories that make life so wonderful, so we’re excited to be working with Room to Grow as it ensures the promise of new possibilities to the next generation.

Volunteers and families work together at Room to Grow

Want to help Room to Grow? The organization always needs new donations for moms and their babies, and of course you can donate funds, as well, to help the organization continue its cause. You can also volunteer your time to help sort donations. There are lots of great ways to get involved, so check out the possibilities. You can also follow them on Twitter at @RoomtoGrowBos.

Till next time,

CH