Sample AnnArbor.com in your Facebook news feed and we'll donate $1 to Warm the Children

Update: The challenge ended Dec. 31 at midnight, with a total of 439 new likes on Facebook. Rounding up, AnnArbor.com will donate an additional $500 to Warm the Children.

Have you ever checked out AnnArbor.com on Facebook?

Every day, throughout the day, we post our best stories on our Facebook page, along with interesting photos and questions. If you're active on Facebook, you can like our page to get these posts flowing through your news feed. It's a convenient way to stay in touch with what's going on in your community.

And right now, there's an added bonus to sampling AnnArbor.com in your Facebook news feed. For each new like we receive through Dec. 31, we will donate $1 to Warm the Children. We're starting this challenge with 9,626 fans on Facebook, so any above and beyond that number will translate to dollars for Warm The Children.

As the lead sponsor of the local Warm The Children program, AnnArbor.com absorbs the cost of the overhead needed to coordinate, promote and execute it throughout the year. Our additional program partners play an important role. The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation serves as fiscal sponsor, and United Bank & Trust processes all donations. The program also relies on an army of volunteers to make it successful. Volunteer shoppers handle the vouchers and assist families in shopping, ensuring that parents make wise purchasing decisions.

We have a full-time staff member who dedicates many hours of her time to the program, and we run many stories and advertisements on our site and in the print version of AnnArbor.com. Along with our Warm The Children volunteers in the community, many of our employees also donate or volunteer to help as volunteer shoppers.

How can you participate? First, make sure you "like" AnnArbor.com on Facebook. If you're signed in to Facebook, all you have to do is click the "like" button in the box to the right. Or, you can go to Facebook.com/AnnArborcom and click the "like" button near the top of the page.

Then, tell all of your colleagues, friends and family who use Facebook to "like" our page, too. It's a convenient way for them to stay in touch with what's going on in their community and their action will be supporting Warm the Children.

You can still donate directly to Warm The Children, too. Since AnnArbor.com and its partners absorb all overhead costs, every dollar donated goes directly to buying coats, hats, boots, gloves and other necessary items for children in need. Here's how you can donate:

Thanks for your support of Warm The Children and happy holidays!

Jen Eyer is the Director of Audience Engagement for AnnArbor.com. Contact her at jeneyer@annarbor.com.