SamsCause.org

Sam Sheffres, a 12-year-old boy from San Diego, California, has been battling juvenile-onset bipolar disorder since the second grade. After attending a fundraiser for research into another illness that strikes children, he asked his parents: "How come no one around here has a fundraiser for kids with bipolar disorder—kids like me?"

Sam decided he would tackle the job himself. He first searched on the Internet and found the Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation. A whiz with computers, he told his father that he wanted to set up an e-commerce Web site and join online retailers' affiliate programs.

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The idea is this: every time someone clicks to his site first and then clicks through to a retailer, advanced software tracks the sales and gives Sam a commission, or referral fee. He calls his site samscause.org, and plans on donating all of his checks to JBRF's research programs. The purchases don't cost the consumer any more than if they'd gone to the retailers' online sites initially.

Sam picked stores he liked (Amazon, The Sharper Image, Petsmart, Overstock.com, Lego.com and others) and says: "The reason I chose the affiliates I did was partly my liking of the companies. Others I chose because they could generate the most commission for the JBRF. I did this by choosing sites by their popularity or their commission percentage."

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When Sam first contacted us at JBRF, we were unsure of how a 12-year-old could assemble such a professional-looking site. We asked Sam to have his parents call us. Imagine our surprise when we got a call the next morning from his mother, Karen who was laughing and said: 'Yes, we do exist! This kid is for real!'"

And so, samscause.org started rolling. As you can imagine, Bob and Karen's friends and family are ordering cameras and televisions, and products for their pets; and we are all buying our books and DVDs, our towels and down quilts, and, of course, our pet supplies through Sam's portal.

And now we want to reach out to you.

This new fundraising technique allows you to contribute to vital JBRF research projects simply by going to samscause.org first and clicking on an online store's logo and shopping for things you need and want.

And every time you do, important research will be supported; and a young man in San Diego, California will feel that he is making a difference--
One click at a time.

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