Walmart Mom of the Year - Finalists Announced! #MOTY

You may recall me mentioning the new Walmart Mom of the Year program back in May, where we could all nominate our favourite amazing moms. One of these moms will receive $10,000 and have the opportunity to donate $100,000 to the charity of her choice! The other seven finalists each receive $10,000 for their own use and $10,000 to donate to charity as well! A gala at the end of September will celebrate the announcement of this year's Mom of the Year.

16,909 moms were nominated (WOW!), and of those, eight have been selected as finalists. I have no idea how they managed to choose as there were so many truly amazing women nominated. You can read the stories of the finalists on the Mom of the Year website.

I love reading the stories and love the idea. What a great way to support the strength, generosity and ability of moms. Some of their stories brought me to tears. With moms like Tammy MacKinnon, who has fostered over 30 children and done some amazing charitable work to support children around the world. Many of the other finalists are either living with or supporting family members with special needs, diseases, or even donating organs like Karen Whitford did for her aunt, it will be a very tough choice. Luckily each one of these moms benefits from the Mom of the Year program and so does her favourite charity.

This is only the first year of this ongoing campaign - we can look forward to doing it again next year!

Disclosure: I’m part of the Walmart program by Mom Central. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own. Mom of the Year Award: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY Internet access and valid email account required. Nominations open May 10, 2012 to July 8, 2012 for legal residents of Canada over the age of majority.  Entrants cannot nominate themselves. One (1) grand prize available to be won consisting of $10,000 cash, a $100,000 donation by Wal-mart Canada Corp. to charity/cause and a trip to Toronto (ARV $22,000). Seven (7) runner-up prizes available to be won consisting of $10,000 cash, a $10,000 donation to charity/cause and a trip to Toronto (ARV $22,000).  Charity/cause subject to verification and final approval by Wal-mart Canada Corp., at its sole discretion. Odds of winning depend on how the judging panel evaluates each entry according to the criteria. For Official Contest Rules and to nominate an entrant, visit [www.momoftheyear.ca].