Jon and Kate express their appreciation for how fortunate they are to have all their needs met, so this holiday season they want to give back to others who are not as fortunate. The whole family visits a children's hospital to give holiday gifts.
There is also an article on the St. Jude's website entitled: "Jon & Kate Plus 8 visits St. Jude to teach their children about giving."
238 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 238 of 238You haven't shown their show doesn't support the local economy,
Saint you have stated that the Gosselins did this I am simply telling you that they didn't pay for it.
Then join with me and applaud the Gosselins for: You came here staing that not me. My point was never to say that this show did not bring money and advertising to PA businesses. Is that the new mission statement for the show, to promote PA tourism? Geesh. YOU and only you made it seem as they paid for it all. It doesnt matter who paid for it to me unless you keep banging the idea that J&K alone did it.
Please drop the PM notions because I never believed or understood one thing about any of that.
I never made an issue out of how they went when or why. But I ask you to refrain from demanding I believe they paid for it when in fact we know different in some of the cases. Not all but some.
Now you are crabbing about stuff people donated when they were in need?
I was answering a post from Paula that stated I showed nothing they received free, plain and simple, no crabbing but since when is stating fact crabbing?
nc resident You haven't proven that they got anything for free. Let's see the hard facts, not your supositions.
Since I already inadvertently made you mad let me ask you these questions?
How do people know where to send those gifts seen two weeks ago, on the yard sale episode?
Why didn't they just sell part of those toys, and give the rest (they could have kept back and unopened) to St. Judes?
Because it was a commercial Saint, it benefited a wonderful charity but KMart and Gymboree are St Jude sponsors. Kate as a spokesperson for Kmart went I would think because they were asked to go. But the notions J&K give back just doesn't seem to ring true. If the show would have said J&K (Kate is our spokesperson) of the hit reality show J&K + 8 were asked of Kmart to visit St Judes and deliver toys I would have no problem at all with that concept.
Kate said in the episode when they "found out we were going" to St Judes. How did they find out must not have been their idea then.
You seem determined to see the Gosselins in the worst possible light. That is the point you have finally made.
If by stating facts it shows that then it is what it is. But it was never my intent to lie about them to make them look bad. But, I refuse to lie or exagerate or let the scales fall on their behalf just to make them look great either.
Anya I apologize I am done.
Do you realize nc resident that you make very little sense?
Seriously, it isn't worth it. It is a television show. If you have no personal interest in these people then do yourself a favor and turn it off.
If you've got a personal interest in these people that is more than what you've stated, please tell us so that we can understand what is behind your ire.
Anyone who is bothered by the focus of this topic being more about Jon and Kate vs. the good the show did in providing a spotlight for St. Jude's, save yourself the aggravation and please don't read any further. 1) The topic of this post is to discuss the show, which is what I've been doing, 2) I've already stated in my original post the good I think Jon and Kate did by showcasing St. Jude's (and I even paid Jon and Kate a compliment by saying that I do think they we a good choice to bring the gifts to St. Jude's - I'm sure the parents and the kids alike got a kick out of meeting them), 3) my issue with this episode really has less to do with this actual episode and more to do with a reoccurring theme that I see taking place and 4) I really was sincere in asking Nina to consider a post regarding favorite charities that would have no negative comments in it. I can understand why the negativity in these posts bother some of you, and I hope that Nina seriously considers my idea so you can have a more peaceful place to talk about the good things regarding the charities people support.
Saint, I agree it hasn't been proven 100% that Banana Republic supplies the Gosselins with clothes (and made a point to say that.) However, I did notice pretty early in the show that the kids were always dressed in nice Gymboree or Gap clothes, at a time I believe they indicated they were struggling financially. I am assuming that both companies have donated clothes in exchange for advertising which is why the kids were wearing higher end clothes and not Wal-Mart or Kmart (personally, I'm a big fan of Kmart's Wonder Kids line.) Since Banana Republic and Gap have the same parent company, it's not that far of a stretch that Gap is outfitting the parents too. In addition, it's been discussed many times when something is shown on the show, and not blurred out, it's a good indication that the product is a sponsor on the show. Jon and Kate spent a long time in Banana Republic, and the name of the store wasn't blurred out, which again makes me believe it's eminently reasonable that the company is providing clothes for them. (I am totally stealing Guin's phrase "eminently reasonable".)
My assumption has nothing to do with Julie, Penn Mommy or rumors, just based on the facts I just mentioned. However, Saint, I will say that I am viewing Jon and Kate less harsh than I used to when I believed Penn Mommy was really who she said she was.
Guin, I keep going back to why the Roloffs don't bother me as much as the Gosselins and what it comes down to for me is that Roloffs seem more genuine and real than Jon and Kate. I feel as if the show sort of brings these criticisms on itself because Jon and Kate are too packaged and filled with blatant commercials and freebies wrapped up in the show. I know we are not going to agree on this, but when you think all people are doing is searching for petty inconsistencies to pick on, I'm thinking why does Jon and Kate's shows that have so many of these inconsistencies?
For me it's not the consignment issue but more along the lines of Jon stating that they can't afford to take the kids out on more than one 1-on-1 day a year. Again this is something we disagree about, but using the same logic as above - essentially that the places they took the kids to were not blurred out so I'm guessing the locations paid some sort of fee/free services in exchange for appearing on the show - which means the 1-on-1 days costs the Gosselins nothing at all. I don't think it's for evil purposes but I don't think it's honest either. If it happened one time, I think blaming the editing of the show would be a possibility, but it's happened too many times for it to be the sole responsibility of the production company.
Everyone mentioned in this episode is tied into one another - there are no degrees of separation, which automatically makes me think of a PR move for all parties involved (having worked in PR, maybe I'm more judgemental than most.) And I'm going to use my Judge Judy defense - if they used the money from the garage sale to buy the toys for St. Jude's why wouldn't they say so in the episode? There's a natural tie-in between the 2 shows. Jon and Kate talked about how many toys they were able to donate, so again that is a natural segue way. I believe people want to see the Gosselin's give back, which would be the purpose of both these shows so why would the production company editted it out? But they didn't mention it, which leads me to believe they did something else with the money - maybe they donated the money to a local children's charity instead?
Msref - I'm sorry to hear about your family issues. I hope things turn around for your son and his future wife really soon.
Mom - I hope your nephew stays strong!
NC resident...please for the love of all of our eyes, use the html bold or italics when posting another poster's words. My head is spinning after reading this War and Peace of yours.
thanks.
I am not trying to stifle discussion, but I was really hoping after Mom's heartfelt post, we could get back to talking about the actual episode and/or St. Judes. Instead we are arguing over whether the Gosselins received free diapers four years ago. This discussion just feels out of place to me and I don't think anyone is going to change their minds at this point, so I would love if we could put this topic to rest.
You know, you are right. I am always up for a debate; I think that's pretty obvious. And I certainly don't want people to feel that we're the type of site that only allows one opinion. But for myself, I don't feel like arguing about this particular time in this particular thread any more. It was a great show, it showcased a great charity, and IMO those facts combined with the fact that it's a little more than a week before Christmas make me feel like I'd rather just focus on positives for the moment.
I was just thinking about how cute and sweet the Gosselin kids were last night talking to the St. Jude's kids on the video link. It reminded me that I'd be really interested to see them interact with other kids on the show.
I am going to take a quiet moment tonight and send my best wishes out into the universe for all of the sick children at St. Jude's and everywhere.
BTW Guin -
I thought it was so cute when Alexis or Leah (I can't remember which one) was kind of yelling into the closed circuit television saying,
"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"
I also thought it was so cute when the kids would see their parents over the television and say,
"There's Mommy!"
I'm beginning to think that the Gosselins *did* purchase the toys for St. Judes, and instead of letting Jon/Kate say that on air, the producers purposely left that detail out to add controversy and drama.
It would be nice to see/hear Jon and Kate sitting on the couch saying "we believe in helping kids with pediatric cancer so we're donating our fees from this episode to St. Judes." However, they don't have to do that, and even if they did, there will still be speculation about the sincerity of their gift.
Quiltart -
You mentioned "perpetual" gift. I love that. What a great way to summarize this episode.
AAP -
I can relate to several points you have made in your most recent posts about marketing/pr/sponsors, etc. I think this topic is a hot button issue for folks on both sides of the Gosselin fence and honestly think it might make for a good stand-alone topic for discussion.
Beatrice -
I believe many things are "edited" out and in on this show. Maybe K did say something about Kmart, maybe she didn't. The fact is we'll never know. This, as you know, leaves everything open for speculation. Thanks for bringing up that poing. :-)
I meant to say "point." LOL.
One thing that keeps bugging me is the fact that people keep wondering what the garage sale money was used for, if you watch the show you will know that they gave that money to Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation (Sunshine something or other). It was not only mentioned in during the garage sale show but also on their website after the garage sale.
I also believe that Jon and Kate purchased the toys at Kmart and that maybe Kmart or figure 8 or TLC someone matched the toys purchased. It was mentioned that Jon and the kids each picked out 3 toys each..that would be 27 toys, but it was mentioned that they wrapped 60....so to me I figure that someone else gave some toys. Course this is just my opinion.
I also think that they leave out some important details on purpose, I watch the webisodes on TLC on occasion and they show clips that have not been aired on the show. Things we have never seen. Also sometimes the editing isn't so great on the show and you can see they change where they edit or you can hear that it was edited.
I watch this show weekly with 2 friends of mine and I just want to say that they are clueless about what goes on in the blog world of Jon and Kate Plus 8, they know nothing of these blogs. I have never mentioned it to them because I like to see their reaction to a show and then read about other people's reactions. They both enjoy the show (as do I) and they comment on things that bug them. They don't comment on the things blurred out or not blurred out, they know that some things sponser TLC or the show and others don't.
They never questioned who bought the toys or about Kate reading to the kids...I think one mentioned oh the movie must be a sponser cause all the kids had the mouse, but that was it.
Majority of the viewers know nothing of the online controversy concerning this show and don't think twice about it after the show has aired. Onlly those of us who for some reason or another did a search of Jon and Kate and got sucked into blog world are aware of it all.
Love the family and the show! Hate the haters of the family and show.
Thank you for your good wishes and prayers. I apologize for my little rant. I have been guilty of spreading negativity here and I apologize. I guess I needed something to put things into perspective. I also submitted a similar post to GWOP but it didn't make the cut. I have to say, I used to read and post there but yesterday's postings are just off the wall. I still think the G's need to hang up the tv show but they did a good thing for St. Jude's on Monday night. I have a family member who worked for an ABC affiliate in the Phila Market. Over 30 years ago, a certain game show host MC'd a telethon for a local charity. You should have seen his list of demands for airfare, housing, meals, etc. Fast foward 30 years, the proformers at Live Aid in Philadelphia were comped thousands of dollars worth of clothes, hotels, etc. to feed hungry children.
So what if Jon and Kate didn't pay a cent from their personal income to do this trip? I believe that even if they didn't, they are still "giving back" in terms of their visit, highlighting St. Jude's on their show, etc. Personally, it doesn't make a whit of difference to me who paid the bills. And I haven't read one thing here or "there" that would make me change my mind. Who cares what pocket the donation came from? It was a positive thing for the kids and for St. Jude's.
Every reality show has sponsors. It isn't a question of being explicitly stating what has been sponsored and what hasn't. No show does that!
There is a saying in the medical research fundraising community...
A rising tide raises all boats.
When you fund one organization, you help them all especially when it comes to cancer research.
St. Jude's does so many wonderful things for children's illnesses and they are a great charity to support.
To begin to chastize the Gosselin's for what they could have done instead is nothing short of RIDICULOUS. B/c of this visit to St. Jude's (haven't seen the epi so not sure what they donated), was nothing short of a wise use of their time..paid or not.
To say that noone in PA in their community will benefit from this "damage control" is...stupid.
Sick children enjoy visits from anyone who can put a smile on their face--and it makes them get through another day of the struggle to get well.
You don't know what it will take sometimes to help a child heal from a devestating cancer or disease. But one things for certain--that smile travels father than any dollar that I know of.
Children and adults in PA will benefit in one way or another.
The most ideal in this case would be if the kids in PA don't benefit at all b/c that would mean they won't have to deal with deadly cancers and illnesses.
It is petty, awful, and cruel to suggest where someone's charitible givings should go.
If you don't approve of the G's, just don't watch.
If you don't approve their choice of charity, noone is tying you down and forcing you to donate.
I can't wait to watch the episode. It will further my agenda in teaching them about caring for other people and giving.
Lessons evidently that some folks as adults haven't gotten, yet if they think it is okay to criticize others.
Live and let live.
A-Mom-ynous, THANK YOU. That was so well put. I agree completely- there is a ripple effect when people help each other.
I also agree that no matter what J & K do, no matter how many charities they give to or thank you's they speak, there will always be people who make the choice to see the negative side. That is unfortunate.
loven up the gosselins said...
"Love the family and the show! Hate the haters of the family and show."
No need to "hate" the haters IMO. They are entitled to their opinion. I don't understand it and I think a lot of their comments illuminate more about *their own* psyche than they they reveal about J&K's shortcomings....
As A Mom-ynous said..."live and let live." (I will be working on that one the rest of my life, but will keeping trying.)
I got stuck in a conversation with another on the first page of this thread, and never actually wrote what I liked about the program this week:
*Mady's wrapping. She was so cute.
*Kate's demeanor/smile/cheerfulness visiting with the sicker children in their rooms. I liked her smile and calling herself a nurse. Once a nurse, always a nurse.
*The truck box was broken! I LOVED it. There is NO WAY my kids would have easily given away those toys. We would have had more than one toy "tested." The Gosselin boys are really cute.
*Kate saying, "The end!" in the middle of the book because, well, it was bedtime, and there was no way she was finishing it, and they weren't really listening all that well, and she was done with that product endorsement. It was the best, most natural part of that scene, and it made me laugh.
*Jon talking about worrying for those ducks.
*The cancer survivor who provided the St. Jude's tour for them. She was young and pretty and exceedingly positive, and she gave off a really great vibe. She was a nice addition to the show.
*That little girl in the pink dress. I hope we see her again on the show, like a special 25 years from now.
NC Resident,
I see that on GWoP you said you had a bad week blogging and were bashed here. I didn't really enjoy our back and forth either since I feel you want me to defend a position I haven't taken. I also didn't care for your calling me angry when I'm not. When I am angry, I just don't talk (or post,) the better to watch my tongue, and avoid well, what Catholics call "the near occasion of sin." You barely tempted me.
Anyway, I hope you have a better week next week.
And here is info on bolding text using the acceptable HTML codes. If I were to actually type what you need to type, it won't post correctly, because it would read the code and hide the special characters. Here's a link, skip the first half of that page, scroll down the page for the chart and type what you see.
And here's an explanation as if I were talking you through it, since some people find that easier:
To bold text,
type the < key and follow it with the letter b then follow that with the > key. That's called the opening tag.
Then, type the word or phrase or paste the comment you want bolded.
Then, type the < again, then the / then the > again. That's called the closing tag.
If you want to italicize instead of bold, replace the letter b with the letter i.
If you want to do both at the same time, do the opening bold tag followed by the opening italics tag, type what you want, then follow with the end tag for italics and then the end tag for bold.
Hope that helps.
Links are also on the chart, and not hard either once you "get" the bold, which you will.
.please for the love of all of our eyes, use the html bold or italics when posting another poster's words. My head is spinning after reading this War and Peace of yours.
Too funny, Kristi!
Had to try it myself. Thanks for helping the computer challenged like me, Saint.
Saint said:
Anyway, I hope you have a better week next week.
I did not enjoy our banter either and more over I didn't feel the fault lay with you being mad as much as I might have been the cause. But either way you and everyone else here have a wonderful Christmas.
Just for your eyes Kristi
NC resident...please for the love of all of our eyes:
Well done, NC Resident!
You'll be sending links by the time St. Nick hits the beaches in Hawaii! :)
You see? This is why I like it here. People can disagree or go back and forth, talk about it, and move on.
...and learn how to bold stuff! So cool! Thanks Saint!!!
Saint, in all my post practicing (braggin) I forgot to say thanks.
Mom said:
You see? This is why I like it here.
I don't always agree with everyone here but I can say that the other site just isn't fair. Name calling, hair insults, comments about weight gain, weight loss, and amazingly after two days a KMart employee posts. Not to mention a mom from St. Judes.
I know I am a moron, because I have read these bold/ italics instructions several times and am always still going, "huh?"
And I'm only 35! I'm supposed to be technically savvy, right?
Maybe I'll try what I think is the way to do it in another post. Some poor soul will be the recipient of my first attempt. Apologies upfront!
Mom -
I think this topic is a hot button issue for folks on both sides of the Gosselin fence and honestly think it might make for a good stand-alone topic for discussion.
I'm willing....
One other thing that struck me as unusal watching the show - how did Kate get away with allowing only one 4 1/2 yer old kid to get something, and not have the others go "why can't I get one?"
That is a parent tip worth talking about.
One other thing that struck me as unusal watching the show - how did Kate get away with allowing only one 4 1/2 yer old kid to get something, and not have the others go "why can't I get one?"
That is a parent tip worth talking about.
Kate told Alexis that if she got Elmo she would have to share him with her brothers and sisters because she was only buying one..and apparently, that is what happened!
One Elmo for all eight kids? I'm sure that there was a lot of screaming going on about that.
Aren't the twins a little bit old for Elmo?
Quiltart -
Kate told Alexis that if she got Elmo she would have to share him with her brothers and sisters because she was only buying one..and apparently, that is what happened!
Actually, that was what was shown on tv, whether it really happened that way I have my doubts. Because I can't picture any 6 kids accepting the fact they are all getting one toy or at least, they weren't the ones who got to pick out (and have primary custody) of the toy. If it was as peaceful as shown on tv, I would love to see how Kate managed to do that to try with my 2 kids!
I will say though, I was happy it was Leah who picked out the toy because at first I thought it was Hannah and I was cringing at the thought of what certain people were going to say about that.
1st I would like to say the children at St. Judes have been blessed by the toys from this episode.
Also
You never hear Kate OR Jon say they were "BUYING" the gifts. They say each child could "SELECT" 3 gifts. They said they were "GIVING" to St. Judes. This is true they "GAVE", but maybe did not "BUY" the toys. I am thinking they stopped at the register because those items needed to be scanned for inventory purposes for K-Mart.
P.S. I also posted this "or a version of it, I forgot to copy so had to try to remember" at GWOP.
Actually, that was what was shown on tv, whether it really happened that way I have my doubts. Because I can't picture any 6 kids accepting the fact they are all getting one toy or at least, they weren't the ones who got to pick out (and have primary custody) of the toy. If it was as peaceful as shown on tv, I would love to see how Kate managed to do that to try with my 2 kids!
I will say though, I was happy it was Leah who picked out the toy because at first I thought it was Hannah and I was cringing at the thought of what certain people were going to say about that.
It was Alexis, not Leah.
The editing and Kate's explanation were both a bit disjointed, but here is what I *think* happened:
1) Alexis sees Elmo, and either wants him for herself or wants him as one of her gifts to give to the kids at St. Jude's (she may not have been sure; it was mentioned that the little kids were having a bit of trouble with the concept, rather understandably).
2) Kate says no, because the rules at St. Jude's don't allow for donations of stuffed animals.
3) Alexis, really, really, really wants Elmo.
4) Kate tells Alexis to add Elmo to her Xmas list.
5) Somewhere in here, Elmo ends up in the cart.
6) What I think happened was that Kate agreed to buy Elmo that day, and give him to Alexis as a Christmas present. That way, Alexis is pacified, and Kate doesn't have to get stuff for all of the kids, on a trip that's meant to be focussing on the St. Jude's kids.
7) Kate then mentions Alexis' "crocodile tears" (and does a rather hilarious imitation of them) back at the hotel; Alexis is apparently made bereft by the lack of toys the kids have to play with in their hotel room. (I guess they didn't bring any toys on the trip?)
8) Kate gives in and allows Alexis to have Elmo early, but only with the caveat that he must be shared.
I really saw both sides of this one. I felt like Kate had every reason to stand her ground, but OTOH, I remember being a young child and just really wanting a doll or toy and thinking that if I couldn't have it *right then* it would be a catastrophe. So I don't blame Kate for folding.
So I don't blame Kate for folding.
We've all folded.
This a is an example of where J&K get bonus points (in my mind) for having six little kids, all the same age. That can't be easy.
Quin -
I agree with eveything that you said (how's that for a first! - lol), especially about the part of how hard it would be for a 4 1/2 year old to understand that they have to give those toys way.
I don't really blame Kate for folding either. But what you don't cover, and what I would really like to know, is how Kate got the other 5 to go along with this plan without major meltdowns? (Again, perfectly normal behaviour for kids this age.) In the show you see Alexis carrying it the store so it had to be obvious to the other kids what Alexis' intentions were.
Thanks for correcting me on the kids - the only one I really know by sight is Hannah because of her long hair, and the fact she's the "favorite" so she gets talked about more.
But what you don't cover, and what I would really like to know, is how Kate got the other 5 to go along with this plan without major meltdowns? (Again, perfectly normal behaviour for kids this age.) In the show you see Alexis carrying it the store so it had to be obvious to the other kids what Alexis' intentions were.
Well, again, if it was presented as, "we're getting this now, but it's going to be one of your Christmas presents", maybe they wouldn't care as much. Also, even though it seemed obvious that Alexis wanted the Elmo for herself, with all of the kids running around and yelling all the time, they are all pretty good at ignoring each other. So they may not have noticed. Especially with the mountain of toys going into the shopping cards anyway.
Thanks for correcting me on the kids - the only one I really know by sight is Hannah because of her long hair, and the fact she's the "favorite" so she gets talked about more.
I used to have trouble telling some of the kids apart, but now unless it's not a full face shot I don't usually get confused. Alexis' hair is lighter than Leah's (I think Alexis and Cara are the only ones who have what I'd call dark brown hair rather than black).
Alexis and Leah in general do look more alike than either looks like Hannah. And Joel and Collin look more alike than either looks like Aaden (even without his glasses, Aaden has somewhat different features).
BTW, I may have said this before, but not only was Alexis SO CUTE in the hallway sequence where Hannah smacked her ("I don't know why her do that", said with palms plaintively upraised), but Hannah looked adorable. Very pretty and just mischevious. I really like to see Hannah's playful side; she often seems like one of the more serious of the kids.
And Joel and Collin look more alike than either looks like Aaden (even without his glasses, Aaden has somewhat different features).
Really? I have trouble with Aaden and Joel. Colin is easy! My favorite Hannah moment: that naughty dance on the chair behind Jon's back when Jon was in charge. That made even my husband laugh.
IMO I do not believe that they bought the toys. They are spokespeople for KMART. Wouldn't it be a coincidence that that is where they 'bought' the toys. It is like they were just the middlemen that got the toys to St. Jude.
They also made money and got a free trip from their 'generosity'. They would have received their payment for making the episode. They got to stay at an extravagant hotel for free plus free airfare. They definitely gave back.
I love pink,
This is all your opinion, correct?
Because you appear to be stating it as if it is fact. Would you care to provide some links to where you read that these statements are actually facts?
Actually, if everything you stated was fact, it wouldn't bother me in the least. It has been stated over and over on this thread but I agree with this concept. This is a gift that won't stop giving.
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