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<em>This post is my contribution to the Shot@Life, <a href="http://www.shotatlife.org/blogust/">Blog Relay for Good.</a></em>

<em>Have I ever told you that I<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Republic"> grew up in a developing country</a>? I saw first hand what a difference vaccines make in the lives of children. The need is real, and sometimes it is as simple as the fact that $20 is the difference between life and death. $20 is what it costs for one child to receive 4 life-saving vaccines: measles, pneumonia, diarrhea and polio; as hard as it is to believe, preventable <a href="http://shotatlife.org/learn/problem/">diseases like these take the life of a child every 20 seconds</a>. </em>
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<a href="http://shotatlife.org/">Shot@Life</a> is an initiative of the United Nations Foundation that educates, connects and empowers the championing of vaccines as one of the most cost-effective ways to save the lives of children in developing countries.

During Shot@Life's Blogust, 31 bloggers, one each day in August, are writing about people from our communities who have inspired us. The first 1,500 comments in the Blogust: Blog Relay for Good raised $30,000 for childhood vaccines ($20 per comment) in a matter of days! YAAAY!The initial donation commitment (<a href="http://shotatlife.org/blogust/blogust-frequently-asked-questions.html">see FAQs</a>) is now complete and your comments have helped vaccinate <strong>1,500 children</strong> in developing countries!

<strong>However, we are not stopping there!</strong> World-renowned photographer and Shot@Life Global Advocate <a href="http://annegeddes.com/">Anne Geddes</a> has been so inspired by the response from the blogging world that she has kicked off a new fundraising initiative on <a href="http://www.crowdrise.com/shotlifeblogust/fundraiser/unfoundation">Crowdrise.com</a> to continue helping Shot@Life raise $20 per comment!<em> Our part is to keep commenting -- each new comment raises the target of the number of children we want to reach! You can learn more about it at <a href="http://Blogust.org/">Blogust.org</a>. </em>

Since this is a relay, Blogust participants are passing the baton to the each other. Yesterday, <a href="http://socialsavvymom.com/2012/08/07/blogust-the-gift-of-the-written-word/">Tiany of Social Savvy Mom</a> wrote about the gift of comments and how the words of online friends helped her through a difficult time. Now she has passed the baton on to me, and tomorrow it's Catherine Connor's turn. Be sure to visit Her Bad Mother and leave a comment on her post tomorrow.</blockquote>
<strong>So please leave a comment on this post, <a href="http://www.crowdrise.com/shotlifeblogust/fundraiser/unfoundation">make a donation if you can</a>, and spread the word. It makes a real difference. </strong>

The theme of the Blogust relay is "Comments Count." If you're a blogger I don't have to explain what this means to you. Bloggers live for comments -- if we didn't, we'd be typing away alone at our typewriters. Instead, we're posting our words on the internet for the entire world to see and hopefully, comment on.

I know that most of you don't have blogs, but I'm willing to bet that most of you are on Facebook. You know that feeling you get when someone "likes" pictures from your vacation? That's what a blog comment feels like...times 72 (give or take) because your friends on Facebook are, well, your friends. Blog readers? They come to be entertained, or perhaps they just find your blog randomly while google searching for recipes. They don't owe you anything.

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This is why, when I was asked to highlight one comment or commenter that has made an impact I couldn't think of one person. I love it when my friends and family leave me a comment, but my favorite commenter of all what I call the unknown commenter: The person who doesn't have a blog

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