June Activity

Hello everyone!! I know we are a little behind on our community projects this summer and I apologize for that!! I am working on getting something put together for July and August. We are still searching for new ideas if anyone has any!!

So... since we didn't get together officially as a group in June, I am going to share this suggestion with all of you..... There is a sweet little girl named Bella. Bella is 8 years old... the same age as Lauren. Please read her story....

Bella Tucker is an 8-year-old girl who attends South School Elementary in Londonderry, New Hampshire and is a member of the Phantom Gymnastics team. Bella came down with a near fatal infection on Easter Sunday. Doctors gave little hope for this third graders’ survival, but after five days in a coma she miraculously survived Streptococcus Pneumonia Sepsis with DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation).


Unfortunately, her survival from this infection was not without significant cost. The infection caused extensive tissue damage, and on April 27, 2010, Bella underwent quadruple amputation surgery and is currently facing an extremely long and hard recovery at Children’s Hospital in Boston with extensive rehabilitation to follow, as she learns to live life without her limbs.


Fortunately, Bella has the love and support of her three older brothers and younger sister during these trying times. The family is suddenly faced with significant challenges, many of which can be eased with financial help. For example, their home in Londonderry, New Hampshire will need extensive modifications to accommodate a wheelchair. Bella's mother, who is also her primary insurance holder, must be by her side during the extensive rehabilitation process and therefore she will be unable to work, causing the family to lose significant income. Since her mother will be with her during this process, the family needs funds for daycare of their other children. Lastly, she will be faced with medical challenges for the rest of her life.


The Tucker/Roarty Family is grateful to South School Elementary, the Phantom Gymnastics Team, the entire community of Bella’s hometown of Londonderry, NH, and their extended network of friends, family and strangers who have been doing everything they can to help raise financial support for Bella and her family.


Donations can be made to The Bella Tucker Fund via the PayPal link or by mail to:


The Bella Tucker Fund
P.O. Box 199
Londonderry NH
03053


Thank you.

If you want the latest updates or just want to know more about her, you can go directly to her blog by clicking HERE!!

As many of you  know, I am a scrapbooking freak!!  One of my fellow design team members posted this story because they were asking for people to make and send cards to Bella. (You can use the same address as the fund address.)When I read this story it touched my heart and knew that Lauren and I would want to make a card or two, or three... to send her way. I know that we can't always ask this group for donations but by making a card, we can help and it will only cost us the price of a stamp!! We would love to see the rest of our group make and send cards to this little girl who has a long road to recovery. In fact, we plan on saving this address and sending them again over the next few months!!

 I know we all say our prayers at night to keep our children safe... but stories like this really make me stop and realize how much we really do have to be thankful for!!

Barb 

Park Clean Up

I picked up our supplies today and received our location... drum roll please... We will be at Tillman Park. This is on Tillman Road, very close to the food bank. Please contact me if you need directions. We will meet at 9:00!! Come ready to clean!!!

I will have your t-shirt and gloves at the park. I will also bring the trashbags!! See you there!

Foodbank Slide Show!

News Update

Happy Monday everyone!! I wanted to get you updated on some news....

First... remember that we have the Community Harvest Food Bank event coming up on Saturday, May 1st starting at 8:30 a.m. We would like to encourage everyone to have your child collect food donations to bring with them on this day.  Wouldn't it be great to beat last year's total and make it to 500 pounds!?!? But the only way to make that happen is if we all work together... so get on out there and start collecting!!!! If you are planning on attending but have not replied yet, please do so that we know how many to expect!!

Also remember that park clean-up scheduled for Saturday, May 14th!

Now for our Change for Haiti project.... Amy was so kind to take the donations and bracelets to pass on to her friend... and here is what she had to say.....

I just wanted to let you know that Kids Give Back raised $81.00 in cash and $66.00 in coins for a grand total of $147.00. That is awesome!!!! Dawn is taking the money in June to buy textbooks for the kids. She said that is a big need at this time. At that time she will deliver the bracelets as well. She said that the kids are going to be so excited and will appreciate all that our group did. She will take pictures and send them to me to share with the group. We will be able to see the kids receive the bracelets and books. Thought that was cool!!!

Thanks again Amy for following up on this project!!

Change for Haiti Slide Show

Upcoming Kids Give Back Events for March - May

March: Change For Haiti
Sunday, March 21, at 2:00

We will Meet at Barb Craft's House

In March, we are focusing our efforts on helping the children of Haiti. Our KGB children should be collecting change by doing chores for neighbors or family members or perhaps having a parent take a change jar (that the kids make) to work with them. On March 21 we will meet at Barb's house to make bracelets to give to the children of Haiti. Amy is donating the supplies for us to make bead bracelets to let the children over there know that they are in our thoughts and prayers. Even if you have decided as a family to not raise funds, we would still love to have you participate in making the bracelets.

We are taking April off due to Spring Break, but we have two great events planned for May...

May 1: Helping the Hungry

Saturday, May 1, at 8:30

Meet at the Community Harvest Food Bank - 999 E Tillman Road

We will help out at the food bank by passing out food to those families in need. As part of our assistance to this very worthy organization, we are also encouraging everyone to collect food and pantry items before this event so we can bring in our own group donation. Last year we brought in 368 pounds of food! Let's see if we can beat that this year! This year should be a great experience for the kids because they will get to actually pass out the food to the people who visit the food bank - last year we only sorted food. Visit their website for more information: http://www.communityharvest.org/.

(Note: Be sure to wear shoes that do not have open toes and wear sweatshirts/layers because it gets really cold in the warehouse where we will be helping out.)

May 15: Clean Up Fort Wayne

May 15 at a location to be determined

Our group will participate in the Fort Wayne Great American Clean-Up Day. This year with the theme of "Green Starts Here," thousands of volunteers from neighborhoods, businesses, schools, faith based organizations and other groups will be cleaning parks, trails, neighborhoods and other locations May 15 with a post-cleanup party at Headwaters Park East. Our group will be assigned an area in the city that we will 'clean up' by picking up trash, etc. We had a really good time doing this together last year - even in the rain! Please let Jennifer Kennedy know before April 5 if you will be participating (as well as your t-shirt size.)

Change for Haiti

We are so super excited for our upcoming March event! I am sure you and your family have been well aware of the news coverage involving the disaster in Haiti. It has been heartbreaking to watch the devastation those poor people have had to endure. All of our hearts have gone out to them, but yet we are unsure what it is we really can do to help. Good news!!! We have figured out a way our group can help encourage the children who are affected by the horrible hurricane!! Are you ready?

Amy has a friend who will be traveling to Haiti with her church. She came up with the brilliant idea of having our kids make bracelets for the children in Haiti so they know that they are being thought about and prayed for. The bracelets are going to have messages on them such as "Jesus Loves You." How cute is that!?! Now the children in Haiti will have some beautiful new jewelry to let them know they are loved!! Isn't that fabulous?!!

But that's not all... our children are also wanting to raise some money that can be sent to this church to help with the needs of the people in Haiti!! I think this is a fabulous opportunity for our children to really get the meaning of giving back. Here is what we are proposing... work with your child in creating a special container just for this collection. They will keep all of the money they have collected in this container so they can see their progress. We used a clear container because Lauren loves to be able to see what she has, and how much more she wants to collect!! Now, it is up to you to decide how you and your child will raise this money. We are suggesting:
*Have your child do some extra chores around the house for money.
*Have your child do some chores for grandparents, neighbors, or anyone else who would be willing to contribute to the cause.
*Have a parent set a container out at work so coworkers can contribute if they would like.
*Ask your school principal to sponsor a special day. (Lauren and Abby did this for the Juvenile Diabetes Walk and raised over $250 in one day by charging kids $.50 to be able to wear a hat to school that day!)

You can do one or all of these options. It really is up to you! No rules on this one! If you have an idea you think we could all benefit from, please let us know! We love new ideas! :)

I have include a photo of the container Lauren and I completed. (If you click on the picture, it will enlarge it for a better view!) We had so much fun working on this together, and it also gave us an opportunity to talk about the situation in Haiti and why what we do is important. (The cutest part was that Lauren insisted on staging and taking the photo...completely her idea!! I think she has a little bit of her momma in her!!)

WE WILL BE MEETING ON SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2010. If someone would like a turn hosting this event, please contact me and let me know. Otherwise, we will meet at my (Barb's) house. PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT LETTING US KNOW IF YOU WILL BE ATTENDING THIS EVENT!

Nursing Home Follow Up

Hello everyone! Despite the smaller group, we had a wonderful time at the Golden Years Nursing Home! The staff there was outstanding and the patients were so appreciative of the kid's efforts! I heard several of them make statements that they just don't get to see kids very often! It made the trip soooo worth it!

I would like to thank Stephanie for coordinating this event for us! Stephanie - that was so much help!! Thank you!! And I also want to thank Jennifer for bringing some chocolate with her... it was a major hit when we were passing out the cards....Big Time!!!! And even though Jennifer did not take credit for it in the email she sent Saturday... she worked as hard on getting the card packets ready for everyone as I did! Thanks Jennifer!! The cards were adorable! I have made a slide show of some of the pictures that were taken Saturday. Enjoy!!

Nursing Home Slide Show

Cards For Soldiers

Can we say WOW!?! The cards the kids made for the soldiers are totally amazing! They did such a fabulous job of showing the soldiers how much they care about them and appreciate the way they serve our country. We had a wonderful turnout for this event and were able to collect so many delicious goodies for the active duty soldiers that risk their lives everyday to protect us and our freedoms! (I guess they do deserve some delicious goodies!) Most of the cards and snacks were sent to Afganastan to a group of approximately 25 soldiers. Another box was sent to Abby's uncle who is currently based in Hawaii and a box was sent to a friend of Amy's who is actively serving! I think our group gave a lot of very grateful soldiers a much needed smile!

Cards For Soldiers Slide Show