Pajama Party

                The temperature is dropping.  It’s time to pull out the comfy jammies.  I love the fleece pants!

When my daughter was a toddler the “Good Night Show” on Nickelodeon used to have Pajama drives.  I imagine they still do.  Recently I received an email from Scholastic Book Clubs which offered, “You Donate Pajamas, We’ll Match with Books.”  They have easy instructions on their website to get your child’s classroom involved.  Donations ultimately go to the “Pajama Program.”   The “Pajama Program” website also has easy instructions on how to hold a pajama and/or book drive to support their program which gets new pajamas and books into the hands of children in need.

                So, in the spirit of Giving Tuesday, why not have a Pajama Party?  Invite your friends and family over for a video and ask them to bring a new set of pajamas.  Or the weekend before, allow your kids to have a pajama party on the condition that their friends bring pajamas.  Then when you lose sleep, you will know it’s for a good cause!  

Do You Want to Play a Game?

                My first idea to bring to the table for “Giving Tuesday” actually came to me as I was browsing their site.  A gaming company in England is holding “Gaming Tuesday” where you sign up to play video games and you sponsor one of the charities that they partner with.  I tried to get more information, but my surfing skills are limited and I wiped out when looking for how to sign up and choose your charity.  But, it sparked a thought. 

                Hold a game night through your organization, or just family and friends.  Pick a charity and have an “entrance fee” that would go to that charity.  Then have a great night with friends and family while knowing that you helped others.  To get the brain in gear, here are some suggestions for charities to benefit from your game night.

                If you wish to keep the game night theme, you could ask people to bring a game or toy with them to donate to “Toys for Tots.” 

Entrance fee can be food items to go to the food pantry.  Scarves, hats mittens and gloves would be a fee that would help others keep warm this winter.  A box of diapers or formula could help out a struggling mom.  Or you could choose something from Heifer International by either asking people to buy a share (most things go for around $10/share) or you could collect $5 per person and ten people could give a gift of a healthy home.  The possibilities are endless.   

Weddings and Funerals

                I was browsing Facebook this morning and a friend had posted a photo that said, “You don’t need a reason to help people.”  It was from a liberal posting.  Full disclosure…I’m a registered Republican that believes in helping people.  I just like to do it on my terms.  Anyway, I agree with the photo.  You don’t need a reason.  You should help people because you have that undeniable urge to.  When someone drops something, you automatically stop and pick it up for them.  It’s what we humans do.  So, why are there movements to help people?  Why do I write this post?  Two words.  “Weddings” and “Funerals.”  What?

                If you’re from a family like mine, life gets in the way and the only time you really see those in your extended family, is at weddings and funerals.  You mean to call them, but you just haven’t gotten around to it.  Sound familiar? 

                We all want to do good, but life gets so busy, we forget about our fellow man until the bell ringers stand at the door in front of the store as we hurriedly run in looking for the latest gizmo to buy our nephews and/or nieces.  I’m not judging.  It is what it is.  I get busy too.  I’ve been “too busy” to write in this blog. 

                So, for my first bit of advice, in preparation of Giving Tuesday, I say take a deep breath, be still and listen.  Listen to what your friends are saying.  Listen to what the world is saying.  You’d be surprised at what ideas pop into your head.  

Giving Tuesday 2013

               Last year at around this time, I wrote about “Giving Tuesday.”  It’s a movement to give back on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.  That is a mere 25 days from now, December 3.  I will do my best to help you generate ideas in order to participate.  I will start by giving you information.  The website is www.givingtuesday.org.  Once you decide what you are doing, you’re encouraged to tell people about it.  Some may consider this bragging…and some people might use it to brag.  But, it is more about spreading the seed of good deeds out there.   The intent is to get the word out.  Together we can make the world a better place.  I understand the hesitance though, but take this story for an example.

                Jennifer writes an article for her church’s newsletter about care packages for the military.  Terry sees Jennifer after church and mentions a group that sends pizza’s to the troops overseas.  The choir director stops Jennifer the next week and excitedly talks about sending batteries and headphones to the troops because batteries are always needed and the head phones/ear buds get dry and cracked in the heat over there.  Two extra ideas generated from one article.  What ideas can be generated by the conversation that you start?  

The Versatile Shoebox

Shoeboxes have been used for a variety of reasons.  I remember scrounging for a shoebox to make my diorama project for a grade school history project.  Before the invention of plastic boxes, shoeboxes held records of bills paid.  Old broken crayons, glue and scraps of papers found their way to a home recently vacated by my new high tops.  Picture frames can be made from the lids.  If you Google it, you can find even more uses that I have not mentioned.

This week, I found another use for shoe boxes in my daughter’s backpack.  The “Change the World Club” at her school is participating in the “Operation Christmas Child” project.  The informational flyer sent home requested small objects that fit into a shoe box.  Things like school supplies (pens, papers, crayons, etc…), Toys (small cars, ball, dolls, stuffed animals, musical instruments etc…), Hygiene items, (toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloth), and miscellaneous stuff (hairclips, toy jewelry, sunglasses, etc..).  The cost to ship is $7 per box and the boxes go to children in need for Christmas.  It’s a great idea for a Christmas charity project for your youth group.

For more information, you can visit www.samaritanspurse.org and click on “Operation Christmas Child.”

Blessings In a Backpack

                I really like charities that provide opportunities for all people to get involved, no matter what their niche.  One such charity is Blessings in a Backpack which fills the nutritional void on the weekends for children who are on reduced or free lunches by sending the children home on Friday with a backpack filled with easy to prepare non-perishable food.  How can you get involved?

                If you are an organizational whiz, you can get things started by adopting a school in your area.  Then there are fundraising goals to be met in order to feed the children your program will be supporting and a partnership with a local grocer needs to be established.  Volunteers need to be gathered up as well.

                If you prefer to be a hands-on, in the trenches person, you can volunteer to transport food from the grocery store to the school.  You can also volunteer to pack the backpacks.

                If you are one who prefers to be on the sidelines and fund charities, you can write a check.  The cost for the program is approximately $80 per child per school year. 

                  Although, Blessings in a Backpack provides the backpacks used in your program, there is always a need for more backpacks.  This provides a great opportunity for a smaller community that wants to help, but does not have the capability to support a school on its own.

                So, whatever your preference is when you work with a charity, you can most likely find a way to help with Blessings in a Backpack.  For more information, please visit their website at blessingsinabackpack.org.

Arts and Crafts

                One day, I was talking to my daughter’s kindergarten teacher about Bernie’s Book Bank.  She told me that I would be amazed at how many children don’t have books at home.  She also commented on the fact that some of her students have never held a pair of scissors before coming to her class.  I was surprised, as I recalled the many times that my daughter cut paper into little tiny pieces and that one of her favorite workbooks was the scissor skills book that I had purchased for her.  This got me thinking….

                When it comes to choosing between food and craft supplies, it’s a no brainer…food wins hands down.  But arts and crafts are important to feed the imagination.  What if someone made up craft boxes that included scissors (blunt tip of course), glue sticks and the other necessities of crafts, complete with a couple of project directions?  Something to ponder….