UPDATE: Lydia's Lucky Charms

In September I will be participating in Briggs and Al's Run/Walk. This walk raises money for Children's Hospital Milwaukee,. This year I will be walking with Team: Lydia's Lucky Charm. I featured Lydia earlier this year on this site, to read story click here. Since then I have stayed in contact with Lydia and her mom Sally. Lydia and so many other families have come to rely on Children's. I have registered with Team: Lydia's Lucky Charm and will be there Sept 20 to show my support to this great cause. If you would like to be a part of the team and walk with us, click here. Registration is $20. Team register name is Lydias Lucky Charm. Password: lydialu. Where they ask if Lydia is a "Children's Champion", click "no". If you would like to make a donation to Children's via Lydia's Lucky Charm, please click on button in right hand column of this site. Thanks!

St. Judes Trike A Thon

"Every day we do get closer to a cure. Three out of
four children who are
diagnosed with cancer will survive the disease, but
that is not good enough. The
loss of one child to this disease is too much."
- Micheal McCaul

Our June Charity was truly a family affair. For the second year in a row Cole participated in the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Trike A Thon. Cole raised $60 (from Mom and Dad), and truly had a good time while doing it. That brings his combined total for both years to $250! Unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries before I could snap any photos.
For his age, Cole really had a remarkable understanding about why he was participating. He also now is able to recognize the St. Judes logo anywhere he sees it.
Since starting this campaign at the beginning of the year I have noticed Cole's growing awareness, and interest in charity work and it is just one of the reasons this is continuing to be so worth while.
Trike-A-Thon teaches kids about safety and charity. For more than 20 years, children around the country have helped raise funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital simply by learning bicycle and tricycle safety.
Trike-A-Thon is a special program developed for early childhood educators and childcare centers to teach children riding safety tips while helping to continue St. Jude's efforts of eradicating childhood catastrophic diseases.
The program is a week-long activity involving young children, their parents and teachers. Trike-A-Thon introduces key concepts of riding safety, and concludes with a fun-filled event where the participants bring their riding toys from home and show off the skills they have learned. In addition to learning how to stay safe, the children also learn about helping others through gaining sponsorships from friends and family for St. Jude.
Trike-A-Thons are held throughout the year, but reaches its peak during the Week of the Young Child, which is April 13 – 19, 2008. Cole's Trike A Thon was held Friday June 6.
Established in 1971, the Week of the Young Child is an annual celebration focusing public attention on the needs of young children and their families and the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs. The program is sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the world's largest early childhood education association. Over 8,600 preschools and daycare centers across America participate in the Trike-A-Thon program. Their efforts contribute more than $7.7 million to St. Jude every year.
“St. Jude Trike-A-Thons are a remarkable learning experience for young children,” said David L. McKee, chief operating officer of ALSAC, the fundraising organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “The program is a wonderful way to teach bike safety, while also instilling in children the important lesson of helping others.”
For more information about coordinating or participating in the Trike-A-Thon program, please call1-800-626-BIKE (2453) or visit the Trike-A-Thon Web site.

The Joy of Giving

"A little rain can straighten a flower. A little love can change a
life" - Max Lucado

For the month of May the charity I chose was an organization located in Minnesota called Cheerful Givers. Their vision is simple: "All parents living in poverty will be able to give their child a birthday gift." Their mission: "We provide toy-filled birthday gift bags to food shelves and shelters so that parents living in poverty can give their child a birthday gift. We believe this simple gesture boosts self-esteem, enhances self-worth, and strengthens bonds in families." After reading this I knew I had to be a part of this. I contacted the President Karen Kitchel, who has been with the organization since 1996, full time since 2003, and asked "How can I help? What can I do here in Wisconsin?" And so the idea was born. I would hold a fundraiser, put together my own bags, and on behalf of Cheerful Givers I would donate the bags to a local shelter in my area.

The organization requires each bag have a minimum of $10 worth of merchandise and one "lasting item" such as a book or stuffed animal. According to Karen the typical child who receives a bag is 3-12 years old who is either living in a shelter or whose parents must rely on food shelves. Many of these families are single parent- usually mothers who have several children. Kitchel says, "We don't get to see the kids but from the feedback we get, many of these kids don't own toys (or very few). Many have never owned a book, and some don't know they have birthdays because it has never been celebrated."

I couldn't imagine what it must feel like for a parent to not be able to provide the basics for your children, let alone a birthday gift. I knew this was opportunity for not only me, but many others to get involved in. I set a goal of 50 bags and created a flyer. I emailed, called, mailed and spoke to as many people as I could. The response was overwhelming! I really hit the streets and Internet hard and found some amazing deals. With the money I raised we were able to put together 94 bags! These bags will go the Milwaukee Rescue Mission Joy House.

Boys bags contained:

• Book, Driving Buddies, based on the kids movie "Cars"
• Die cast car, character from the movie "Cars"
• An army parachute man
• 2 army airplane gliders
• A package of Jelly Bellies or Willy Wonka Fun Dip
• 1 coloring book
• 1 box of crayons
• Several sports themed temporary tattoos

We also had dinosaur themed boy bags which contained:

• Book, Dinosaur Detective
• Dinosaur puzzle
• Willy Wonka Fun Dip candy
• Foam Dinosaur mask
• 2 Dinosaur self inking stamps
• 8 Dinosaur stickers
• 1 coloring book
• 1 box of crayons

We had several different girl bags most Disney Princess themed which included:

• Book: Beauties in Bloom
• 1 princess wand
• 1 princess tiara
• several girly themed temporary tattoos
• several glittery, flowery jelly bracelets or a package containing princess rings and self stick earrings
• 1 coloring book
• box of crayons
• package of Jelly Bellies or Willy Wonka Fun Dip

We had 5 bags containing:

• Clifford the Big Red Dog book
• Matching Clifford Stuffed animal, with dog house
• Bubbles
• 3 flower shaped suckers
• 1 Disney Magic coloring book with special "magic" marker
• Glow in the dark light sticks
• Jelly Bracelets
• Girl themed temporary tattoos
• Package containing princess rings and self stick earrings

Lastly we had someone donate 4 beautiful felt gift bags with felt flowers and ribbons on them which included:

• A large plush flower with bendable plush stem
• Lady Bug/Butterfly tic tac toe boards
• Package of neon colored mini gel pens
• Pastel ribbon lined headbands
• Small tin of raspberry scented lip gloss
• Sequin and hearts hair tie
• 3 containers of play-dough
• bubbles
• candy
• Package of self stick earrings and play rings
• Jelly Bracelets

Putting together these bags was so much fun! I got the kids involved and we made an afternoon of it! If you are looking for a charity to get involved with your kids I would highly recommend this one. Kids identify with the idea of a birthday present for another child. My kids were excited to help provide for other children, especially when they knew these children didn't have much to begin with.

Cheerful Givers was founded by Robin Maynard in 1994. The story of how one woman was inspired to make a difference is truly inspiring itself. In 1994 just 700 bags were filled and distributed. Fast forward to 2008 and Cheerful Givers has reached 253,000 bags and counting. "Those little bags send a powerful message to kids in a time of need. They say that even though these kids are staying at a shelter, they are still special and deserve to celebrate their birthdays," Mary Ajax President and CEO Community Action Council.

Currently Cheerful Givers operates in Minnesota, and as of 2005 there is a pilot program in Washington, serving the Seattle area. "We would love to extend to every state, country and nation. Difficult part is we need staff and funding to do that. We encourage people everywhere to fill bags and take them to food shelves/shelters," says Kitchel.

There are many ways to become a Cheerful Giver and provide support. Cheerful Givers gladly accepts cash donations, as well in-kind donations. But there are other ways to get involved that are not monetary. Cheerful givers is looking for volunteers to fill many vital roles such as assistant to the president, Blog & Newsletter Assistant Writer, Grant Researchers, individuals willing to contact companies and seek donations, etc... Click on any of the above links to learn more about how you can get involved. If you enjoy reading, New Heaven Publishing will donate a percentage of the proceeds to Cheerful Givers from the sale of the following books: Do I have a Birthday Too? The Cheerful Givers Story by Melanie Bower (also available through Barnes and Noble Bookstore) and I Thirst: Mother Teresa and the Journey of Unconditional Faith by Robin Maynard Steele (founder).

On behalf of Cheerful Givers, and my family, I would like to extend to all 27 donors a heart felt thanks for helping make this project such a huge success. Todd and I decided we are going to hold another fundraiser on behalf of this charity next year. We have several ideas on coporate sponsorship and hope to make next years drive an even bigger success!

viewer mail...

www.cheerfulgivers.org said...
Thanks for your wonderful article about Cheerful Givers and more importantly for the time and effort you have put into supporting our mission.You haven't waited for the world to change, you're changing it!
Karen Kitchel
Cheerful Givers