Thursday, November 20, 2008

Which charity?

SO I have been CVS'ing, etc all year. I started in January.



I have accumulated so much STUFF. It takes up one filing cabinet, 2 crates and 3 shelves of a large bookcase in my office and a medium sized rubbermaid container and the floor in a closet. And that doesnt even include food, candy, and laundry stuff! :o



Anyway, I really want to make a difference with all of this stuff I have a surplus of. ( Bad grammar, i know) I jokingly call myself the CVS missionary LOL



I donated a huge amount to a mission trip back in the summer and i have nearly replenished that stock!



So, who needs it the most? Where will I make the most difference?
Which will convey charity to my children the best?

the Operation Christmas child shoeboxes?

the local freestore/food bank?

church missions?

Some to each one?

Somewhere else?


I dont want to put off deciding and then it is Dec 24th and i am too late. ugh!


I have been collecting the Johnson and Johnson buddy bars with the Kroger deal ( i am up to 52!) and kids toothbrushes to give to my son's preschool. They have the neatest thing called the backpack program where families ( who want to be included) who need a little extra help are sent home items in their child's backpack over the weekend. Items like granola bars, juice boxes, fruit cups, toiletries, etc. The backpack thing is very discreet and the distributor puts the items in his/her backpack when the kids are outside or at the library or whatever. Isnt that awesome?! It just warms my heart! In our school district, i never would have guessed that there were truly needy families. Just goes to show that you never know what your neighbor needs. ( i dont mean that to sound snobby, it isnt. We live in the scummy section of town LOL)





I know I really need to pray about this, but I really am a terrible decision maker. I believe that I have such little confdidence in my own decisions that God has to use other people to speak to me LOL



Anyway, anyone have any suggestions? What do you plan to do to help the less fortunate this holiday season?

thanks for the ideas!

:)
Amy

1 comment:

  1. My dearest friend, Amy:

    You're one of the kindest and smartest person I know. Good luck with your new project. As for the charities, I'm keeping it very local this year. It was fun doing the Operation Chistmas Child Shoe Box with my daughters last year. They watched the video first, and then we had wonderful experience purchasing the items. This year, with the recession and all- Yes, I'm feeling pinched as well- the girls and I are going to do local charities. Not everything has to be purchased. Because I have twins, we often get duplicated items. Two identical set of outfits, for example. It's too difficult for the teachers to figure out who is who if I dress them the same. I have kept things that I did not want and yes, I'm "re-gifting." My church, among many other wonderful projects they're doing, gets a wish list from babies to teenagers. Instead of decorating the Christmas tree with flashy ornaments, we write up the list on paper stars. Everyone in the church, including children, pick one or more of these paper stars and bring those gifts to the church. It's exciting to see the bare tree by the beginning of December. I truly liked this last year because I picked out a boy and a girl of my daughters' age. Teaching our children to give to the needy is SO important. If they grow up without witnessing such giving spirits, then they'll live through their lives comparing themselves to celebrities or other unrealistic life of the rich and famous. We often forget there are people in need right around the corner if we cared to lend a helping hand. Anyway, I'm so proud of you, Amy, for posting this topic. Love you!

    Supertwins' Mom

    P.S. This morning, I had spent few hours in the basement going through things that could be donated. Everyone can find ways to help without spending a lot of money.

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