Mid March Update

Book List Update:

• I started with 37 books on the list by author Eric Carle at Barnes & Noble's website
• I eliminated a few books because they were for infants
• I sorted by priority--the older the age group, the higher priority it got
• I ordered 4 more & received free shipping again so had them shipped directly to the school
• The wishlist is down to 23 books
• Leave a comment if you are interested in looking at the wishlist or contributing a book

All other efforts are still on hold for now while I recover from surgery.

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As always, thanks for stopping by! Please join me in helping improve the lives of children in need. I check for comments regularly...leave contact info and I'll get in touch.

March Update

I am now two weeks to the day into my surgery recovery. Below is an update on progress.



Snag with Permabound AR Books...

• Customers are required to purchase a minimum of 20 quizzes per book at $3 each
• I don't have that much money raised
• Now that I know, I will be better prepared next school year

Book Wish List at Barnes and Noble...6 Down, Thirty-One to Go!

• I've made a wish list of 37 early reader books written and illustrated by Eric Carle. The picture posted is one of his books on the list.
• http://my.barnesandnoble.com/communityportal/WishList.aspx --this is where you can find my wish list
• I had enough funds on hand to purchase the first 6 books on the list...and with FREE SHIPPING! SWEET!
• If you'd like to send a book to the school, please leave a comment and I will contact you with the information.
  

Hat/Scarf/Mitten Sets

• 8 of the 10 yards of fleece arrived on Saturday...one fleece was out of stock and it happened to be the fleece with the multi-color print. I ordered 3 other fleece solids to go with the print. Not very convenient.


• I need to make copies of the patterns before I start cutting...and I can't drive to the store to buy myself some interfacing to make the patterns. Ug. Delays.
  

Portfolio Progress

• One thing I want to accomplish is setting up a simple portfolio to adequately describe the community and their needs.


• I found several "before and after" photos of structures in the community that have been renovated through small-community grants.


• I have also found several 2001 flood pictures.


• And, I found a few pictures of some of the bright spots of the town such as playground, basketball court, campground, and wildlife.


• Now the next step is to get more data to go with the pictures. I'm on it!

As always, thanks for stopping by! Please join me in helping improve the lives of children in need. I check for comments regularly...leave contact info and I'll get in touch.

Update...

I am a week into recovery from surgery. Its given me alot of time to window shop online.

Towards the book drive this month...

• Not as successful as I'd hoped it would be. I have very few books to send.
• I do have a list of state-awarded children-recommended books that I can add to my wish list. I am going to see if any are available at Barnes&Noble.com because I have a gift card to their site I haven't spent yet. It won't be permabound, but it would be on the AR book list. Maybe the quiz can be ordered separately.

Towards my goal of 100 hat/scarf/mitten sets by this fall...

• I ordered 10 yards of mix and match fleece, prints and solids and...
• I got free shipping with an online coupon
• And the fabric is on its way...I may be able to start cutting and sewing this week!
• I have the pattern...now am going to have someone help me start tracing patterns of each size in the pattern kit so I don't have to use the original pattern at all. That will help it last longer. I guess that would really be the first step before sewing.
• I clicked through every polar fleece print and solid online, and made a wishlist at the fabric website so that when I get new funds to get fabric, I have the legwork all done already.

Towards my goal of every class adopted by fall (7 classrooms in all)

• Still banking zero for new groups to adopt a classroom.
• I think I'd like to put together a simple portfolio--mix of pictures and words--that I could use to go to groups and talk about the adopt-a-classroom project

That's my update for today! Not alot of progress, but its to the best of my ability this week.

One Teacher's Note...

I got the gifts for my students yesterday and passed them out today. Thank you so much! On Saturday I went ...to give out Christmas to 10 families. At one home a young lady, probably in [her] 30s was carrying in wood. In the house a small flame was burning in the stove and she was trying to warm her hands. She said, “Frozen wood makes frozen hands.” When I saw those gloves, I knew she needed them. She lives in a house with a disabled father, an uncle in a wheel chair, and a 9 year old niece. The gifts you send will bless others and I tell them how blessed we are to have people like you that care. Thanks again!

My Wish List

This is my wish list. Having these items would help out so much!

• Stained men's and women's work shirts.
• Worn out blue jeans and heavy cotton dress pants.
• Polar fleece.
• $1 denomination USPS postage stamps.
• Baseball and softball equipment--new or used
• Freshwater fishing equipment--new or used
• Popular books for 4th-7th grade reading levels

More About Each Item on the Wish List....

Stained Men's and Women's Work Shirts:

• Don't throw out worn or stained dress shirts!
• They make great quilting squares for blankets!
• They make great backgrounds for cloth books!
• They make great stuffed animals!
• The buttons are great for math supplements (counting), and used for school crafts

Worn Out Blue Jeans and Heavy Cotton Dress Pants:

• When cut into strips, they are woven into durable, washable throw rugs for under heated or drafty homes.
• Grass stains and holes? No problem! We cut around them.

Polar Fleece:

• Yards and yards of colorful solids and stripes are needed to sew sets of hats, scarves and mittens.
• What's great about polar fleece is that its warm, washable, easy to work with, and doesn't unravel like other fabrics.
• I have a goal to sew 100 sets by Fall 2009...I have the sewing pattern, a few yards of polar fleece, but not enough.
• Pastel colors won't wash well--I'm trying to stay away from pastel.
• Joann Fabrics has a great selection on their website.
• Non pill is best...means it won't wear out as fast or get those little knots that sweaters get.

$1 Denomination USPS Postage Stamps:

• Here's the problem. I don't feel comfortable collecting money because I'm not a certified charity or for non-profit organization. I don't have a board of directors. I don't have time for the paperwork. Its just me steering the ship right now. So that means I collect items.
• I have to be careful to select themes that are light-weight to keep shipping costs down. I'm scared to see what the book drive month will cost. But books are so important, so I know its worth it. Plus there is a way to send books at a lower rate with the US postal service. But I digress...
• Getting some help with shipping means we can help the students more. Bottom line.

New/Used Baseball & Softball Equipment, Freshwater Fishing Equipment, and Popular 4th - 7th Grade Reading Level Books

• When talking with the Title I teacher, she said it gets harder in the older grades to motivate the students to love to read. They have a program that most schools have called "AR Reading". The student selects a book, reads it, and takes a short quiz to check for comprehension. They earn points in the school store as they read new books and take the quizzes.
• I thought maybe they need some juicier items for their school store for this age group--how about a glove and ball? How about a fishing pole and tackle kit? (There is a nearby lake, and its not polluted so the fish are edible!)
• I thought maybe they might need some of the popular titles like Goosebumps series, Harry Potter books, etc.
• Getting kids reading, enjoying it, and motivated is the goal! When they move on to middle school, being successful will depend on their ability to comprehend what they are reading. The further they get into their education, the more learning will be self-directed from textbooks and less learning from lecture.

And that's my wish list. If you can help, add a comment and I'll contact you with information. Again, thanks for stopping by! -Missy

Adopt A Classroom--Our Small Start

I started by buying cases of water to trade at work for my cost per bottle. I used the "water money" to buy book sets for the kindergarten classroom. When I talked to the teacher to see what her students' greatest needs are, she said socks and underwear. At the same time, the people I work with started asking about the trade water-for-cost, and a group of co-workers partnered with me to adopt the kindergarten classroom. So we had our first wish list. Socks and underwear. It was a rough and slow start for our little program, and I bet the school was wondering if I was sincere or not because it took a long time to send the first box of goodies.

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We have been able to watch for sales, and slip items on our grocery lists, and as moms and co-workers pull together...

• socks and underwear
• hat-mittens-scarf sets
• long sleeve and short sleeve shirts
• classroom spare girl and boy outfits that every kindergarten teacher needs
• books
• small holiday gifts

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Then we got a little more organized!

• We found a small daycare that was willing to adopt the 1st grade class!
• Now we have monthly themes. OO LA LA!
• We have a drop off box for people to add their contributions.
• We collect all month, and ship off (in theory--this is still the hardest part) in the first week of the next month.
• We don't know what we are doing, (LOL), so we really count on the school to give input for our themes.

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Here our the monthly themes so far for 2009:

• January--health and wellness--collected tissue boxes, hand sanitizer, and cleaning wipes
• February--love for reading--collected scrap booking paper to make a 12x12 poster template for every child to use for creative writing, and of course collecting books
• March--preparing for April showers--collecting small umbrellas and rain ponchos
• April--healthy smiles--collecting toothbrushes and toothpaste

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Here's why its working out pretty good so far:

• People love children
• Americans have always shared with their neighbors
• Each group that adopts a classroom has at least 15 adult participants so each person can just give a little and still overwhelmingly meet needs and make a difference
• The school is involved by first and foremost protecting the privacy of their students, and rightfully so! And,
• Secondly, guide us to what would best help the students according to our abilities to give--no wasted dollars being spent!

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Here's my dream:

• Meet and network with people that can share some of their extra
• Keep the concept simple so its achievable!
• Start 2009-2010 with every classroom adopted from Pre-K to 5th grade
• Visit the community in person
• Help meet needs
• Sew one hat/scarf/mitten set for every child to have next school year

See my wish list for more information...

Again, thank you for stopping by! -Missy

What Moved Me

About Me

I'm an ordinary person, living in an ordinary town in America. I am married, I work full time, I have 5 children, and one grandchild. I'm just like nearly any other person you might run into at the grocery store or little league game. I'm a Christian, but not the pushy kind. I'm always happy to talk to anyone anywhere about my God, but I have rarely initiated those conversations. I respect people's rights to their own beliefs.

I happen to have a heart that breaks for children that find themselves in impossible situations. Poverty, for a child, is an impossible situation. Its out of their control and often separates them from their peers in a most difficult and humiliating way. Except, of course, when everyone around you lives in poverty, too. But its still an impossible situation. But on this passion, I know I'm still ordinary. I hope people can find me, people that have the same passion so we can work together NOW.

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About 2008

I may have the year wrong. Here's how I got down this track...

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Event 1: I watched the first "American Idol Gives Back". I cried. I thought it was great. I was moved by every story they highlighted. I was really curious to watch next year to see how the American needs would be met.

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Event 2: I watched the second "American Idol Gives Back". I cried. I thought it was great. I didn't really catch any great strides being made towards the children living in dieing coal mining towns that were highlighted in the first show. To be fair to the folks with American Idol, I'm sure there are things they are doing and probably more than they are able to put on the air. Or at least I hope so. But this event moved me on to....

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Event 3: I started researching. Through census bureau reports I found McDowell County, West Virginia to be the 8th poorest county in the United States. And that is relatively close to me. (I'm in Virginia.) I dug deeper to find most families in this county were living below the poverty line. These statistics are available all over the internet. I'm not going to post them. I'd encourage you to do your own research. You might find a top 10 poorest county in the US closer to where you live, and that's better.

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A little about McDowell County...beautiful mountains, poverty, closed coal mines, unemployed and working poor, dedicated teachers, dual and single parent families, beautiful children; Americans!

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I found a small town inside McDowell County, with a small school, with modestly improving school results. This kind of information is also available on the internet about schools everywhere with a small amount of time spent looking.

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Event 4: I contacted the school before that school year ended to try to put together a plan for 2008-2009 school year. They were cautiously open to receiving help. We put together a very small plan and from there have made some small beginnings.

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Today: I have started an "adopt a classroom" project in this small school that has been up and running for this school year in the most modest of ways. Small start. I'll post another entry to describe the project better. I'm hoping that people who watch Diane Sawyer's special on Friday will be moved to look for people with the same desire to help. Thank you for stopping by! -Missy