I am going to a church meeting on Sunday where we will be asked for ideas on service projects our entire ward family can do- probably 50-60 people will actually attend, all varying ages from newborn to 70's. I am REALLY REALLY REALLY hoping that we come up with something besides just donating socks- which seems to be our theme for EVERY SERVICE PROJECT WE HAVE. I am hoping to come up with something where we are actually DOING SOMETHING for and with people rather than just going shopping.
Please share any ideas you have used at your church that has worked, or that you have heard about that worked so I can take these ideas to this meeting and help to come up with a meaningful project for everyone.
Thank you!!!!
UPDATE: I had the meeting this morning. I took the ideas you guys have and brought several I also had, including working at a center which collects toys for Christmas and needs help sorting the toys, landscaping at a long-term facility that houses families whose children are in long-term cancer treatment programs, and throwing parties at the Ronald McDonald House. They seemed to like the ideas, but are going to think them over and decide later. One idea was to break into groups and do several projects. We'll see what happens, but I am excited.
Showing posts with label Service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Service. Show all posts
Friday, June 10, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Ben's Bells
Have any of you ever heard of Ben's Bells?
Chances are, you have not. I hadn't either until my friend Jenny became involved. Now I understand what an awesome program this is!!!
It started when a woman, Jeanette Mare, lost her son Ben when he was 3. This happened 9 years ago, and Jeanette said she felt dead and numb inside. Of course, on the outside she looked fine- nobody knew the horror she was enduring inside. She said every smile, every tiny act of kindness, became huge for her to help relieve some of her suffering. She learned how much small acts of kindness truly can make a difference.
Out of this, she came up with the idea of Ben's Bells. She began making bells and distributing them throughout the Tucson area- hanging them on trees or in parking lots or wherever, with notes on them that spoke of kindness. The idea spread, and is now a huge project with full-time employees.
Jenny learned about this and decided to sponsor a Ben's Bell Distribution here in Denver. She raised the funds, and on Saturday we got to participate in distributing bells.
This is where I have to apologize to Jenny. I did not understand what an unbelievable and magnificent undertaking this was, nor all that Jenny had to do to accomplish this task. If I had, I would have been much more diligent in advertising and getting as many people as I could get to also attend. I am truly sorry I did not do that this first time around. Now I understand, and the next time there is a distribution, I will be much more diligent. This was such a fantastic event and service project, I can't even describe it in words. You are a rock star, Jenny!!!!
It was incredibly cold as we met at Red Rocks. Audra asked what we were doing and I said we were going to Red Rocks and on the drive over she said, "I don't know what Red Rocks is- I hope I can get through the door." It's a huge outdoor amphitheater- no doors to worry about!
Jeanette Mare, the founder of Ben's Bells, was actually there- what a huge surprise that was! Despite the cold, the spirits were high. We were each given 20 bells and a map of a general area to go and hang up bells- it was as simple as that.
I think Jenny will admit that the pictures don't do the bells justice. They are stunning in real life- absolutely stunning. I had seen the pictures before, but when I saw the bells I was awe-struck. They are just gorgeous.
Jenny has better pictures on her blog HERE. The card says "You have found a Ben's Bell. Take it home, hang it in your yard, and remember to spread kindness throughout our world."
Then, today stories started coming in on the Ben's Bells website about people who had found bells in the area. Maybe some of these stories are from bells that we hung! The stories are HERE. We hung a bell on a bush at a grocery store- maybe that was ours!
Thank you Jenny for the wonderful opportunity to spread a little happiness with my family!!! It was an amazing day for an amazing cause!!!
Chances are, you have not. I hadn't either until my friend Jenny became involved. Now I understand what an awesome program this is!!!
It started when a woman, Jeanette Mare, lost her son Ben when he was 3. This happened 9 years ago, and Jeanette said she felt dead and numb inside. Of course, on the outside she looked fine- nobody knew the horror she was enduring inside. She said every smile, every tiny act of kindness, became huge for her to help relieve some of her suffering. She learned how much small acts of kindness truly can make a difference.
Out of this, she came up with the idea of Ben's Bells. She began making bells and distributing them throughout the Tucson area- hanging them on trees or in parking lots or wherever, with notes on them that spoke of kindness. The idea spread, and is now a huge project with full-time employees.
Jenny learned about this and decided to sponsor a Ben's Bell Distribution here in Denver. She raised the funds, and on Saturday we got to participate in distributing bells.
This is where I have to apologize to Jenny. I did not understand what an unbelievable and magnificent undertaking this was, nor all that Jenny had to do to accomplish this task. If I had, I would have been much more diligent in advertising and getting as many people as I could get to also attend. I am truly sorry I did not do that this first time around. Now I understand, and the next time there is a distribution, I will be much more diligent. This was such a fantastic event and service project, I can't even describe it in words. You are a rock star, Jenny!!!!
It was incredibly cold as we met at Red Rocks. Audra asked what we were doing and I said we were going to Red Rocks and on the drive over she said, "I don't know what Red Rocks is- I hope I can get through the door." It's a huge outdoor amphitheater- no doors to worry about!
Jeanette Mare, the founder of Ben's Bells, was actually there- what a huge surprise that was! Despite the cold, the spirits were high. We were each given 20 bells and a map of a general area to go and hang up bells- it was as simple as that.
Then, today stories started coming in on the Ben's Bells website about people who had found bells in the area. Maybe some of these stories are from bells that we hung! The stories are HERE. We hung a bell on a bush at a grocery store- maybe that was ours!
Thank you Jenny for the wonderful opportunity to spread a little happiness with my family!!! It was an amazing day for an amazing cause!!!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Temple De-Struction
Today Audra and I were able to go to the temple and pull out flowers. Apparently, they have winter flowers and summer flowers. We got to take out the winter flowers to make way for the summer ones. It was technically a Relief Society activity, but kids were involved, and it was one of the best RS activities I have ever been to! I LOVED that Audra could come with me and that Audra is learning to love the temple as much as I do!!!
About to get her hands dirty
Audra with one of her best friends Adele
Audra's reward for doing such a good job: "a big, special temple cookie!"
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Decision
You guys know I have been thinking about what I could do to be of greater service. I mentioned the idea of baking cookies, and after thinking more about it, that's what I decided to do. Here are the biggest reasons why:
1. I love that I can do this with the girls
2. Because I can do it with the girls, I don't have to get them a sitter- that's nice
3. I can still do other service if I so choose
4. It can be flexible- I'm not constrained to anything or anyone
and, the biggest reason:
I realized I can use this as a catalyst to teach the girls how to follow the Spirit. Each time before we bake cookies, we are going to say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father who we should deliver the cookies to. Even as a young child, Aud and Claire can feel the promptings of who should get cookies. I would much rather they learn how to hear the promptings of the Spirit when we are dealing with cookies rather than waiting until they are choosing a spouse or career or something major. We have such a finite time to teach them before they enter the world and the world teaches them, I love the idea that cookies can be a true learning experience for them in the most important of matters.
Obviously, I realize that cookies are not going to change the world. But, maybe we can change our little sphere.
Here we are getting started:
Look at this face- how could this not be a great idea:
Monday, August 2, 2010
Random Acts of Not-So-Kindness
On my long drive to Utah, I listened to a book on tape. The book was titled, "The Actor and the Housewife." It is about a Mormon housewife who becomes best friends with a famous actor. It was OK, though certainly not on my top 10 list.
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But, an analysis of the book is not what this post is about.
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Instead it is about one small side story . In the book, the main character makes 2 pies a week to give to people from church or in her neighborhood who might need some cheering up for whatever reason. I thought that was a pretty cool idea, and pondered if I should start doing something like that. I eventually decided there are hundreds of different ways to serve, and it was OK that my way of serving was not the pie-baking kind.
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But yesterday I found out a friend was going to have a hard week due to some medical treatments she is receiving. I thought, "hey- I can bake her something to let her know I am thinking of her!" Plus, I had a coupon I was dropping off at one of my best friends homes' and thought it would be fun to give her some as well.
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I grew up baking quite a bit (Christmas treats in particular!) and am relatively confident in my baking abilities. That was my first mistake.
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In my mind I envisioned making beautiful cinnamon rolls:
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But, an analysis of the book is not what this post is about.
-
Instead it is about one small side story . In the book, the main character makes 2 pies a week to give to people from church or in her neighborhood who might need some cheering up for whatever reason. I thought that was a pretty cool idea, and pondered if I should start doing something like that. I eventually decided there are hundreds of different ways to serve, and it was OK that my way of serving was not the pie-baking kind.
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But yesterday I found out a friend was going to have a hard week due to some medical treatments she is receiving. I thought, "hey- I can bake her something to let her know I am thinking of her!" Plus, I had a coupon I was dropping off at one of my best friends homes' and thought it would be fun to give her some as well.
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I grew up baking quite a bit (Christmas treats in particular!) and am relatively confident in my baking abilities. That was my first mistake.
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In my mind I envisioned making beautiful cinnamon rolls:
I don't know why, but I decided it had to be cinnamon rolls.
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Unfortunately, my beautiful rolls turned out more like this:
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Burnt, and well, not too super tasty (for the record, this is not my actual roll, and they weren't THAT burned). Rather than throw them out, I decided to turn lemons into lemonade. I wrote a note to my friend with health problems and told her I hoped my horrible baking skills would at least bring a smile to her face, and to Arienne- I will just apologize for making you suffer!
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In the future, I think I will stick to baby-sitting instead of baking!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Audra's Kind-Of Birthday Party
On Monday Audra turns two- crazy I know, she thinks she is turning 16. Anyway, we decided not to do a Birthday party because we did such a big one last year, but in lieu of a party and gifts and everything else, we wanted to invite everybody to come to CiCi's Pizza this Saturday at noon and help with a fundraiser for Matt and Jenny Fischer- read their story at http://www.colofisch.blogspot.com/. (For those of you in Seattle, this is a special invitation for you to come!) CiCi's Pizza will give 10% of all of the proceeds for that day to the Fischer's family (be sure to mention their name when you order!!!!), and we thought that helping them out would be the greatest gift for Audra's Birthday. I'll have a cake to make it official that we are celebrating a Birthday, but really it is about them.
The CiCi's is located just north of Hampden and Sheridan in the Kings Soopers/Home Depot parking lot. I hope as many people as possible can come, so put it on your calendar!!!! If you need better directions, just call.
If you happen to have a more exotic palate, there is also a great fundraiser at The Melting Pot this Sunday. Of course, it is all Melting Pot food and there will also be a silent auction. For information on this fundraiser for Matt and Jenny, go to: http://colofisch.blogspot.com/2009/02/tickets-are-on-sale.html
You can buy your tickets there as well as find out more about what is going on.
I should mention that all of the money being raised is going to alternative treatments for CiCi (pretty much all treatments for pediatric brain injuries are alternative, which means insurance doesn't pay for them), and that these treatments are working!!! She can now do push-ups and reach up to grab things- it is incredibly exciting, but there is still a long way for them to go.
I hope to see you all this weekend!!!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Benefit Fair
On Saturday there is going to be a carnival/fair/fundraiser for a young family in which the mother has been afflicted with breast cancer. Here is a brief story about her:
Heather Kartchner is a caretaker, healer and friend. Her powerful sense for how to love others is why she is known for her gentleness, attentive nature, and strong spirit. As a mother of three beautiful children, wife of seven years, and well-loved physical therapist for the Children's Hospital, life usually gives back to Heather the goodness she so deserves. Hence, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer just four months ago - two months after the birth of her son - it seemed so dismally unjust. True to form, though, Heather has handled the challenge with grace and beauty. The fight to overcome the cancer, and withstand the effects of its treatment may be the hardest thing she has ever faced; but, thanks to whom she is, Heather fights with a network of love around her. As a woman of faith, all who interact with her are uplifted by her gratitude and surety that she will be healed.
The carnival is this Saturday in Littleton. They have all kinds of things planned, and 100% of ALL money spent goes directly to the family to help them with her therapy costs. Here is a flier with more information:
http://www.drewstorm.com/chucklestocurecancer/fortheloveofheather.htm
Apparently, they are going to give the $10.00/family discount at the door (instead of $15.00) because it took them longer then expected to get everything ironed out.
Ben and I are going, so if you want to come with us, let us know and we will meet you there!!! I love that we get to go spend a day doing something really fun, and helping out a great family at the same time!!!
(Also, Jenny, I want to check this out to see if it would be feasible to organize something like this for your family- I'll let you know what I find out!!!)
Heather Kartchner is a caretaker, healer and friend. Her powerful sense for how to love others is why she is known for her gentleness, attentive nature, and strong spirit. As a mother of three beautiful children, wife of seven years, and well-loved physical therapist for the Children's Hospital, life usually gives back to Heather the goodness she so deserves. Hence, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer just four months ago - two months after the birth of her son - it seemed so dismally unjust. True to form, though, Heather has handled the challenge with grace and beauty. The fight to overcome the cancer, and withstand the effects of its treatment may be the hardest thing she has ever faced; but, thanks to whom she is, Heather fights with a network of love around her. As a woman of faith, all who interact with her are uplifted by her gratitude and surety that she will be healed.
The carnival is this Saturday in Littleton. They have all kinds of things planned, and 100% of ALL money spent goes directly to the family to help them with her therapy costs. Here is a flier with more information:
http://www.drewstorm.com/chucklestocurecancer/fortheloveofheather.htm
Apparently, they are going to give the $10.00/family discount at the door (instead of $15.00) because it took them longer then expected to get everything ironed out.
Ben and I are going, so if you want to come with us, let us know and we will meet you there!!! I love that we get to go spend a day doing something really fun, and helping out a great family at the same time!!!
(Also, Jenny, I want to check this out to see if it would be feasible to organize something like this for your family- I'll let you know what I find out!!!)
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Cloth Diapering?
I had this debate on my friend's blog about whether cloth diapering is worth it or not, so this is NOT a debate, but my friends' who had the 1-year-old with the accident (for more information visit their blog at http://colofisch.blogspot.com/ because they are absolutely inspirational!) have been given a great gift from the Denver Diaper Company.
If you are interested in trying out cloth diapers and order through them, they will give customers 5% off all purchases, and give back 5% of the proceeds to the Fischer's to help with their new expenses in having a special needs child. Jenny explains it better on her blog (website above), but if you want to check out the Denver Diaper Company, here is their address:
http://www.denverdiaperco.com/
You can also donate directly to the family on Jenny's blog- even a couple of dollars helps. But, even if you can't donate- you should definitely read Jenny's blog because you will come away feeling so inspired and grateful for all that you have! She is such a beautiful and inspiring woman! I love you, Jenny!!!
If you are interested in trying out cloth diapers and order through them, they will give customers 5% off all purchases, and give back 5% of the proceeds to the Fischer's to help with their new expenses in having a special needs child. Jenny explains it better on her blog (website above), but if you want to check out the Denver Diaper Company, here is their address:
http://www.denverdiaperco.com/
You can also donate directly to the family on Jenny's blog- even a couple of dollars helps. But, even if you can't donate- you should definitely read Jenny's blog because you will come away feeling so inspired and grateful for all that you have! She is such a beautiful and inspiring woman! I love you, Jenny!!!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
My (shared) BYU Legacy
Before I got married and had Audra, I actually did some pretty cool things (not that changing diapers isn't cool...). One of those things of which I am rather proud was organizing Community Outreach Day at BYU. I know most of you are asking, what on earth is that?
Well, Bill Clinton declared Martin Luther King Day as a national day of service, and while I was attending BYU I decided that BYU should have some sort of service day to honor that. They already did a candlelight vigil, but nothing in relation to service. I went to the student union (BYUSA) and pitched my idea: On the Monday holiday of MLK Day, instead of staying at home and doing homework, we would encourage students to come and give a few hours of their time doing service. We would provide breakfast, the service projects, and the transportation and all the students would have to do was show up. I happen to be a very good organizer, and I presented my ideas pretty well, but they said, "we love this idea, but don't get too excited. The most people we ever get to attend service projects are about 50." In my head I was like, "we're going to get 10 times that!" and I got to work.
I have to say this is a shared legacy, because by default my roommates and sisters became very involved in the project as well (by the time I graduated my roommates got very scared when I said the phrase, "I have an idea"- Ben is almost to that point, but not quite yet). I also had a wonderful committee, and we put in a lot of hours and got everything ready- not sure what to expect. Coming up with a name was one of the hardest parts- we considered "Neighborhood Awareness Day" and several others before finally settling on "Community Outreach Day." That first year, we had over FOUR HUNDRED people show up! BYUSA was totally shocked- they had never had such great success before, especially for a project that was in it's first year. I won an award for all of BYU for the best new program of the year. It was all over the news- it was such an awesome thing to be able to come up with the idea, plan the whole thing (with aforementioned help), and have it be such a huge success. And, I am proud to say, the tradition still continues. Here is a news article about yesterday's festivities:
http://newnewsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/70752
I hope this legacy that I started continues and that someday if Audra decides to go to BYU, she can be put in charge of planning the program her mother started for one of the years she is there! It really is cool to think that something I started is still continuing to this day- even if my name has been forgotten, at least my program has not!
(I apologize if I sound a little prideful in this post- but I am a little proud of this. I think I have been able to do a lot of great things, and sometimes it is really easy to forget that when you're a stay-at-home-mom. I do miss the recognition of accomplishing goals and being rewarded for your work- and I truly envy you mothers out there who have been able to find the perfect work/mom balance so you can get that recognition that so many of us crave, but still be the best moms to your kids as well. And, I will just throw in, that on the flipside of that coin, I have the utmost respect for all of you working mothers- I think you guys have the toughest job in the world because you go out in the workforce and face the stresses and deadlines that come from that, and still have to come home and put food on the table! So, while I envy you that little freedom you enjoy, I also am in awe and have such respect for you because of the hard work you do!!!!)
(And, I know some of you thought I would post about the wonderfulness of today- but I think the events transpiring around the country today speak for themselves- though I look forward to reading about anybody else who is posting about today. I am sure virtually all of you, even if you do not like Obama, at least appreciate the historical nature of the day and the excitement in the air across the country. Happy Inauguration Day!)
Well, Bill Clinton declared Martin Luther King Day as a national day of service, and while I was attending BYU I decided that BYU should have some sort of service day to honor that. They already did a candlelight vigil, but nothing in relation to service. I went to the student union (BYUSA) and pitched my idea: On the Monday holiday of MLK Day, instead of staying at home and doing homework, we would encourage students to come and give a few hours of their time doing service. We would provide breakfast, the service projects, and the transportation and all the students would have to do was show up. I happen to be a very good organizer, and I presented my ideas pretty well, but they said, "we love this idea, but don't get too excited. The most people we ever get to attend service projects are about 50." In my head I was like, "we're going to get 10 times that!" and I got to work.
I have to say this is a shared legacy, because by default my roommates and sisters became very involved in the project as well (by the time I graduated my roommates got very scared when I said the phrase, "I have an idea"- Ben is almost to that point, but not quite yet). I also had a wonderful committee, and we put in a lot of hours and got everything ready- not sure what to expect. Coming up with a name was one of the hardest parts- we considered "Neighborhood Awareness Day" and several others before finally settling on "Community Outreach Day." That first year, we had over FOUR HUNDRED people show up! BYUSA was totally shocked- they had never had such great success before, especially for a project that was in it's first year. I won an award for all of BYU for the best new program of the year. It was all over the news- it was such an awesome thing to be able to come up with the idea, plan the whole thing (with aforementioned help), and have it be such a huge success. And, I am proud to say, the tradition still continues. Here is a news article about yesterday's festivities:
http://newnewsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/70752
I hope this legacy that I started continues and that someday if Audra decides to go to BYU, she can be put in charge of planning the program her mother started for one of the years she is there! It really is cool to think that something I started is still continuing to this day- even if my name has been forgotten, at least my program has not!
(I apologize if I sound a little prideful in this post- but I am a little proud of this. I think I have been able to do a lot of great things, and sometimes it is really easy to forget that when you're a stay-at-home-mom. I do miss the recognition of accomplishing goals and being rewarded for your work- and I truly envy you mothers out there who have been able to find the perfect work/mom balance so you can get that recognition that so many of us crave, but still be the best moms to your kids as well. And, I will just throw in, that on the flipside of that coin, I have the utmost respect for all of you working mothers- I think you guys have the toughest job in the world because you go out in the workforce and face the stresses and deadlines that come from that, and still have to come home and put food on the table! So, while I envy you that little freedom you enjoy, I also am in awe and have such respect for you because of the hard work you do!!!!)
(And, I know some of you thought I would post about the wonderfulness of today- but I think the events transpiring around the country today speak for themselves- though I look forward to reading about anybody else who is posting about today. I am sure virtually all of you, even if you do not like Obama, at least appreciate the historical nature of the day and the excitement in the air across the country. Happy Inauguration Day!)
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Pretty Cool
I got an e-mail about a really neat thing Xerox is doing- if you go to http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1280.html you can pick out a thank you card to send to a member of the troops- you don't get to say who it goes to, but it's pretty cool, takes like 10 seconds, and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside!
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