Register ASAP!

The latest email:

Hello again friends,

Just a friendly reminder to register ASAP for Feed My Starving Children on November 12th.

We have many spots left, surprising after the number of people who have previously expressed interest. We will put up a few fliers around town this weekend and accept registration until Saturday, November 5th, or until all spots are filled, whichever comes first. If we have any open spots after November 5th we will release those for the public.

Feel free to pass this on to any friends or family. And as we've recently learned that each volunteer packs approximately $52 worth of food in one session, know that any donations you can make or solicit would be much appreciated on behalf of this fabulous organization which helps children across the globe.

Best,
The Wilsons

PS Here are the details from the previous email in case you missed it:

The mission of Feed My Starving Children is "Feeding God’s Starving Children Hungry in Body and Spirit." FMSC brings volunteers into their facility to pack specially formulated food for hungry children all over the world. It is such an inspiring and fun experience to be there, and to feel a part of something so good. My children have so enjoyed their experiences with uplifting music, good hard work, and the satisfaction of knowing they are helping someone in need. From the history on the FMSC website I'm so grateful to learn that this organization is growing: "In 2003 FMSC produced 3 million meals with one packing site and 17,000 volunteers. By 2010 FMSC produced over 124 million meals with 6 permanent packing sites, and a nationwide MobilePackTM program, and more than 515,000 volunteers." Volunteers are critical, and here is your chance to be one!

Wilson Family Charity has reserved all 90 spots for Saturday, November 12th from 2-4 PM at 555 Exchange Court, Aurora. Due to age requirements (see guidelines below), we will fill 5 spots with Wilsons. The first 85 of you to contact me and reserve your spots can secure the rest. Feel free to pass this message on to others, and invite your friends to come, while adhering to the child-adult ratios:
Grade 10-12: 5 students to 1 adult

Grade 7-9: 4 students to 1 adult

Grade 3-6: 3 students to 1 adult

Grade K-2: 1 student to 1 adult

In addition, we will be doing our best to cover costs of the food we pack...meaning, if you come and are able to afford it, please bring donations! And if you cannot attend but have the means to donate, please do! Find a donation flyer here: http://www.fmsc.org/document.doc?id=17, donate online here: https://www.fmsc.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=235 and or learn more on the general website for Feed My Starving Children here: http://www.fmsc.org/ Consider posting a request for donations to your facebook page, or sending an email to friends or family. Donations are tax-deductible. If you don't mind keeping track of any money you bring in and letting me know, I will be able to total it up and see if we can make the goal of covering costs.

Feed My Starving Children: November 12th from 2-4 PM

Hello Friends,

In just over three weeks Wilson Family Charity will be hosting a session over at the remarkable Feed My Starving Children in Aurora. I know many of you are already familiar with this organization and will make the effort to join us. If you have never been and can make time for it, PLEASE come. You will be so glad that you did.

The mission of Feed My Starving Children is "Feeding God’s Starving Children Hungry in Body and Spirit." FMSC brings volunteers into their facility to pack specially formulated food for hungry children all over the world. It is such an inspiring and fun experience to be there, and to feel a part of something so good. My children have so enjoyed their experiences with uplifting music, good hard work, and the satisfaction of knowing they are helping someone in need. From the history on the FMSC website I'm so grateful to learn that this organization is growing: "In 2003 FMSC produced 3 million meals with one packing site and 17,000 volunteers. By 2010 FMSC produced over 124 million meals with 6 permanent packing sites, and a nationwide MobilePackTM program, and more than 515,000 volunteers." Volunteers are critical, and here is your chance to be one!

Wilson Family Charity has reserved all 90 spots for Saturday, November 12th from 2-4 PM at 555 Exchange Court, Aurora. Due to age requirements (see guidelines below), we will fill 5 spots with Wilsons. The first 85 of you to contact me and reserve your spots can secure the rest. Feel free to pass this message on to others, and invite your friends to come, while adhering to the child-adult ratios:
Grade 10-12: 5 students to 1 adult

Grade 7-9: 4 students to 1 adult

Grade 3-6: 3 students to 1 adult

Grade K-2: 1 student to 1 adult

In addition, we will be doing our best to cover costs of the food we pack...meaning, if you come and are able to afford it, please bring donations! And if you cannot attend but have the means to donate, please do! Find a donation flyer here: http://www.fmsc.org/document.doc?id=17, donate online here: https://www.fmsc.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=235 and or learn more on the general website for Feed My Starving Children here: http://www.fmsc.org/ Consider posting a request for donations to your facebook page, or sending an email to friends or family. Donations are tax-deductible. If you don't mind keeping track of any money you bring in and letting me know, I will be able to total it up and see if we can make the goal of covering costs.

November is a great month to give thanks, and what better way to give thanks than to share of our time and abundance?

Best,
The Wilsons

One more week!

Hello Friends,

Hope this finds you all well! Though my lofty goals for keeping a running tab on donations did not materialize through a vacation, the start of school and activities, houseguests, and a new puppy, we have still been collecting! Today I met with a group of wonderful 8-11 year old girls to put together kits from what we have so far.

We are 29 100-page notebooks shy of the fillings for 47 completed kits, with a start on about 5-10 more. We have quite a few standard pencils and scissors, but could use a few more rulers, pencil sharpeners, 12-packs of colored pencils, and erasers, along with more notebooks. Of course, we'll still take anything you have already collected as any surplus and/or items not found on the list that we receive will be donated to the Office Max school supplies drive.

The notebook requirement calls for 450 pages in no more than 6 notebooks. We've found that generally speaking, the best value is found by grouping 5 70-page notebooks (I found them for a quarter each at Target today) with 1 100-page or 120-page notebook, but other combinations are acceptable (ie 3 80-page notebooks with 3 70-page notebooks or 3 150-page notebooks).

We have three completed sewn bags, with a commitment for about 20 more. If anyone knows how to sew and would like to help we would love it! I also have a sewing machine I can lend out (as I don't actually know how to sew).

Also, for the last week (beginning Thursday, September 8th) there will be an additional collection bin located through the front doors of Steeple Run Elementary School across from the "I Forgot" bins, along with the bin in front of my home.

Just a reminder that the kits we are putting together include the following:
• 4 pencils (unsharpened)
• 1 box pre-sharpened or unsharpened assorted colored pencils
(approx. 7” long, approx. 12 pencils/box)
• 1 pencil sharpener
• 1 rubber pencil eraser (approx 1" x 2")
• 1 straight edge ruler - 12 inches, with metric
• 1 pair of blunt-nosed scissors (metal blades)
• Glued or spiral bound notebooks or letter size legal pads, with lined sheets. Include enough notebooks/pads to total approximately 450 sheets (Please do not include more than 6 notebooks/pads). Sheet sizes 8 1/2" x 11", 8" x 10 1/2", 8 1/2" x 11 3/4" are acceptable.

Thanks for your help!
The Wilsons

PS Mark your calendar for Feed My Starving Children on Saturday, November 12th from 2-4 PM.

So much for weekly updates!

With a last hurrah of summer week in Michigan and the start of a new school year weekly updates have just not been practical. However, we are now in the swing of things a little bit better so I should be on top of things from here on out.

I am taking inventory today on what has already been donated. I know there are others who have been collecting but have not yet dropped off their items. (Don't worry as there is plenty of time left.) Thanks for your help!

By the end of the day tomorrow I should have another email out including information about additional drop-off sites and preliminary information regarding Feed My Starving Children in November.

Doesn't it make you feel better to do something which helps someone else?

It's time to collect those school supplies!

This is tonight's email:

Hello Friends!

I'm so sad that it is almost time to go back to school. There is nothing better than summer with all of my children home with me every day.

Back to school means new pencils with perfect erasers and empty notebooks waiting to be filled. While running your regular errands please consider picking up some extra supplies to ensure that children in need can receive proper tools for learning. There are great sales going on at places like Target, Staples, Office Depot, Walgreens, and Walmart.

Just a reminder that kits for LDS Philanthropies include:

School Kit
• 4 pencils (unsharpened)
• 1 box pre-sharpened or unsharpened assorted colored pencils
(approx. 7” long, approx. 12 pencils/box)
• 1 pencil sharpener
• 1 rubber pencil eraser (approx 1" x 2")
• 1 straight edge ruler - 12 inches, with metric
• 1 pair of blunt-nosed scissors (metal blades)
• Glued or spiral bound notebooks or letter size legal pads, with lined sheets. Include enough notebooks/pads to total approximately 450 sheets (Please do not include more than 6 notebooks/pads). Sheet sizes 8 1/2" x 11", 8" x 10 1/2", 8 1/2" x 11 3/4" are acceptable.
• 1 durable cloth bag made of heavy fabric (See cloth bag guidelines below)

Please donate according to the list, or consider a donation of money towards completing partial kits or time to sew bags and assemble the kits.

There will be a bin on my porch from tomorrow until September 15th. You do not need to donate full kits. You may choose to purchase just one item. I will keep a running tally on our site (wilsonfamilycharity.blogspot.com) of what has been donated. I'll also send emails each week including those totals.

Thanks for your help in this project!

Warmly,
The Wilson Family

PS Please contact me if you would like to be removed from this list, or if you have a friend that would like to be added to the email list.

School Supplies Drive!!!

What better time to do a school supplies drive than at back to school sales time!

We are pleased to announce the Wilson Family Charity School Supplies Drive, which will run from August 1-September 15. We will be collecting both goods and monetary donations to put together kits for LDS Philanthropies. My favorite thing about LDS Philanthropies is that 100% of all donations are used for the causes for which they have been donated. I am not aware of any other organization that is able to operate in this manner. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints covers all administrative costs so that LDS Philanthropies can use your whole donation for those in need.

In regards to giving humanitarian aid, LDS Philanthropies offers help to those in need without regard for religion, gender, race, or any other type of diversity.

School kits are often sent to both schools and orphanages and on occasion are sent to disaster areas.

We will need to donate kits according to the guidelines, so please only donate items that are actually on the list, or money. We will use all monetary donations to help cover the cost of fabric or velcro for the bags and/or for school supplies we are short on to make full kits.

And if you know how to sew and would be willing to help us put the bags together we would love it!!! (I do have a sewing machine though I do not know much about using it yet.)


School Kit
• 4 pencils (unsharpened)
• 1 box pre-sharpened or unsharpened assorted colored pencils
(approx. 7” long, approx. 12 pencils/box)
• 1 pencil sharpener
• 1 rubber pencil eraser (approx 1" x 2")
• 1 straight edge ruler - 12 inches, with metric
• 1 pair of blunt-nosed scissors (metal blades)
• Glued or spiral bound notebooks or letter size legal pads, with lined sheets. Include enough notebooks/pads to total approximately 450 sheets (Please do not include more than 6 notebooks/pads). Sheet sizes 8 1/2" x 11", 8" x 10 1/2", 8 1/2" x 11 3/4" are acceptable.
• 1 durable cloth bag made of heavy fabric (See cloth bag guidelines below)

Place items inside the cloth bag.

Cloth Bag (for School Kit)• Cut two pieces of fabric for bag 14"x 18", Cut 2 handles 24"x 3.5" (1.5" webbing may be substituted).
• Serge or zigzag all edges of both pieces of bag fabric.
• Put right sides of bag fabric together. Starting at the top of the side seam,(side seam = 18" length), sew around 3 sides of bag (2 long sides, 1 short side). Make sure to backstitch.

Handles
• Zig-zag or serge one long side of each handle.
• With right side out, fold over raw edge and overlap serged edge.
• Stitch lengthwise down center of handle.
• Pin or secure handle in place. Repeat with the other end of the handle on the same side of the bag.
• Repeat on other side of bag.
• After handles are secure, stitch hem of bag, including handles around entire hem.
• Reinforce stitching on handles.
• Place a 3” strip of velcro on inside of bag between handle straps. Sew in place.

Beginning August 1 there will be a bin in front of our home for collections. The address will go out by email so please email wilsonfamilycharity@gmail.com if you need it. After school begins, there will be a bin in the foyer of Steeple Run Elementary School. Also, there is one business location that may allow us to set up a bin. More information to follow.

Thanks in advance for your help! We are so blessed and grateful for the opportunity to help others have tools for learning.

Bake sale success by the numbers, and we made the local news!

I have more pictures and stories to tell about the bake sale, but they will have to wait.


In the meantime, this is the email I sent out today:


Dear Friends,

Truly the success of such an event as we had this weekend cannot be measured simply by the numbers. Many of you were touched by the spirit of giving, as were some of those we sold to. I could feel the energy and excitement in our neighborhood and community as so many people contributed by baking, donating, transporting, working, and purchasing. And I am thrilled to think of the little mouths that will be fed as a result of this group effort.

But I have to admit that the numbers themselves are pretty darn awesome:

• 35 families or businesses contributed goods or equipment (tables, baskets, etc)
  


• 9 families helped transport goods
  


• 8 families helped to work the sale (including a number of super-cute kids)
  


• Walgreens experienced an 11% increase in sales from Friday before Mother's Day 2010 to this past Friday and invited us to hold a bake sale there anytime!
  


• Friday we raised $715.42
  


• Saturday we raised $1059.08 (including $232 for the Silent Auction table, average of $29 per item)
  


• Average sales per hour: $147.88
  


• Online donations: $380
  


• Grand total: $2154.50 (With a few others who have told me they will be donating online but have not yet done so.)

And we were featured on the local news!

What's next? At the end of the month we will start a series of blog posts highlighting service. Watch for:

• Tuesday Tips, including tips on service...how to's regarding involving kids, working it into your schedule, deciding where to serve, hosting your own bake sale or other fundraiser, etc, etc,
  


• Friday Feature, including spotlights on individuals, families, and organizations that have given significant service, and
  


• Sunday Stories, including heartwarming stories about those who have been blessed by giving or receiving service.

We would LOVE to have your input on these posts, so if you have something to share that would fit please send it in. Know of a friend or organization that does a lot of good? Do you have a positive experience with service that you'd like to share? I'm hoping for plenty of guest posts, so please send in your thoughts!

Our next big project will be a drive for school supplies. Watch for an email with details about the specific items needed for the school supply kits. The drive will run from July 15th-September 1st, focused intentionally on the time of year when school supplies are on sale.

Thank you so much to all of you who contributed with goods, time, donations, and even your thoughts and prayers. We feel so blessed to have been able to participate with you, and thankful for your help and for the cooperating weather.

Have a fabulous week!
Dave, Kristin, and the kids