A MadCAAP Trick or Treat

Although I am not a big fan of Halloween, this year when one of my adopted "kids" said, "Why don't we go trick or treating and collect canned goods for needy people?"    What an amazing idea!    

I told a group of high school students to just meet at my house and we would canvas as many houses as we could in the trick-or-treat hours.   The group you see in the picture above started in our neighborhood.    I drove my van around as they divided up into little groups and went from house to house.      As they gathered cans they would put them into the back of the van.     I loved seeing their faces as they came back from collecting cans.

We started at 6:00 and finished about 8:30.     That seems like a lot of time, but it really isn't when you are walking from house to house knocking on doors and waiting on people to find canned goods for you.    It did not seem like we were able to go a lot of houses; however, we were really excited about the number of cans we were able to collect.   One sweet man didn't have any canned goods but gave us a monetary donation.   So sweet!

We are donating our canned goods to MadCAAP.   MadCAAP is the Madison Countians Allied Against Poverty.    Last year they prepared 750 Thanksgiving meal boxes for needy families in Madison County (where we live).    This year they are planning for at least that many again.    The deadline to have these boxes completed is November 14.    Their needs list to finish these boxes consist of:

• cans of corn
• boxes of instant potatoes
• cans of sweet potatoes
• boxes of stuffing mix
• donations to cover the cost of turkey and rolls

Here is the link to MadCAAP    If you live in Madison County, you can make a PayPal donation through their link while you are there.

If you don't live in Madison County, I am sure that there is an organization very much like MadCAAP in your community who is preparing for Thanksgiving and could use your generous donations right now too.

Toomers for Tuscaloosa

You know me.   I am a BAMA girl.   Live and breathe the Crimson Tide.    So much fun to tease my Auburn friends.    Even "hate" them.   

However, I have a newfound respect for Auburn.   I will never look at Auburn in the same way again.   See, Auburn fans were the first people to jump in and volunteer to help after the tornado tore through my beloved Tuscaloosa.     

They are still on the scene today.   They have a Facebook page.     They even have a website. 




You will notice that I have added their button to my sidebar.    You can click on it and see what they are doing to help rebuild.      

They aren't just helping Tuscaloosa.   They jumped in and helped when tornadoes tore through Joplin, Missouri as well.     These Toomers are hard working people.

And even though I thought I would never say it.   I just have to say thank you with a big, "War Eagle!"

Please don't tell my Daddy!  *smile*

Behind The Angel Tree

Our family has made The Angel Tree part of our Christmas tradition for several years; however, this is the first year that we have had the opportunity to be a part of volunteering behind the scenes.

All I can say is.... WOW! The Angel Tree Toy Distribution Center works with an efficiency that would impress Santa and his elves. Organization and efficiency is the name of the game when you are trying to make sure that 14,040 children receive gifts for Christmas.

Your first stop is the check in table where you sign in as a volunteer. If you are a first timer, you receive a tour through the process. Otherwise, you go get started.

First stop.... pick up a family sheet with the name of "angels" on it. Each family has a code assigned to it.

Two.... Go to the section of the building with presents bought by community members and see if there is a bag with that code on it meaning that the child was adopted. If you find a bag, go to a station and open it to see what was purchased. If there is no bag, go to the shopping area to shop for the child.

Three... the family sheet tells you the child's requests. This helps you fill their requests. Because many families have more than one child it is important to make sure that the children get equal amounts. It is your job to see that this happens. The "store" allows you to shop to help even out gifts.

Four.... once you have rebagged, relabeled and tagged all the gifts, you put the bags back into the distribution slots and refile the family sheet with the word "complete" written across the sheet.

Did you know that Mississippi was named the most giving state last week? Standing in that distribution center last week I could see why.

As we stood at our stations, we were surrounded by other volunteers. Some were homeschool families like us. Some were Ridgeland Police officers on their lunch break. Some were Belhaven basketball players. All of us were there hoping to make Christmas better for some children.

Volunteering behind The Angel Tree... it is definitely going to be a new tradition at our house!

Big Guy has caught a bug... I hope Little Guy gets it too!

Big Guy just returned from his first full day of Mission NOW. He is attending with my nephew and his church's youth group. It is a full week of mission projects at the Good Samaritan. When I say it is a full week, I mean a full week. From 8:30 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon.

Last night he was a little anxious about the unknown of the week, but I told him that I thought this week was going to be awesome. Volunteering is like nothing else. There is no other feeling like doing for someone else. I have been volunteering since junior high: candy striper at the hospital, mission trips with church, PTO at the boy's school, church projects, etc... I am addicted to volunteering. I could tell he really wasn't quite convinced.

I wish you could have seen his face when he came home tonight. He just GLOWED! He told every detail of the work he had done. His morning was spent sorting clothes and hanging them up. He said the director was really strict and if you didn't do it right she made you do it all over again. After lunch the lady presented them with bushels and bushels of peas which had to be shelled -- by hand. Big Guy said that was his favorite! That cracked me up. Who knew my Guy was a country boy at heart?

He is already excited about going back tomorrow. They are packing Senior Boxes and delivering them to the homes of seniors who need them.

So excited seeing my Big Guy catch the volunteering bug! I hope Little Guys catches it too.