Goodfellows Dolls

Remember when my Mom and I bought clothes and dressed dolls for the Good Fellows organization?  I promised to let you know when the announcement went out looking for volunteers this year. 

I received an email looking for a commitment to dress dolls.  Over 12,000 dolls will be given to girls age 4-9 in Detroit at Christmastime this year.  If you are interested in helping, please read the details of the program below and contact Sari Klok-Schneider about the Goodfellows Doll Program.  You can click the "Doll" link on the Goodfellows web page and download the doll request form there, if you are able to participate.  Thanks!

Old Newsboys’ Goodfellow Fund of Detroit

PO Box 44444
Detroit, Michigan 48244-0444
www.detroitgoodfellows.org

Dear Doll Coordinator:

We will schedule the Doll Coordinator’s Recognition Luncheon for mid-May and will advise you of the date soon. In the meantime, please return the enclosed form as soon as possible so we can get you signed up for the 2011 program (dolls do go fast). We are hopeful that dolls will be available for pickup around the time of the May luncheon.  Thanks as always for your tremendous gift of time and talent. We greatly appreciate all of your efforts and look forward to your participation again this year.

Cookie Walk

My church is having its first ever "Cookie Walk" fundraiser on December 4th and I'm a baker!

A cookie walk is a short term sale of cookies made by church members.  Homemade goodies are displayed on a series of tables.  Shoppers stroll the length of the table and have gloved volunteers add the cookies they choose to a box.  At checkout, the box is weighed and the cookies are paid for by the pound.  Fun, eh?  Who wouldn't want a big selection of homemade cookies at the holidays?

I offered to bake and decorate 10 dozen of my grandmother's famous sugar cookies for this fund raiser.  I started this week by making the dough and rolling, cutting and baking 92 cookies (so far) with the help of my 12-year-old niece.  The cookies are in the freezer and I'll frost them the day before the event (I've enlisted my parents to help with that!).  I think they will sell out quick.

From my cookie cutter collection (only the Christmas cookie cutters are shown above!), I chose to make sweaters, mittens, trees, reindeer, stars, candy canes and a string of light bulbs.  I'll show you a picture when they are all decorated. 

It was fun to talk about this event with my niece and explain that, as we were standing in my kitchen covered in flour, we were "volunteering."  That is delight.

Lend A Hand

Cute, eh? I ran a leadership training seminar for the Junior League last week and brought cookies as a "training tool!"

My theme was "the hand" and all the ways that using your hands could support the membership and its mission.

• Wave it in warmth & recognition
• Give a "thumbs up" to encourage others
• Offer it when someone needs you
• Applaud volunteer efforts
• Raise it when you need help

It was an excellent night and I was so happy to help these women connect and collaborate as they grow into their leadership roles.

(sigh) I love this stuff.

Fondue Night

Last night, the Junior League of Birmingham hosted a social event to help members to mix and mingle.

It was a cold January night, but my friend Corinne and I bundled up and headed out for a night of fondue at The Melting Pot.

I absolutely loved it. A room full of new and old friends, glorious cheese fondue and (my favorite) this flaming "turtle" chocolate fondue with caramel and pecans.

Our table of seven talked and talked - about movies, books, travel and our personal projects for the year. As I sat there, I couldn't help but think how lucky I was to be a part of this outstanding organization.

I had a room full of smart, fun-loving volunteers and all the time in the world to talk to them - fantastic.

Sort & Share

Is your armoire overflowing? As I sort and organize for the holidays (I really turn the house upside-down with my Christmas decorating), I have started to accumulate a pile for donation. There are many ways to put resources back to the community and thought you might be interested in what I have found in the magazines. Domino magazine spotlights these organizations for shoes, clothing and media donations. Real Simple magazine has a long list of charities that could use old shoes, eyeglasses, even business suits. This week I am sorting and sharing.

Needle Arts Mentor

Attention those who love to Knit, Crochet, Cross-Stitch, Needlepoint...

I wrote this piece for the Needle Arts Mentoring Program to help generate interest in their national program that encourages adults to volunteer to teach children the needle arts. Interested?

When I learned of the Needle Arts Mentoring Program (N.A.M.P.) and realized that my niece, Heather’s Brownie Troop was a perfect fit for the program, I jumped at the chance to enroll as a mentor. I’d embroidered quilt squares at 7, tried latch hook at 8 and taught myself needlepoint at 12. As part of a gifted & talented program, I received high school credit for completing 140 hours of cross-stitch during my junior year. I know and love the needle arts and it was time to start sharing my knowledge.

After lemonade & brownies, nine seven-year-old girls sat in a circle and looked at me. For most, “knitting” meant nothing more to them than something their Grandma did. Samantha, however, was a knitter. She knew the agenda for this Brownie meeting and was prepared. As she clicked the latch on her knitting case, she explained that she had received it for her birthday and that it held her “supplies.” She pulled out 2 plastic needles that held 3 inches of garter stitch in neon pink. Hallelujah, I thought, this will help the girls to see that knitting is within their reach.

I started with the basics. I gave each girl a ball of yarn, 2 super cute wooden needles, 2 rubber point protectors and a “How to Knit” instruction book all generously supplied by the N.A.M.P. I began by teaching them a rhyme that will sound familiar:

In through the window,
Run around back,
Up from the basement,
And off jumps Jack.

Around that time, my Mom arrived with my eleven-year-old niece, Emily, to help with the class. I had taught Emily to knit the year before and she loves it. I knew that both of them would be a big help answering questions and offering guidance to the girls. What I did not realize was that Emily’s testimonial about knitting would win the girls over. She rattled off the things she had made and the things that she was working on and in a few short minutes became a celebrity in the eyes of these girls. My Mom, Emily & I were helping the girls one-on-one and sure enough, they started to knit. Dropped stitches, crazy holes, super tight sections, but they were knitting. And the girls started to ask “Can I have Emily next?” My guest knitter was in demand and her encouragement was what these girls wanted. It was wonderful.

If you know how to knit, crochet or needlepoint, I urge you to enroll in the Needle Arts Mentoring program and help give children the lifelong gift of being able to entertain themselves. Teach them a skill that gives them beautiful, tangible results that they can be proud of and watch them explore the endless possibilities within the needle arts.

Contact http://www.needleartsmentoring.org/ for more information