donate

pull you from your tower, and take away your pain
show you all the beauty you possess if you'd only let yourself believe
that we are born innocent
believe me, we are still innocent
we are born innocent

elca- earthquake relief
st jude childrens fund- earthquake assistance

BE THE CHURCH!

halloween happenings

Our annual party was phenomenal (as usual) photos are on facebook, but i'll get them up on flickr soon as well.
Thanks to all who came out- we had a blast.

We recently attended a really cool event: The Pumpkin Walk at Weigands (my favorite nursery) aside from the fact that it was cool to trick-or-treat through the nursery at all of the spooky stations, it also raises money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association- a charity that is very near and dear to us as MD has (unfortunately) been a part of the Vanover family for generations.
Finally, if you haven't read my (old) neighbors (Jeremy) blog recently there is an awesome post up there now. I'm not feeding you to it just because he says some really nice things about us, but because i'm just really proud of him starting over in a new environment and for keeping up the tradition and not the Joneses.

the gratitude campaign

Big Family School Supply Donation Drive

Macomb Moms Meetup is sponsoring an Annual School Supply Collection Drive August 1-15.

Supplies are donated to local children in foster care through Big Family of Michigan (BFM).

During the drive, Macomb Moms asks individuals, community groups, service clubs, civic leagues and faith-based organizations to donate supplies such as:

+ notebook paper
+ pencils
+ crayons
+ erasers
+ backpacks
+ pocket folders
+ composition books
+ notebooks

If you would like to participate in this event, please contact myself or another Macomb Mom.

Pictured above is what I bought at Meijer this week for under $10. Everything is on sale for under 99 cents.
This week, glue and crayons are 19 cents and notebooks are only 5 cents.

Stray Kitty urgently needs a home!

All of the local shelters & rescues are FULL! She will have 96 hours to live at Animal Control, and even less than that at the humane society. No-one will accept her because she is pregnant.

-Female
-Around 2 years old
-Pregnant (late term)
-Housebroken
-Clean and very friendly
-SO SWEET!!!

True Blue Rescue will do a feline leukemia test for $25, if she is neg they will adopt her & kittens out from Petco when they are 8 weeks old, BUT if she is positive, a Creekside vet can put her down :( because all of her kittens will have it, too.

Also, a major deterrent will be that she is black! Black cats are notoriously hard to place due to superstitions. The woman at the shelter said that black cats actually tend to be the most friendly of all cats. PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!!

(PLEASE NOTE: This is a stray- not my Asha or Bina, but she looks a lot like Asha- small, with dark yellow eyes)

Let them know it's Christmastime!

And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joyThrow your arms around the world at Christmastime

Big Family Christmas Donation Drive

We're still collecting gifts through Wednesday for Big Family of Michigan, a local organization that aids children in foster care. In the past few years, I'm really proud that I have introduced so many people to this incredible organization, and probably will continue to spread the word throughout my entire life. I hope that everyone will visit the website and consider doing what they can for these children.

This year, our donations will go directly to children ages 14-17 in the tri-county area.

We have decided to help support these older children particularly as they tend not to get sponsors for Christmas because they are not really children, and they don't ask for "fun" gifts. These kids have usually spent a long time in "the system" and have never had a choice in anything, so having gift cards tends to be very exciting to them as they are able to finally make a decision for themselves. Gift Cards are requested to: Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Target. Big Family of Michigan prefers that the gift cards are in $20 increments as they like to give each child $100 to spend at Christmas and they can mix & match cards easily. Any value is acceptable, but $20 is preferred.

For those who would like to purchase a gift, there are some general gift items that are always requested, and in short supply. Big Family of Michigan will give each child a gift, along with the gift cards so that the children have something tangible to open. These items include: skateboards, basketballs and footballs. For the girls, general bath & body supplies such as lotions, poufs, lip balm, and hair supplies are welcomed and appreciated.
There is also a constant shortage of Barbie dolls (both Caucasian and African American) as well as toy cars & trucks, including Matchbox cars.

Big Family serves 20,000 foster children in the state of Michigan. Of that, there are 10,000 in the tri-county area in need of Christmas gifts, predominately in Wayne County. Last year, sponsors were able to supply 5,000 children with Christmas gifts. They are truly grateful for our support.

We will deliver the gifts to Big Family this Thursday. If you would like to participate, please contact me ASAP.

Thanks!

maybe this christmas will mean something more

this year, adam and i are buying thoughtful gifts that are not only totally unique, but also that significantly support a charity. i'm not talking $1.00 here or there, but instead companies that are donating a minimum of 20% of their proceeds. most of the organizations are receiving 100% of the purchase price, which i feel is incredible. we're trying to put the reason back into the season, and have already inspired a few others to follow suit. if you'd like to do the same, please click on the links below and shop away. if you find more worthwhile companies, please list them in the comments. thanks :)

american heart association
dirt candles (various charities)
leukemia & lymphoma society
mac cosmetics aids fund
national public radio
philosophy (various charities)
product(red) (aids in africa)
public broadcasting station
st jude children's research hospital
the humane society