Every year many families in our area struggle to find warm enough clothes for themselves and their kiddos. This is our chance to take our gently used coats or purchase a new coat and give them to someone who will use them in a few months. It gets cold here...and a coat, hat and gloves is something that EVERYONE needs.
How can you help?
1) Collect winter coats and accessories at the Fill The Trucks events on Oct 4 & 5 (Hy-Vee) and Oct 18 & 19 (Wal-Mart)
or...
2) Bring those needed items to these events!
Other areas to help with this yearly event:
Sort all winter outerwear items Oct 7-25 at various times
Distribute coats and accessories to families in need Oct 28 & 29
More information and sign up is available at this link:
One of our AHG families could use some help...and we are letting all of you know about this service opp.
The Vold family has a mom that is an AHG leader, Sheryl, and a daughter, Emily, that has been part of the troop for a few years. Sheryl's Vold's mom, Sharon, had a stroke while vacationing in Florida last week. Sheryl is now in Florida with her mom. The dad is at home with the girls-- Emily is 12, Becka is 2.
How can YOU help? Meals would be appreciated and the family doesn't have any allergies. If you are willing to help please check out the website below for more info. This site is very easy to use and meals are available (as of now) starting October 2nd.
Out troop has learned of a wonderful organization that we will be helping this year. More info is coming for you parents about this group so check back soon or sign up for updates via email.
To get started, here are some brief details...
- our troop will be helping put together packets of items that will be helpful for girls that live in other countries.
- without these necessary items, these girls are not able to attend school.
What we are collecting at our October AHG meetings:
- travel sized bars of soap (not liquid soap). This is the best size for this project and can even be new bars of soap you get from hotel stays.
- used flannel. We are looking for sheets specifically but could also use flannel fabric. Please wash and dry fabric before donating.
Check those closets. Unpack those toiletry bags and bring those bars of soap and flannel to the meetings in October. Look for the AHG Service Box that is used for donations.
Girls...track your time on your service log as you are hunting in your home for these items.
Troop 0521has a few connections to an organization called Inheritance of Hope...Leaders that work here, girls that have participated in some of the events put on by this organization and leaders who will be running a marathon to help raise money for this great cause.
What is Inheritance of Hope?
View this video to learn all about this organization in 4 minutes...it will answer most, if not all of your questions.
Our AHG Troop supports the work that is being done with this organization and recently learned about how one of our leaders is raising money for IOH as an athlete. Heather Mosman will be running in a marathon in 16 days and is working on raising money for this organization...and we thought it would be great if our troop stepped along side and helped raise donations at the same time.
AHG Troop 0521...this is your chance to help families and serve them and gather donations right along with Heather. One of the best things...this is all going to be led by you! YOU get to be the creative ones and decide how, when and what exactly you will be doing.
Before we get into the how's and what's, take a moment and get to know Heather a little bit more by reading what is on her sponsor page at Inheritance of Hope:
I first ran for Team IOH in 2010 at the Walt Disney Half Marathon and knew I would do it again. When I got a call from the Team IOH Director in mid June I had no intention of training for anything in the near future, especially a marathon. They were looking for runners for the ING NYC marathon. After some some consideration, I decided this was not the race for me. However, my commitment to this organization and excitement to serve them was revived when, in the same week, I met Tara. Tara has ovarian cancer. She, her husband, and 5 children were supposed to attend a Legacy Retreat in May, but were unable due to health complications. Meeting Tara was a reminder of why this organization is so great. IOH is showing God's love to families with a parent facing terminal illness. God is working powerfully through this organization to care for these families. I have seen the love, the founders, staff, and volunteers pour into the Legacy Retreats to make them a place of respite and growth for the families who attend.
While I chose not to run in NYC, I did decide now was the time to run for Team IOH again. I would be running anyway, maybe not quite this much, but running. So I will run with greater purpose and intention as I train for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. I am thankful that I have the privilege to pick and choose the marathon I run. The families IOH serves didn't choose the "marathon" they are enduring. It is the will and endurance of these families that will fuel my own.
How Can We Help? This is an optional activity but one that can be done that fits with your time, your activities you are already involved in and what you are wanting to do. Here are a few ideas for you to make this a success for everyone involved:
lemonade stands in your neighborhood. Gather up your friends, your mom or dad, siblings...and set up a stand for the public to buy your tasty lemonade. You get the supplies, make the signs, advertise on social media with your parents help and sell, sell, sell! You set the prices and add the amount to the sponsor site when you are finished.
bake sale (you could do this with your lemonade stand too!). Spend some time making some great treats, package them up and sell them in your neighborhood or at a local event. Set the prices and add the amount of money you raise to the sponsor site when you are finished.
After you are finished with your sale, visit Heather's sponsorship page and let her know how much money was raised by pledging that amount! You can find the details at the page link here... http://inheritanceofhope.org/sponsorpage.html?eventid=53®id=2261&rowid=2261
(if you would rather bring the money to an AHG meeting...we can work on that too and make that available).
Here are a few tips as you plan your sale:
we have 16 days to help the athlete we are sponsoring! Get those sales going and pray for some nice weather for the sales and for the day of the run.
If you need some sturdy signs, you are welcome to borrow some "open house" signs that we have. We use these for garage sales and you are welcome to contact me to pick these up. We have several available. (Jessica @ mominmn@gmail.com). Just decorate a piece of paper to put on each side. These stay up really well on those windy days.
Do you live by a park? The soccer fields? Football fields? This is a great time of year where many families are sitting and just relaxing for an hour or so as their child plays games. Be strategic in your location because there are some very busy corners in Rochester right now on the weekends. ;)
Make a flyer and be sure to tell those who visit your sale what the money is being raise for...you can even make a flyer from the information at the Inheritance of Hope website at http://inheritanceofhope.org/
This is not an AHG event so parents, you are responsible for your kids during these sales.
Be creative...have fun...and thank you for helping raise money for this organization! Keep track of the hours that you put into this sale and write it down on your service log.
Service is a passion of mine and I am so glad to have another year to share this passion with the girls in Troop 0521. We have some great things planned already for this year and we will be sharing these details at meetings as well as on this site.
What is this site?
This is the website that we use for the service part of Troop 0521.
As you know, AHG nights can have lots of info thrown at parents...places to sign up and girls to rush in and out as well. This site was created because we know that it is sometimes hard to get info from the kids in full details and occasionally...it is just too busy of a night to stay for a few minutes and grab all the necessary paperwork. We hope that this site will serve as a great communication tool for Troop 0521 as well as give the girls and their families a visual of the service aspect of AHG.
What do we post at this site?
Two things...
1) Any activity that we find or know about in the community that is service related. These items can even be submitted by you!
2) All Troop 0521 Service activities and info.
We will also be posting forms that can be downloaded at home that are AHG service related.
How do I stay updated with this site?
It's easy! Click on the spot that asks you to sign up via e-mail. Anytime we have changes made to this website, you will be notified. You can also check back for details at any point by just typing in the website address or adding it to your bookmarks.
What if I have a service related question?
Ask away! I try to be at the start and end of all AHG meetings and usually am available for questions. You can also send me an e-mail at mominmn@gmail.com.
Thanks for being part of AHG!
Jessica Williams
mominmn@gmail.com
