Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Workday tomorrow and Update!

Come join us for some service and sisterhood!

Just one workday for this month: It's tomorrow -

Thursday, November 13, 11am - 8pm

Then enjoy Thanksgiving with your family and friends! We have so much to be grateful for! We are thankful for each of you - for your contributions of time and means, prayers and encouragement, and overwhelming spirit of service!

Location: The LDS Stake Center at the corner of 5th & Wabash in Redlands (next to the temple).

This workday, we'll be working on our project that will serve newly diagnosed autistic children in the Inland Empire. We are making 'sensory blankets' - small patchwork blankets made of 12 squares of different colors and textures of fabric. They will be dispersed through the Inland Regional Center.

We'll also begin new baby quilts and have looms and yarn available for hats, and a few other odds and ends of things to do. So come on over.

We may also have some new flat king-size sheets that we want to cut in two and serge the raw edges creating two twin-size sheets - perfect for hospital bed sheets.

We'll be finishing up at the Bishop's Central Storehouse in Colton on one more Saturday at noon. We'll announce the date when we know for sure.

Location: 791 North Pepper Avenue, Colton 92324.

We'll be adding one more special item to our birthing kits, then will finish labeling and stacking our boxes, and wrapping and labeling our pallets. We'll also be weighing and taking measurements of each finished pallet.

Here's a few shots of our recent work at the BCS:

Here's what one of our translated labels look like. Can you see why we like Farsi's number 5 best?

What do you think of this 'classroom kit'? It has ABC books, picture books, a set of animal puppets and other puppets, a couple of bean bags, some shape rings (to teach colors and shapes), and two wall hangings.



"If we are to teach real peace in this world and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we must begin with the children."

Mahatma Gandhi

Here's the latest on...


Parolee Support Update

  • Christmas Stockings for families of parolees…

    Over the months, donations of items for our hygiene kits for community parolees have often included especially nice women’s and men's items, ie. perfumes, makeup, bath salts, splashes, especially nice lotions, manicure kits, cologne, etc. Just as last year, we know just how to use these items! The Redlands Police and Corrections Team will be identifying those families of parolees that are especially in need of help this Christmas. These special items will be included in Christmas stockings for the men, women and teenage children in these families. This year, the Step by Step Committee would also like to include a few extras: perhaps a home baked pie or Christmas cookies, or a small tree and some decorations where especially needed. If you'd like to help in these additional efforts, please let us know. Thanks for playing another part in making a difference in the lives of these people – and the generations that follow them.

  • Current priority hygiene items are:
    shaving cream, fingernail clippers, and men's disposable razors. Hotel samples of anything are welcome and everything on the list is needed. (See side panel.)
  • If you are new to this site -
    please take time to read up in the side column about our efforts to work with the parolees in our community. (See "Our Support of Redlands' Community Parolees by Providing Hygiene Kits") This has been a very worthwhile and valuable effort. More information will follow in future blogs. If you have a special place in your heart for these individuals and would like to get involved in helping them move forward in their lives, we could use your help. There are a variety of opportunities which take varied time commitments - from just a little to a lot. Please contact jeanarnott@gmail.com if you would like more information.
  • If you would like to learn of other ways the Step by Step Coalition is working
    to improve conditions and opportunities for parolees who have returned to our community – thereby improving our community – come find out more! The monthly board meeting – which is open to anyone who would like to attend – is held on the first Tuesday of each month at 4:30pm at the Redlands United Church of Christ. It is located at 168 Bellevue Avenue in Redlands (corner of Olive and Bellevue).

"Where someone is trying to be good and kind - that's where love is."

Lloyd Newell in The Spoken Word

Afghanistan II project news

Overcoming in Afghanistan

Click here to read about one successful school in a remote eastern Afghan village and the determination of the teachers and students.

Click here to read about Shamila Kohestani, a young Afghan girl who believes she is the luckiest girl in Afghanistan.

(Please let me know if the above links - or any links - do not work for you.)

Special Thanks to …
  • The Modesto 7th and Riverbank Wards of the Modesto North Stake who delivered goods representing nine months of work, providing school kits, newborn kits, hygiene kits, beautiful quilts and blankets, stuffed bears and other toys, ABC and picture books, clothing and books . It took two cars loaded to the brim to bring the goods to Redlands!

  • Afghans for Afghans who arranged for a donation of 204 sets of knitting needles from Coates & Clark to go with the 3800 skeins of yarn already donated. Afghans for Afghans also sent us 470 wool hats to send with our gifts and have more if we have the room! You can read about their work at www.afghansforafghans.org.

  • 71 beautiful handmade pillowcases donated by the American Sewing Society.

  • The Rotaract Club at Soka University who collected donations including books, educational supplies, toys, and clothing.

  • HD Supply in San Diego who donated towels, washcloths, and blankets.

  • The Orange County Gamma Nu Chapter of the Alpha Delta Kappa Association, a group of professional educators, who provided a multitude of educational supplies and games.

  • Women for Women International who donated 3300 sets of scarves and hats knitted by women in Bosnia and Herzegovina in a microenterprise program. You can read more about their efforts at http://www.womenforwomen.org/

  • Redlands Community Hospital who provided bulb syringes so that we could add them other donations we received so that we could complete even more birthing kits than our original goal of 750.

  • A wonderful mom from Iran who has translated everything for our box labels. It looks like art to us! And a talented young man who took all the translations and prepared them so they could be put in the correct place on the correct label - now that's a feat!

  • A local obstetrician who gave us more towels and surgical drapes to include in our birthing kits.

  • Special individuals - lots of you! - who have been sewing, shopping, crocheting, coloring, cutting and pasting, and much more in your spare time (what's that?!) so that we can fill every single inch of that forty-foot container!

Special activities outside of this month's regular workdays included:
  • A young Girl Scout from Yucaipa gathered donations enough to make 21 fleece blankets. She arranged for families in her area to make the blankets.

“The most important thing you leave behind is the stuff that turns into treasure when children find it."

Brian Andreas

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