Invitation to Participate in Bake Sale for Ronan

Ronan Godfrey received his bone marrow transplant this past Tuesday.  Though Ronan was a very sick little boy from the pre-transplant regimen of chemo and radiation, he is doing well and the expectations are that the transplant will be a success!!!   

Though the Godfrey's are blessed to have good insurance, other costs are quickly mounting.  For example, childcare for 12 week old baby Callum while Rachel is at the hospital with Ronan for the three month duration, will be at least $4000. (Someone has to be with Ronan 24/7 and of course it is largely Rachel.)  Dad has had to get back to work and is commuting as much as he can to see his family at the City of Hope.  Gas is of course taking a toll.  We can imagine what other costs of living 'away from home' for these several months are adding up to.  So...

Ronan's church, the Redlands United Church of Christ, is having a fund raiser on Saturday, July 9th @ 6p.m.  They will host “a night of music” (see flyer below) and are hoping for a big crowd.  Everyone is invited.  

What we'd like to add as our contribution, is to provide items for a Bake Sale to take place at the concert:  cookies, brownies, cakes, cupcakes, bars, candy, anything you can think of.  

We're going to collect all the baked goods at the LDS church on Fifth and Wabash in Redlands and get them to the head of the fund-raising committee on Saturday afternoon. We invite anyone and everyone to participate by making up your favorite goodie recipe and bringing it ‘packaged for sale’ to the LDS church (5th/Wabash) any of these three times:

Friday, July 8th from 10am-noon

Friday, July 8th from 6-7pm

Saturday, July 9th from  11am-noon

Questions?  Contact Jean Arnott 909 794-0456 or jeanarnott@gmail.com

 

                         

Second RPD Citizen’s Reentry Academy Starts Wednesday, June 15th

The Redlands Police Department will host its second Citizens Re-entry Academy beginning June 15.

The academy is a six-week class designed to inform residents about the opportunities and challenges surrounding sentenced offenders returning to the community after incarceration.  The course will explore the inner workings of the Redlands Police Department’s operations relating to the criminal justice system, including the department’s Police and Corrections Team ( P.A.C.T.) and interaction with the Redland Drug Court.

Students will meet on Wednesday nights from 6-9p.m. at the Joslyn Senior Center, 21 Grant Street, for the first four weeks of the course.  The final two sessions will be held Saturdays with tours of correctional institutions, one on July 16th, and the other date TBA.

There is no charge for the course, but class size is limited.  If you’d like to be part of this 2nd class, email the following information to Officer Mike Merriman at mmerriman@redlandsppolice.org :

Name

Address

Phone

E-mail address

You may also call Officer Merriman at 909-798-7681 for more information.

Several of us from Women of Faith attended the first Reentry Academy and came away with a better understanding of this topic which affects each of us. Changes in California’s prison system is already being felt here at home.  But did you know that while the recidivism rate (rate at which individuals return to prison), runs around 80% in the state of California , here is Redlands it is 25%?  This is largely due to the philosophy of our police department and programs which have been put in place by them.  In addition to learning about the broad picture of how the criminal justice system works, this course is an opportunity to find out what is being done here and why it works. 

Got Joy?! Just look & see it here! Then come to Thursday’s workday and experience it live!

Time to take a break and see what fun we’ve had serving together over the past few months!  

Special thanks to Girl Scout Troop 979, Cub Scout Pack 231, the Builders Club, and all those who participated in any way with the Bone Marrow Registry Drive!

 

Redlands First and Fourth Ward projects

 

1200 Origami Peace Cranes!

In April, we helped the Redlands Sister Cities Association by teaching how to make origami peace cranes following a presentation by curator Lynn Voorheis from Riverside Metropolitan Museum.  Then we presented our first 1200 cranes to the museum for their exhibit.  Their goal is to receive 92,785 peace cranes – one to represent each Japanese-American that was put in an internment camp during World War II. 

Thursday,June 9th, is another workday.  Please join us anytime between 11am – 8pm.  You can choose from the following (there will probably be more):

1. sew wheelchair/walker caddies (we have some improvements to make after having an ‘expert’ try it out for us.)

2. crochet hats

3. cut out, sew, and/or tie quilts

4. fold origami peace cranes

5. make greeting cards for the pediatric wing of LLUCH

6. assemble hygiene kits for local parolees through Step by Step and the Police and Corrections Team

7. mark copies of the Book of Mormon to go to county jails

8. combine granny squares to make afghans

NOTE:  **We are trying to gather a list of  names of “Women of Faith Supporters” who work in local hospitals or nursing homes, etc.  If you are one, please let your humanitarian representative know or email jeanarnott@gmail.com with your name, the name of the hospital or facility, and area where you work.

Current Requests for Donations:

• Gallon size Ziploc bags
• Yarn, particularly soft baby yarn
• Used greeting cards (we’re cutting them up to make new cards)
• Card stock and paper in a variety of colors
• Scrapbooking paper – even scraps from other projects
• Hygiene items: full size or samples, especially toothpaste, shaving cream, men’s deodorant
• Quilt batting or donations of $$ to purchase it. (We can get it by the bolt for ½ price.)
• Origami paper, mostly 6” x 6”  (use your JoAnn’s or Michael’s coupons)
• Velcro (not the kind with adhesive; use your coupons for this too)
• Your time at workday or at home

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“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”    Aesop

RONAN HAS A MATCH!

Here is wonderful news from Rosemary Tuohy, a good friend of Ronan’s family who we worked with on the Bone Marrow Registry Drive:

I have awesome news about Ronan Godfrey. Not only has a match been found for Ronan, but it’s a perfect 12 out of 12!!

He will be going in to City of Hope next Friday, June 10^th to begin the pre-operative chemotherapy, followed by the transplant and recovery. Ronan will be in the hospital for two to three months.

Since they no longer need to worry about the risk of infection and a compromised immune system, Ronan and his family are taking time to do all the fun things kids and their families do. You can see photos of Ronan feeding the ducks, flying kites, and visiting the beach on his website, Hope4Ronan.com. 

http://web.me.com/smartiepaws/Hope4Ronan/Blog/Blog.html     [See some pics below of Ronan enjoying time with his family.]

Please keep the Godfreys in your thoughts and prayers as they begin the next stage in their journey toward Ronan’s recovery.

Thank you for caring about my young friend. We don’t know if Ronan’s match came from one of his bone marrow drives, but we do know that anyone who registered has the chance of saving another person’s life.

We thank you too, for doing what you can to help Ronan – and others like him – who need this life-saving procedure.  Whether it was to join the registry, volunteer at the drive, or to pray for him.  Let’s keep those prayers going!

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