The Gift of Giving

Ed-Seth: Throwing this up front -- I still need a photographer.

 

Hello givers and give-ettes. It's that time of year again when I hit you up to help this event I help with. This time it's with Amazon Wish Lists.

Adopt-a-Shelter is a one-day event at two Detroit homeless shelters where we give the clients a Christmas party and allow the parents to "shop" for donated gifts worth $10 to $20. The shelters are the Booth Evangeline (the larger, for families), and Genesis House II (smaller, for women & children).

Activities for the kids include a pizza party, Santa Claus, a teen game room, face-painting, artwork, dancing, and (at Booth) the opportunity to become one of those people in Metro-Detroit who can opine on the subject of Mitch Albom's height in real life. Most of the activities are a diversion for the kids while their parents…

Shop in a gift room filled with donated, unwrapped gifts. The parents can each select a certain number of gifts for themselves and their family members (this is why they have to be unwrapped). Anything left over goes to the shelters—every year we have a ton left over, and every year they've managed to give it all away in a few months after we leave.

What You Can Do

We're looking for 1) Activity Help, 2) Gift Donations, and 3) Volunteers.

1. Activities Assistance:

Photographer - We have a Santa, but I need a PHOTOGRAPHER for the Booth site, preferably someone who does this professionally. We accept pro bono but if you have pay requirements you can let me know what they are. If you have a way to print the photos, that's key (we tried a photo printer last year but one was way too slow—if you know a better way to do it please share). Between all the middle age Jewish ladies (read: have Bar Mitzvah-age kids) and the local press coverage (Mitch will mention with donors on his radio show), I'm pretty sure you'll get some business out of it. E-mail me.

Teen Game Room Captain – I've done it for years. You organize events for between 8 and 25 teens. There's a table hockey system, and a bunch of board games there but in the past we've organized Jeopardy-like games, or brought in TVs and videogame systems and had an all-out Madden-off.

Other activity leaders: Teen dance group who can teach some kids their moves. Manicure room. Caricatures. Food setup. People who did these last year have been contacted but haven't said yes or no yet.

 

2. Gift Donations

Gift donations should be unwrapped, tasteful, and between $15-$20. Stuff that needs batteries should come with batteries. No guns, no swords, no violent comic books. Historically we tend to fall short with stuff for young moms.

• AGE RANGE: The age of the children range from Newborn to 17 years old, with most of the children being between the ages of 4-11 years old.
• SIZES: A variety of sizes ranging from newborn to 3X are needed. The larger sizes (2X and 3X are for girls.)
• TOYS: Age-appropriate toys and educational toys are needed.
• TOILETRIES: All types of toiletries are needed, except NOTHING with ALCOHOL in it. Shampoo, Conditioner, Toothpaste, Toothbrushes, Body Lotion, Women’s Deodorant, Body Wash, Soap, Washcloths, Towels.

If you would like to donate, I have set up an Amazon wish list for either site. You don't have to order what's on there – they're ideas. Links:

• Booth Evangeline Salvation Army (larger)
• Genesis House II (smaller)

If you can't find something you want, buy something else and ship to that address. Or check back – we're still updating it.

Infant/Toddler	Child (4-12 years)	Teen	Parent
Diapers	Underwear	Underwear	Underwear
Sleepers	Sweat suits	Sweat suits	Sweat suits
Onesies	Socks	Socks	Purses
Socks	Hats	Hats	Socks
Hats/mittens	Mittens	Mittens	Hats
Coats	Coats	Coats	Mittens
	$15 Gift certificates for Payless shoes	$15 Gift certificates for Payless shoes	Coats
	Board games	Board games	$15 Gift certificates for Payless shoes
	Stuffed animals	Radio walkman	Resume paper and envelopes
	Activity books	Jewelry kits	Radio walkman
	Puzzles	Puzzles	Crossword puzzles
	Dolls	Books	Books
	Books	Notebooks/pens
	Toy cars/trucks

3.) Volunteer

The Genesis House site has enough volunteers but we can always use more at the Booth Evangeline site. This site is organized by Mitch Albom's Time to Help program; he and Ken Brown will be there:

• Time: 8:30 – noon
• Date: Dec. 3, 2011
• Location: Booth Evangeline Salvation Army, 20775 Pembroke Ave., Detroit, MI  48219. Same spot as last year. Parking is available at the school next door.
• To sign up: Visit the Time to Help volunteer sign-up page. (Note: it should be up in a few days. You can also e-mail me and I'll remind you when it's up).

Can't I Just Give You Money?

This is not the preferred option for me. Last year I set up a Paypal account and then spent three times as much as I received and I don't like taking your money. If you can't find something on the Amazon list above, donate to S.A.Y. Detroit, the umbrella organization for Detroit charities, and specify in the comments what it's for.

What Is This?

It's the charity event that MGoBlog saved last year. We take over a couple of homeless shelters in Detroit for a day and give the kids a giant Christmas party, while their parents "shop" for donated holiday gifts. Activities for the kids include a pizza party, Santa Claus, a teen game room, facepainting, artwork (Misopogal's room), dancing, and the opportunity to become one of those people in Metro-Detroit who can opine on the subject of Mitch Albom's height in real life.

What Do You Want From Me?

We're looking for volunteers, and gift donations. Also, for the Santa thing I have a photographer but we need some sort of photo printing solution -- like a printer that can make printed photographs off a digital camera. We tried my Bubble Jet once and...no. And I lost my bagel donation connection so if any of you know an important person at a Metro Detroit bagel confectionary, please hook me up.

I Have a Photo Printer You Can Use/Have!

Dude, sweet. E-mail me.

I Might Know a Bagel Guy

It's not a goyisha bagel place is it? Doesn't matter. E-mail me.

I Want to Volunteer!

There are two sites, the Booth Evangeline Salvation Army, which is the larger and put together by Mitch Albom's A Time to Help organization, and the Genesis II House, organized by a nice lady named Julie.

Booth Evangeline

TIME:  8:30-Noon

DATE:  December 4, 2010

LOCATION:  (Returning starters: note new address this year): Booth Evangeline Salvation Army, 20775 Pembroke Ave., Detroit, MI  48219-1345

Volunteers will help with decorating, setting up the gift shop, serving food, crafts, games, working in the gift room, manicures, karaoke, and makeovers.

TO SIGN UP:  Visit the Time to Help volunteer sign-up page.

QUESTIONS:  E-mail or call Project Coordinator, Marci Fitch at 313-993-4700 x 4715 or marci at drmm dot-org. Or e-mail me.

Genesis II House

TIME:  9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

DATE:  December 4, 2010

LOCATION: Detroit Rescue Ministries' Genesis House II homeless shelter, 2015 Webb St., Detroit, MI, 48206

We will set up crafts and games, play with the children and talk to the ladies, and have lunch together (lunch will be provided). Then we'll set up a Holiday Store, where the donated gifts will be set out for the ladies to "shop" for themselves and their children for Christmas

TO SIGN UP or QUESTIONs: Contact Julie Kroflich, 248 478-5168 (home), juliekroflich at yahoo dot-com.

I Want to Donate a Gift

The volunteers each are asked to come with 1 UNWRAPPED gift. You can also just send/drop off gifts. The gifts will be given away to mothers while they shop in the Gift Room during the event. Gift ideas include toys, clothing, and toiletry items. Stuff that needs batteries should come with batteries. No guns, no swords, no violent comic books.

As with last year, the easy way to do this is to buy something on Amazon.com and send it to one of the shelters. If you use the link above, Brian gets some credit for it too.

Have it shipped to:

Time to Help Christmas Party Gift Room
Booth Evangeline Salvation Army
20775 Pembroke Ave.
Detroit, MI  48219-1345

Or contact Julie Kroflich if you'd like to donate a gift for the party at Genesis II House. You can also drop off gifts for that at Allen Park Community School, 14700 Moore, Allen Park, MI, 313-827-2660 by Wed. Dec. 1. Julie's at 248 478-5168.

AGE RANGE: The age of the children range from Newborn to 17 years old, with most of the children being between the ages of 4-11 years old.

SIZES: A variety of sizes ranging from newborn to 3X are needed. The larger sizes (2X and 3X are for girls.)

TOYS: Age-appropriate toys and educational toys are needed. 

TOILETRIES: All types of toiletries are needed, except NOTHING with ALCOHOL in it. Shampoo, Conditioner, Toothpaste, Toothbrushes, Body Lotion, Women’s Deodorant, Body Wash, Soap, Washcloths, Towels.

SUGGESTIONS:

Child (4-12 years)	Teen	Parent	Infant/Toddler
Underwear	Underwear	Underwear	Diapers
Sweat suits	Sweat suits	Sweat suits	Sleepers
Socks	Socks	Purses	Onesies
Hats	Hats	Socks	Socks
Mittens	Mittens	Hats	Hats/mittens
Coats	Coats	Mittens	Coats
$15 Gift certificates for Payless shoes	$15 Gift certificates for Payless shoes	Coats
Board games	Board games	$15 Gift certificates for Payless shoes
Stuffed animals	Radio walkman	Resume paper and envelopes
Activity books	Jewelry kits	Radio walkman
Puzzles	Puzzles	Crossword puzzles
Dolls	Books	Books
Books	Notebooks/pens
Toy cars/trucks

Thanks to a generous donation from Oakley Park Elementary School in Commerce Twp. we don't need any more school supplies at the Genesis II house. I don't know if that applies to the Booth House.

Can't I Just Give You Money?

This is not the preferred option for me. My association with this thing is because I was a board member for Volunteer Impact (Adopt-a-Shelter was one of our signature programs), which has since shut down. Without VI, things get a bit more hairy.

Option 1: Donate to S.A.Y. Detroit, the umbrella organization for Detroit charities, and specify in the comments what it's for.

Option 2: I have set up a Paypal account that goes to just me. On Friday, Dec. 3, whatever is in this account I will use to purchase last-minute stuff we need for the Booth House party. If there's any more than a few hundred in there by then, I will donate the rest in the name of  MGoBlog to S.A.Y. Detroit.

Understand, this is no more safe and secure than if you found me at a Michigan tailgate and handed me cash. If you wouldn't be comfortable doing that, this isn't a good option. Also, I don't think I can get you the same tax papers.

I Have Other Stuff to Donate...

We also could use stuff donations: This is like, say, if you own a pizza joint and can donate pizza for 200 people, or orange juice/donuts/bagels for 200 people. Or cream cheese. Or balloons, game prizes, arts&crafts stuff.

One year we had a Saturn Dealership give us 50 empty popcorn boxes (don't ask), and they were awesome. Another year we had paper crowns from a certain restaurant chain that kids decorated. Someone once gave us a big cardboard box of all their kids' old Halloween costumes. You know what schlock you got.

We have the forms if you want tax receipts for the donations.

If you have extra school supplies lying around from last year, or if you're about to make that Ulrichs run where you find out your $300 textbook from last semester is now worth exactly the price of two notebooks and a box of crayons, you can donate them to the Genesis II House's Back to School party.

You may recall the Day MGoBlog Saved Christmas, the whole Adopt-a-Shelter thing where people donated gifts for the shelter families to "shop" for. Since the MGoPhilanthropists came through so well in the past, I figured I'd hit you guys up again with another event for the same charity.

This is similar, but smaller deal, at one of the shelters we sponsored for Adopt-a-Shelter, where the volunteers hold a Game Show thing with school supplies being the prizes (the plan is that every kid gets a bookbag filled with school necessities).

Again, the donation method at present is "contact the nice lady," because this isn't a big operation. When we do the big thing again in December, I promise I'll have a Paypal account set up and I will also try to have a drop-off place in Ann Arbor and another in Metro-Detroit. For now, as That Guy at Fingerle Lumber Who was Running for MSA would say, "Deeeeal with it."

Allow me to let Julie Kroflich, a.k.a. "the nice lady" do some further 'splainin:

It's Back-to-School Time!
Saturday, August 14

Please join me to generate excitement about the new school year for the children (and women) at Genesis II House*.  We will host a Game Show for the children to refresh their academic memories, and provide them with book bags filled with donations of school supplies and other gifts.

Please let me know if you can help collect Game Show Prizes!

Your gifts are needed by Friday, August 6

Julie Kroflich
(248) 478-5168
juliekroflich@yahoo.com

Suggestions:

• Book Bags
• Algebraic Calculators
• Math Flash Cards
• Reading Materials
• Learning Workbooks
• Rulers (metric / standard)
• Safety Scissors
• Glue Sticks
• Crayons / Markers
• Notebooks / Paper
• Pens, Pencils, Erasers
• Pencil Sharpeners
• $20 Payless gift certificate

*Genesis II House is a transitional housing environment, focusing on education, job-training, and parenting skills to break the cycle of homelessness.

As before, I'm envisioning dozens of Detroit kids going to school with Michigan stuff and them becoming lifelong blue fans because of it. I believe stuff has to be in new condition, but I'm checking with her on the bookbags and the calculators. UPDATE: Yes, stuff must all be new.

When we did the toy drive for Adopt-a-Shelter, a bunch of you asked if you could send clothing donations as well, and I said not now.

Now is now.

(Now-now).

The Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries is having a "gently-used" clothing drive.

About: DRMM runs 7 shelters in Detroit and can use mens', womens' and childrens' clothing.

Gently Used: \ˈjent-lē ˈyüzd\. Adjective. Clothing that is new, or used but has no tears, no missing buttons, no broken zippers, no stains, no other damage.

You can tax deduct this.

Houseware donations are cool as well.

The stuff that they really need is coats/winter clothing, and work/dress clothes for business/interviewing. Of course, Michigan gear is always sweet.

Donations are needed by Thursday, Jan. 14

As before, you can e-mail me, or call the "nice lady," Julie Kroflich, at (248) 478-5168.

This is a follow-up to my post last week on Adopt-a-Shelter.

For those just joining us, it's a community service event (Mitch Albom's organization is involved) in which we go to two (used to be five) family homeless shelters in Detroit and throw the kids there a Christmas Party.

Before I posted that on the board (and Brian stapled it to an Unverified Voracity), this year's event was looking a bit grim. No one knows quite the reason. It could be that our head wasn't screwed on quite right. I could be, perhaps, that our cash was too tight. But I think that the most likely reason of all, may have been that the economy was two sizes too small.

But, whatever the reason, our head or our wallets, or too much yule lagers, it wouldn't have come off but for MGoBloggers.

Every kid in the shelters, the tall and the small,
might still have been singing, without any presents at all.
But we needn't have worried, YOU CAME THROUGH!
We went from little to plenty, and it was all thanks to you!
MGoBloggers responded, from Detroit to L.A.
Heck, even a Buckeye sent donations our way.

165 clients at Booth Evangeline
Ate pizza and cake and talked Wolverine spleen
The ladies had their nails done, the boys played some ball
And then Santa arrived with presents for all
Though I don't think MGoBlog was really noticed by Mitch
We know why AAS '09 went off without a hitch
(You'll have to take thank-you's from organizer Marci Fitch)
So thank you to everyone who helped in some way.
This blog seriously made those kids' day.

For the other site, well, Ms. Kroflich had these words to say:

Hello Seth,

Could you post this on the MGoBloggers site?  I'll send thank you letters (and receipts) to the people who donated, but we might get an even better turn-out next year if people know what happens (?).  Thank you again for posting this event (it wouldn't have been nearly as successful with MGoBloggers help)!

Thank you to the volunteers and donors who made the Christmas Party at Genesis II House* such a marvelous event!!  

 

We got off to a slow start... but things really picked up from there.  The students in Mrs. Val Tomich's class at Allen Park Community School provided us with the crafts to create decorations for the Christmas tree.  It sparkled with the silver and gold garland and our glittery decorations.  It looked so great that Santa Claus (Lonnie) came to visit, passed out candy, and sat for photos with the children.  Once Santa was safely on his way back to the North Pole, the party started groovin' with Living Energy (248 926-9550).  Rick and his crew gets everyone up and jumpin!  They passed out hats, glasses, bead necklaces, and feather boas which made everyone feel extra festive.  We got funky for about an hour and then did a conga line to the dining room for lunch.  Sandee and Jessica made us a terrific lunch including hamburgers, chicken strips, tater-tots, baked beans, 3 bean casserole, and brownies.  After lunch, we setup a Holiday store with all of the fabulous donations... coats, hat/mitten/scarf sets, clothes, toys, games, stuffed animals, books, make-up kits, toiletry sets, purses, and Payless gift certificates (cash donations were used to purchase gifts).  There were more warm coats and dress clothes than ever this year.  We had enough donations for every lady to receive 2 gifts and each child to receive 8 gifts!  Our bravest volunteers, Kevin and Laura, stayed in the dining room and sang Christmas carols with the children while the rest of us made sure that everyone got the perfect gifts for Christmas! 

 

* For those who may not know, Genesis II House is one of Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries transitional housing shelters.  They provide the ladies and children with a safe and stable environment, focusing on education, job-training, and parenting.  The goal is to help the ladies obtain and keep a home of their own... One of the ladies told us that she would not be at Genesis II for our next party because she got a home of her own.  Now that's a Merry Christmas!

 

 

Thank you all so much for making the Holidays happier!

 

Julie Kroflich

fin.

Update (and new Chart? chart) for those wishing to donate for Adopt-a-Shelter.

1. Change to the address you should ship to (minor - if you already shipped, don't worry about it):

Mitch Albom Christmas Party
c/o Salvation Army/Booth Services
3737 Humboldt
Detroit, MI 48208

If you can, forward the tracking info to timetohelpmitch@gmail.com

2. I got numbers on the ages of the kids who will be at the shelter, so you can decide for yourself what target to hit:

Age	Boys:	Girls:
Infant	9	6
2	2	2
3	8	2
4	4	4
5	3	0
6	3	2
7	1	3
8	3	1
9	2	3
10	3	1
11	0	3
12	0	1
13	0	2
14	0	0
15	0	2
16	0	2
17	1	0

So lots and lots of toddlers and infants. Very short on boys +10 (which sucks because we just got a lot of cool t-shirts). Teenage girl gifts are in short supply.