Loving Others Projects 1-10 overview

I am constantly on the look out for ideas to serve others, but beyond that I want my kids to serve with me.  I want to help my children learn to think outside themselves.  I have talked to many moms who think the same way.  Honestly it can be difficult to find avenues to serve that easily incorporate small children.  So I made a list of local service opportunities.  The service opportunities list places to serve, what types of services are available, and if there are opportunities for children to serve along side.  Here are the first 10.  I have more ideas to come. 


Project 1 - Goodie Bags for People Experiencing Homelessness
http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/03/loving-others-project-1-goodie-bags-for.html

Project 2 - Donating Your Stuff
http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/04/loving-others-project-2-donations.html
http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/04/loving-others-project-2-donations_6.html

Project 2.5 - Donations in Reverse - Thrift Stores
http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/04/loving-others-project-25-donations-in.html

Project 3 - Gracewood - Help Single Moms and Families In Crisis
http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/04/gracewood.html

Project 4 - Pregnancy Help Center (Great opportunity.  Not for children)
http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/04/loving-otheres-project-4-pregnancy-help.html

Project 5- Stuffed Animals For Emergencies
http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/04/loving-others-project-5-stuffed-animals.html

Project 6 - Adoption
http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/04/loving-others-project-6-adoption.html

Project 7 - Helping Orphans Without Adopting
http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/05/loving-others-project-7-ways-to-help.html

Project 8 - Honor a Veteran
http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/05/loving-others-project-8-honor-vetrans.html

Project 9 - Convalescent Centers, Nursing Homes, and Assisted Living
http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/05/loving-others-project-9-convalescent.html

Project 10 - Use your Birthday Parties 
http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/05/loving-others-project-9-convalescent.html

Loving Others - Project 10 - Use Your Birthday Parties

At ballet this week a mom told me about a great idea her family does. 

-After her daughter's last birthday party, they sat down and her five-year-old picked out presents to give away.  Texas Children's Hospital only receives toys that are new and unopened.  This was a great way to offer brand new toys to children.  They dropped them off together. 

It inspired me to think about ways to incorporate giving into birthday parties.   

-Another friend has her children give away one old toy for every new toy they receive.  They give the older toy to the church, a relief organization or whatever seems appropriate.  See the donations blogs for some ideas.  http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/04/loving-others-project-2-donations.html and http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/04/loving-others-project-2-donations_6.html

-Instead of a gift, people could give a donation in honor of the child.  Perhaps the child could pick an organization they want to support and announce it on the party invitation.   Then instead of buying a the birthday child a gift, the person could donate to that organization.  I noticed an "in honor of" section when donating to https://showhope.org/give-hope/donate/, but I am sure this could work with many organizations. 

-Maybe instead of having their own birthday, they could bring a snack to Star of Hope for the Snacks and Goodnight time and celebrate their birthday with everyone there! http://www.sohmission.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=272 

What are some other ideas here?  I'd like to hear from you. 

Loving Others - Project 9 - Convalescent Centers and Nursing Homes

Convalescent center, nursing home, assisted living – Most holidays we make cards.  These are usually paper with some type of sticker or something attached.  I print a little paper that says, Happy Whatever” and my children use way too much glue to glue them on.  These are not fancy cards.  Then we call a local assisted living/nursing home type place and ask when would be a good time to come hand them out to the residents.  They tell me about how many cards to bring and a time and day to come  when there will be residents out and available to receive the cards.  Then I bring my cute little children and hand them out. 

On the drive there we discuss proper etiquette.  If they speak to you, please answer.  We practice answering normal questions.  What’s your name?  How old are you? Are you twins? Did you make this yourself?  Then we practice responses.  What do you say when someone says thank you?  What do you say when someone says they like your dress?   Then we practice saying “Happy Whatever.”

I walk around with them helping them remember their manners but requiring that they interact with the residents.  Then about 15 minutes later we leave. 

Make it a project by inviting other families over to make the cards one day and then inviting them to come to the nursing home to hand them out with you as well.  We often have “Happy Birthday Jesus” parties around Christmas and make cards.  Sometimes we have a valentines card making party.  This way kids feel like their efforts matter. 

 

When you get in the car, talk about the great things they did like answering politely and being king.  Then talk about how we were sharing Jesus with those people by loving them.  Share that they were a happy moment in someone’s day and that is a worthy thing. 

Loving Others - Project 8 - Honor Vetrans

Memorial Day is upon us and I just had an idea. 

There is a large VA hospital right here in Houston.  Why not make a bunch of cards with your kids and go hand them out at the VA hospital on Memorial Day or Veteran's Day (Nov 11) or any day that you feel like honoring those who protect our freedoms?

Loving Others - Project 7 - Ways to Help Orphans Other Than Adoption

Orphans- Ways to help them other than adoption:

There are children that need an advocate.  For one reason or another they are left without loving parents to fight for them.  There are many ways that they can be helped.  One way includes adoption, but there are so many other things that can be done on their behalf.  I posted about adoption a while back and some people wanted to help, but just did not feel called or able to adopt.  Here are some other avenues to consider.  There are things here your whole family (including little children) can be involved in. 

1.        Pray – I have a little paper that says “adoption” taped above my washer.  I see it regularly and am prompted to pray for children awaiting adoption or even in the foster care system who are not in line for adoption at this point. Another idea would be to find a specific person online that needs adoption.  Print out their picture or make it a background on a smart phone or computer screen.  Pray for them every day.  Also, organize prayer groups to pray for orphans.  Pray for your heart too that God gives you a passion and avenue to stand for these orphans.  Pray for families in the process of adopting.  It’s often long, frustrating, and time-consuming. 

2.       Give to an organization - Give money to a foster care/ orphan organization. You can look at the list of local Houston adoption agencies bellow for ideas.  Other places to contribute that are not local may include Show Hope https://showhope.org/give-hope/donate/ and Texas Baptist Children’s Home https://www.childrenatheartministries.org/TBCH-Give-Online. TBCH has a wish list page if you wanted to purchase something specifically that they need.  Compassion International  http://www.compassion.com/

3.       Give to a family you know - Help a family you know cover the cost of adoption.   

4.       Serve - Help families that foster children or have adopted.  Offer a meal when a new child arrives. Bring some board games and play games at a foster home one evening a month.  Watch the children for free one evening so the parents can have a date night together.  Throw a shower for families getting new children even if the children are older.  Become a mentor for a child in foster care. 

5.       Foster – Become a foster parent or an emergency foster parent

6.       Start an orphan ministry in your church - HopeforOrphans.org has an 8 step program to help you  launch a program at your church.   http://www.hopefororphans.org/Display.asp?Page=launchministry

7.       Go on a mission trip - Buckner international sends people all over the world to bring shoes and socks to orphans. You could go on a mission trip or start a drive to collect supplies. http://www.shoesfororphansouls.org/index.shtml http://hopefororphans.org/Display.asp?Page=getinvolved1

8.        Organize a drive to collect items - Orphan Outreach provides backpacks and school supplies to orphans.  http://www.missionbackpack.org/

9.       Share the cause with others - Bethany Christian Services offers a free email that tells of children who need a family.  They suggest posting this email in Sunday School classes. You could also utilize social media to share these stories.  Make you’re your prayer requests at Bible study.  I knew of someone once who carried a picture of an orphan in her purse.  She did not adopt him, but asked many others if God was calling them to.  Sure enough, one person she asked later became that child’s mommy. (I wish I could remember where I heard that story so I could give them credit.)  http://www.bethany.org/main/champions-children

10.   Be their voice - Become a CASA – Court Appointed Special Advocates – According to the webpage,  “Volunteers get to know the child by talking with everyone in that child's life: parents and relatives, foster parents, teachers, medical professionals, attorneys, social workers and others. They use the information they gather to inform judges and others of what the child needs and what will be the best permanent home for them.” You have to participate in 30 hours of training and be willing to stay with the case until it is over (about a year and a half) http://www.casaforchildren.org/site/c.mtJSJ7MPIsE/b.5301309/k.9D58/Volunteering.htm

There are other options to help this organization that are less intensive.  They range from hanging CASA posters to helping with the webpage to organizing events.  http://www.casaforchildren.org/site/c.mtJSJ7MPIsE/b.5307647/k.5D85/Other_Volunteer_Opportunities.htm

 

 

Adoption agencies in Houston (not an exhaustive list)

Arrow – www.arrow.org

Buckner – www.beafamily.org

Homes4Good – http://homes4good.org

Safe Haven – www.safehavencommunityservices.org

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services – www.dfps.state.tx.us

Spauldin for Children – www.spauldingforchildren.org

Gladney Center for Adoption – www.adoptionsbygladney.com (services all of Texas based in Fort Worth)

 

Want more info on adoption? Sept 13-14 there will be conference at Houston’s First Baptist Church See www.showhope.org/connect for more information. Early Bird registration is available through July 12 and offers a discounted rate.   

 

Loving Others - Project 6 - Adoption

I almost didn't think to post this, but it definitely fits under the Loving Others Project. 

There are children out there than need mommies and daddies. That alone makes me cry.  Some of you may be being called by God to become that mommy or daddy.  Others may need to help make that adoption happen.  There are needs for not only adopting parents, but also financial support, and spreading the word.  Even if you can't take a child into your home, you could still help the cause. 

This weekend at First Baptist Houston on The Loop campus (I-10 and 610 on the West Side) Focus on the Family is doing a free event called Wait No More.  It is from 10-2 and a great place to get information about adoption.  I looked at the registration and it says you only have to register adults.  To me that means, kids can come with you. 

Go here for more information: 
General - http://icareaboutorphans.org/

Houston event - http://icareaboutorphans.org/whatwedo/waitnomore/texas-houston/

Loving Others - Project 5 - Stuffed Animals For Emergencies (SAFE)

I have been looking for information on donating stuffed animals to police officers, firefighters and emergency responders. That is one thing we have, receive often, and my kids would be excited to give to a child who was sad. 

Most of the information I see is seasonal.  There are drives around Christmas in several areas. 

I also read an article about a girl scout unit that donated stuffed animals to HPD.  http://www.houstontx.gov/police/nr/2012/may/nr051712-2.htm  The article said for more information, please contact the HPD Public Affairs Division at 713-308-3200.  I don't know if they would be able to help you with any ideas on how to donate some items to them. 

I have friends who are firefighters, police, and Texas Marshalls.  I'll try to find some more information.

So far there is one organization that advertises a drop-off for stuffed animals through out the year. 

Stuffed Animals For Emergencies (SAFE)
http://www.stuffedanimalsforemergencies.org/Home.php

The only drop-off in Texas is sponsored by Feed the Children

FTC Texas
4701 Blalock Road
Houston, Texas  77041
713-331-1034

"Feed the Children delivers food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to individuals, children and families who lack these essentials due to famine, war, poverty, or natural disasters.  In particular we are working with FTC on their truck sponsorship program here in the United States.  When truckloads of items have been sponsored by a group or an organization they have agreed to allow out stuffed animals to go with these trucks to be delivered as well with the other items to these families in need.
If you are interested in donating your stuffed animals to FTC ALL DONATIONS MUST BE CLEANED UP FIRST as these donations are not going through one of our chapter members.  
NOTE:  If you are donating directly to FTC they require that you TAKE A DONOR FORM WITH YOU WHEN YOU DONATE so they can keep track of exactly how much we are donating."
Information on the truck sponsorships, cleaning instructions, and the form to download can all be found at http://www.stuffedanimalsforemergencies.org/Chapters.html You have to scroll down close to the bottom to get the only Texas one.  It's labeled Feed the Children.



Here is the letter they have on the webpage that explains how to clean your own animals and prepare them for drop-off. :

 

Stuffed Animals For Emergencies

 

SAFE Guide to Cleaning Stuffed Animals

 

Hello!

Thank you so much for wanting to donate your new and gently used stuffed animals! 

 If you are reading this guide, most likely there was not a SAFE chapter in your area and you are looking to donate your stuffed animals to an organization closer to you.  This guide is here to explain how I normally clean the stuffed animals I receive before giving them out to any organization.  Hopefully, this will help guide you in cleaning up your stuffed animals before distribution. 

Let me first say, it is very important for health reasons to clean up any gently used stuffed animals before giving them to children.  Just think of it as if these stuffed animals were going to your own children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, etc. - you would want them as clean as possible.  This may take a little more time than just packing them up in boxes but they are going to children who could really use them so they need to be in the best shape possible.

First of all, these are some items I use to clean up stuffed animals so you may wish to have these on hand before you get started:

Washcloth, soap, small comb or brush, scissors, lint brush and a bottle of Febreze.  If you want to, ribbons (polyester and nylon ribbons work the best) and a needle and thread can come in handy if you find a really nice stuffed animal that needs some minor repairs.

So let's get started….

1. Basically when I receive any stuffed animals I go through them first and distinguish what I will keep and what isn't suitable to give to a child.  Just use your judgment in terms of the shape the stuffed animal is in and if there are any tears, stains, or smells.  Make your decision about the stuffed animals based on what you think would be suitable to give to one of your own kids, nieces, nephews, cousins, etc.  Would it scare a child?  Does is not look comforting? If you have some that are not suitable for children in traumatic situations, you can always contact your local thrift store or even your local animal shelter.  One thing I would mention though, don't donate any stuffed animals with beans in them like Beanie Babies to the animal shelter - wouldn't want the employees to have to pick up all those beans if a dog tears it to shreds!

2.     Next if you could count how many stuffed animals you are going to donate (and to what places) and e-mail me (my e-mail address is at the bottom of the checklist) I would really appreciate it.  We keep a running tally of how many stuffed animals are donated to SAFE or are donated through SAFE's contacts or drives.

3.     Deciding the condition of the stuffed animal - First, any stuffed animal that is in excellent condition (i.e. doesn't have any stains, tears, spots, smells) was rarely played with and looks really nice, I usually just put these in the dryer for about 10 minutes on AIR DRY (don't ever put them on high heat because the temperature gets too hot and will melt the fur on some stuffed animals) just to get any dust off of them.  Please cut off any tags though before putting it in the dryer.  My only exception to tags is Beanie Babies, I usually keep those on so when I donate them people know they are actual Beanie Babies (and I clean these by hand usually unless it is really dirty).  Also I usually spray some Febreze over the whole pile.  If you have a stuffed animal like this that has some attachment to it though (like a box or a basket) don't worry about putting it in the dryer.  You can clean these by hand (just follow the directions in number 4 for hand washing).

4.     Next any other stuffed animals that are regular size, been used by children in the past and don't have any kind of attachment to it (like boxes, baskets, etc.) you can go ahead and wash these in the washing machine.  My only exception to this is if you have a stuffed animal with longer fur on it, you really shouldn't wash these as the fur is never the same after washing.  Just try to hand wash the animal by using a washcloth and soap or by brushing it and if it is unable to be cleaned that way, you can donate it to your local animal shelter or you will have to throw it away.  Make sure there are no tags on any of these stuffed animals before washing.  Again, my only exception to tags is Beanie Babies, I usually keep those on so when I donate them people know they are actual Beanie Babies (and I usually wash these by hand if they need it).  I will put these in the washing machine on a gentle cycle; some chapters even use a sensitive or baby-type laundry detergent so it is extra gentle.  Then I put them in the dryer on AIR DRY or LOW HEAT for a short period of time (10-15 minutes) and then I usually let them air dry the rest of the way (again don't ever put them on high heat because the temperature gets too hot and will melt the fur on some stuffed animals).  After that I freshen them up by using a lint brush if needed, a small brush to comb the fur with, cut any strings that need cut and then I just usually spray Febreze over all of them when I am done.  Some chapters use dryer sheets in the bag or box when donating to make them smell nice as well.

5.     If after washing the stuffed animals you have some with stains that wouldn't come out and you cannot see any other way of getting it clean, this would be a good stuffed animal to donate to the animal shelter or throw away. 

6.     If you find there are some stuffed animals that are in good condition but coming apart at the seam or need other repairs, you can chose to repair it or it will have to be thrown away (if you gave it to the animal shelter the animals would most likely tear it apart).

7.     If you have any large stuffed animals you will have to clean them up by hand of course.  Just follow the directions for hand washing in number 4.  Note:  Really large stuffed animals can be donated to libraries which work great in their children areas.

8.     Also, just wanted to mention that if you have a stuffed animal that has a ribbon around its neck that is frayed and falling apart, just go ahead and cut it off and if you have some polyester or nylon ribbon (they usually tie the best) just tie a new one with a bow around its neck, it really does a lot to freshen it up.

 

And that is it!  Just organize them in boxes or garbage bags depending on how many you have and take them to the organization that needs them.  Again, if you could please provide a count of how many you donated at the bottom and e-mail me we would appreciate it, we keep a running tally. 

If you have any questions at all, here is my contact information:

 

Jennifer Alloy

jenalloy15@gmail.com

11886 Monroe Road

Leesburg, OH  45135

937-708-0251

 

Total number of stuffed animals donated ________________.

Place(s) where stuffed animals are being donated:

_____________________________________________________.

 

Thank you again so much for what you are doing, it really does help so many children and please e-mail me pictures if you would like so we can post them on our 'Thank You Donors' page or Facebook!