Tuesday, August 17, 2010
A Plea for Financial Donations
We have so many requests for school supplies this year....we are wondering if you - our donors would be able to make a small monetary donation thru our Paypal link - five dollars or ten? More if you can afford it? We use your donations where they are intended to go. Since we are staffed by all volunteers we do not carry the significant overhead of other organizations. However, we can only do so much. Many times, we dig into our own wallets to help those less fortunate. It is becoming increasingly difficult - especially as the economy continues its downward spiral and more people are jobless and in need. If you are able to help us - please be assured that your donations will be used to purchase those necessary items that the children need. Can you imagine not having a backpack or bookbag, pencils, paper at the beginning of the school year?? Thank you so much and God Bless.
A Day (er) Month in the Life of Peaches - Our Tireless Worker
Just got this in from Peaches - her activities for July - I really don't know when she finds time to sleep!!
JULY
1 Sorted and Boxed up clothing. Tried to drop egg cartons to someone that needed them but he had already left work. His job location and the fact he gets off at 6pm may make this drop a hard one to ever make, though I will keep trying. Picked up 2 large boxes of clothes donated by someone forwarding on to multiple families, including a grandmother raising her grandson after her daughter was murdered by an abusive spouse.
2 Went to Great Clips and Donated 11 inches of my hair to Locks of Love for a total of 57 inches in a little more then three years. That is only 5 inches less then I am. As always, the night was spent sorting items and figuring out who needed them most.
3 Delivered food items to a young couple who finally found an apartment. The food was donated by Donna from Maple Shade. Thanks to her generosity, they had food and toilet paper both of which they needed. Spent the evening sorting organizing clothing that needed to be sorted.
4 Spent the evening sorting after work.
5 Picked up a few small bags of Women's clothes which were sorted after work.
6 Picked up clothes, baby swing, baby car seat, stroller and port-a-crib that only needs a mattress from Mirian in Willingboro. Her husband even helped load the truck. THANK YOU!
7 Gave crib and swing plus a box of gender neutral baby clothes to a young expectant mom with only a part time job. Also gave outside toys for a little boy who lives near Mount Holly.
8 Finished sorting and boxing up many of items from a recent pick up. Dropped clothes to a mom of 4 with little money. She needed clothes for herself as she has to find a job since they can no longer afford to live on Dad's disability check. She was told she should not work due to severe diabetic, and heart complications but has no choice but to find something or they will not be able to eat and keep a roof over their head. His check is less then $800 a month. As you can imagine that offers little in this world.
9 Tried again to drop egg cartons, again got there minutes too late. Spent night trying to match up shoes and socks that seem to have lost their mate..many turned out to be so worn we could not use them. Now that I know that Nike will take any sneakers to recylce, I can bring up to 10 at a time to one of their stores in NJ. Here's the link if anyone is interested:
http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/get-involved/drop-off-locations?country=US&zip=&state=NJ&x=62&y=20
10 Dropped off three bags of clothing for a little boy in Riverside. His parents do what they can but with rising bills help is always welcome. He now has enough clothes for from now until next spring.
11 Picked up items from storage to sort into boxes elsewhere. Even wth a radio there, sometimes its just not enough. Tonight was one of those times.
12 Continued making up boxes from items as they were sorted.
13 Picked up some clothes, toys, household items, and pool toys from Sandy in White House Station, NJ. THANK YOU!!
14 Toys and pool toys picked up yesterday, were given to to 3 different housholds where toys are no longer able to be purchased due to financial issues. The pool toys are to be used at Grandmom's house.
15 Sorted and dropped baby items to Mom expecting a baby little girl within a month.
16 Picked up numerous bags of clothes and assorted items from Bonnie in West Berlin. After a friendly hello kiss from her dog, her Dad loaded them into the truck. We shared a quick pleasant conversation before I headed off to pick up three bags of Food from Nancy in Browns Mills. With so many in need food is always a very welcome donation. THANK YOU BOTH!!
An aside - since all of the Reys folks are bigtime animal lovers: We help where we can.....I caught another feral cat that will be getting fixed as soon as they have an open appointment. Sadly this makes 15 in the last few years that have been forced to live on the street. During that time only 5 were able to be socialized and rehomed as they were kittens when I caught them. Two others have moved into my home and one came to the secure and enclosed feeding area to die after years of being fed by me. The other Seven I paid fullprice ( over $100 each at the time--this time there is a special discounted price :) to have them fixed. They are fed and given water everday though they are unable to live inside a home and are forced to live in ouside housing. Five of them even I can not touch and I feed them. This recent young female cat and now two more that need to be caught have recently shown up. I believe one is her sibling and the other her mother. Chances are they dropped her off when they discovered she was pregnant. One simple operation would have solved the problem before it became one. It is a shame that some people think of animals as disposable instead of truly part of the family. Of course shelters are not the place to bring those that survive since shelters euthanize around 4 million animals every year due to space and money issues mostly.
17 Picked up multiple bags of clothes from Michelle and Will of Willingboro. Met as co-workers in the past, today they are friends that never forget to help us. Will pick up totes and totes of toys when time allows. THANK YOU!! Spent night sorting previusly picked up items.
18 Worked all day .....Spent night sorting items that were picked up yesterday.
19 I spent today working on an updated needs list that currently totals 3 pages. I could do this while I worked my paid job. As backwards as it sounds I fit paid work around Reys of Hope and not the other way around. Though it may not be financially smart to only work part time, most weeks the reality is, if it's not us helping others - then who?? My current list does not include those on Pat, Father John, Susan or all of Krystal's ( have some of her list). Mostly they have their own needs list on which they concentrate.
20 The list was completed today. Clothes that got wet in the unexpected rain storm were dried and readied to be sorted into boxes in the next few days.
21 Pet food was dropped to an elderly woman who can not afford to feed herself and her pets.
22 Boxes were dropped to Jack for delivery. There was one box for a single mom of two little girls ~two for a struggling couple with three children~clothes for the four children of one unemployed dad and mom who are struggling with a recent illness~ two boxes of clothes and toys as well as a baby play matt for a teen mom and her new son. They were dropped to where they were needed within 48 hours of him receiving them. Unfortuantely, most of those items were for them to use this winter and not now. Summer clothes often show up in January and rarely show up in the summer. By now the totes are mostly empty of summer clothing.
23 Dropped some toys to a child that had none at all...dropped some clothes to a toddler whose mom lost her job and a a man who needs clothes after losing weight. As always, spent night sorting alone while the rest of the world slept :~)
24 Picked up a truck load of assorted men clothes, housewares and even some food from Susan and Ed's Dad's house. He had lived in Browns Mills. Susan sorted and boxed up most of the items and Ed loaded the truck. THANK YOU!! Spent the night sorting and organizing about 60% of items on the truck. Boxed up most of them.
25 Food from the two earlier pick-ups will be shared with two people. Today some was given to a man with a medical condition and no support system or extra money for food. So no one goes completely without, he got half and the other half will go to a lady in Camden county
who was found a few months back eating cat food and vegetables out of the trash. Spent the night sorting and organizing the remaining items on the truck. Boxed up the rest of them for use by another.
26 Starting the day off by dropping the feral cat, (which I caught last week) at a Friends of Animal's Welfare Association in Voorhees to have her fixed ( special price of only $35).
27 Working on sorting and making up boxes for more then a dozen families and individuals. The range of people in need is indeed diverse.
Just to name a few current situations ~ teen mom with clothing and toy items for one quickly growing, currently bored baby. ~ Mom of a 1st grader that is starting over. Her baby girl is due in a few months. Things were looking up in her world until her pregnancy complications
made her have to stop working. The Dad-to-be does what he can though with one income it's difficult to buy all a baby needs and keep up with the bills~ A woman in her 20's has escaped a domestic violence situation with few possesions. She is living in hiding after escaping from
a very dangerous situation~ Mom of toddler girl and her friend who has a preschool daughter trying together to start fresh and keep clothes on their children~ One local special education teacher I have known for years in need of learning toys that are appropriate and helpful for her students ~ Recently unemployed couple who both have had to be hospitalized in the past few months find clothes and toys for their 2 year old child as well as themselves ( they lost weight due to illness) ~ One medically challenged Mom of a toddler boy in need of clothes and of course toys. Dad is now in jail for making choices that mom did not endorse or even know about~ A couple with 4 little boys under the age of 8 ( one just months old) and a string of bad luck. Mr is having difficulty finding work and Mrs has been having health issues that have continued even after her last son was born. They have landed her in the ER as recently as last week~ One older woman in need of easy wear clothing to make it easier to care for her since she can no longer care for herself ~ Single mom of two little girls in need of school clothing~ One man who lost everything in a bad divorce. Even his clothes were trashed when she left him for another man~ One very sick mom of two school age children ( boy and girl) finally found a place for her and her husband to live though they are in need of all the household items one would need as well as clothes for the children~ four hard working heavily in debt ( school loans that total large amounts) females that can not afford clothes for work now that school is done ~ Teen dad found a job but can not afford food , baby supplies and clothes for himself ( he has lost weight from stress) and his girlfriend ~ household items for a senior citizen that had to move to NJ to be close to her family since she could no longer live
as independantly as she once had~this is not the complete current list but it does give you an idea of what we do and who we help.
As always all the children get books when we have them. Thanks to Jenn in Riverside we have enough to share with all of the most recent families . THANKS!!
28 Made a drop of 3 small boxes to a local thrift shop that supports extra outings for those living in a local children's home. Only dropped the items we could not use which are rare. They were such things as out of state team hats, ash trays, books in non-english languages ( not spanish) , old unopened calendars with cool pictures, wall decorations that are of a certain taste, and other such items.
29 Not feeling well due to serious medical issues only worked on boxes for a few hours
30 Still not feeling well ( which is my norm) , managed to work on the boxes for a few more hours.
31 Unloaded the truck and sorted the remainder of items since I had a pick up tomorrow. Dropped one quickly boxed up baby boy items for a mom who told everyone she was not pregnant until she went in labor and had a little boy one week ago..she needs everything as she has nothing. Due to limited baby boy items gave her all I had in 0-3 month which was only a few onesies and some items for him to grow into but not many....NEED BABY BOY items ...and .....
Searching for ...actually always seem to be searching for....baby boy 0-9 months summer clothes~ have none and need both ASAP girls 9-12 month summer 0-24 month winter clothes for boys and 6-24 months winter clothes for girl though any size and season from 2t under can be easily stored. If not needed now it can always be used later.Need both sex baby all sizes onesies and footed PJ type one piece outfits as we have none in boys and few in girls. Need a highchair....a playpen....a crib...stroller....everthing a baby needs...baby supplies. We have many babies due between Sept and December. As always they need allot of everything.
Beyond that always looking for pants 30 x 30, 32 and 34 x 32, 38 x 32 40 and 42 x 32, 44 mens shirts all sizes except small...boys 14husky or even 16 husky...could use some women's and men's summer pants all sizes....long pants could use some 10, 12, 16, 18, 22-26 regular and short or petitie in 12 and 18/20 sizes , woman's shirts size large and above - all seasons. Womens shoes 8 and 8.5 wide. Queen and full sized sheets and of course twin sheets. ....Pet food ( cat, dog and bird) and litter so pets can remain with their loved ones as well as people food and items for those who go hungry without help.
JULY
1 Sorted and Boxed up clothing. Tried to drop egg cartons to someone that needed them but he had already left work. His job location and the fact he gets off at 6pm may make this drop a hard one to ever make, though I will keep trying. Picked up 2 large boxes of clothes donated by someone forwarding on to multiple families, including a grandmother raising her grandson after her daughter was murdered by an abusive spouse.
2 Went to Great Clips and Donated 11 inches of my hair to Locks of Love for a total of 57 inches in a little more then three years. That is only 5 inches less then I am. As always, the night was spent sorting items and figuring out who needed them most.
3 Delivered food items to a young couple who finally found an apartment. The food was donated by Donna from Maple Shade. Thanks to her generosity, they had food and toilet paper both of which they needed. Spent the evening sorting organizing clothing that needed to be sorted.
4 Spent the evening sorting after work.
5 Picked up a few small bags of Women's clothes which were sorted after work.
6 Picked up clothes, baby swing, baby car seat, stroller and port-a-crib that only needs a mattress from Mirian in Willingboro. Her husband even helped load the truck. THANK YOU!
7 Gave crib and swing plus a box of gender neutral baby clothes to a young expectant mom with only a part time job. Also gave outside toys for a little boy who lives near Mount Holly.
8 Finished sorting and boxing up many of items from a recent pick up. Dropped clothes to a mom of 4 with little money. She needed clothes for herself as she has to find a job since they can no longer afford to live on Dad's disability check. She was told she should not work due to severe diabetic, and heart complications but has no choice but to find something or they will not be able to eat and keep a roof over their head. His check is less then $800 a month. As you can imagine that offers little in this world.
9 Tried again to drop egg cartons, again got there minutes too late. Spent night trying to match up shoes and socks that seem to have lost their mate..many turned out to be so worn we could not use them. Now that I know that Nike will take any sneakers to recylce, I can bring up to 10 at a time to one of their stores in NJ. Here's the link if anyone is interested:
http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/get-involved/drop-off-locations?country=US&zip=&state=NJ&x=62&y=20
10 Dropped off three bags of clothing for a little boy in Riverside. His parents do what they can but with rising bills help is always welcome. He now has enough clothes for from now until next spring.
11 Picked up items from storage to sort into boxes elsewhere. Even wth a radio there, sometimes its just not enough. Tonight was one of those times.
12 Continued making up boxes from items as they were sorted.
13 Picked up some clothes, toys, household items, and pool toys from Sandy in White House Station, NJ. THANK YOU!!
14 Toys and pool toys picked up yesterday, were given to to 3 different housholds where toys are no longer able to be purchased due to financial issues. The pool toys are to be used at Grandmom's house.
15 Sorted and dropped baby items to Mom expecting a baby little girl within a month.
16 Picked up numerous bags of clothes and assorted items from Bonnie in West Berlin. After a friendly hello kiss from her dog, her Dad loaded them into the truck. We shared a quick pleasant conversation before I headed off to pick up three bags of Food from Nancy in Browns Mills. With so many in need food is always a very welcome donation. THANK YOU BOTH!!
An aside - since all of the Reys folks are bigtime animal lovers: We help where we can.....I caught another feral cat that will be getting fixed as soon as they have an open appointment. Sadly this makes 15 in the last few years that have been forced to live on the street. During that time only 5 were able to be socialized and rehomed as they were kittens when I caught them. Two others have moved into my home and one came to the secure and enclosed feeding area to die after years of being fed by me. The other Seven I paid fullprice ( over $100 each at the time--this time there is a special discounted price :) to have them fixed. They are fed and given water everday though they are unable to live inside a home and are forced to live in ouside housing. Five of them even I can not touch and I feed them. This recent young female cat and now two more that need to be caught have recently shown up. I believe one is her sibling and the other her mother. Chances are they dropped her off when they discovered she was pregnant. One simple operation would have solved the problem before it became one. It is a shame that some people think of animals as disposable instead of truly part of the family. Of course shelters are not the place to bring those that survive since shelters euthanize around 4 million animals every year due to space and money issues mostly.
17 Picked up multiple bags of clothes from Michelle and Will of Willingboro. Met as co-workers in the past, today they are friends that never forget to help us. Will pick up totes and totes of toys when time allows. THANK YOU!! Spent night sorting previusly picked up items.
18 Worked all day .....Spent night sorting items that were picked up yesterday.
19 I spent today working on an updated needs list that currently totals 3 pages. I could do this while I worked my paid job. As backwards as it sounds I fit paid work around Reys of Hope and not the other way around. Though it may not be financially smart to only work part time, most weeks the reality is, if it's not us helping others - then who?? My current list does not include those on Pat, Father John, Susan or all of Krystal's ( have some of her list). Mostly they have their own needs list on which they concentrate.
20 The list was completed today. Clothes that got wet in the unexpected rain storm were dried and readied to be sorted into boxes in the next few days.
21 Pet food was dropped to an elderly woman who can not afford to feed herself and her pets.
22 Boxes were dropped to Jack for delivery. There was one box for a single mom of two little girls ~two for a struggling couple with three children~clothes for the four children of one unemployed dad and mom who are struggling with a recent illness~ two boxes of clothes and toys as well as a baby play matt for a teen mom and her new son. They were dropped to where they were needed within 48 hours of him receiving them. Unfortuantely, most of those items were for them to use this winter and not now. Summer clothes often show up in January and rarely show up in the summer. By now the totes are mostly empty of summer clothing.
23 Dropped some toys to a child that had none at all...dropped some clothes to a toddler whose mom lost her job and a a man who needs clothes after losing weight. As always, spent night sorting alone while the rest of the world slept :~)
24 Picked up a truck load of assorted men clothes, housewares and even some food from Susan and Ed's Dad's house. He had lived in Browns Mills. Susan sorted and boxed up most of the items and Ed loaded the truck. THANK YOU!! Spent the night sorting and organizing about 60% of items on the truck. Boxed up most of them.
25 Food from the two earlier pick-ups will be shared with two people. Today some was given to a man with a medical condition and no support system or extra money for food. So no one goes completely without, he got half and the other half will go to a lady in Camden county
who was found a few months back eating cat food and vegetables out of the trash. Spent the night sorting and organizing the remaining items on the truck. Boxed up the rest of them for use by another.
26 Starting the day off by dropping the feral cat, (which I caught last week) at a Friends of Animal's Welfare Association in Voorhees to have her fixed ( special price of only $35).
27 Working on sorting and making up boxes for more then a dozen families and individuals. The range of people in need is indeed diverse.
Just to name a few current situations ~ teen mom with clothing and toy items for one quickly growing, currently bored baby. ~ Mom of a 1st grader that is starting over. Her baby girl is due in a few months. Things were looking up in her world until her pregnancy complications
made her have to stop working. The Dad-to-be does what he can though with one income it's difficult to buy all a baby needs and keep up with the bills~ A woman in her 20's has escaped a domestic violence situation with few possesions. She is living in hiding after escaping from
a very dangerous situation~ Mom of toddler girl and her friend who has a preschool daughter trying together to start fresh and keep clothes on their children~ One local special education teacher I have known for years in need of learning toys that are appropriate and helpful for her students ~ Recently unemployed couple who both have had to be hospitalized in the past few months find clothes and toys for their 2 year old child as well as themselves ( they lost weight due to illness) ~ One medically challenged Mom of a toddler boy in need of clothes and of course toys. Dad is now in jail for making choices that mom did not endorse or even know about~ A couple with 4 little boys under the age of 8 ( one just months old) and a string of bad luck. Mr is having difficulty finding work and Mrs has been having health issues that have continued even after her last son was born. They have landed her in the ER as recently as last week~ One older woman in need of easy wear clothing to make it easier to care for her since she can no longer care for herself ~ Single mom of two little girls in need of school clothing~ One man who lost everything in a bad divorce. Even his clothes were trashed when she left him for another man~ One very sick mom of two school age children ( boy and girl) finally found a place for her and her husband to live though they are in need of all the household items one would need as well as clothes for the children~ four hard working heavily in debt ( school loans that total large amounts) females that can not afford clothes for work now that school is done ~ Teen dad found a job but can not afford food , baby supplies and clothes for himself ( he has lost weight from stress) and his girlfriend ~ household items for a senior citizen that had to move to NJ to be close to her family since she could no longer live
as independantly as she once had~this is not the complete current list but it does give you an idea of what we do and who we help.
As always all the children get books when we have them. Thanks to Jenn in Riverside we have enough to share with all of the most recent families . THANKS!!
28 Made a drop of 3 small boxes to a local thrift shop that supports extra outings for those living in a local children's home. Only dropped the items we could not use which are rare. They were such things as out of state team hats, ash trays, books in non-english languages ( not spanish) , old unopened calendars with cool pictures, wall decorations that are of a certain taste, and other such items.
29 Not feeling well due to serious medical issues only worked on boxes for a few hours
30 Still not feeling well ( which is my norm) , managed to work on the boxes for a few more hours.
31 Unloaded the truck and sorted the remainder of items since I had a pick up tomorrow. Dropped one quickly boxed up baby boy items for a mom who told everyone she was not pregnant until she went in labor and had a little boy one week ago..she needs everything as she has nothing. Due to limited baby boy items gave her all I had in 0-3 month which was only a few onesies and some items for him to grow into but not many....NEED BABY BOY items ...and .....
Searching for ...actually always seem to be searching for....baby boy 0-9 months summer clothes~ have none and need both ASAP girls 9-12 month summer 0-24 month winter clothes for boys and 6-24 months winter clothes for girl though any size and season from 2t under can be easily stored. If not needed now it can always be used later.Need both sex baby all sizes onesies and footed PJ type one piece outfits as we have none in boys and few in girls. Need a highchair....a playpen....a crib...stroller....everthing a baby needs...baby supplies. We have many babies due between Sept and December. As always they need allot of everything.
Beyond that always looking for pants 30 x 30, 32 and 34 x 32, 38 x 32 40 and 42 x 32, 44 mens shirts all sizes except small...boys 14husky or even 16 husky...could use some women's and men's summer pants all sizes....long pants could use some 10, 12, 16, 18, 22-26 regular and short or petitie in 12 and 18/20 sizes , woman's shirts size large and above - all seasons. Womens shoes 8 and 8.5 wide. Queen and full sized sheets and of course twin sheets. ....Pet food ( cat, dog and bird) and litter so pets can remain with their loved ones as well as people food and items for those who go hungry without help.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Please Can You Help??
Grandma raising her grand kids. Their mother recently died, their father is disabled in a wheel chair. The need school supplies and would like bikes for Christmas.
The children have .already put in their requests for the holiday. The 9 yr old boy, 15 yr old boy and teenage girl - they want nothing but a bike. Grandma would like to have some back packs and school clothes for them. Sizes boys xlarge, girl large and boys size 10 slim jeans and medium shirts.
We will ask for more definitive size information and re-post it here. In the meantime, if you can help with any items for this family, please contact us.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
School Supplies Needed
We are getting loads of requests from families asking for school supplies. If anyone can donate back to school items - paper, pencils, backpacks etc. please contact us. I am also going to post this on our Facebook Page.
Please help - the economy doesn't seem to be getting any better and school will be here quickly enough.
Please help - the economy doesn't seem to be getting any better and school will be here quickly enough.
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