Newsletter: February 25, 2009
Many times a day I realize how much my own life is built on the labors of my fellow men, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.
- Albert Einstein
Hello everyone! Hope you are enjoying these moments of sunshine in between the long awaited storms.
Creek Kids Care is now 5 years old! At this point five years ago, we were throwing our very first art parties in our kitchens and back yards, roping in our neighbors and friends. We are extremely happy that this growing group of creative generous kids (many now teens) has developed some staying power in the community. Congratulations to so many Creek Kids who have been involved since the earliest stages and welcome to those families who are "new".
Wanted to give you some brief updates to the goings-on at Creek Kids. Julie, Cat and I will be meeting this Friday to envision the year ahead (usually a January activity for us) and so we'll be communicating more of what's on the Creek Kids' plate shortly.
Creek Kids at Walnut Creek Intermediate
The middle schoolers continue to jam and add a wonderful momentum to Creek Kids. This past month, along with the WCI Leadership Class, sponsored a "Head-to-Toe" drive. The results: 125 pair of socks, 58 pairs of underwear, 77 pairs of gloves, 15 hats and a smattering of jackets, sweatshirts, etc. The eighth and sixth graders "won" with the most donations after a tooth-brush run-off, which brought in over 250 toothbrushes, too.
Before Valentine's, the WCI Creek Kids met to decorate and bake cookies to deliver to Fresh Start. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the ongoing effort, creativity and vision of Chris Giotta, the WCI CKC faculty advisor. She is absolutely wonderful to work with and continually finds fun and creative ways for the kids to give and serve. She is an incredible addition to Creek Kids. Being an art teacher is only one of the many ways she and Creek Kids are a great fit.
Thank you to the many WCI Creek Kids who do so much and seem to do it all with such joy.
Go get your calendars: Future WCI CKC meetings (on Wednesdays at 8:45 a.m. in Mrs. Giotta's room): February 25th (tomorrow!), March 4, 25, April 22, May 20, 27, June 10. Write down those dates!!!!
Creek Kids at Las Lomas
The Las Lomas Creek Kids are doing so well running their chapter of Creek Kids with very little input from us. Every time I stop in, I'm amazed at the number of people who attend the Wednesday lunch meetings. In addition to the art party they ran the end of January, they are busy assembling cards and planning an excursion to Fresh Start. Before Valentines, the LLHS Creek Kids made valentines and they too delivered baked goods and valentines to the Fresh Start community. Special thanks go to Erin Wolff and Katrina Halle for their continued work to keep the group moving forward!
Creek Kids at St. Timothy's
The middle schoolers at St. Timothy's in Danville, Kid's Core, also has been hard at work doing the work of Creek Kids. Recently, they contributed $330 to Creek Kids from the sale of their stationery. Kids Core went through the entire process of creating CKC stationery, from creating the art work, to assembling the stationery, to selling the stationery. We appreciate their work so much!
We look forward to opportunities to meld all the groups and individuals of Creek Kids at some point. We'll have to think about that one.
Thanks
Thank you so much to Amy Joseph who graciously cut the art work from the last art party. It's such a luxury to have the art processed for us.
An Opportunity to Volunteer for a great cause
We were recently contacted by Resham Ramsay, a Las Lomas student who is working to earn her Gold Award for Girl Scouts. She is earning it by creating and organizing THE ANTI-STRESS FEST which will happen Saturday, March 7, from 10-3 p.m. at the Las Lomas Gym. Participants will be able to choose classes in yoga, meditation, salsa, clutter control and more. There will also be speakers discussing a variety of topics related to managing stress. There will be a LOT of work involved in pulling off the event and in order to do so, Resham is looking for volunteers. If your child/teen would like to help -- whether it's at the Finger Painting booth, or the Hug Booth or in other areas, please contact Resham Ramsay at 925-465-4961.
We encourage you to attend and learn creative ways to take care of yourself.
Hope you are all doing well. As always, thank you so much for your continued support and generosity.
Warmly,
Cat, Julie and Laura
© Creek Kids Care, 2006
