Newsletter: January 8, 2010
Nobody got anywhere in the world by simply being content. - Louis L'Amour
Happy New Year!
Welcome to those families who are newly interested in what Creek Kids care is up to.
Traditionally, January is deliberately quiet for Creek Kids. It's time for us to regroup after a busy holiday season and to spend time envisioning the year ahead. Next week, Cat, Julie and I will meet to start planning for 2010.
In the meantime, many of the Creek Kids do not need time off to plan.
The Las Lomas chapter of Creek Kids, led by Katie Mallon, Sophia Weiner-Light and Kristen Lore, are working out the delivery details of the December warm clothing drive they've conducted on behalf of our friends at Fresh Start. At last count, 40 garbage bags full of clothing were collected and sorted. Many many thanks to Katie, Sophia, Kristen, Ali Wolff, Kelly Mallon, Maggie Ridenhour, Meg Stephens, Abby and Emma Freemire, Rory Stewart, Kate Marinchak, Jonathan Hawthorne, Taylor Matson, and Jack Bevan. All of these LLHS Creek Kids rallied in the midst of a crazy holiday season to do excellent work on behalf of others. Awesome.
The LLHS Creek Kids are also looking forward to going on a field trip to Fresh Start early this year. It ALWAYS is motivating to reconnect with the members of Fresh Start and why Creek Kids does what it does.
The WCI chapter of Creek Kids is just starting the planning for a preschool supply drive for JF Kapnek Trust Zimbabwe preschools. Just in case you're new to Creek Kids: for the past four years, Creek Kids has been raising money to fully fund the operations of one of the many JF Kapnek preschools. These preschools, each serving 75 children who have been orphaned by the AIDS pandemic, are in need of basic preschool supplies. Think back: play-doh, markers, paper, doll houses, dolls, dress up clothes, trucks, dinosaurs....If you have a neglected collection of toys, books, coloring supplies, etc. that you'd like to donate, please let us know! All supplies will be packed into a freight container and shipped to Zimbabwe later this year. We'll be talking to you about that in subsequent emails. Helping with the freight container is just one of many meaningful and tangible ways your children can make a difference through Creek Kids.
Looking back (briefly) on 2009
It was a delightful and productive year for Creek Kids. 2009 was our fifth full year in operation. Isn't that fabulous??
Among many other things, Creek Kids:
- Made our annual delivery of tents and sleeping bags to Fresh Start
- Delivered desserts to Fresh Start's Thanksgiving celebration (thank you Linda Bohnert for organizing)
- Donated $300 per month to Fresh Start for breakfasts for Fresh Start members
- Sold our wares at the WC Farmer's Market
- Threw a lovely Benefit Boutique in November, raising funds for 2010 projects
- Sold our wares at Suzanne Rogge's Goods for Good Boutique. Thank you May Newton, Rachelle and Kate Cashion!
- Participated in the Parkmead Holiday Craft Faire. Thank you so much to Victoria Johnson for organizing!
- Set up an impromptu bake sale at Las Lomas
- Delivered decorated holiday cookies to Fresh Start
- Organized 26 families to sponsor 40 Fresh Start members for the holidays
- Painted a lot of pretty pictures
- Used the pictures to create stationery and other products that we sell all year long
- Got support from the totally motivated Creek Kids at St. Timothy's in Danville
- Provided, through our middle school and high school clubs and art parties (for younger Creek Kids), a means for local kids and teens to give and bring positive change to their community and world.
Thank you
For the past three years, Creek Kids have sponsored the Holiday Angel Project, in which families are matched with one homeless community member. That family receives a holiday wish list: items wished for usually include clothing, books, certificates for movies, bike accessories, etc. This holiday season, Creek Kids Care was given 40 wish lists from Fresh Start members, much more than the 15-18 wish lists we've received in the past.
Creek Kids families rallied! Every Fresh Start member who filled out a wish list was connected to a Creek Kids family (and actually many new families!) who would "sponsor" him/her for the holidays. Thank you to the Phillips Family, the Hawkins family, the Johnston family, the Kearney family, the Swains, the Zinns, the Ridenhours, the Miles, the Freemires, the Conlans, the Rosen Family, the Krook family, the Cohens, the Halpin Kruegers, the Evans, the Jacoby family, the Bierle Kellers, the Bustamante Family, the Didions, the Eliason-Zupan family, the Giottas, the Johnson family (thanks for rallying others!), the McGlynns, the McCormicks, the Nomanis and the Warners. Thank you so much to those families who offered to sponsor more than one Fresh Start member. Thank you especially to the children who donated their own spending money to take care of someone else. We heard of multiple instances of this kind of generosity. The Holiday Angel project is a very fun, worthwhile and humbling project. When children shop for people without homes, they are forced to think about what someone living outside might need, and nudges them to think about the realities of not having a home. We invite you to participate next year.
Madeleine
You might have caught the picture of Madeleine Levy in the Walnut Creek Journal this past week. She was delivering a check of $500 to Fresh Start. Madeleine donated the money gifts she received for her Bat Mitzvah. Madeleine, one of the WCI Creek Kids' leaders, has been a wonderful addition to Creek Kids this year. We appreciate her leadership, her take charge attitude and her compassion. Thank you for providing an amazing example to other Creek Kids!
Friends
Julie's mom Fran Sherwood (Creek Kids biggest fan) and her group of friends decided to skip exchanging gifts this year. Instead, they collected donations for CKC. Their total donation was $250 including matching donations from Reynolds & Brown and Autos International. Thank you so very much!
Tonight - our favorite band
Here's a quick cure for the January doldrums -- come see OMGG (Obviously Minor Guys and a Girl), the young bluegrass band featuring vocal wunderkind A.J. Lee and her pickin' and singin' pals Nate and Max Schwartz and Marty Varner in Walnut Creek on Friday January 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Walnut Avenue United Methodist Church, 260 Walnut Avenue. With an average age of just 13, this band has started to create quite a buzz in the Bay Area with their instrumental prowess and creative vocal arrangements. They wowed their audiences in Nashville last October at IBMA, and they say they've got a few new surprises planned for their Walnut Creek show. Tickets will be available at the door, $10 per person with a $25 famiily maximum. Free childcare on site, concert will last one hour (family-friendly). Flyer and link to the church's website are attached. Hope to see some of you there!
The year ahead
In the coming year, we're looking forward to working together to provide tangible, meaningful ways for the Creek Kids to make a difference in their world. We look forward to having new faces join us. We'll be throwing art parties, assembling stationery and our other cool products, we'll be selling at the Farmer's Market, we'll be collecting preschool supplies, we'll be participating in the annual JF Kapnek Trust Fun Run in April, we'll be packing the frieght container headed for Zimbabwe, and we'll be staying in very close touch with Fresh Start and responding to the needs of our community members who are without homes.
We'd love to see you for any part of the action. There is no ongoing commitment with Creek Kids, although we've seen over the years, that when kids are consistently connected with what we're doing, their individual experiences at events add up to something more profound: kids and teens just start to own their role as powerful members of their community.
Once we do our 2010 planning, we'll be in touch with an updated calendar. In the meantime, if you want to throw an art party, purchase some CKC stationery, have a great idea...let us know.
All the best to you in the new year,
Laura, Cat, and Julie
© Creek Kids Care, 2006
