Back on track

Greetings friends. I'm trying to get back on track- I've been sick with a cold and didn't get much done recently. Good news is that I started our nursing home donations on Friday. I still have a lot more to do. My voice has been so bad that I couldn't speak on the phone at all, but it is better tonight- so I can get back to my calls tomorrow. I also didn't want to walk into any nursing homes while sick- that is definitely not a good place to spread germs. I have to say, it must be so hard for people to work with chronic medical conditions. I get sick with a bad cold and I am totally down for the count. I can only imagine how hard it is for people that have to work when they are in pain and sick.

In excellent news- we received a $5,000 grant yesterday from a Foundation that started supporting us last winter. They have now donated $15,000 in grant money. I was so happy to open the envelope- I wasn't expecting it. These are unsolicited grants which is pretty amazing in itself. The Milford National Bank awarded us a $1,500 grant. I finally got to meet the bank president in person. I've been writing to her for years, but never met in person in before. The bank has been one of our longest and best supporters of our work. Local banks are such a huge support for community organizations and non profits. It is such a shame that there are fewer and fewer local banks in existence. Here is a photo from the check donation.

I couldn't write this blog without talking about the Newtown school massacre on Friday. My heart goes out to the children and adults who were killed. It is so devastating and horrific. I can't even begin to imagine the pain that the families are enduring. It is heart breaking to watch the coverage on television and hear the stories of the ones lost. Even the stories of survival are enough to make you cry. One of our board members, Michelle, partnered with a company that she was familiar with and is sending stuffed animals to the children at Sandy Hook elementary. I'm glad that we could help in a small way. I saw images on television of children holding stuffed animals and I saw an interview with a Red Cross spokesperson who said they were giving teddy bears to the children who were attending the memorial service on Sunday. I wish we had the resources to be more active in other states so we can provide stuffed animals for all emergency responders to have when they are at scenes involving children. We've donated to the CT State Police a number of times in the past, but over the past few years, I've focused most of our attention in MA.

Tomorrow, I'm heading off to a donation at the Boston Public Health Comission for their holiday party for the children at their homeless shelter. There are 23 children living at the shelter. I'm glad that they reached out to us for help with items. We have stuffed animals, books, coloring books, some really nice sets of crayons and even some small toys as well. Hopefully, I'll have some good photos to share tomorrow. 

Well, I'm now off to eat my grapefruit and wrap a couple more Christmas gifts- one of my favorite activities! Until tomorrow friends...