2013: Year in Review

Greetings friend and happy almost new year! I hope everyone who celebrates had a wonderful Christmas. I had a great time- it is one of my favorite times of the year. I can't believe I haven't blogged in almost 2 weeks- yikes! I've been working on wrapping things up for the end of the year and I've been taking a few days off to enjoy Christmas and relax with family.

The year wouldn't be complete without our own year in review- it seems like everyone does them, so here goes ours!
Highlights:
- Reaching 189 departments that we've donated to is a big highlight- our goal is to get to 200 departments this year.
- Our donation on December 18 to the children at the Boston Public Health Commission's Entre Familia homeless shelter. Thanks to donors, we were able to do some great gifts for the 20 children. The kids were so happy and the moms were very appreciative. Here are photos of two of the little girls with their new Barbie dolls. I posted a lot more photos on our FB page. 

I particularly love this donation because I was able to meet the kids. Our efforts help thousands of children annually, but this is the only time that I get to meet the children who receive our items.
- Our partnership with the Dept. of Children and Families is another highlight. I joined the Worcester regional advisory council this year and I'm really looking forward to being able to expand our partnership with DCF. We did an extra donation to the Worcester office right before Christmas because we had a bunch of gifts left over. They were very happy to get them because they had a great need for gifts for the children they work with.
- Our 7th Annual Date Auction was another big highlight- the event keeps getting better and better each year. The anxiety never decreases, but that's just the way it goes. The new venue worked out perfectly and our hosts were amazing. Thank you again to everyone who made the event such a success. We couldn't have done it without you.
 -  Our 10th Anniversary Celebration was another awesome event- it was a milestone for us and it went great.  We worked so hard on getting lots of great auction items and sponsors and it is always a relief when it goes well!
- Our Smiling Stiletto Step into Spring fashion show fundraiser at Copley Place and The Show- our fall fashion show during Boston Fashion Week were two awesome events. They are small fundraisers, but they are also great exposure for Project Smile. The Show was our first full scale fashion show on our own.
- Our partnership with Pandora at Legacy Place and their choosing me to represent the launch of their new Essence Collection. They donated almost $600 to us from the November sales of the new charms. They also donated during our summer event at their store and they donated a bracelet for our Anniversary Celebration. The store has been supporting us for a number of years.

There are lots of other good things that happened this year. We keep expanding and I hope that 2014 brings lots more growth- both with fundraising and our program work. Thank you to everyone who helped make 2013 a success. I am so grateful for your support and I never take it for granted. I hope that 2014 also brings lots of happiness and good things to you as well.
I'm now off to eat my grapefruit (some things will never change!). Until next time friends....