Exciting New Event

Greetings friends! Well, I am excited to announce that we are going to be having a brand new event for Project Smile- a High Heel Dash! It will be held Wednesday, June 8, 6pm at Assembly Row, Somerville. Melissa and Ramiro from HOT 96.9 FM are hosting! Participants will put on their favorite high heels and dash 50 yards. There will be an after-party with guests enjoying complimentary appetizers, cocktails, silent auction and prizes for the top runners and best teams. I am so excited to have this event. I have been wanting to do it for years, but never had the right partner. We had an awesome experience working with Assembly Row last for our spring show and I am so happy that they were on board to partner for this event. High Heel dashes have been done across the country in recent years, but this will be the first one done in Boston. It was only a matter of time before there was one in Boston and I am happy that we will be the first. This is the type of event that I have always wanted to go to and now I get to do it! The dash will be presented by Smiling Stiletto Shoe Club which is the social organization for shoe and fashion lovers that I organize. The Improper Bostonian is already on board to donate an ad in their magazine for the event and Yelp will feature it as the sponsored event in their newsletter before the event. The Improper and Yelp have been terrific partners for us over the years, I'm happy that they jumped on board to support this event. So friends, in a few months, we will be dashing for smiles! We're looking for people to get involved with the event, so if you would like to volunteer on the organizational side of things, please let me know.

Last week, we received 3 huge bags of stuffed animals from U.S. Air Force soldiers who were part of the Patriot Enlisted Association. Last month, one of the soldiers dropped off 3 big bags of lovely stuffed animals, they had been collected immediately after they had started their drive. She came last week with the additional bags of items. She drove over an hour to drop them off. It was awesome to have their help. Here is a great photo of the soldiers with some of the items they collected.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. I'm back to work on the race registration platform that I want to use for the high heel dash. Until next time friends...

Happy Grant News

Greetings friends! So what's new? Well, we received happy grant news in the form of a $5,000 grant from the TJX Foundation! The Foundation has been supporting us for the past few years and I am so happy to have their support of our work. We applied at the end of last year. I was wondering what the status was of our application and getting a little concerned because I hadn't heard anything yet. I was on their website a couple of days ago and saw that they were retooling their grant application system, so I wasn't sure what that meant for our grant. I went to pick up the mail yesterday and there was the envelope. I always get a burst of anxiety before I open the envelope. I always check to see if I can feel a check inside- indeed it was a little bulky, so that was a good sign, but then I thought, maybe it was just a notice to all the organizations that have received grants to let them know that there was a new system starting soon for applications. I hurried into the car and opened the envelope. I always let out a little cheer when I get news like that. The feeling never gets old. You work so hard for every grant, every dollar raised, so it's nothing short of a victory when you get the results you want.

I want to send a press release to our local newspaper about the grant. I emailed the Foundation today to thank them and asked for a quote that we could include. On a personal note- Marshall's, Home Goods and TJ Maxx are my favorite stores to shop at, so it makes me even happier to shop there knowing that they support Project Smile!

In other grant news, we also received a $500 grant from the Price Chopper Foundation in support of our local work. They have donated to us in the past. It's always great to have continued support like that. It's really the foundation for growing an organization.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. I'm very happy to share our good news with you! Until next time friends...

Thursday Happenings

Greetings friends! So what's new? Besides, the suddenly very frigid temperatures? Well, things are chugging along. I had a meeting with Assembly Row on Tuesday to talk about our very exciting event that we are planning to do. We weren't able to finalize a date/time then. We have a phone call tomorrow to talk about it more, so hopefully, we will have a firm date and then we can get to work and I can share the news with everyone!

Last week, we made another donation to Somerville PD. We've been donating to Somerville for a number of years. The sergeant gave me a card for a nearby women and children homeless shelter, she suggested that I reach out to them, because they made need items. I didn't get to it yet, but it will be on my list for tomorrow. Here's a photo from that donation.

A middle school community service group reached out today- they had reached out a few weeks ago wanting to raise money to buy items for us. I had suggested that they donate the money directly to us, so that we could buy the items that we need ourselves. I hadn't heard back from them, so I wasn't sure what they were going to do. They emailed today and had collected $300 for us- so nice!

In other news, we raised $1,200 on Saturday at our silent auction during Boston Event Guide's winter wine/beer fest. I love those events, because we raise good money with limited amount of effort. If we could do more, that would be great. They just added this event, so that made it even better. It's always so hard to predict what items are going to do well. Some Bruins photos that always used to do well, didn't sell while another picture of the Patriots crossing the Charles River- an artist's interpretation- did amazing. One autographed Ortiz photo sold for over $500, but then one in the second session, didn't get any bids.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. Once again, I have a bunch of emails that I need to catch up on. I bought a new variety of oranges at Market Basket today- Cara Cara- which I am rather excited to try- probably more excited than I should be! Until next time friends...

Wednesday Wonders

Greetings friends! Well, there weren't exactly any wonders happening today, but I wanted a snappy title! So what's new? Things are chugging along. I was spending time today researching an exciting race type of event that we're planning to do this summer. It will be a new event for us, so there is a lot that I need to learn. I have a meeting next week with Assembly Row to talk more about the event. They are excited for it and I am really looking forward to working with them again. It is always good to add new events and it has been a while since we added a whole new event. I had already been researching websites that offer race registration and management tools. There are a lot of sites out there, but some are rather expensive. I think I've found a good one that is well priced and will give us what we need. It is so important when you are researching to keep an open mind and really look at everything that is out there and not just look for things that back up what you are already thinking.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Somerville PD to drop off  our next donation of stuffed animals, books and coloring books. The new contact person that I am working with is a female sergeant. She seems very enthusiastic about our program. I always like to meet women police officers- I don't meet that many of them and it is great to see women in that role.

Right after that, I'm heading down to Braintree to pick up silent auction items for the silent auction that we're doing at Boston Event Guide's winter wine/beer fest this Saturday. They are always really good to us and I'm happy for the opportunity that they give us. This winter event is a new one for them, so hopefully it will be a good attendance. I think the weather is going to be good, so that will be helpful. It's nice to have events this time of year because people are looking for things to do.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. I'm off to eat some more clementines. I really wish I was eating cheese and crackers- ah, if only cheese was a health food... Until next time...