Back to School! (Project #10)

It is that time of year already.  It seems like the last school year just ended and we are now thinking about the upcoming year.  Summer goes by so fast!

As you can guess, collecting school supplies to donate is a very big deal to us!  This has been the one project we come back to yearly, and we are again asking for your help to get as many children as possible ready to start the school year.

In years past your donations have gone to the children at The Quality of Life Center and Community Shelter Services.  We have not determined the donation site for this years collection, but we know that no matter what, items will end up in the hands of the families that need them the most.

While you are shopping for the things your children need for their school lists, please pick up a few extra items. The things that are always the most needed are:

Backpacks
Notebooks
Folders
Binders
Crayons
Markers
Scissors
PENCILS, PENCILS, PENCILS!

We are happy to meet you to pick up anything you may have purchased, but we always set up a couple days where you can drop things off to us,  The first of these dates is Wednesday, August 5th. We will be at Frontier Park from 5-7, right across from Romolos.

You have helped so many kids and their parents the past 3 years, we are so excited to see what happens this year,  Thank you for always being willing to reach out to those in the community who need a hand!

Project #9 - Warmth in the Winter

The overflow shelters, specifically The Upper Room and The Warming Center, of Erie help to house the homeless during the cold winter months. The regular shelters fill up quickly and that leaves an overwhelming amount of people with no where to stay. Having no place to call home is awful enough, but during the bitter cold months of winter, it must be unbearable.

The shelters in Erie do their best to distribute cold weather gear, but they depend on the generous donations of the community. 

They need coats, sweaters, sweatshirts, underwear, socks, hand warmers (which can be purchased in the dollar bins at target and for a dollar at Dick's Sporting Goods), jeans, shoes, boots, and book bags. A good number that have to leave the shelters during the day do so with plastic bags to carry their things. A bag to carry their belongings would make it so much easier. 

If you could take a minute or two and go through your closets, it would make a world of difference to someone who is literally left out in the cold.  (We would like new underwear and socks are requested!)

We were informed that they get a great deal of "little" gentleman. These guys do not eat well and are very small, so keep them in mind while donating.

We will set up some dates and times for drop off and as always will come to you for any donations. 

Help us to give a little warmth during the cold months ahead of us.

Quality of Life Learning Center - School Supplies Delivered!!!

These words are from Katie Morton, our friend and contact at the Quality of Life Learning Center. She will be the helping to get your donations into the hands of the children who can use them the most.

""We would truly like to thank everyone who donated to the school supply drive. It was absolutely incredible. For our students, its not just a new backpack. It's a new start to the year, a self-esteem booster, and a way to prevent bullying.  

Unfortunately, our students are often targeted for bullying because they come from a different country and come from low-income households. Having new school supplies means they stick out less and are less of a target in school. Every child deserves a quality education, and you are helping our students receive one.THANK-YOU."

Here is what YOU made happen!

42 children will receive a new backpack.

70+ notebooks and 115 folders will soon be filled by students' work.

And piles of crayons, pencils, paper and pens for the kids to use at the after-school program.

You all amaze us every time. 

Thank you for answering when we find a group that could use a hand.

Thank you for brightening the school year of children you have not met.  

Thank you for realizing that a small gesture can make a HUGE difference.

  

Project #8 - Bookbags, Notebooks, & Uniforms, Oh My!

Our last project introduced you to the Quality of Life Center.  We are so excited to be working with and for the children there for this project as well.

We have some BIG goals for this project and we know that with all of you on board we can make great things happen for these kids!

The Quality of Life Center is a neighborhood center based in one of Erie's highest poverty areas. The children of the neighborhood go there for lunch and fun and educational programs during the summer. During the school year they come after school for help with homework and a for positive environment to hang out for the afternoon.

Most of these children are "New Americans", part of refugee and immigrant families. They have a lot of challenges just being new to our country. We would like help these children start their school year with the supplies they need.

The numbers given to us by Katie Morton, an amazing AmeriCorps VISTA and our contact at the Quality of Life Center, are as follows: 62 elementary students, 26 middle school students,  and 20 high school students.

And this leads us to our big goals!!

We would like to provide a new bookbags, uniforms, notebooks, folders, and binders to every single student.

And here is the shopping list to make that happen:

108 bookbags (backpacks and large tote bags)
540 folders (5 per student)
540 notebooks (5 per student)
40 binders (2 per each high school student)
School Uniforms in every size.
    Navy and khaki pants
    Polo shirts in red, white, navy, green, and yellow
    Lots of socks

These are things our children take for granted being able to have each school year. The children at the Quality of Life Center aren't able to count on that. It would mean the world to these families to have help getting their children started with the supplies they need.

As always you can contact us directly through Facebook or our email to pick up items, and we will announce drop off dates soon.

Best Soul Purpose Delivery EVER!

Check out all the toys you gave to the children at the Quality of Life Center!

To say that you made their day is an understatement. 

I am going to just let a few photos speak for themselves.

This is what happened about 30 seconds after the kids were given the goods!

Jumping for joy.

Soccer game started...

Jumping rope...

Playing catch...

                           

How amazing that together we were able to brighten the summer of a group of children.  

Thank you for helping us do that. Soul Purpose has the best people behind it - all of you!

Summer Goodies

We wanted to share photos of some of the donations we have received from you!

We have a drop off date scheduled 

and are super excited to see what you have in store

for the Quality of Life Center's kids.

Project # 7 - Summer Fun

Do you remember the fun of waking up in the summer as a kid?

No school. Riding bikes. Playing ball. Jump rope rhymes.  Sidewalk chalk games.

Our goal for Project #7 is to help The Urban Erie Community Development Corp (UECDC) provide a summer filled with these memories to the children who attend their summer programs.

UECDC provides free quality educational and employment programs which include English as a Second Language and G.E.D. classes, workforce development training, and an after-school program for area kids. The majority of those they serve are immigrants and refugees, those who are struggling with low income and finding their way in a new country.

A little bit from the UECDC website:

"At the UECDC we believe that providing a quality education and opportunities for employment are some of the most effective ways to combat poverty and crime within the Erie community. 

We like to refer to our after-school program as our "mini United Nations." With students represented from Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Eritrea, the Congo, Liberia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Bhutan, it is easily the most diverse after-school program in Erie. Our center attracts between 70-90 students on a daily basis for after-school programming..."  

We would like to replenish the summer equipment that is used by the kids in the summer programs.  They are in need of EVERYTHING.  We would love to provide bikes (how many of us have outgrown and unused ones in our garages?), balls for every sport, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk, and bubbles. 

We will announce collection dates in the next week or so. We would love second hand bikes, but ask for all the other equipment to be new. 

Katie Morton, our contact at UECDC, is very excited for our help to make the summer great for their kids. We are, too!  

Project 6 - Children's Advocacy Center

We have recently discovered The Children's Advocacy Center. They help with counselling and services for  children who have been victims of abuse. The best way to describe what they do for our area children is to use their own words.


" The Children's Advocacy Center opened it's doors on Jun 1, 2001 to provide services to children in Erie County who have made allegations of sexual or physical abuse.  Referrals to the CAC primarily come from the Office of Children and Youth and from the police.  Children are interviewed at the Center in a child-friendly environment. "


Many parties are involved when a child reports abuse. The CAC provides a child-friendly, central location for interviews and counselling to take place.  This eases the trauma on the children, and their families, as investigations and healing begin.


We have been in touch with one of the board members to find out the needs for the center and the children they are servicing.  The first response was stuffed animals with the tags still attached.  After the interviews are conducted the children are then allowed to pick out a new buddy to take home with them.  As little as this might sound to you or I, for some of these children this is the only thing they might have.  This stands especially true if they are coming from OCY and have just entered the foster care system. This buddy can help provide comfort during a pretty stressful time.

So, friends, that is our next mission.  We are asking for your help in stocking The CAC with new stuffed animals, tags still attached, to give to the children visiting their offices.

We will soon be announcing drop off dates and locations, but as always you can contact us personally and we will come pick up the buddies from you.  Just remember that they have to be new with tags still attached or The CAC will not be able to accept them.  Thanks in advance as we get Project #6 underway.



Lisa and Clarissa

School Supply Delivery!

 Yesterday we sorted through all of the school supplies that you donated to 

Community Shelter Services and got them where they needed to be.  

How awesome to think about the kids whose families need a little help 

getting their hands on pencils and notebooks and folders to start the year! 

 Check out all those folders!

 Need a pencil?

 Counting backpacks...

Getting the totals together.

Several of you took your donations directly to Community Shelter Services. 

We also will have a second batch of your donations to take in the next few days. 

This means that the numbers here are not complete, 

but we wanted to give you an idea of what we did together. 

 Today we donated a total of 620 different school supplies on YOUR behalf, 

which includes 212 pencils, 37 notebooks, 10 bookbags, and lots of folders, erasers, and glue sticks.

Thank you for all your help making the school year start a little brighter for some 

of our community's families.

Project #5 - Back to School

Hello, Friends!

We did our first project together a year ago now.  We have done a lot as a community and for our community this past year.  It is so exciting to imagine what our next year will bring.

Project 5 brings us full circle.  We are going Back to School again!

With your help, we are going to help families in need provide school supplies to their children as they start off the school year.  We all know how long the list of things we need for our children to either bring to school, or to do studying and homework outside of school.

Your donations will be given to Community Shelter Services, an agency that provides shelter and services to area men, women, and children in need,  in support of their Back to School Program. We can play a role to help children have a successful school year, when their lives are in turmoil.

What we are asking is for all of you to pick up a few things while you are doing your shopping.  Backpacks, notebooks, pencils, glue sticks... anything a child can use for school.  We will set up a few drop off dates in the near future, or you can contact us through here and we will meet to pick them up from you.

Here's a complete list of needs from Community Shelter Services:

backpacks
3 ring binders
pencils
glue sticks
crayons
erasers
scissors
two pocket folders
spiral notebooks
colored pencils
plastic pencil cases
rulers
loose leaf notebook paper
packaged notebook dividers
pens
highlighters
black Sharpie markers
pencil sharpeners
small sticky notes
lined notecards
colored markers ~ thin or wide

Thank you all for the awesomeness that is to come!

~Clarissa and Lisa

Building a Library

We are sorry that we have been a little absent this past month (job situations changed for the both of us and the like).  But we are back and ready for action!

Please allow us to remind you of what we are putting together for Project #4.

Our friend, Missy, works with the children who stay at The Refuge, which is a local shelter that houses families in need.  When she was trying to encourage her kids to read, she realized that most of their disinterest was because of the shelter's lack of quality books.

And we can do something about that!  With your help, we will build a great library for the shelter.

Stay tuned for a Drop Off date to be set in the next few days.  Or if you have books ready let us know (soulpurpose.erie@gmail.com) and we will figure out a time to catch up with you!

Let's collect some books for the children at The Refuge!!!

Announcing Project 4!

Do your children have books that they love to hear over and over?  Have they ever gotten lost in a story?  Do you have warm memories of reading to your children, and of them starting to read books themselves?

The goal of our next project is to help provide all of those things to families living at The Refuge, a local shelter that provides a safe place to stay for families in need.  

Missy, who is in charge of the youth programs at The Refuge, has been wanting to start a reading program for the kids she works with there.  However, she has some difficulties getting the kids interested and quickly realized the problem.

Most of the books that Missy has available to her are terribly outdated and completely uninteresting to the kids. The stories and illustrations are not captivating to the youngest children. The selection of chapter books and young adult books is even more limited, to say the least.

Let's work together to give the kids staying at The Refuge some great stories to get lost in. Let's help the parents staying their with their children have some quality books to read to their kids at night.  

We will keep you posted about collection locations and drop off dates in the coming days, but for the moment, see what you can start to gather up.  

Get excited to share the love of a good story with kids and young adults who really need it!

Goal #1 - ACCOMPLISHED!

It is actually a lot more accurate to say that you blew Goal #1 away!  

The first milestone we were aiming for was to be able to deliver 25 bags, each with a blanket and stuffed buddy, to OCY, to gift to a child as they were forced to enter the foster care system.

We were thrilled with the donations we started to receive.  

These fun guys even came to us from across the country!

Then we gathered everything together so we could start to assemble bags.

Can you believe this!?

Once all buddies and blankets were tucked safely inside a tote bag or back pack...

... it became very clear that you had bigger goals for the children of Erie than we did!  You helped us put together 67 bags.  SIXTY-SEVEN!  That is absolutely amazing and humbling.

We are taking YOUR gifts to OCY this afternoon.  

Thank you for the blessings you are passing along on your behalf.  

In Kristy's Words...

Kristy, our friend who inspired us to reach out to children in the foster care system, wrote on her blog, Waiting For Happy, today about her family's experience in caring for the children who have come to them.  We wanted to share some of her words with you.  They touched our hearts.

~~~~~~

"We are not the same people today that we were just a few months ago. Today, we live with not just the awareness, but the intimate knowledge that not all children are fed, loved and cared for the way children should be. We have always known that this is the reality but now our eyes have truly been opened and we cannot look away. Once you’ve seen the face of abuse so horrific you’re sure you yourself wouldn’t have survived it, or have held a tiny child who has not had even some of their most basic needs met let alone been appropriately interacted with, you cannot turn back. It burns in your heart and in your mind. 

Our family has been blessed to be able to love and hold a few children in our three months since we’ve been licensed and our lives have been forever changed by them. Survivors in their own right, these kids are absolute miracles, but nobody has told them that. We get to. We get to love them and feed them and rock them to sleep at night assuring them that they are safe and secure and the next meal is sure to be served. 

Each child comes with a different story…a different reality and no two seem to be just alike. We’ve had four children placed in our home over the past four months and one common thread has been woven through each one and been a real eye opener to our privileged family. Each of these kids has come with little more than the clothes on their very back. Often times those clothes don’t even fit and sometimes they aren’t even weather appropriate. Taken from everything they know and love, they don’t even have a blankey or a trusted snuggly friend to join them on their journey that they didn’t ask to be on. 

It has been overwhelmingly heartwarming though to see that with each child who has walked or been carried through our door, the outpouring of love we’ve seen from friends and family. Not everyone can open their home (though I’d encourage you to really think and pray on that) but we all need to open our hearts to these kids and from our experience folks are eager to do so, they just don’t quite know how to help. I am here to tell you that something as simple as providing these sweet ones with just a little something to call their own, can make a difference. I have had the honor of being able to hand a four year old his very first stuffed animal and a five year old girl her first doll and I am here to tell you they are moments I will never forget. I’ve given my own children plenty of gifts, yet giving to a child who truly has nothing is an experience everyone should know."

~~~~~~~~~

Thank you, Kristy, for sharing this.  

Eight Blankets

Check out this group of sweet young ladies.   

Can you guess what they are holding?  

Eight soft and cozy blankets that they worked together to make. 

Their amazing Girl Scout Troop leader, Melissa, organized several hours on a Saturday afternoon 

for the girls to devote to doing something for children they will never meet.  

These girls came in with smiles and giggles, ready for action.  It was actually quite a bit of work for those little fingers, but they were up for the challenge.  

Cutting edges to make the fridge.

That is a lot of cutting!

Starting to knot each one of the fringes.

                             

Eight blankets that will provide comfort for eight children who are likely pretty scared.  

How awesome for Melissa to give them a chance to do something that powerful,

for showing them that they can make a difference to a child in need.

We are so proud of their hearts, and grateful to Melissa for supporting Soul Purpose.

Project #3 - A Little Security

We have friends, Kristy and Howard,  who have recently become foster parents.  They have, in just a few months time, had four different children stay with them before moving on for various reasons.

One thing we have learned while talking to Kristy, is how little these children have.  They are taken from their homes with not much more than the clothing they are wearing.  In some cases, that is ALL they have with them.

We think of our own children, whose needs are more than met, and who have the security of knowing that home is a safe place. It is heartbreaking to think that any child does not have that, and yet there is a staggering number of children who are mistreated and neglected.

And then it hit us - our children do have a safe place to call home, and they still have a security blanket, or a stuffed animal that they hold on to when they are sleeping, when they are nervous, scared, or upset, or when they have a bad dream.

Let's make sure that the children entering the world of foster care have something to hold tight to as they are transitioned to a safe place. The fear they must feel is something most of us can't begin to imagine. A stuffed animal or a blanket provides so much comfort to a child.

For Project 3, we are collecting NEW stuffed animals (with the tags still on, please), cozy lap blankets meant for snuggling, and tote bags for children entering the foster care system.

We will be setting up drop of locations as we have done in the past.  You can also get in touch with us through the blog or our email (soulpurpose.erie@gmail.com) and we can set up a pick up time.  Our first goal is to have 25 bags with a small blanket and a stuffed animal tucked inside by November 30th. These will be delivered to Mary Jo at OCY.

Your contributions of any combination of these 3 items will help meet this goal and give some love and a little security to children who desperately need it.

Boo Running!

TEAM SOUL PURPOSE!

Actually, this is only part of the team.  By race time we were about 20 strong. (AWESOMENESS!!!!)  The non-stop rain made it a little tricky to get pictures.  That's right.  Non-stop rain.  We were all cold and wet and happy at the end of the race. 

How fantastic is it to be wth a group of people who believe in a cause and will brave the elements to support it?

How can you feel anything but great when you know you have done something to help others?

Thank you ALL for coming out to the peninsula with us to take part in Safenet's Boo Run.  Thank you to those of you who made donations directly to Safenet.  You are amazing!

Who knew Frankenstein could be so adorable? 

Amy and Ellie.

 Melissa and Annabelle modelling the race shirts after warming up.

And a close up of the logo.

Thank you all for supporting Safenet and Project 2!

YOU are making a difference!



Domestic abuse is......

Domestic abuse is scary.  It is not knowing what the next day or sometimes the next moment brings.  It is feeling ashamed.  It is lying to cover for the person you love, no matter how they are treating you.  It is not feeling worth it.  It is feeling that no one  understands.  It is losing friends, family, and others that you love because they can not understand or you are just to afraid to open up to them.  It is driving home and feeling sick to your stomach because you are not sure what waits for you.  It is feeling so lonely all the time.  It is almost losing your job due to call offs because the night before you were having your head slammed into the floor.  It is being spit in the face.  It is being told that you  are nothing.  It is covering your arms so no one can see the bruises.  It is making excuses to not go places because of the bruises.  It is taking so much blame on yourself that you are convinced you deserve it.
It is.....sad
It is....desparate
It is..... hard to leave.  That does not make sense to some, but it really is hard to leave.  It is making plans to be safe and still not being sure you will be safe.  It is facing the fact that the person you trusted with your life and your heart is the one that is hurting you the  most.  It is taking months, years, or even decades to undo the damage.  It is thinking you are doing just fine and then being slapped in the face with a memory that brings you to tears.  If is feeling like you have no voice, no control, and no choice.

Please come out and support SafeNet next weekend at the Boo Run Run.  Help them continue to protect, councel, and rebuild these women.

Register here:  http://safeneterieboorun.weebly.com/

Boo Run Run

The Boo Run Run is just over a month away! Have you gotten registered yet?

 

A few questions have come up so we just wanted to clarify a couple of things. This is a FUN event. Don't let "5K" intimidate you. If you want to run, please do, but as of now the majority of our team is going to be walking the course.

 

If you want to wear a costume, again, please do, but you do not have to.  :)

 

We would love to see you there running, walking, skipping, or dancing.

Costumed, not costumed, in your pj's, or however you would like to dress.

If you are still working out your schedule and are not sure you can commit to that day yet, just remember you can register the day of the event.  And you can always sponser Team Soul Purpose with a donation!

Hope to see you there!!

Announcing Project 2!!

We are so excited to get started with Project 2. We are hoping for a great turn out that will benefit a wonderful and unfortunately much needed organization. 

SafeNet is an organization that helps house, counsel, and protect women dealing with domestic violence.  Click the link below to learn more about SafeNet, their programs and what they do.

http://www.safeneterie.org

Did you know?

-One in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime.

-Nearly 50% of homeless women and children are homeless because of domestic violence.

-More than three women a day are murdered by their husband or boyfriend.

-Most cases of domestic violence are never reported.

These women are alone, afraid, and embarassed.  They stay in dangerous relationships out of fear and because they start to believe that they are the problem and that they deserve what is being done to them.  They have no self-esteem left.  They truly are broken.

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We want to help in any small way that we can.  Housing, counsel, and protection of these women costs money.  October 28, 2012  Safenet is having a 5k walk/run and all the proceeds will help with these expenses.  It is called the Boo Run Run and as you can guess from the title it is a costume run.  There will be prizes for the best costumed runner/walker.  There will be door prizes and trick-or-treat candy.  You will also receive a long sleeve T-shirt with your registration.

It is going to be lots of fun and we are hoping for a big Soul Purpose team.

How to join the Soul Purpose Team, you ask?  Fill in the registration form that you can find right HERE.  You can give it and your registration fee to Clarissa or Lisa. We will get it where it needs to go and add you to our "roster".  Or you can mail it to Safenet on your own and email us at soulpurpose.erie@gmail.com and we will know to add you to the roster.  

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So get dressed up, come out, walk/run, have lots of fun, and help us raise funds for Safenet and the amazing work they do.