Saturday, August 22, 2009

Would You Like To Help?


My family is sponsoring a Virtual Food Drive to benefit the North Texas Food Bank.


I saw this news report a few weeks ago and the wheels were set in motion. Here is a layout I made last night to capture this small, but defining moment for our household.

Supplies from the Studio Calico Documentary Kit

Journaling:

I found myself watching a story about the surge of applications for food stamps overloading the Texas system. As a result, Moms & Dads are struggling more than ever to feed their children. With the State unable to help, they are being sent to food banks. Heart strings pulled I was determined to write a check.

Out of the background your little voice emerged, "Mama, did you know that little hands can make a big difference?" In that moment I knew I had to do more than write a check. Here was my chance to show you that yes, your little hands can make a difference.

That night we talked about the hungry children & you were shocked. You wanted to know their names, where they lived. I suppose to make it real.

Unfortunately they don't have a voice & they are innocent victims. It doesn't matter to me how this has happened all that matters is how we can help. I want you to grow into a man that holds the same truth in his heart. I want to raise you to have helping hands.

This is how we came to hold on online food drive benefiting the food bank.


You may be wondering what exactly a Virtual Food Drive is at this point. Well, according to the North Texas Food Bank, you can think of it as online shopping for those in need. Instead of bringing canned goods to a drop off point you get to point & click. If you would like to learn more here is a video explaining it in greater detail.

With a Virtual Food Drive the food bank cuts down on expenditures and is able to spread your dollar farther. One dollar is able to provide four meals and saves approximately $100 in the expenditures associated with a canned food drive.

Last night I told Garrett about our Food Drive and he made the first donation. We went to our Virtual Food Drive Website and donated Macarroni & Cheese, since that is one of the foods Garrett eats. It was extemely easy to do, I let Garrett do all the clicking, and within minutes I recieved a reciept in my inbox for tax purposes.

As we were doing this I told Garrett that we are trying to give 1,000 meals to the children and he responded "We can do more Mama, right?"


In order to help us reach our goal of 1,000 meals and perhaps exceed it as Garrett has requested, I ask that you donate.


Please visit our Virtual Food Drive, Click Here, and give what you can. It's amazing to me that every dollar supplies four meals. I want to help feed the children of North Texas and teach my son that together we can make a difference in the lives of those around us.

After you have made your donation, if you would please leave a comment on this post, with your email, because I have something to give away!!

Lain Ehmann & Angie Lucas have generously donated copies of the first three publications of Ella Publishing Company.

Don't forget to register at Ella Publishing by August 30th for a chance to win a year's worth of free e-books!! Also, join the Facebook Group and follow Ella on Twitter to get all the inside scoop.

My family will be sponsoring the drive through Sunday, September 6th and I will have Garrett draw a winner shortly thereafter.

Thank you so much for making it to the end of this post. I hope you will pass along my message and help my family Close The Gap by supplying 1,000 meals to the children of North Texas.

lovemon

16 comments:

thekreativelife said...

WOW Monica! You are an angel and this is such a wonderful, wonderful benefit. I couldn't believe how many meals could be prepared for so little money! AWESOME girl! I'm sure you'll meet your goal, plus some! ;)

Char said...

What a great lesson to teach Garrett. Helping hands indeed! I have sent my donation. Good luck with the rest of the drive! Love Char

Kath said...

I love this because you can donate just a little, but it all adds up. I gave peanut butter - because I love peanut butter, LOL

Anonymous said...

Since my son is practically made of PB, thought we could share some :-)
LAP

Great way to lead by example Mon!!!

Chef Gaynol said...

Great idea! I'm going to suggest the organization I work with to try this, it will be a great and easy way for people to contribute!

hchybinski said...

That's just super! We just donated Peanut Butter - all the way from PA!!

Linda Shewchuk said...

love this idea, but we are starting at home here for our "friends/family" my girls and i have been going through the pantry, clothes & toys and donating them to the local 'bank" here. We live in a small town but there are many large hearts that are out there to help all!

D said...

We've been donating to our local food bank for a while & donating clothing/books to our shelters. They all feed into a bigger food bank in a local city that then distributes.

Luck with reaching the goal - sounds like your on your way.

D - daragolden [at] yahoo [dot] com

Angie Lucas said...

I'm so impressed with you Monica! I'm so going to blog about this and donate something. I just need to shake the xhtml out of my head and emerge from my website-building cocoon. Way to go!

Leora said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Leora said...

Thanks for doing this! What a great project. Good luck to you and Garrett on reaching your goal. I am happy to help!

Leora(lhenkin@wfubmc.edu)

Karen said...

what a great thing you are doing. i don't live in TX now but used to live in San Antonio when we were stationed at Ft Sam Houston. I can't believe how many meals will be served with one small donation. I was so happy to click that donate button. Felt like i was making a difference. I have been so fortunate and i think it is so important to help those that are less fortunate. Thanks for inspiring me to do this.

Karen (karenmalloy@comcast.net)

Jennifer said...

What an incredible idea (and lesson for your son) - good luck in getting to your goal of 1000 meals! Love that I can help all the way from Washington, too.

I just donated some macaroni & cheese and green beans - two of my faves. :)

Jen
jenwaters@verizon.net

Kim said...

Your virtual food drive sounds like a great thing to do! Just made my donation.

Kim
k.byrns@sasktel.net

April said...

Finally got around to making our donation! I hope you both far exceed your goal!

Anonymous said...

I just clicked that "donate" button. Thanks for the opportunity to help!