Project Change

Groom and Bloom

Because of the kindness of one 5th grade boy, our project was born.  Jose goes to Lincoln Elementary in Wichita, a school with mostly low-income, disadvantaged students.  But when Jose gave his whole $10 allowance to Pennies For Patients (an organization that helps with cancer research), he touched Miss Casey’s heart.  Miss Casey then told her mother about his kindness, and it touched her mother’s heart.  Her mother then told her Project Change group about Jose, and they decided to do something nice for him and his school.  Some people call this chain of events, “Pay it Forward” or “The Butterfly Effect” meaning when someone does something kind or helpful, then the recipient of that kind act does something kind or helpful for someone else.  So we created “Groom & Bloom” kits for all 328 students at Jose’s school!  We had such overwhelming response for donations that we were able to create kits for another school with 245 students!  These kits included toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, lip balm, lotion, and deodorant.  We want these kids to be the healthiest, happiest children they can be, and proper hygiene is a great place to start.  Our hope is that when these kids “groom” with these products, they will “bloom” into children with better self esteem and confidence.  In order to thank Jose for his part in getting the ball rolling, we gave him his very own soccer ball, football, and basketball… which he’s never owed before.  Thanks for inspiring us, Jose!

Making Things Mulch Better

One of our team members has a connection to the St. Anthony Family Shelter, a wonderful place that provides hope and help for homeless families. Most guests stay here anywhere from a few days to four weeks, and while they live at the shelter, they have to do household chores and attend life-skill classes. We contacted the shelter and told them we wanted to volunteer, and they had the perfect job for us… to spread mulch around their playground. “Mulch” is chopped-up wood, and when it’s used as cushioning in a playground, by law, it has to be 10” deep. There was a HUGE pile of mulch in the parking lot – waiting to be spread in the playground – and the only way to move it was to use wheelbarrows and buckets. Keep in mind, this pile was over 7 feet high! It filled half of a semi-truck and weighed approximately 35,000 pounds!! It took 15 volunteers and staff members almost 3 hours to move and spread this enormous pile of wood chips. The best part of the morning was when one of the guests staying at the shelter, Mike, came over and pitched-in to help. He and his family are grateful to have a temporary place to live, and he was very moved by the job we were doing. It was dusty, dirty, tiring work, but also extremely rewarding. Together, we helped make this playground a “mulch” safer place for the special and deserving homeless kids who play here.

Circle of Love

For our first challenge, we decided to help the Circle of Love Maternity Home which is a place for unmarried pregnant women to live who have decided to give their babies up for adoption.  For many of these women, their lives are so difficult and challenging that they feel they can’t provide the best care that their babies need, so they are choosing to allow another family to adopt that baby.  It’s a very tough decision, and this house offers these women not only a safe place to live while they are pregnant, but also provides them with food, education classes, counseling and many other means of support.   Some of these women already have other children, and these children are encouraged to live in the home with their mother while she is pregnant.  Keep in mind that some of these kids never see their fathers, and some of them may have been hurt or scared in the past.  So we really wanted to provide a great playroom where these children can hang out and just have fun being kids. One really neat thing about our project is the story about one of the babies that got adopted through this program.  Her name is Elizabeth, and her adopted grandmother wanted to give some money to the Maternity Home because she was so happy to have Elizabeth come join her family.  The grandmother knew she wanted the money to be used to make a neat play area, but she needed help to get the job done.  So that’s where we came in!  Our team came up with the plans and designs for the playroom and a TV room, and provided the labor to make it all happen.  The play room originally had a lot of toys in it, but everything was unorganized and all over the floor.  So we shopped for new things like storage cubbies, lighting, artwork, rugs and bookcases.  We also painted both rooms, added fun letters to the walls, and bought soft floor pillows so the kids now have a comfortable place to watch TV or read. These two rooms are dedicated to all of “Elizabeth’s Friends”… the babies who will be adopted through this program and their brothers and sisters who will live in this house.  It was an honor for us to be part of this project, and we hope the kids who pass through here will enjoy these rooms as much as we enjoyed creating them.

Helping the Helpers

For this challenge, our benefiting organization was the Alzheimer's Association.  As you are probably aware, Alzheimer’s is a brain disease that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior.  Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, to the point where the patient needs constant care, 24 hours a day.  Unfortunately, there is no cure.  It can become very challenging physically and emotionally for those providing care to the patients.  Our contact at AA spoke of the need to provide some relief for caregivers, and we did this by supplying homemade meals that they can freeze and use as needed. We wanted to "fill a need" by filling their freezers!  And what better way to provide comfort than with some good old-fashioned comfort food?  Our team assembled twenty delicious meals -including enchiladas, chicken tetrazzini, beef stew and taco soup. We also collected approximately $40 worth of art supplies that AA can use during their "Art and Inspiration" respite program which is held once a month.  This program allows the caregiver to drop off their loved one for a few hours so they can participate in art projects, lunch, poetry and music, while giving the care provider some much-needed time to themselves.  The supplies we collected included silk flowers, feathers, markers, stickers and ribbon that the patients can use for a special Easter project.  One of our team members has a father and an aunt with this disease, and we are so grateful to be able to help this wonderful organization and these courageous families.

It All Adds Up

For Project 3, we started “Operation Change War” to benefit Mueller Elementary School.  This project was chosen to create a friendly competition between the furniture dealerships and the A&D community in Wichita, while at the same time, providing some much-needed funds for a deserving local grade school.  Our goal was simple: collect spare change.  This is money that is often viewed as “wasted” because it’s such a small amount.  We know that when coins get abandoned on the street (see a penny, pick it up), or they get lost in our couch cushions, or they take a bath in our washing machines... they can be collected and used to make a difference elsewhere.  Eight businesses participated in our project, and each location was given a decorated recycled milk jug in which to place their spare change.   The businesses had just 13 days for collecting, and the location that “grows the most change” was rewarded with bragging rights.  Then members from our team helped the 3rd grade students count the money as a class exercise, and we all had a blast!  The kids were so excited to help, and they did a great job listening and following directions as they sorted, stacked and counted $250 worth of coins.  At first glance, this may not seem like that much money, but when you collect it a penny, a nickel, or a quarter at a time, it all adds up.  The teachers plan to purchase a math kit that will be used to improve such skills as geometry, fractions, and counting money.  What a perfect use for our spare change!  One penny by itself isn’t worth much, but 25,000 pennies can be combined to purchase something great – like a chance to make a difference in these kids’ lives.  Not only that, but the math kit will be used by students at this school for years to come. 

Everyone can use a little change… and a lot of hope!! 

(As a side-note… this is a project that can be done by anyone – adults, teenagers, and kids of all ages.  It doesn’t require much time or resources, but the benefits could be huge.  We ran our project for less than two weeks.  Just imagine what you could do in a month or two!)

It All Adds Up