Last Friday was the start to a new tradition! A service party. I hosted a small party where we made craft kits for Caitlin Smiles. Caitlin Smiles is an organization where they send little care packages to children in hospitals. The packages include a decorated bag, a handmade card, 2 craft kits and something fun like play dough. We made some of the different craft kits they were asking for. There was about 7 people who came to the party and helped make some kits. It was a hot chocolate party as well so hot chocolate was served with some snacks! BYOM... Bring Your Own Mug was what I put on the invitation :) The time was great for catching up and hearing about others lives while we were able to make crafts that will bring a smile to a child's face. Setting up for the party was really fun! I laid out all the kits and materials and did an example as well. I had a lot of supplies, but also got some things from the store too. It ended up not costing a lot of money and in the future or for you there could be a donation jar where people could bring a money amount for that charity or another. This year I wrapped gifts to raise money for the supplies and other things I've done this year. I ended up finishing more kits the following day because I ran out to the store to get more supplies to use up the rest of what we had. I ended up having an "extra" bag in the box as well because they asked for donated supplies so I was able to give it to them through that.
In the end, we made a total of 312 craft kits and a card! There were 95 rubber band bracelet kits, 30 sticker book kits, 77 friendship bracelet kits, 105 dream catcher kits, and 5 get a grip pencil kits (The kits are shown below). That means 156 children are going to have two craft kits to make a craft and bring joy to them for the new year! I'm hopeful to continue this as a tradition and hopefully get larger in the amount of people I can invite! I hope to do a different charity each time and to be able to make something special for someone. There are so many things out there!! Any holiday party can easily add a small service aspect! While everyone is over there can be a time where everyone makes one card, even if it's only one that's however many people there are that can bring a smile to a few faces. If you're interested in making some craft kits for Caitlin Smiles there is a link below! There are so many different service opportunities that you can bring to your home to share time with others making things to make others happy!
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On December 23rd I had the opportunity to be a Salvation Army Bell Ringer for two hours. Before, I saw people in red aprons standing almost everywhere I went asking people for money for this charity and now I can officially say I have been a bell ringer! I was in New York City a few weekends before it was our turn to ring and I saw people dancing and having a good time. I was determined to be like them too. I looked up videos and thought of ways to make people smile while we were there. I got to do it with my mom, which I think made it all the more better and exciting. We did it not far from home at the Exton Mall. I definitely didn't have the courage to dance (so I give everyone who does dance a lot of credit) but I did bring my speaker for some fun Christmas music and I swayed with it and tapped the bells to the music when I could. We got lucky and got to stand inside a little bit which was great because it was so windy out! My mom found a way to do another service with it by opening doors for every one who came in with a "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" as well.
When we got there, we met a man who worked for the Salvation Army. He told us how he spent a lot of time volunteering with them and then was offered a job, which helped him a lot with paying for things. He was kind and it was nice to talk with him. Eventually a volunteer who goes around and changes the buckets came through and helped us by giving us our aprons (which we completely forgot was a thing) and the famous bell! He was so helpful and came back in the end to help us clean up as well. He even took a nice, quick picture for us :) While we were ringing, we received a lot of smiles and of course some people who glanced at us and ran for the other door. A lot of people thanked us for our time and another person said he was just doing this last weekend. I was surprised with how many people donated. I assumed that because you see the red buckets everywhere people would be all out of money for the Salvation Army by the 23rd but I am grateful they were not! People donated pennies all the way to 20 dollar bills. One person even came in and gave us a whole bag of coins and said it was 172 dollars! He told us that he does something called change for change every year and he saves up his change throughout the year and gives it to a different charity. (That sounds like something I would love to try and I love the name!) Bell ringing gives you a good opportunity to people watch too... I didn't realize some people walk in and out of the mall multiple times in one visit. Someone came in and danced to our music for a little bit before donating, which made us all laugh and bring smiles to our faces. Towards the end, an older woman was waiting for her daughter to pull the car around and we were able to have a small conversation with her while she waited as well. I found that even if people didn't donate we were still able to bring a smile to their face through holding the door open, saying "Merry Christmas," and having small conversations. It made me happy to see others smile. If you're interested in being a Salvation Army Bell Ringer, all you have to do is search your area on google! I found that a lot of areas are easily accessible through google, but the West Chester/ Exton area was difficult to find. Because I did it through the West Chester Area I added an article below that contains the information and email address! I suggest bringing a speaker and some friends or family and it will definitely be worth it! (They even have chairs if you need one! You just have to ask :)) Today I got to deliver my homemade cookies to the homeless! I delivered them to CityGate, a homeless shelter in Coatesville. I volunteered at CityGate with my grandma when I was in high school and we would cook and serve dinner to them. It is an all male, Christian shelter. Every time I visit they always inspire me. They are so kind and thankful and make me realize I need to be better with my attitude towards some things. When we brought the cookies today, they were so thankful and greeted us as soon as we walked in the door. They expressed their thanks multiple times and added God bless you before we left.
I still remember certain things they shared with us in the past. Before their evening meal they have a small service and a time for prayer requests. The first time I went was a huge eye opener for me. The things they thanked the Lord for was often something I never thought about and took for granted. The one I still remember to this day is that they were thankful for waking up that morning and for God giving them the life they live. Before that day I don't think I ever thanked God for waking up because I just assumed I will because I "have" to. Although that isn't true at all and there is a small chance I won't wake up in the morning. Another thing was that they were grateful for every situation because it was always something to learn from. They are so kind, grateful and helpful whenever they can be and it inspires me. I was able to make some cookies with a friend and have a good time that brought us a smile to be able to bring others a smile as well! We made snicker doodle cookies and sugar cookies with frosting for them! We also put some m+ms on them to add some Christmas color. I love that you can make a bunch of people happy just by taking a few moments of your time. If you're interested in making some cookies or donating items to a homeless shelter I'm sure there is one around you! Just look up homeless shelters near you and your area. Their website or Facebook profile should tell you everything you need to know to help. It only takes a few hours to bring some holiday joy :) Many people assume to do something to make someone happy who they don't know requires a lot of time and money, but that is far from true. Especially when it comes to writing letters. You don't need to be crafty, creative or have a group of friends! Today one of my best friends of 15 years came over and we made cookies, caught up on life and made some cards. We made 18 cards between the two of us that will go to make 18 kids happy. We made our cards out of construction paper and markers I had in my house and listened to Christmas music in the background. I personally wouldn't consider myself the best at making cards. I like to doodle sometimes, but I never know what to put in the cards. I feel the suggestions online are not enough and it needs more! I thought of an idea of a fun little joke. I looked up some kid jokes on Pintrest and drew a picture that related to it. One joke was "What is a rabbit's favorite kind of music?...... hip-hop!" I found a bunch of jokes to put on all the cards. It took us less than an hour to make all of the cards and it will probably bring lots of smiles for not only the child, but the parent and nurses as well. Being crafty and creative is not necessary and you don't even need another person to do it with. Just put on some music and doodle with encouraging messages to make someone smile :) It's very relaxing, almost like coloring books to me! It doesn't take a lot to make someone happy and the little things like this are always overthought. The website shows where to send it and suggestions for cards. It's the little things that can bring the most joy! If you're interested in bringing a smile to a child in a hospital, you can! You can also bring a smile to a soldier with Operation Gratitude or someone in a retirement home with Love for the Elderly! There is so much out there! Just google letters for ______ and it should come up with something. To send a card or two or even fifty to children in hospitals use the address below: Cards for Hospitalized Kids 7290 W. Devon Chicago, IL 60631 I hope you can have as much fun as we did! Another suggestion is making one or two cards everyday leading up to Christmas and then send them after! They accept Holiday cards all year round so it wouldn't be late. That way it wouldn't be tiring one after another and you can start or end your own day with a smile of your own.
Today was day one of twelve of making others happy! I was able to go with Honey Brook Presbyterian Church to carol at Tal Hai! There was a good group of people and we had songs and scripture planned for those we sang for. Seeing the smiles of everyone watching us definitely brought joy to my heart. I even got to have a conversation with two ladies who lived in the retirement home and that made my heart so happy. If this is something you're interested in doing, it's not hard at all! You can look for an organization to go with or plan one with a group of friends on your own. All you need to do is call ahead and ask the retirement home if it is okay for you to come. It is one of many ways to spread some joy!
I personally love "old" people. They always make my heart so happy and are so excited for whoever is visiting them (most of the time). I had the opportunity to volunteer with hospice care my senior year of high school and then help with bingo and caroling at my college this semester with hopes to continue! Circle K, a service club, had caroling for Elizabethtown Manor Retirement Home and I had the opportunity to organize it. I felt it was especially special at Elizabethtown Manor because I have made relationships with some of the people from bingo. Being able to come in and have them remember you and give you hugs is such a warming experience. They always say how much it means to them that we come and spend our free time with them, but I don't think they know how much it means to me. Being able to form a relationship with someone and see them around every other week makes me so happy. It makes me excited to go back and tell them how college is going and what the weather is like outside. Once I told someone I had a big test coming up and the next time I saw her she asked how it went and that made my heart so full because she remembered something so small about my life. I feel like everyone assumes retirement homes are filled of negativity, smells and sadness that no one ever wants to visit, but it is really so much more. It has stories, smiles, love, laughter and personalities that can only be found with those people. Caroling doesn't give you all of the fun experiences that other things can give you, but it does give you their smiles and they mean the world (at least to me). The fact that I was able to take an hour out of my day to make someones day or even week, makes mine. Don't be too quick to judge retirement homes before you give it a chance. The relationships you can build will not only impact their lives, but yours tremendously. Merry Christmas!! One of the first things that comes to my mind during the holiday season is the "12 Days of Christmas" so I decided to put a twist and do "12 Days of Making Other Happy!" My hopes are to do things that I can't normally do in college because they're a bigger project, but also to do ones that are all accessible to you! Maybe you could even give a few a try in your own neighborhood and let me know how it goes :) They won't all be in a row, but there will be a blog post for each of them. Be sure to follow social media to see when they're coming out!
Here are the 12 Days of Making Others Happy for this year: |
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August 2022
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