Mahalo!

The Luau was a huge success! Not only did we have a lot of fun, but look at all of the school supplies we collected!

book cover: 1

erasers: 1 pkg of 6

sharpies: 1 pkg of 2

white-out: 1

mini staplers: 2

note cards: 2 pkgs

protractors: 3

3 ring binders: 3

compasses: 3

pencil cases: 3

binder pouches: 4

pencil top erasers: 4 pkgs

pencil sharpeners: 4

rulers: 5

bottles of glue: 7

markers (fine line): 7 pkgs = 68 markers

loose leaf paper: 10 pkgs

folders: 11

markers (broad line): 15 pkgs = 149 markers

colored pencils: 17 pkgs (12 each)

scissors: 18

crayons: 19 boxes (24 each)

notebooks: 27

glue sticks: 34

highlighters: 42

pens: 61

pencils: 268 wooden, 30 mechanical = 298

I hope to post some pictures from the party later (I have to get the rest of the pictures from the other photographer).

ALOHA!

Well, it's been a while, but Small Things is getting up and going again. Our next event will be a luau on Aug. 1 to collect school supplies for kids that need them. If you are interested in hosting an event, let me know. If Aug. 1 doesn't work for you, that's fine. We're just trying to collect the school supplies before school starts here in Colorado.

The First Event

Our first event was held on August 18, 2007, outside of Boston, MA. We held a backyard burger burn and collected all of the school supplies seen above. The school supplies were then donated to Cradles to Crayons. We were very excited about what a few burgers and some friends could do!

The Beginning

On July 6, 2007 the following email was sent:


Hello Ladies.

I want to do something.

I want you to help.

I'm starting a project. ... The mission is "To make the world a better place and everyone welcome in it." What I would like to do is take an outstanding group, like yourselves, and work together to do good. That's it. Very simple. Of course, I've found that there are way too many things that need done out there, so I've decided to focus the efforts of the project into 5 areas, for now.

Saving our children (literacy/education, poverty, abandonment, etc...)
Breast Cancer Awareness
The Make-A-Wish Foundation
Troop Support (USO)
Current Issues/Misc. (ie. Hurricane Katrina, Darfur, environmental issues, pet projects, etc...)

Obviously, if this project is successful, I will want to increase our areas of concern, but I have to start somewhere.

I'm calling this a "project" because it is not another charity, per se. I think there are already enough charities out there that do great work. (That doesn't mean that at some point it may not become one, but I don't want to deal with the legal issues and such that that would involve at this time.) I want this project to help current charities and not create more "middlemen" so to speak.

What do I want from you? Anything you can give. When I think about it, I am amazed at the caliber of women I am blessed to know and call my friends. So, using your talents, I figure we can do great things. I have lots of ideas already in my head, but I also want to hear yours if you have them. And manpower is always needed to get things done. So...if you are interested in helping in any way, let me know. I'm not talking big, complicated things here. My first idea, for example, is holding a backyard barbeque next month as a fundraiser for school supplies. Like I said, real simple things to make a big difference. (The whole "one drop of water can send ripples through the whole ocean" concept.)

I understand if now is not a good time for you to get involved. I know how busy we all are. But I'm hoping this project will last a long time, so you will always have an opportunity to help. I'm just looking to see what people think right now, and we'll go forward from there. Nothing is set in stone. I'm depending on your brilliant minds to help make my tiny ideas as great as they can be. I'd eventually like to have a project member in each state.

So, email me back letting me know what you think, how involved you'd like to be, from being included on emails to leading a project to just helping when you can, and what areas you may or may not be interested in helping.

Thank you for reading this far if you did :) I hope to hear from you soon.



And that's how it all began.