Day 2 of December.  Whew. I am no closer than yesterday to finishing Christmas gifts as today was sheet washing day as well as Pintrest craft day!!!  I made a beautiful scroll art painting that read " I procrastinate, therefor I am." 

But in the click of a mouse I am going to purchase a great gift for my girls.  I have searched high and lo for companies that deserve my dime and I want to mention a great organization that has a 40 year history of mercy and accountability.  A rare gem in today's world.   

Samaritan's Purse is a wonderful organization that provides sustainable economic solutions for individuals and communities in poverty.   What does that mean in layman's terms ?

They.  Stick.  Around. 

They don't drop off a meal, gander a nice southern " Bless your heart" and then line the administration's pockets .  They allow you and I the privilege of giving a sustainable gift of chickens, goats, mosquito nets, milk, education, skills training to a family that can continue to grow, learn and give on to others. Samaritan's Purse invests in the community and family as a whole for years. They live with the community, they eat, worship and work together. 

 For as little as $14 you can give some chicks to a family. 

Baby Chicks when grown,  can produce up to 200 eggs each year. 

 Not as pets but as food and income. Food leads to healthy families who work better , who learn more effectively in school, who are less likely to be ill.  Income leads not only money but pride and dignity to be able to provide for your family.

I will be giving the baby chicks because - well I love my 3 chicks , AKA, literally,-

Ashlyn, KK and Addie.

But you can give what speaks to you.  And you can give it in honor of one you love.  My girls are be honored with chicks and they will be gifted themselves by knowing that it's not all about them. It is not about us.

We have enough. If you have access to the Internet and our able to read this blog you have more than 75% of the world.  So check out Samaritan's Purse gift catalog and let me know what you give.

Someone needs a goat people. Get on it .

Let's Browse.

DAY 17: THE HOPE CENTER

Welcome to Thursday. I should probably try to throw in some catchy "throwback" theme here, but I got nothing. I hope you are cleaning out your home, being free of things you don't need and are feeling good about passing it to those who do.  I also hope you have gained a sense of control and awareness about your "stuff". As you were going through things if you discovered how much you have that you didn’t need I hope it will encourage you to make better purchasing decisions in the future.

I have adjusted my thought process quite a bit through this. I hope to make wiser choices in the future, aid my finances in a better direction and make sure that I stay in control of my stuff and don’t let my stuff control me. I have also found a wonderful bonus to featuring these charities. I can actually make my purchases count. I can be a good steward of my financial gifts by being specific with my choices. Where to donate my items, my time and my money. I can shop at the Yellow Cottage rather than Target, buy jewelry for a birthday present from Under His Wings or eat out at the Ransom Cafe instead of Olive Garden. These are intentional choices that take time.  It takes effort to not default to the most convenient source. But it is worth it.

 Slowing down and having enough time to devote purposeful attention to others and to share these moments with our families is valuable. These choices have the power to involve. I have never actually bonded with my kid in a Target checkout line (and I do love me some Target). But if I take my family eat with the homeless or explain why our purchases at Habitat provide financial aid for us and a future for someone else I have a far greater hope of real treasure sticking in their hearts. I hope my kids start to "get it" a whole lot sooner than I did. Time will tell. But I hope in the truest sense of the word for things yet unseen.

 

In that spirit the charity I am featuring today is The Hope Center.

The Hope Center is ministry of 3 Circle Church that provides counseling, medical and dental services at low cost. Professional medical volunteers serve daily to meet the emotional, physical and spiritual needs of the uninsured or under insured.  I personally have two friends who have used these services. They would not otherwise have tended to themselves without this option due to the cost of medical care. Our family’s physician has been on staff for several years dedicating her time and attention to those needing her care. With so many struggling financially or without work, The Hope Center is true to its name offering hope when it seems as though there is none.

 A strictly volunteer run entity, The Hope Center always welcomes donations that supply the office such as copy paper, pens, and stamps. One of the greatest medical needs are diabetic supplies, pantie-liners and gowns. If you have recently changed monitors or had a gestation diabetes during pregnancy you might have a few sealed test strips or needles that you don't know what to do with. Do you have any unopened bottles of Tylenol or Advil hanging around? I have a bad habit of getting a headache at Walmart and buying a bottle only to realize I had 3 unopened ones at home already.  Besides these items the greatest need at the center is for medical volunteers. They have recently added two more doctors and are in need of medical staff and nurses. 4 hours a month is all they ask. If you have a medical background or know of someone who does let them know about this need. There are roughly 720 hours in a month, giving 4 to the Hope Center can make a big difference.

 

The Hope Center is located on Hwy 104 just east of Hwy 181. You can reach them at 251-990-3112. Donate, use or spread the word about this great place.

 

***Just a side idea is you are interested. It costs $15.00 for a doctor’s visit. Why not give up a meal out and donate some money to cover the cost for someone in need?  Let me know if you do. How great would it be if 30 people did this and we covered a month of visits? One a day!! That is how it works. Everybody’s little makes a lot!!!

 

Let me know how I can help you

Alison Hill

alison_hill@bellsouth.net

251-4563-3511

 

 

 

 

DAY 15 MARY'S SHELTER

WEEK THREE  DAY 15

 I normally list the next seven charities here but it will have to wait until tomorrow 

Family time beckons

But today I am featuring a incredible charity that has yielded some incredible results.

I want  you to think back on ,or forward to , or look around you right now to see  those blessings in your life called children.  They could be yours or someone else's  but they are sweet ,sweet blessings.  Sometimes blessings hide behind the hardness of  life . Mary's Shelter is a place for blessing to be brought forth when life rears its ugly head. A safe place for homeless pregnant women. Mary's shelter provides a clean living environment that supports medical  care to both baby and mother. Women are able to continue their education, learn valuable job and parenting skills and receive counseling. 

After the birth of the baby transitional housing is provided until the women find jobs with a sustainable living wage.  Mary's Shelter has beautiful stories of love and hope . Check them out here.

Now that you have gone through a box of Kleenex after reading these stories, its time to get in the back of your closets and search for maternity clothes and those put up baby clothes. Unless it is a  passed down heirloom let me encourage you to just give it away. It can't bless anyone sitting in the back of your closet. It will bring more hope to someone receiving it  than sitting in the bottom of that hope chest.

Gather it up and give me a call.

Check out their need list that includes some miscellaneous items you might have on hand like baby hangers, stationary, greeting cards or bed linens.  

We all have something to simply give so others may simply live.

If you have a charity dear to your heart that you would like me to feature please let me know

Alison Hill 251-463-3511 Text or call

alison_hill@bellsouth.net

DAY ONE : QUILTS OF COMFORT

Here we go.  Here is  this week line up and today's featured charity.

1. Quilts of Comfort: Material, Thread and Batting

2. Under His Wings: Beads and Broken Jewelry

3. Revive Ecuador: Sports Uniform Shirts

4. The Ridden Word: Old Bicycles and Soup

5. Uniform Closet: Girls School Uniforms

6. Emily's Closet: Prom and long formals

7. Ransom Cafe:  Food items (details to follow)

Today's Challenge:

Calling all crafters, moms and Pintrest addicts

Get into your craft closet or laundry room, find all the extra sewing material, thread, and batting and gather it up for  Quilts of Comfort.

Let's face it nothing is getting done here.
Time to bless it forward.

Quilts for Comfort provides quilts for ill or hospitalized children. It was started 15 years ago by SF Family and Consumer Science teacher, Joni Ojard.

This year is especially important  as the project celebrates Mrs. Ojars' successful liver transplant.

Read about Joni's journey here


You know all those "good intention" projects you had planned?
All those sweet baby dresses you were going to make and curtains you were going to sew?
Well the baby is now 16 and your curtain pattern is a decade old.

It is time to FREE yourself
Give it up , move on, and give it to  Quilts of Comfort.
Bless someone with fabric and free yourself from guilt!
All at once!!!

You didn't waste money. You payed it forward!!!

Now go !  Grab those cottons, silks, and chiffon
Dig for those spools of thread and pieces of batting. Gather it all up and give me a call or drop  it at Spanish Fort High School by FRIDAY

If you really can't bear to let it out of your hands  then bring it Saturday as you volunteer to help assemble the quilts.

That way can honestly say that you made that project!!!

You can get a hold of me in one of these ways:

Phone/Text   251-463-3511
email: alison_hill@bellsouth.net
Facebook: Alison Lauer Hill
Address: 7371 Saluda Blvd

Let me know in the comments if you donated.  I  would love to hear about it.

The 30 for 30 Plan

It is almost April!

It time to demand SPRING!!

Many of us will take on the big "Spring Clean"

We are ready to shake off winter in a big way.

But rather than just over-organize, over-schedule , and bark orders out at our family on that "Big Day",   why not tackle it a little at a time and with intention?

So here is a plan with purpose

For 30 days I will post a local charity, from our L.A. (Lower Alabama), 

along with it's  most immediate need.

Head to that area of your house where you keep that item and clean it out.

Contact me to pick them up or drop at my house.

You can do this daily or save it all for the end of the month (just separate by charity please)

You might be asking "Why not just donate it all to one place?"

 Because I want to  challenge you to clean out with care

Don't just throw it out and hope Goodwill can decipher your hoarding system in a box,

let is go where it is specifically needed.

Think how amazing it will me to bless the socks off (or on, if that's what they need) 

of 30 homespun organizations?

Each week I will give you an overview of the charities for the week. 

Then each day I will feature a single charity, it's purpose and its most its immediate need.

You can do 1, 5,30 --whatever.   It is up to you

You can give me donations throughout the month or all at once.

It's an  easy 15 minutes a day that can bless and give hope to others.

It's simple:

Check the Daily Charity

Gather Specific Items

Contact Me to Pick Up

and 

SPREAD THE WORD!!

Easy Peasy!!

You can contact me by

phone: 251-463-3511

email: alison_hill@bellsouth.net

On Facebook

or drop off at 7371 Saluda Blvd, Spanish Fort, AL