Spring Has Sprung

Hello All!

Spring has sprung!  While we have had some of our babies celebrate their second birthday - thereby aging out of our program, we have met several new little faces this past month!  

Next month, Tom Brower Photography will return to our Pantry to take photographs of the babies and their families.  Tom joined us several times last summer, taking pictures for us - we then have 5X7s, 4X6s and wallet size photos made for our families.  Tom volunteers his talents and a private individual covers the cost of the printing the pictures.  No Pantry funds are used for this added little extra.  

Pantry will be open Thursday, May 16th 

5 - 7 PM

Our families should bring their WIC or SNAP paperwork, ID (showing proof of address in the Plains District) as well as their babies.  If you have not had your eligibility verified in the past 60 days - please don't forget your WIC/SNAP paperwork.  It's important that we keep all your paperwork up to date in order to continue our program. 

We'll see you on the 16th!

Donkey Basketball Game to Benefit ASH-PD

J. Frank Hillyard Middle School FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) are sponsoring a Donkey Basketball game with proceeds to benefit A Small Hand-Plains District! 

FCCLA donated $1,000 to A Small Hand-Plains District in 2012, please help them, help us again!

When:  Tuesday, March 12th.

Where:  J. Frank Hillyard Middle School gymnasium

Doors open at 6:15 PM

J. Frank Hillyard Middle School Pep Band will perform at 6:30 PM

Game starts at 7 PM

Spread the word!!

Come hungry and bring loads of folks with you!  

The concession stand will be open!  Proceeds from the concession stand will benefit 
J. Frank Hillyard Middle School's Relay for Life Team!

Come help support two great causes and have a fun evening with your family and your community!

Come on!  Get out of the house, it's almost SPRING!!!

March Pantry & Some Odds and Ends . . .

Our pantry will be open Thursday, March 21st from 5 - 7 PM.
We must ask our families to help us update our records.  
We offer assistance to families in the Plains District of Rockingham County.  Broadway School District - Fulks Run Elementary, Plains Elementary, John C. Myers Elementary, Lacey Spring Elementary, Linville Edom Elementary. 
Please bring the following:

1. Your baby
2. Your SNAP or WIC documents
3. Photo Identification w/proof of residence in the Plains District  

 As for the odds and ends . . .
We'd sincerely like to acknowledge Crystal Fleming's gift of clothing display racks.  Crystal was the Owner of Casual Fridays.  Earlier this year, after some five years of providing the area women a lovely boutique in which to shop, she retired.  We really appreciated the gift of those racks.  Our clothing bins were overflowing with tiny, little clothes.  
We are now able to display the clothing, the parents are able to view the colors and sizes without rummaging through bins on the floor.  It is heavenly. 

We wish Crystal blessings, happiness and good health in this new chapter of her life.  

We have served the families of 67 children since we opened our doors in November 2011.  Time flies and it has been a great deal of fun watching the babies grow.  It has been a pleasure, of sorts, when their families no longer need our assistance.  It has also been an honor when our families are able to help us help others.  

Coming later this spring:  Tom Brower Photography will return to take pictures for our families - most likely during May's pantry.  We'll let you know.

Thank you for your continued support.

Bev

Pantry Open February 21st

A Small Hand - Plains District will be open from 5-7 PM, Thursday, February 21st.

Please bring your baby, current WIC and/or SNAP information, along with a photo ID (with proof of address).  We also have a good supply of gently used baby clothes.  

If you have questions, please call Bev London 540-578-0779.

I apologize for my recent inability to keep our site updated.  I will do my best to have everything updated before this week is over.  I sincerely apologize.  

Bev

 

Merry Christmas!

First allow me to apologize for not keeping in touch . . .we've been a little busy.  :o )  Busy is a good thing.  At least for me it is.

We have been open one year and one month!  We have served the families of 64 children over the past 13 months.  We could not have do it without YOU!  We have been open long enough that some of our babies have "aged" out of our program.  Some of them no longer need us, which is a wonderful feeling.  Our intention has only ever been to be a helping hand, not a crutch.  

I for one have enjoyed watching the babies grow.   1st smiles, 1st teeth, toddling, walking and jabbering, it's been fun to see their little selves emerge.  So often when they're very little they come to us fast asleep, then soon a bit more awake, then ready to jump into our arms upon their arrival.  We look forward to their smiling faces.  

Right now everyone's bundled up due to the chilly weather.  

As we look to the new year we know we will be purchasing diapers, those size 4s just keep jumping off the shelf (it appears to be our most popular size). Perhaps we can find another outlet for bulk purchases - we hope.  We were again blessed by a donation of diapers and formula from the fine folks at BB&T, we thank them for thinking of us in lieu of their usual Christmas gift exchange - they even delivered!  Yay!  We still have our ever-faithful drop off donations from Ben Franklin in Broadway - those folks never seem to forget us. 

Today is Christmas Eve, a fine day to reflect upon the many blessings you have sent our way this past year or so.  Please journey with us into our second year, there are more children in our very own back yard that need our help - with your continued support we'll be there for them!

Christmas Blessings to all,
A Small Hand - Plains District
Bev

Time flies . . .

It's been more than a month since I last gave an update and a lot has happened. . .On September 22nd, 100 of our faithful friends came to our Longaberger Basket Bingo at The Auction House in Broadway.  Under the guidance of our very own Longaberger Bingo Queen, aka Debbie Miller, we raised $3,115.50 to help support our pantry.

We need to thank Debbie for all her efforts - she literally asks nothing of us until the night before the bingo, with the exception of seeking out those of us willing to donate the baskets she's so diligently shopped for over the past year.  And she is quite the shopper!  She had some awesome baskets this year.  She doesn't just buy baskets, she buys liners, protectors and some how, always manages to fill them!   (I do believe she's already on the hunt for next year's treasures.)   We also need to thank Jim and Shirley Bushong for allowing us to hold the bingo in The Auction House - we know how difficult it is for them to "squeeze us in" since auction season is in full swing. 

We now have 58 little ones enrolled in our program, we had 23 of them visit during September's pantry night.  The little ones are growing.  Some are growing right out of our program, but we're happy to have been able to help them as long as we did.

Next month, November, we will celebrate our 1st birthday.  We'd like to thank you for helping us maintain the services we offer to the little ones in our area.  When we started, we started with a lot of faith and quite a few doubters, but the Pantry has evolved to be exactly what we wanted - A Small Hand.  Our families don't rely upon us month after month, they just come to see us when they need us.

We've also come to realize that when they can, they help us.  Just last month we had a Dad drop off several boxes of baby cereal, he told our Pastor that we had helped his family and they wanted to help us.   That, my friends, is evidence of this program going full circle.  

Since finding out we can no longer purchase diapers by the pallet-full we know we have to adhere to our original guidelines - we can only supply diapers and wipes to our little ones until they reach their second birthday.  We had hoped to find a new source, thus far, nothing has materialized.

We are distributing more than 300 jars of baby food each month - which reminds me, it's time to place another order (that's always fun - 300+ jars of baby food rolling around the back of my car.  Walmart makes their clerks put each and every jar through their cash register, so we have a lot of jars here, there and everywhere.  I don't understand why, but . . .I feel so bad for the clerk that gets stuck with me.  (Think of the poor soul that gets behind me in line, too!)  I might have to try a laundry basket on my next trip to kind of rein them in! 

Oh, before I forget; thanks to the Broadway-Timberville Ruritans for supporting our Pantry, their donation of $150 will be spent wisely.   We are just about through all the formula BB&T donated to us, they were kind enough to supplement their formula donation with cases of baby wipes.  Yay!   We are always pleased when another church, business or community group lends us a hand, it reinforces that we're not the only ones trying to help out our community and that's a good feeling.

I know I've said this before, but it needs to be said again and again.  We have not been able to help these babies without YOU.   Other churches, businesses, Brownie troops, school groups, civic organizations and individuals that kindly slip us a check every now and again, or deliver a trunk full of provisions for our shelves - thank you, thank you, thank you.  You have been a blessing to our program.   We couldn't do it without you.  Thank you for helping us help our community's babies.

Next Thursday we'll get to see them again.  We'll get to see how much they've grown, who's gotten their first tooth, who can roll over, who's walking, drinking from a cup, hear how potty training is progressing, etc.  Yep, we'll get to see your babies!

Bev

The good, the bad and the not so bad. . .

The good news is we have 56 little ones enrolled in our pantry program.  More good news, we have plenty of gently used clothing and will not be accepting anymore summer clothing until next spring, we simply do not have the storage.   For now, winter clothes are what will be needed, especially for little boys. 

We were recently showered with all kinds of goodies thanks to the thoughtfullness of Kelly Lineweaver's friends and family.  Kelly asked that her friends and family shower A Small Hand-Plains District in lieu of a baby shower for her little girl, Mya.  We sincerely thank her and her husband, family and friends for supporting our program, for sharing this happy time in their lives with us!  Our thanks and congratulations go to the Lineweaver Family.  So cool, with the arrival of Mya, they are now a FAMILY! 

The bad news is we are no longer able to purchase diapers by the pallet.  Goods360 hasn't had diapers available for bulk purchase for the past several months and has no idea if they'll have them available in the future.  This means we will have to purchase diapers retail.  Fortunately, we have some stealth shoppers, but our cost for diapers will now more than double.  Not the end of the world, it just means our funds won't carry us nearly as far.   But, just like last year, we're moving forward with faith, we know we have the community's support and we'll manage.

Speaking of community support, please mark your calendar for Saturday, September 22nd.  We will be holding our second annual Longaberger Basket Bingo @ the Auction House in Broadway.  Debbie Miller has been working hard to organize this event.   I don't know if you remember, but last year's bingo provided us with the money we needed to open our pantry doors.  This year's event will help us to keep those doors open.

Given the fact that we're not going to be able to purchase diapers by the pallet anymore and that baby food costs have increased in excess of 10% we're going to have to rely even more on the generosity of others.

During the past year, we have been blessed with a helping hand from many of you, whether from your church, your Girl Scout Troop, FCCLA at J. Frank Hillyard Middle School and from so many individuals that sent us a check every now and again.  We could not have served these children without your help.  Thank you! Thank You! Thank You!

The not so bad news is this is what YOU've helped us do over the past ten months:
217 infants/toddlers served
147 cans of formula was distributed
1606 jars of baby food was distributed
44 boxes of baby cereal was distributed
8,568 diapers were distributed
217 packages of wipes were distributed

On November 15th we will celebrate the start of our second year.  Not that there will be any momentous ceremony or a cake, but, we will rejoice in the fact that we were able to serve these children.  Children right here in our own back yard.  Children we've watch grow from month to month.  Of course, some of the children we no longer see, and we're really happy about that - their families no longer need us, YAY!  That's exactly what we wanted.  Just to help them out when they needed us most.

Thanks for giving us A Small Hand. . .

Bev