Caring 4 Kids Foundation - Feeding In-Need Children on the Weekends in the Las Vegas, NV Area

The Caring 4 Kids Foundation; a grass roots, volunteer organization set up in 2005 which utilizes the strength of community volunteers and donations to ensure area in-need and homeless children are fed over the weekends.  The Caring 4 Kids Foundation feed about 500 children on a weekly basis with a very specific food needs program.

Items Needed:
Ravioli 15 oz. pop top can
Vienna Sausage 5 oz. pop top can
Water; .5 liter (24 pack) 16 oz. bottles
Snack Pak Pudding variety pack
Fruit Cup
Fruit Juice 6 oz. box
Individual Serving Size Crackers (No peanut butter/nuts)
Individual Serving Size Cookies (No peanut butter/nuts)
Granola Bar
Fruit Snack
Cup of Soup 6 pack (Styrofoam cup ready; just add water)

Donations are accepted Thursdays at the Caring 4 Kids Campus at 330 Tin Street, Henderson, NV 89015. You can also contact the Caring 4 Kids hotline at (702) 544-1400 to make special arrangements for delivery or pick-up of donated items.

Become a volunteer today! It’s easy! Simply submit a volunteer application at our office at 330 Tin Street, Henderson, NV 89015 and we will add your name to our Active Volunteer Database (AVD). We keep volunteers informed of the available opportunities and upcoming events via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and our online newsletter.

Visit the Caring 4 Kids Foundation website for complete information:  http://caring4kidsfoundation.org/

Great US Military Support Site - Joining Forces

Joining Forces - "Taking action to serve America's military families"

http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces/

A very straight forward, easy to use site. 

They have 3 tabs to press;

Find Service Opportunities,

Pledge Service Hours,

Send Your Message of Thanks.

Create a Care Package for our US Soldiers

Go to http://booksforsoldiers.com/ to create your own care package for our US soldiers.  They started out sending books, CD's and DVD's to our military men.  What a welcome item a book would be to a solider especially who has had multiple deployments.  On their site is a wish list of many other items you can send to our brave US soldiers.  Thank them for their service by sending them a package. 

This site was featured in People magazine, Heroes Among Us article.  Here is a quote.  "We find the books they want - Stephen King and Tom Clancy are favorites - write letters, throw in cookies, candy or pencils and create a care package.  It doesn't cost much."

Grateful Troops - Army Reservist Cpt. Brandon Mace, 35, or Fort Rucker, Ala., read more than 100 books, sent during his deployment in Iraq in 2009 and 2010.  "Knowing that someone would spend their own money and go buy books for me was so great," he says.  "It was a reminder that someone is thinking about me, that someone cares."

(People magazine article by Emily Evans)

Samaritan's Purse - Operation Christmas Child

What a great idea!  Pack a shoebox (I saw that you could use clear, plastic shoe boxes around 88 cents each at Walmart) with gifts for a certain age male or female child.  Print a shipping label from their site, attach to your box and drop off your shoe box at a donation site (find by zipcode on their website).  Then, you can track online exactly where your package went!

Look at their website for details on how to pack a box.  Samaritan's Purse

My Humanitarian Calling Has Come to a Close

As with all things, the only thing constant in life is change!  I am no longer the humanitarian specialist in my LDS ward calling.  I will continue to put ideas on this blog when I run across them, though.

I can tell you that my life is always sweeter when I am thinking how I can help others.  So, keep up the good humanitarian efforts and it will benefit your life, I promise.

Humanitarian Helpers Hits Newsstands in Mormon Times!

Thank you to Emily Jensen of Mormon Times (a division of Deseret News) for writing this great article about my humanitarian blog, Humanitarian Helpers! Mormon Times is distributed in Deseret News, Church News and
http://www.mormontimes.com/ Emily had contacted me about writing an article and I happily accepted.



(Click on the article to go to the Mormon Times online article.)

The article is also online. http://www.mormontimes.com/article/18350

The good word of humanitarian giving continues to spread! YEA!

Scarves for Military in Afghanistan

http://scarf.suescrochet.com

Donate handmade scarves for our troops!

Must be made from 100% wool or cotton. NO ACRYLICS please! No fleece per military requirements.

Tropical Sore Bandages

Are you a tropical sore bandage expert? But, you are no longer making them because the LDS Humanitarian room is no longer accepting them?

Well, thanks to Bev in Logandale, NV you now have a place to donate your bandages. Thanks for the link, Bev!

http://bevscountrycottage.com/bandages.html

Charity Opportunities in Las Vegas, Nevada

A very helpful post on humanitarian opportunities in the Las Vegas, Nevada area on this post: Las Vegas Volunteer Opportunities

The whole blog is helpful, as well. The Las Vegas Humanitarian Service Room

Dolls for Worldwide Humanitarian Donations

Humanitarian Doll information at Dress a Girl Around the World.

Aren't these adorable?!

Tiny Blankets Needed for Fetal or Newborn Demise Donations

There is a blog called Greyson's Gift. The mother of Greyson has organized an effort for families dealing with fetal or newborn demise. She says:

"I am looking for your help. Hospitals all across the country are in need of small, very small, baby blankets. In cases of fetal demise, babies are so tiny, even the smallest nursery blanket is much too big to wrap around their tiny bodies. I know how parents feel when they are presented with their tiny baby, for the first and last time. Having to deal with a large blanket that doesn't fit, is a distraction. And, unnecessary. If you can sew or crotchet/knit, would you please help me to supply blankets for these mothers?"

What they need:
12" x 12" and 24" x 24" flannel receiving blankets, in small pink, baby blue, white, and yellow prints. Use your best judgement, we don't want the prints of the blankets to detract from very small babies.

The blankets also need to be double layered.

Where to send:
Meryntha Haro
4603 Oakview Dr.
Mansfield, Texas 76063

Continued good luck to you, Meryntha, on your quest to keep Greyson's memory alive with this noble cause.

Dress a Girl or a Boy Around the World

Patterns and information to dress a girl or a boy around the world! Also a pattern for a cute humanitarian doll.

Link: Dress a Girl Around the World

Pillowcase Dresses for Africa

All information is at the following link:
Little Dresses for Africa

Project Linus - Blankets for Children in Need

Project Linus...what a great organization. This is a national organization that provides new, handmade, washable blankets to be given as gifts to seriously ill and traumatized children, ages 0 to 18. They accept handmade blankets of all sizes from smoke-free environments. All blanket styles are welcome, including quilts, tied comforters, fleece blankets, crocheted or knitted afghans and receiving blankets in child-friendly colors.

So, you can see that "the sky is the limit" on your creativity in giving to Project Linus! Please check out their website for many patterns and ideas. They also sell a "skip-stitch" blade for a rotary cutter. This enables you to cut holes to crochet around the edge of a blanket.

Click on the 2nd tab from the left "Chapter Listings" to find the chapter nearest you to drop off your blanket donations. (If you are in the Henderson, NV area - the drop off for blankets is at TGI Flowers at Green Valley and Santiago (by Green Valley High School). Debbie owns the shop and is the chapter head for the Clark County area.)

Keep this in mind for children, youth and adults to participate in. Anyone can finish off a blanket to donate to Project Linus!

Goodie Two Shoes - Local Las Vegas, NV Charity

Want to donate new shoes to children that may have never had new shoes? Contact Goodie Two Shoes. They literally bring a truck to a school in need and children and their parents can choose a new pair of shoes!

President Monson's Talk -- What Have I Done for Someone Today?

Here is a great link to a talk by the prophet of the LDS church, Thomas S. Monson.

LDS.org - Ensign Article - What Have I Done for Someone Today?

Enrichment Night Idea - Humanitarian Service Night

This would be a great idea not only for Relief Society Enrichment Night, but for Young Women, as well.

A Night of Sisters of Service
We had four stations for the sisters to rotate through that evening. We offered a table of refreshments that were finger foods. (Veggies and dips. Fruits and finger treats.) It made it easy for the sisters to come and go to the refreshment table throughout the evening.

Missionary Letters
A table was organized with everything needed for each sister to write to as many missionaries as they could. We took the responsibility of addressing the large envelope and mailing them to the missionaries.

Quilts
We had four child size quilts set up for the sisters to help tie. The quilts were part of an eagle project and were to be delivered to Primary Children's Hospital.

Cards for Care Centers
Several tables were organized with everything one would need to make an amazing home-made greeting card. You can imagine how the "scrapbookers' got into this. The cards were beautiful. The sisters were very creative. These cards were given to care centers for the residents to use.

Soups to Freeze
Weeks ahead of time we invited our sisters to sign up to bring a homemade soup and the written recipe with them that evening. Each soup was placed in a double ziploc freezer bag labeled with ingredients and recipe. These soups are in our compassionate service leader's freezer. She can use them at any time of need. We usually ask a visiting teacher to add bread, salad and desert. This has been so helpful.

Source: I received this handout from a Relief Stake leadership meeting.

LDS Supplies to Order for the Humanitarian Calling

Here are the helps from the LDS church for the humanitarian calling. Anyone can order these to help you in your service needs.

I am going to put the pamphlets in my humanitarian donation box and encourage people to take them. They are free!

I have also ordered 2 "In the Service of Your God" DVD's and will also put those in the donation box to loan out. (I am going to put a sticker on them to remind people to return them back to the donation box in 2 weeks.) This DVD will be great to watch for Family Home Evening.

LDS Church web site for ordering supplies: http://www.ldscatalog.com/

Pure Religion Pamphlet (free) - Item number: 35510000

In the Service of Your God DVD - ($4.50 each or $1.50 each if you order 50) - Item number 54645000

Pure Religion: The Story of Welfare Since 1930 Book - ($19.75) - Item number 35247000

Winter Hat Drive a Success!

Our November 2008 mini donation challenge was a success! We collected and delivered 103 winter hats, 5 pair of mittens and 2 scarves to Child Haven.



Look how deep the pile is! Great job!

Salvation Army Bucket - Teach Your Children to Give

Here is a really easy and simple idea for encouraging your children or grandchildren to become "Humanitarian Helpers".

During the holidays, I get a $10 roll of quarters for each of my children and keep it in my purse. When we are out running errands, my children get to put a few quarters into the Salvation Army buckets coming and going out of the store. I give them the money while we are in the car, so it feels like they are giving it all on their own.

This is a great way to teach giving to a child. There is lots of excitement in this giving because of the bell ringing and the thank yous from the Salvation Army volunteer. It is a rewarded effort every time they give. That good feeling of giving will stick with them throughout their whole life. It did for me!

Volunteering Opportunities - Where to Start?

If you want to volunteer your service, but are not really sure where, here are some links to get you on your way!

1-800-volunteer.org - is a national database of volunteer opportunities. Put in your zip code and the number of miles you're willing to travel. Narrow your search based on the programs that interest you.

http://www.volunteerabroad.com/ - Choose a country and limit your search based on the type or work and length of job. Some projects require registration fees that can range from $200 to over $2,000.

http://www.seniorcorps.gov/ - Offers volunteer opportunities for people 55 and over.

http://www.americorps.org/ - This organization will connect you to long-term service projects, from disaster relief to homelessness. Create a user profile and apply for opportunities that interest you.

www.charityguide.org/ - Charity Guide presents service projects that are entirely flexible and immediately actionable. You can volunteer whenever you want, from wherever you want, in as few as 15 minutes.

Toys for Tots

Toys for Tots

The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.

National toy drop locations are at Babies R Us and Toys R Us. (At our Babies R Us, the drop box was by the exit door.)

Locks Of Love

Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.

If you decide to get 10 inches cut from your hair, you can donate your hair to Locks of Love. (I just did this during this summer and it was something that I had always wanted to do.) Here is the "How to donate" information from Locks of Love.

I took my donation to Great Clips (hair cutting salon across the US). They had me fill out a donation sheet and they sent my ponytail in for me. It was a wonderfully rewarding experience, complete with a thank you letter a few weeks later.

Write a Thank You Letter to A Person in Our US Military

Ever wanted to give a million thanks to the men and women in our US armed forces? Well, now you can!

A Million Thanks is an organization that sends your heartfelt thank yous to our US soldiers. Here is the information from their site:

"We are asking individuals, schools, churches, and businesses around the U.S. to participate by having their students, congregations, and customers write letters, cards, email messages, or prayer messages. We will forward your appreciation message to a service man or women either active duty or retired through our many contacts. Your messages will also be delivered to many USO’s and Veteran’s Hospitals for distribution."

Mail the letters to:
A Million Thanks
17853 Santiago Blvd. #107-355
Villa Park, CA 92861

IMPORTANT BEFORE YOU WRITE YOUR LETTERS!! Click here and be sure to read & follow our RULES AND GUIDELINES to avoid disqualification of your letter(s).

"Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Recycling Idea - Save Your Soda Pop Can Tabs!

The Ronald McDonald House gladly accepts your pop tabs! They are a charitable organization all over the country. They have a living facility for families to stay in that have children in a nearby hospital. The stay is only $10 per night, but they will never turn a family in need away.

Here is what the Las Vegas, NV Ronald McDonald House says about their collections: "The little, seemingly insignificant tab you pull to open your aluminum cans is like gold to the Ronald McDonald House. We collect these pop tabs, recycle them, and the proceeds go directly to Ronald McDonald House families. When family needs assistance with travel costs, clothing and hygiene items, or the costs associated with the death of a child, our Pop Tab funds are there to help."

1.) Pull the tab off any aluminum can.
2.) Collect the tabs.
3.) Drop the tabs off or mail them to:

The Ronald McDonald House
2323 Potosi St.
Las Vegas, NV 89146

Office Hours: 9 AM – 9 PM everyday
Office Phone: (702) 252-4663

Here is a flyer for you to print if you would like to collect tabs in your local school, church or community group. Pop Tab Flyer

Anyone can lead or participate in this easy and rewarding service project! Cheers!

Humanitarian Leaders - Make Donating Items Easy

Here is one key to a successful donation drive. Make donating items very easy for the participants. In my group, I keep a donation box on my porch. Everyone knows that they can leave any donations at any time. It just hides behind a pillar on my porch. I weight it down with a brick inside, so nothing will blow away. I also used containers that have lids that snap shut.

I also take a donation box to my church every week. It goes in our Relief Society room for all three of our meetings. Again, everyone knows that it will be there every week.

We have donation challenges, so we have donations coming in all of the time. These two drop off locations create predictability and organization for everyone involved. It makes giving really easy!

I have two sizes of donation boxes. A smaller one for compact donations (such as winter hats) and a bigger one for bulkier donations (such as games).


 

Muslin Dolls - Easy Handmade Donations

The largest pediatric hospital in Las Vegas, NV, Sunrise Hospital, is in need of handmade muslin dolls. They use these dolls for medical play with the children. They can express their feelings, explain physical pain and learn about procedures to be done on them with these donated dolls. All children that are admitted to the hospital have the opportunity to use the muslin dolls.

1. The directions are on the pattern. Contact Sunrise Children's Hospital for the pattern.
2. They do not want anything on the dolls, so the children can be creative with them.
3. They need all different skin colors for the dolls.

If you live out of state, these would be very easy and lightweight to ship. The contact information is as follows:

Contact: Jody Bardoun -- Child Life Specialist, Sunrise Hospital
E-mail: Jody.Bardoun@hcahealthcare.com
Phone: 731-8961
Work Days: Tuesdays and Thursdays
Address: Sunrise Children’s Hospital
Child Life Department
3186 S. Maryland Pkwy
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Drop Off Items: You can drop of the items anytime in the Children’s Hospital Lobby. Just mark the items for “Child Life”. The ladies at the information desk can pass them along to the Child Life department.

This would be a great project to teach your children to sew these simple dolls and to give service to another child.

Warm & Cozy Tied Blankets are Needed

Sunrise Hospital Children’s Care is also in need of tied blankets!

Jody said: “If you have anyone interested in making tied blankets we are in need of warm and fuzzy blankets for children of all ages.”

Contact: Jody Bardoun -- Child Life Specialist, Sunrise Hospital
E-mail: Jody.Bardoun@hcahealthcare.com
Phone: 731-8961
Work Days: Tuesdays and Thursdays
Address: Sunrise Children’s Hospital
Child Life Department
3186 S. Maryland Pkwy
Las Vegas, NV 89109

Drop Off Items: You can drop of the items anytime in the Children’s Hospital Lobby. Just mark the items for “Child Life”. The ladies at the information desk can pass them along to the Child Life department.

Recycling Humanitarian Opportunities

We certainly do not have to purchase or make something to further our humanitarian efforts. Sometimes we can just look around our home! Here are some ideas for you or the group that you are working with.

1. Donate your old prescription eyeglasses or sunglasses: http://www.charityguide.org/volunteer/fifteen/eyeglasses-donation.htm

2. Collect unused toiletries from vacations or business trips. Use these to make hygiene kits for local shelters that are in need.

3. Donate your used books to the library. Did you know that you can donate your used books to the library and it is tax-deductible? They will give you a receipt for your items at the circulation desk when you give them your books. If it is a new or popular book, they will put them on their bookshelves! (They were so happy when I gave them my Twilight series, because they are in such demand!) If they don't put the books in circulation, they sell them for library funds.

There are many other posts on this blog about recycling projects for humanitarian opportunities.

"Spread the Word" - Literacy Organization in Henderson, NV

Spread the Word

Spread the Word is a literacy charitable organization operated out of Henderson. I spoke with Lisa, the director, and enjoyed her passion for her job and the children that they serve. They have been operating 8 years. They take 2 new schools on each year and now have 16 low income schools. They give a canvas bag to each child in that school with 5 books in it to start their “home library”. Then, they get a new book each month. A lot of these books go into homes that do not speak English by the parents. So, it is a literacy campaign, as well as an English language campaign.

How Your Organization Can Help:
They need new or gently used books for elementary aged children. They just gave away their 1.5 millionth book!

You can drop off gently used book to help fight illiteracy at any Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Henderson, NV or Las Vegas, NV

They also need volunteer groups to have book cleaning parties. (They will bring the books to your church group.) You check the books to see if all of the pages are there, repair books and clean book covers. Any group can help Spread the Word. Since I am working with an LDS group, this would be an activity for any organization in an LDS ward – pack meetings, cub scouts, primary activity days, YM/YW, Elders or HP service project, RS enrichment night, ward activity night etc. etc. – They do need adults to help with this project, so the kids could not be the only ones doing the work!

They also need volunteers to serve breakfast each month at different schools.
They need volunteer readers to read one on one with the children at the schools.
If you are interested in learning more about Spread the Word, how you can help with a cleaning party, or anything else please contact info@spreadthewordnevada.org I spoke with Lisa, the director, at 702-564-7809. They are a WONDERFUL organization with very kind and organized leadership.