Hi everyone!
Thanks so much for all of the donations that came in last week.  We are in a great position to be able to take care of all of the kids through Christmas break and into January.  The support of this program continues to  amaze us.  As you all know, this program doesn't have a budget.  There is no guarantee or line-item expense that ensures it will continue.  This program thrives off of the generosity of each person who chooses to give week after week, month after month.  We've said it before, but it is worth repeating, that we live in an amazing and very blessed community.  Since we started Helping Hands a little over a year ago, we have always had exactly what we needed to provide for the children each weekend. As the number of children in the program grows, so does your support, and it's a beautiful thing! As  you enjoy Christmas with  your families and friends, please continue to pray for the families we serve and that God will continue to provide for them through our community.  Thank you and God bless you all!

This weekend and Christmas Break

Hello and happy Monday!  We wanted to send out a quick update for Helping Hands.  In just a couple of weeks, our kiddos are going to be out of school for Christmas break.  In addition to needing items for this weekend, we would like to be able to collect enough food to send home some extras next week for their extended break.  We need quite a few items in order to make that happen-our shelves are pretty bare!  Following is a list of things we are either low on or completely out of:

Ravioli
Beefaroni
Soup (packets or cans) 
Individual mac n cheese packets
Canned chicken/tuna
Spaghetti O's
Chili
Snacks (peanuts, popcorn, applesauce, cheese crackers are all good items to send home)
Oatmeal
Cereal/granola bars
Full size cereal (we need 32 boxes by next week for Christmas break)

If you would like to donate, please bring your items to Crystal City Elementary School any time during normal school hours.  Any items you contribute will go directly to children at Crystal City Elementary School.

We are so grateful that you have all embraced this program, and we really appreciate your continued generosity.  As you prepare for the upcoming Holidays, please continue to keep Helping Hands and the families we serve in your prayers.  Thank you and God bless you for all you do!

Needs through December

Hello everyone!

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
As promised, we're giving a quick update on needs for Helping Hands:
Immediate needs:
Peanut Butter-We need about 25 more jars to send home next week(we send one home each month)
Jelly-30 plastic squeezable for next week (we send one home each month)
25 sleeves of Ritz crackers for next week(we send one home each month)
Meals-Individual mac and cheese, tuna, beefaroni, ravioli, 
Oatmeal
Pop Tarts
Individual cereal boxes


For December (through Christmas break):
Meals-mac and cheese (individual servings), beefaroni, spaghetti -os, soup (cans or packets), canned chicken or tuna.  Any meals that are lightweight and can be easily prepared without additional ingredients are good!
Cereal-we need 28 full size boxes of cereal before Christmas break.
Lightweight snacks, such as microwave popcorn, peanuts, pretzels for Christmas break. 

Thanks so much for all you continue to do for Crystal City's kids!

Thanksgiving blessings

Hello and happy Friday!  We have received a few calls inquiring about the needs status for Thanksgiving weekend, so we thought we would provide a quick update. We had enough for the bags this weekend, and there is still enough left over to provide for next week's extended break.  In addition to the food they will receive from Helping Hands, you can rest assured that each family in the program will have what they need to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal with their loved ones at home.  We continue to be amazed and blessed with the generosity that the people of this community have. The compassion and willingness to give what they have to those in need is such a blessing, and truly something to be thankful for this Holiday season.

After the Thanksgiving break, we will post a list of the items we need to get us through Christmas break. All of your help is so greatly appreciated-thank you for helping us provide for these families each week!   God bless you!

Week of November 5

Hi!  Thanks for checking in!  A few weeks ago, we posted a request for A LOT of stuff.  Our shelves were nearly bare.  You were all so supportive, generous, and kind with your donations, and we have been able to take what we received and stretch it over several weeks!  We have enough for this weekend!  We are currently up to 31 kids in the program, and your generosity has ensured that we will be able to take care of these kids each weekend.  If Helping Hands has become a part of your weekly shopping routine, and you would like to drop donations off at the school, please feel free to do so!  We will continue to store them for future weeks.

Thanks and have a blessed week!

Thank you!

Promising to feed 29 kids every weekend can make us a little  nervous.  Throw an extra day in there, and that's an additional 87 meals to come up with.  Two extra days in one month?  Seems a bit overwhelming!  But we had yet another reminder this week of why, when we put our faith in God and in this community, we have no reason to worry.  Everyone responded so generously to the needs we posted, and we have enough for the next two extended weekends! It's been awesome to see how our prayers have been answered over the last two days. The food deliveries, financial support, and phone calls pledging more support were so amazing and yet another reminder of how blessed we are to be a part of this community. Thanks so much! God bless you!

Week of Oct 15-LOTS of need!!

Hello and thank you all for checking in!

As you all know, Helping Hands has been providing food for Crystal City children for about a year.  Our goal is to ensure that these kids have enough to eat over the weekend while they are away from school.  So far, we have been BLESSED by this community with an abundance of donations!  Every time we ask, you provide.  We operate with no budget, only with faith that the people of our community will help, and you always do! 

We are really low on donations for the upcoming week.  We have a lot of snacks, but hardly anything that could be considered a meal.  Following are the items we need for this week:

Beefaroni
Spaghetti O's
Soup
Stew
Mac and Cheese
Chili
Tuna or Canned Chicken
15 full size boxes of cereal

Since it's a 3 day weekend, we would like to send them home with enough to last all 3 days.  While you are grocery shopping this weekend, please pick up a couple of extra items for Helping Hands!  Donations can be dropped off at Crystal City Elementary by Wednesday at 3pm.  Monetary donations can also be dropped off at the school.

Thanks so much for everything, and we will update you on the status of donations as the week goes on!  Have a great weekend!

Week of October 8

Hi! Thanks so much for all of the donations that came in for this week's bags. All 29 kids were sent home with full bags for the weekend AND full sized jars of peanut butter and jelly. Awesome! We had several extras, and only need a few more items by Wednesday for next week's bags:
  21 Macaroni and Cheese 
6 Soup 
15 cans of tuna or chicken

In addition to the weekend bags, we send home full sized jars of peanut butter and (plastic squeezable) jelly the first week of every month. October is taken care of, and we would like to be proactive in looking to November. We still need:
 15 peanut butter 
 15 jelly
20 sleeves of crackers
 to send home enough for all the kids in November. Thanks so much for all that you do! Each week we are blessed with the opportunity to provide for these kids, and we are so thankful that you have joined us in making sure none of our kids go hungry.

If you would like to donate and can't make it to the school during normal school hours, you can drop them off at Grace Presbyterian Church and we will bring them to the school.  Thanks so much and have a blessed week!

Items needed!

Hi! Thanks so much for checking in with us! We're a little over a month into the school year and have been blessed with the ability to take care of 26 kids each weekend. As you know, we strive to provide these kids with meals and snacks that are easy to prepare and don't require additional ingredients. We had such an outpouring of support over the summer and at the beginning of the year, we haven't had an updated list of our needs-they were all met without even asking!! That brings us to today...we have all of our bags packed for this week, however as we were packing the bags we took note of some really important items that we are very low on or out of, and we need these before we pack bags next week. If you can throw a few of these items in with your weekly shopping trip, it would be so helpful! Here's a list:
  Beefaroni 
Canned tuna or chicken 
Pop Tarts
 Soup
 Oatmeal 
Squeezable bottles of jelly (no glass, please!)

If you would like to donate, please bring your items to the Crystal City Elementary school office during school hours. You can also drop your donations off at Grace Presbyterian Church and we will collect them and take them to the school.

September 2012

Thanks so much for checking in with Helping Hands!  Over the last few weeks, we have been so blessed with donations, and we are once again reminded of how fortunate we are to live in a community that cares so much about their neighbors. 

Helping Hands is committed to ensuring that no child in our school is at risk of going hungry over the weekend.  We currently have 25 children enrolled in Helping Hands. These children will receive meals and snacks every Friday to ensure that they have all they need and are nourished and ready to learn during the school week. 

We have enough to take care of these kids over the next few weeks-thank you! If you have made Helping Hands a part of your weekly shopping trips and would like to drop some things off, we will gladly keep them and make sure they go directly to Crystal City children in need.  Meals and snacks that are easy to prepare and kid-friendly are greatly appreciated!  Please continue to check in with this blog or on our Helping Hands Crystal City facebook page.  It's not uncommon for us to run out of specific items, and these two sites are great places for us to communicate those needs to you!

Have a great week!

Welcome Back!

We hope everyone had an amazing summer and are ready to kick off the school year! With the start of school right around the corner, we thought it would be a good time for an update on Helping Hands. We organized and inventoried all of our donations last week and thanks to the generosity of so many in our community, we are off to a great start to the 2012-2013 school year!  We don't have exact numbers of how many children we will be serving this year, however we are confident that 

we have enough to get through the first few weeks of school. We will continue to update this blog and our Facebook page with the needs of the program each week. Please feel free to share this page with anyone who you think might be interested in helping out! Whether you make Helping Hands a part of your weekly shopping trip or donate once in a while, every single donation counts and goes directly to kids right here in our community. Thanks so much!

We are all set for summer! Yay!

We had a great day for donations! Thanks so much to Andrew Black and MetLife for holding a food drive for Helping Hands! We now have enough to take care of all of our kids over summer school. We even have enough to start the school year in August! Thanks so much for all of your support and donations over the last several months. It's been such a blessing to see how much the people of Crystal City are willing to give! Have a great summer, and keep our Helping Hands kids in your prayers!

Summer School!!

Thanks so much for checking in!  As we close out the school year (only 3.5 days left!) we are very excited and blessed with the results of the last several months.  Since launching this program in November, our community has stepped up and provided for these children every single week!  It's been amazing to see donations flow in week afer week, and we are so blessed that we are a part of Crystal City, and that we have all decided together that we will not allow children in our community to go hungry.  Thank you! 

This Thursday, after school, we are packing bags for summer school.  Our goal (a really big goal) is to have all bags packed, for all four weeks of summer school, at the end of this week.  That's a total of 84 bags-complete with 3 meals and 2 snacks for each weekend day-at the end of this week!  We have a lot to be thankful for.  We have had many weeks where there have  been an abundance of donations, and we've been able to save those donations to use for summer school. We know that vacations, fewer kids, and many other factors may come in to lower donations during summer school.  We would love to end the regular school year knowing we have enough to provide for these kids during the month of June!  Following are some of the things we need in order to make that happen:

Ravioli
Cereal
Granola Bars
Breakfast Bars
Fruit cups
Pudding
Peanut Butter/Cheese Crackers
Tuna
Soup
Mac n Cheese
Ritz Crackers

If you would like to donate for summer school, please bring your items to Crystal City Elementary by Wednesday afternoon.

Thanks so much!!

Ready for Summer!

Only two weeks left of school!  With the end of the  year being so close, we are focusing on preparing for summer.  We are going to continue to provide for the Helping Hands kids who attend summer school, and, and our goal is to have enough by the end of the school year to provide for all four weeks of summer school-a pretty big goal!  With your help, we can end the school year knowing that we have enough.  Following are items we need in order to make that happen:

ravioli
 tuna
soup
spaghetti o's
 mac  and cheese
 granola bars
breakfast bars
 peanut butter or cheese crackers 
cereal
plastic squeezable jelly
 fruit cups.  

Donations can be dropped off at the elementary school.  Thanks so much for all you've done all year, and for helping us prepare for the next several weeks!

Closing out April

Thanks so much for checking in!  Donations over the last few weeks have been wonderful, and we have enough for all of the bags this week.  Thank you!  If you've made Helping Hands a part of your weekly shopping trips, you can drop them off at Crystal City Elementary School.  They will be needed over the last few weeks of school!  We are going to continue the program through Summer School, so any donations would be greatly appreciated!

We send home a full size jar of peanut butter and jelly once a month.  Grace Presbyterian Church is hosting a peanut butter drive this Sunday, April 29, to benefit the kids of Helping Hands.  We're so thrilled with the amazing support Grace Presbyterian has given over the last several months, and this peanut butter drive is a huge opportunity for us to stock up and continue to take care of the Helping Hands kids!  If you would like to donate, please bring your peanut butter to Grace Presbyterian Church this Sunday!

Thanks so much and have a great week!

Another amazing week!

What an amazing week!  Special thanks to the Festus-Crystal City Rotary Club for inviting us to their meeting this week.   Opportunities to share this program are such a blessing, and we appreciate the community support! 

We had a really great week in regards to donations.  Thank you so much for your generosity and for making this program such a priority.  All of the kids in the program went home with full backpacks this week, and we have enough to do the same next week.  If you've made Helping Hands a part of your weekly shopping trip, or if you're visiting us for the first time and would like to contribute, we  appreciate  your donations!  All donations can  be dropped off at Crystal City Elementary School and will be used to continue to feed Crystal City kids on the weekends.

Thanks and have a blessed week!

Have a wonderful Easter!

Thanks so much for again answering to our needs!  All of the Helping Hands kids went home with plenty of food to get them through the 4 day Easter weekend!  We can't say it enough...God has really blessed this community with caring, compassionate people who are willing to share what they have!  We are amazed each week at the generosity of this community, and so thankful for all you do.


The donations were so plentiful, we have enough for next weekend as well.  As you enjoy this Easter weekend with your families and friends, please remember the Helping Hands program and the children we serve in your prayers. Have a Blessed Easter!

Donations needed for Easter weekend!

Hello!

Thank you for another great month!  March was incredible, and we had all we needed each week!

That brings us to April, and we have a few extra days that we need to think about.  Next week, the kids will be out of school April 6-9.  We would really like to send the kids home with some extra items to ensure they have enough for the long weekend, and we are running low on several items that we need in order to be able to do that:

Tuna

Macaroni and Cheese 

Oatmeal

Soup 

Ravioli

Since it's a short week, we could really use these donations by Wednesday, April 4.  

Thanks again for continuing to contribute to Helping Hands!  Your efforts are making a big difference!

Donation needs for March 30

Hello!  Thanks for checking in!  We're beginning to run low on several items, so any help would be greatly appreciated!  In addition to next week, we are currently preparing for Spring Break.  We are asking for some items we don't normally use in order to provide enough food for the long weekend, yet make the bags light enough to carry.  Following are the needs for the next couple of weeks:

For March 30:
Mac and Cheese
Ravioli/Beefaroni 
Tuna (Completely out!)
Chili
Soup
Cereal Bars
Individual boxes of cereal




For Spring Break April 6-9:

7 regular size boxes of cereal
4 full size plastic peanut butter jars
14 full size plastic jelly
Raisins
Soup PACKETS
Tuna
4 boxes of Ritz crackers (we need 12 more sleeves of crackers) 
Cans of vegetables
Packets of Mac and Cheese


Please have items for March 30 at Crystal City Elementary by Thursday morning, March 29.  If you can't make it to the school during normal school hours, donations are accepted at Varese Nail and Spa in Festus and Grace Presbyterian Church in Crystal City!  


Thank you and have a wonderful week!

Update on progress/donation needs

Thank you for checking in with us!  In addition to donation needs, we would like to share an update on how Helping Hands is progressing.  As you know, the goal of Helping Hands is to remove the obstacle of hunger from the learning environment. Crystal City has an excellent school and an outstanding, dedicated teaching staff.  All of the tools are in place for the children in this community to learn the fundamental skills they will need in order to thrive.  A lack of adequate nutrition is a roadblock in this process that we, as a community, have decided isn't acceptable and we've done something about it together through this program.  We are already hearing about the difference it is making in the kids' ability to succeed in the classroom!  Progress reports just came out at the school, and one teacher reported that four of the five Helping Hands recipients in her classroom have seen an improvement in their grades since starting the program.  Amazing! 

This program would not succeed without you!  Each week, donations steadily flow into the office.  If we ask for a lot, it comes in-often one or two bags at a time.  Every single item we have sent home has come directly from a family or individual in this community, and every single donation counts and is making a difference!  There has never been any type of budget or dedicated funding for this program, only a community that has chosen to open their hearts and share what they have with those who are in need.

We are in pretty good shape regarding donations, however there are are some items we are beginning to run low on, and we would like to start looking towards Easter Break as well.  The kids will be out of school April 6-9, and we are asking for a couple of things we don't normally request in order to ensure they have enough for all 4 days.  Here are some of the things we need:

Next week:
Pop Tarts
Tuna
Soup

Spring break April 6-9:
5 regular size boxes of cereal
7 full size plastic peanut butter jars
14 full size plastic jelly
Raisins
Soup PACKETS
Tuna
4 boxes of Ritz crackers (we need 12 more sleeves of crackers) 
Cans of vegetables

Please take  your donations to Crystal City Elementary School.  If you would like to donate but are unable to make it to the school when they're open, we have a couple of other places you can take your donations and they will be brought to the school for you:

• Varese Hair and Nail Spa 1552 Natchez Festus, Mo 63028, right  behind Lucas Smith Dodge.  Jenn Morgan is a stylist there, and has volunteered to accept donations and bring them to the school. On a side note:  she's an excellent stylist if you're looking to freshen up your hairstyle for Spring:)
• Grace Presbyterian Church in Crystal City on the corner of Mississippi Avenue and Bailey Rd.  If you'd like to drop off your donations and pick up an awesome, inspirational message to start your week at the same time, Pastor Dewey Johnson delivers one every Sunday at 10:45 AM.  And stay tuned...Grace is hosting a Peanut Butter/Jelly drive on April 29 to help stock the shelves with these much needed items!

Thanks for EVERYTHING you do and have a wonderful week!

March 16

Thanks to all of the donations that have come in over the last few weeks, we still have enough to send home full bags with all of the kids on Friday, 16.  Thanks for all you've done!  If you would still like to donate, please feel free to drop your donations by Crystal City Elementary School and they will be stored for the weeks to come. Keep checking back for updates!

Thankful

We are so amazed and thankful with your response to this week's donation needs!  At the end of last week, we were facing pantry shelves that were nearly bare.  At the same time, we knew there was no reason for worry.  Every time we ask, the people of this community step forward and help.  There has been such a tremendous amount of support given to this program from both organizations and individual citizens-Thank you all!  Because of your generosity, we have everything we need to send all of the kids in the program home with full bags this week and next Thursday, March 8.  If Helping Hands has become a part of your weekly routine and you would still like to contribute, you can still drop off donations at Crystal City Elementary school and we will keep them for the weeks to come.  Please keep in mind that, even if your donations aren't used this week, the need will definitely come and anything you contribute will be saved and will go directly to children in Crystal City Elementary school in the coming weeks.  Thanks again and have a wonderful week!

We made it through February!

Helping Hands had another great month!  We made it through the last full week in February with enough donations to send all 26 kids home with full bags for the weekends!   As we were preparing bags for this weekend, we were blessed to find that we had just enough to take care of all of the kids.  While it sometimes makes us a little nervous when we begin to run out, we have seen this community pull through for these kids time and time again, and we know we can continue to serve them through Helping Hands.  We are really starting to see the benefit of this program through these childrens' grades and behavior.  Your donations are helping to make it possible for them to reach their full potential!

 March is right around the corner, and there are alot of needs for Friday, March 2.  Following is a list of items we are completely out of or only have a few of:

Pop Tarts
Mac and Cheese (packet or box)
pudding cups
Ravioli
Beefaroni
Soup/Stew
Chili
Tuna
Individual cereal boxes
Granola Bars
Sleeves of crackers

We also need 19 more full size plastic jelly jars to send home for March.

The list is long, and we have alot of needs.  We only ask for what we need, and you come through for us every time.  If we all pull together and give just a little, as we have for the past few months, we can continue to ensure that the children in this program will receive the nutrition they need to get them through the weekend.  Thanks so much for all you've done, and all you continue to do!  Please take donations to the office at Crystal City Elementary School. Thank you!

Donation needs for February 24

Hello!  Thanks for checking in with us! Following is a list of items we need in order to send bags home on Friday, February 24:

Crackers
Ravioli
Soup
Pop Tarts
Individual boxes of cereal

Please drop off donations at Crystal City Elementary by Thursday, February 23.  Thanks so much for contributing! 

Update for week ending Feb 17

We have had an abundance of donations over the last couple of weeks-thank you!  As a result, we have everything we need to send all 26 kids home with full bags on Friday, February 17.  Thanks so much for all of the contributions! 

Ongoing needs are:  Full size peanut butter and squeezable jelly, which are sent home monthly. 

We update this blog every week to communicate the status of donation needs for the upcoming weekend, so please visit this site frequently if you would like to help!

Update of needs for Feb 10

Thanks so  much for all of the support that came in last week! We had a great week for donations and had enough for all 26 kids in the program. The following is a list of items that we are still running low on, and need more of in order to fill the bags for Friday, February 10:

Soup
Cereal
Ravioli
Pop Tarts

Ongoing needs:
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Plastic Bags

We have had several inquiries into monetary donations for Helping Hands. We would be more than happy to do the shopping if you would rather donate money! Checks can be made payable to Crystal City School.  Be sure to put helping Hands in the memo of the check so the funds can be properly allocated.  Cash, checks, and of course food can be dropped off in the office at Crystal City Elementary.
Thanks and have a great week!

Lots of needs for next week!

Hello!

For those of you logging on to Helping Hands for the first time, welcome!  Thanks to a wonderful article in the Leader, alot of people are hearing about this program and asking how they can help-and just in time!  We now have 26 children enrolled in the program.  January was an amazing month for donations and we were able to serve every child in the program every weekend.  That brings us to next week-and our cupboards are nearly bare!  Following is a list of items that we are either completely out of or almost out of, and the list is long:

Pop tarts-
Individual cereal boxes
Breakfast bars
Granola Bars
Macaroni and Cheese
Ravioli/Beefaroni/Spaghetti O's
Soup/Chili/Stew
Crackers (sleeves of ritz crackers)
Tuna
Fruit cups/apple sauce
We have enough peanut butter to send home for February, but we could use about 9 more plastic bottles of Jelly to send home.

Helping Hands accepts monetary donations in the form of cash and checks.  Please make checks payable to Crystal City School and be sure to put Helping Hands in the memo of the check.

If you haven't donated in the past, or this is your first time hearing of the program, here are a few details: We really strive to send the kids home with 3 easy to prepare meals and 2 snacks for each day that they'll be away from school (Saturday/Sunday).  We also try to send home a full size peanut butter and jelly at the beginning of the month, along with a sleeve of crackers. Since the program was launched, we have been able to send a bag home with all of these items for all of the kids in the program.  The only way this has been possible is through donations from people in the community-thank you! 

Whether you donate weekly or every once in a while, it is greatly appreciated!  This blog is updated weekly to ensure that we are able to communicate the needs of the program with you, so please check back!

Donations can be dropped off at Crystal City Elementary any time the school is open. Bags are packed on Thursday afternoons and sent home on Friday.
Thank you and have a blessed week!

Week of 1/23

Hello!


Thanks so much for answering to the call of last week's needs!  At the beginning of the week, we only had one jar of peanut butter.  Thanks to  your donations, we were able to send every kid home with a jar of peanut better and have 10 jars left over for next month!  


Following are a list of foods that we are low on or out of and are needed to complete next week's menu:

Soup 
Pop Tarts
Ravioli/Beefaroni
Tuna

Ongoing needs:
Peanut Butter-we will need at least 12 more full size jars for next month
Disposable plastic shopping bags (we no longer need the reusables, bring in your extra plastic ones!)


Please have your donations to CC Elementary by Thursday so bags can be ready to go by Friday.
Thank you!

Needs for week of 1/17

Hello!

We currently have 22 children enrolled in Helping Hands.  Through donations we have received over the last several weeks, we have enough of several of the items on the menu to send home next weekend.  There are a few items that are running low, and we could really use your help to ensure we have enough!

 Here are the items needed for the week ending 1/20:

Peanut Butter

Jelly

Crackers

Macaroni and Cheese (individual servings or boxes)

Soup

Please drop off donations at Crystal City Elementary by Thursday, January 19.  

Thank you for your donations!  Have a great day!

Update for next week

Hi!

This afternoon, we had a meeting and took inventory of the food contributed for Helping Hands and discussed moving forward with adding kids. We've decided to set a goal of adding an additional 20 kids to the program in the next couple of weeks.  This is a pretty big step, as it will more than double the amount of kids receiving aid.  However, the need is there, and the donations have been more than sufficient so far thanks to your support.  We are grateful for what you've done, and hopeful that you'll keep it up!  Each week we strive to provide a balanced menu of meals and snacks to get the kids through the weekend.  Following are the items that we are beginning to run low on:

Macaroni and Cheese
Ravioli/beefaroni
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Crackers
Oatmeal

We've noticed that the price of peanut butter is really going up.  If anyone is aware of a great coupon or a sale on peanut butter somewhere, please post it in the comments!
As previously mentioned, reusable bags are always welcome, as the kids sometimes forget to bring them back.

Thanks so much-we will keep you posted on the progress!

2012!!

Happy New Year!

We hope you all had an amazing Christmas with your families and friends, and are already off to a great start in 2012!

Just as we mentioned in the last post, we are adding children to Helping Hands in 2012.  We are confident that the community will continue to provide!  We have everything we need for this week, however if you're shopping this week and want to pick some things up, we will definitely need them in the near future and can store them at the school.  Some of the basics that always go home are: granola bars, ravioli, soup, beefaroni, peanut butter and crackers.  Small reusable bags are always very welcome, as sometimes the kids forget to bring theirs back after the weekend!

Thanks so much for everything, and please check back each week for specifics on what we need to complete each week's menu!