May 8, 2006

NEWSLETTER #5             GRAMMA'S HUGS INTERNATIONAL

A nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization...providing blankets free of charge to children.
Our Motto: Every child deserves to have their very own special blanket.

Our Purpose: To provide as many blankets to as many children as possible worldwide.

It is time for another newsletter! So many things are going on; we won't be able to "keep up" if I don't send out something in writing. I'll forget as well, sad to say! Do hope everyone is well and looking forward to a productive summer.

Since all the boxes were sent last fall and into the holiday seasons, word has reached us that all of them have been received. As of this writing, not a single box sent has ever been opened or destroyed in any way. This is wonderful! And is certainly a miracle in today's world.

On the top of each label (done in bold letters on the computer), I place a short statement that says "this is an unsolicited free gift for needy children and their families in __________ (where it is going)..." And, then, after the address is put in block print in the center of the label, I place a small thank you note on the bottom stating: "thank you, so much, for your cooperation and efforts in getting these boxes delivered"...or words to that effect. I want the different officials and organizations to know that we appreciate the blankets getting to their destination untouched.

Starting at the beginning of the year, I sent two boxes of 137 baby receiving blankets with lap/burp pads to match; and some small printed fleece blankets to the Door of Faith Orphanage in Baja, Mexico. I delivered another 50 blankets to Ronald McDonald House and 50 blankets to Shriners Hospital in Sacramento, California. In addition, I delivered some 85 blankets and 65 small animals in their sleeping bags and blankets to the Children's Home on Auburn Blvd., in Sacramento, California. Through Partners International I was contacted by a Mr. Landge in Delhi, India. I sent a box of blankets to him of various kinds. He was delighted with them and we were so happy that it took only 20 days to get to him and was untouched.!!

Right after that I started on larger blankets for our missionaries in S. Africa (the Barnetts) to distribute to the homeless that come to their door wanting supplies and food. (30 twin sized bed rolls); and two boxes were sent to them for an orphanage where children are taken care of whose parents have died of AIDS. The continent of Africa is being stretched to the limit in trying to provide for all these orphaned children. Each country has various programs, but it is truly a crisis situation. (50 smaller blankets of printed fleece and some flannel receiving blankets for the babies).

I saw the TV show "Extreme Makeover" concerning the devastation in the Biloxi, MS, region due to Katrina. I took down the name, and contacted the Coastal Family Health Centers Executive Director. It seems that they had 7 clinics for the poor in that region, all but two of which were destroyed, and along with it their headquarters and all of their records, equipment, and even the foundation of their building! The pictures they have sent me are absolutely mind boggling...and so frightening. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this catastrophic storm. So, in conversation with Mrs. McDougal, I agreed to send them 100 blankets every month for 6 months. Each child will receive a blanket when they come into the clinic, for whatever reason...and their siblings as well, as blankets are available. The first shipment was 5 boxes. 4 boxes were blankets (25 to a box) and one box was 30 small animals wrapped in their own little blankets and sleeping bags and tied with ribbon. So cute! (Our board chairman, Susie Brown, is responsible for these animals, but Linda Wick collects and gives me sacks full of little animals from time to time, as does Betty Hill at the Senior Center in Elk Grove...) These ladies are so marvelous!

I enlisted the aid of a couple of new volunteers this Spring; Kathy Dorman who spent an entire afternoon cutting blankets with me, and Andrea Normandin, to help with the boxing of the items...she's a real whiz at it, and it is a great help! Mr. Pete Wick continues to mail our boxes and he is always ready to unload them from my car and send them on their way!

Calvary Bible Church in Lodi, California, has had many mission trips to various parts of the world. The group that went to the Black Forest Academy in Germany in April/May of this year was also given 50 larger blankets for the teenagers at the school there for the children of missionaries working in Europe. Some of those blankets will go to Romania.

50 blankets were sent with Mr. & Mrs. R. B. Dorman when they traveled to Colorado to take care of three of their grandchildren while their daughter and son-in-law took a trip. Since that town is the site of several Federal prisons and there are many families of inmates that have moved there to be close to persons incarcerated, there was seen to be a need to reach them. I had the idea to use some of my large, used suitcases for transporting them. This works very well, and then the suitcases can be checked in as luggage; they can either be left on site or returned for a "refill".

The week of May 8th, I will be delivering blankets for the first time to the Bishop Gallegos Maternity Home just off of 47th Ave. in Sacramento, California. This is an establishment that provides housing for pregnant homeless women. They allow them to stay there in the shelter for 6 weeks approximately before delivery and 3 months after delivery. Some of them already have a toddler or two, and this is an extreme hardship on not only these displaced women, but the shelter that provides their care as well. I will be taking newborn receiving blankets and small fleece blankets for the 14 women at the shelter and their newborns (their capacity is 12); plus small print fleece blankets and little stuffed animals in blankets for the toddlers at the facility.

On Sunday, May 7th, Mr. Chris Phillips came to "headquarters" (my front bedroom) and picked up 50 large blankets to go to Slidell, LA. There is an ongoing effort in this region for cleanup and repair after Katrina, and we are happy to be able to send these blankets. They will be leaving the week of the 8th and will carry them instead of having to send them. This is great! I have committed to provide more for this effort as time goes on.

The next 100 blankets for Biloxi, MS, are ready -- being boxed -- and will be sent the week of May 15th...In addition, I will be preparing a box or two of blankets to replace ones destroyed in a fire in Santiago, Chile, at the orphanage we sent blankets and small animals to last year. None of the children were hurt, but the mother/matron of the cottage was severely burned and is in the hospital in Santiago, Chile.

On the night of April 20th, 2006, our chariman Susie Brown and a board member, Nan Mahon, accompanied Shirley King to an appreciation and awards evening in Sacramento. This was a lovely event and it was so nice to meet the directors of the project as well as Ronald McDonald (who was co-master of ceremonies)... Gramma's Hugs International received a certificate of appreciation and commendation which I am going to frame and put up in the workroom! I have an entire file of letters of acknowledgement and thanks that I have collected since we began this endeavor. My mother's faithful Bernina decided to quit...after some 50 years, I guess it deserves a rest. So I am looking for a new sewing machine that does all the nicer functions and can take the heavy use I will give it. I have found several models and think I will get a substantial one rather than something too lightweight...the funds outlay for this has been offered by board member, Mr. Bill Streit (a former co-worker of Gramma King's), who lives in Florida. We want to thank him, so much, for his generosity and his continued interest in this work.

The Missions Committee at Calvary Bible Church in Lodi, California, have highlighted Gramma's Hugs on the back cover of their newsletter for May, and are dedicating the two Sundays of May 14th and 21st to bring in materials for our various project areas. This is staggering -- and wonderful...and we want to thank everyone who responds!!! I have made several more contacts with orphanages in Uganda and Tanzania and am in correspondence with them -- follow-ups on these will be in the next newsletter and any others we may find.

If you know a group that would be interested in a presentation or brochures about the organization, please contact me immediately so I can get in touch with them or send out the materials. Thank you, again, for all your support and thoughts.!!!

Hugs to everyone!

And don't forget to check out our website!

Send all correspondence and donations to the following address:

Shirley J. King
Gramma's Hugs International
8652 Elk Way
Elk Grove, CA 95624

Hugs to everyone!

Shirley J. King
Gramma's Hugs International


                   

P.S. Since this was written...so many things have happened! I have received pictures from S. Africa; Indonesia; Colorado; S. Sacramento; Louisiana; Mississippi...I will be putting as many of these on the website as I can for everyone to enjoy. Due to the horrific events in Indonesia, I have been requested to send another 500 cotton blankets to them for their efforts there. These are in process and should be sent as soon as is possible.

Gramma's Hugs had a two Sunday display at Calvary Bible Church in Lodi, California, and received a goodly amount of material, both fleece and flannel, a few volunteers and 118 beenie babies to be put into sleeping bags for the children! We will also be giving a presentation to their Encouragers Group 6/8/2006.

More blankets are requested for S. Africa as well...and continuing Katrina Relief projects in Louisiana and Mississippi.