Another successful year!

I will freely admit...I was not sure I was going to run the "adopt-a-family" program this year.

It's hard...I have so many kids, and this year added a part time job to the mix. I wrestled with it for a few weeks...but, in the end, as the EM's started to roll in, I couldn't say no to any of them. People were in need and I was in the position of helping them.

So, OSW went into action a little before Thanksgiving...in the beginning it was all under control. As the families in need rolled in, so did the volunteers. I matched as I went along. Then about 2 weeks before Christmas, it exploded. Most days I was getting 2 to 3 families in need DAILY. I was not sure how it would all pan out, but as usual, God came through and sent us generous volunteers to cover all our needs. I am happy to say, we got to everyone! I still have not sat to count the exact number of famiilies of children we helped, but I can say that we EASILY had over 200 covered.

AMAZING....

I am happy to say 75% of the deliveries were made by the volunteers (or "elves" as I fondly call them), but the other 25% ended at my house and were delivered by myself, Rich, or mostly our manager ("Mrs. Claus") Robin Kisylia. In the last couple of weeks I am not sure how Robin dealt with my early in the morning/late at night phone calls. I know I would have gone insane without her. (They say behind every Mr Claus, there is an amazing Mrs. Claus..... :p)

We heard many heartbreaking stories of woe. Husbands who left wives with bills and children, and no money. Wives who left husbands with young children, never to be heard from again. Single mothers trying to get by, but barely making the bills. Sick parents who are hanging on by a thread. Abused mothers, who ran with their kids from their homes with nothing but what they could fit in their small car.
One of our volunteers got to a home with no Christmas tree, only to find out that woman was afraid no one would show up with gifts so she did not want to put the tree up...
People who could not afford Christmas dinners.
Families serving our country, with just enough money to get by, nothing extra for gifts.
People who got flooded out of their homes the last big storm we had, and lost everything.
On and on it went, it was hard to read, but exciting we could help just a little bit....

Here are just a few pics of the gifts, my house was a sight to see. Every morning, my hallway had bags filled with gifts to go out that day, and every evening it was empty, just to be filled the next day.

This is one family's gifts (2 children!)

This is what it looked like once it went into garbage bags (that is how we delivered all gifts, to be discreet in case there were kids home...)


One days deliveries.
Another days deliveries.


Robin having to peek into gifts and rewrap some of them because there were no name tags on these gifts (note to self...next year remind everyone to tag gifts as well as wrap them!)

She was almost done, this is for one family.

Another family.


1 days delivery.

This was our last family. Robin did this delivery ON Christmas Eve Day.


A huge thank you to all our elves, who made Christmas happen for so many families, Because of you, hundreds of children woke to presents, where there would have been NONE.

A bigger thank you to my family, who sacrificed a whole month of ME, so that I could do this.

Thank you to Robin, without her, I would not have done it this year. Knowing she was with me, I took this on.

The biggest thank you to our ever faithful God, who put this "bug" in my ear, and gave us the means to help every single person who came to us.

It's that time of year!

Hello everyone!

Here we are again....'tis the season to worry about others having enough food, warm clothes and kids who are able to wake up to the joy and fun of Christmas!

The OSW team is at it again. We will be doing our Adopt a Family program again. I have had some ask what it is about, so I decided to explain it in detail.

What happens is: we have families that come to us in need. They fill out a form on where they live, what age kids they have, what their needs/wants are, and they also have to explain their situation. These families have anywhere from 1 to 6 kids (the most we have had so far).
We then get families who want to adopt other families. We match them up to a family who lives near them and fits their criteria. (Small vs bigger family).
The volunteer family then shops for their adopted family and then delivers before Christmas. Usually they also buy them a Christmas dinner. (Just a note here, it is easy to pair up with a friend or 2 to adopt a family!)
Very few families do not want to meet the ones that bought them the items (usually due to embarassment), in that case, one of our staff delivers.
I like to have the adopter family deliver because there is nothing like meeting the children you are buying for. Their little faces are adorable and so innocent. And there is nothing, absolutely nothing like meeting a grateful mother. Some are outright grateful, some just have the look in their eyes you will never forget.
It is an amazing feeling to GIVE. To know you have done something for someone else.

The other way we supply gifts, is we hold a toy drive. This year Robin Kisylia will be doing all the collections (and she will be delivering as well). Her EM is: RKisylia@aol.com If you want to donate a new toy, please drop it off at her house unwrapped and we will make sure it goes to a family.
We ALWAYS have last minute families we need the toys for.

We stay in NJ and help local families. We hear over and over how the charities are all full and no one can ever get through to Toys for Tots, so this way we help people in our own backyard who have run into a brick wall. :(

The last way to help is donate gift wrap or a gift card. Any amount is good! Never underestimate a $10 gift card to a grocery store! Or a $10 GC for gas. It might mean the difference of going to work that week or not. Or feeding your children milk, eggs and bread or NOT.
More than that, it is a sign of HOPE. And never ever underestimate HOPE!

You can reach us at: onesmallwish2010@gmail.com to be enrolled in this program. Or you can check us out on FB under One Small Wish, and send a private message.
I do ask that you be patient when waiting for an answer. I do have 10 children and a part time job, so I might not get back as quickly as I would like to.

I hope everyone has the happiest of Thanksgiving. May we all be grateful to be ALIVE, it is an amazing gift.
God bless.
Seegal

Success. :)

I am very happy to say we did not turn anyone away this holiday season. Somehow, we got to everyone in some way. Even the last minute families were taken care of.

Thank you again for everyones help and prayers!

We will continue to help people in need at the end of January. I am going to take the next 2 weeks to spend with my family, and then I am leaving for Israel for 2 weeks to spend time with my father and the rest of my family out there.

Please keep those in need in your prayers. It is so cold out and so many are left with no heat or worse, no homes.

God bless and we at One Small Wish hope everyone has an incredible New Year!

Humbled

Guess how many kids will have meals and gifts because of One Small Wish and all its volunteers? 91!!
91 children and their (42) families!!!

I will admit, after months of planning and working, yesterday I was overwhelmed and very tired. Today I awake to numerous EM's from families all over NJ who were excited and happy and for the first time all year had HOPE.

Yesterday I witnessed lots of tears, but have not cried yet, I was in work mode.
But reading all these amazing words made me cry this morning and gave me new resolve.

If anyone EM me with last minute requests, I will not turn anyone away.

Because, after all, THIS is what it is all about.

People, we have made a difference. A huge difference.

A VERY merry Christmas to all, thank you so much for showing everyone that there IS HOPE and there IS HELP!

God bless you all!!!!!!

Today is the day!

Most of our deliveries have been already made 41 families as of last night, not including 2 out of state ones. I just got another today with 4 children, so that makes 44 total.
Today I will be out all day making deliveries and last minute pick ups.

I want to wish everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and the happiest of new years!!!!!

God bless!

PS- like I said we just got a family with 4 girls, if anyone has any toys to givem it can be dropped off at my house, I will be meeting them tomorrow. :)

All over NJ...

One Small Wish families are all over NJ today, tomrorow and Monday. Today many gifts were already delievered and many more to come! I have had quite a few bring bags to me filled with goodies for families for me to wrap and distribute too. Our own personal santas are delivering their gifts to the families they have adopted.
While my heart is warm orchestrating all this, I also hurt for those we cannot help. Please keep them in your prayers, there are so many. :(

I am still getting families all the time. There is still time until Christmas eve to adopt a family and give the gift of hope to a child. EM me at onesmallwish2010@gmail.com to help others.

God bless and happy holidays!

My wish

As we get close to the wire, we are getting more and more families that need help. Just when I think I have it in control, it all spins way out of control!
Please pray that we do not have to turn anyone away. I cnanot bear the thought of someone having no Christmas dinner or children to wake to nothing under the tree.

I just wish to help all who come to us.

Thank you to all who are helping, we could NOT do this without you!
If you want to help with a toy or a gift card, please do not hesitate to EM me! onesmallwish2010@gmail.com

God bless!

We can use help!

I am proud to say we have matched many families and everyone is busy playing "Santa"! I love hearing the enthusiasm in my families voices. It warms my heart that everyone wants to help so much!

We do have a couple families that have not been matched. I am also sure we will get last minute families that waited to see if by some miracle they could make it without help, but found themselves stuck.

Right now, we need gifts for children. Any toy will do, for whatever price. Gift cards can ALWAYS be used too. We can pass then along or buy more gifts with them. Any store is great.
The children that we need right now for are:
13 yr old girl, 4 yr old boy, 4 yr old girl, 5 yr old boy and 7 month old girl.

Please EM us if you can manage to get a toy or gift card.

Thank you SO much!!
Signing off,
Santas helper :)

Matching!

I have spent most of this day matching families in need of Christmas to their "Santa" families.
I still have families who need their heros. If anyone wants to adopt a family, please LMK. Most of these families are 1-2 kids. I have 1 left with 3 kids. Maybe a group of friends can adopt them?

EM me at onesmallwish2010@gmail.com for information on any of our waiting families!!

Lets make some wishes come true!
God bless!!

The more you help, the more the need...

Holidays are at hand. Needs are overwhelming.

Yesterday my friend Heather got to see first hand how much a family needs and does not get support. With her help, we delivered a much needed dresser, clothes and a chair for a special needs child. This 3 yr old has CP and the only thing given to him was a BROKEN wheelchair he could not even sit in! Heather managed to find a special very expensive chair that this child could finally sit comfortably in! It was so fancy and had all the bells and whistles. Yay!!
In the meantime, I just found out the husband was let go 2 days ago from his job. They are now in jeopardy of losing their home and their kids. They are trying SO hard but who knows what will happen.
When people tell me homeless people are in that state because they put themselves there I want to choke them. Sometimes life is really unfair.

Another family we have is a family in West Virginia. Their home and all their belongings burned down. Even the urn their fathers ashes were in burst and the ashes are everywhere. They need desperate help, they are all living with an aunt in a trailer. I don't know where to turn, as I do not live there. The mother is very close to losing it, the daughter is afraid she will lose her mother too in this tragedy. :(

An out of work couple who work part time cannot get food stamps because they make a few dollars too much, Really?! A single mother in school struggling. An older couple, the husband was let go of his long time job and cannot find one because of his age (older 50's).

I could go on and on. We need help. We need more elves, we need money, we need God to send us some angels!!!!

People thank me for what I do. I hate it. I don't do it for thanks or for praise or anything like that, I do it because i have been led to do so. I truly feel like God is using me as a puppet. Kind of like today when someone EM me for a table. Wasn't sure where I was going to find one, and the very next EM was someone wanting to donate one. It was Gods hand, of that I am sure.

Please prat. Pray for families who are worried and struggling. Pray for all of us at OSW to get everyones needs taken care of!! And if you are an elf or an angel, please let us know, we need you!!

A huge thank you!

We need to thank Basket Brigade for donating turkey baskets to our needy families this holiday season.
All baskets will be delivered tomorrow to the families homes!! I am so excited to have such a huge blessing!!!!

We are very busy getting Christmas requests. Right now we are matching families. We will let everyone know when what we need once the families are matched! :)

On another note: for those on our FB page, you know we are looking for people to help a very devastated family in Oak Hill, West Virginia. If anyone knows anyone there, please EM us ASAP!

Thank you!!

The important fine print

I thought I would clarify a bit more about what we need this time of year. Please EM us at onesmallwish2010@gmail.com if you can help.

1. Turkeys, hams and the fixings. If you have those free turkeys from the stores, and you want to donate them, please LMK! We have lots of families who need Christmas dinner!

2. Clothing. Unlike the past where I ask for whatever you have, I will be posting specific sizes for specific families we have right now. Whatever used items you have is great, but please mark the bags with what size and gender it is.
I know that is alot of work, but I am so busy right now I can't sort through clothing.

3. I need families who want to adopt other families, We have small families and we have larger ones. You can easily team up with friends to buy for the kids. Used stuff is fine, but we do ask you buy at least 1 new item per child. Remember, most of these kids have no idea what it is like to get something new, and every single one of these families is struggling ALOT. You will get a sheet of what the kids like or want. You don't have to buy it all, whatever you are comfortable with would be great. If you can buy them a Christmas Eve meal that would be great, just please LMK so we don't duplicate. For most of these families, you CAN be the one to deliver the goods to them! I cannot tell you enough how rewarding that is. Most charities don't allow that, but we ask all of our receiving families if it is OK, so far all of them have said yes. It is a valuable lesson for the kids to wrap these gifts and incredible feeling to be able to GIVE the parents what you got them!

4. We will need volunteers. The matching is not hard, but as I found last year, alot of families wait till the last minute to ask for help. This is because they hope and pray they can do it themselves. They don't *want* to ask for help, they are very embarassed and prideful! So, once all the families have been matched and delievered I will be asking for items (do not have to be new) and asking for volunteers to help wrap and maybe even deliver. This will be the 2 weeks before Christmas. if anyone remembers me last Christmas, knows this is not easy, but it is necessary! All volunteers will be graciously accepted and community service hours will be given to students!!!

5. The last thing I ask for is prayers: For our families. They are struggling. They feel alone and they are scared and sad for their kids. PLEASE remember them in your prayers!!! This is the most important thing you can do for us.
I would also covet a few myself that with everyones help, Robin, Carol, Rich and I can get to everyone in need. That we find the time in the day to do this work and we find the HELP to go on.

In this season of "thanks"giving, I want to thank our faithful followers for always being there when I call for help.
God bless!!
Seegal

Here is the plan, Stan...

Christmas is coming very fast and we are getting requests for help.
We need families who want to help others who are less fortunate than us.
Most have just fallen on hard times and they really don't want to help, but they can't bear the thought of not giving their kids Christmas!
SO, if you want to help (or you are a family in need), please EM us at onesmallwish2010@gmail.com

For the families that are matched: You can choose a family size that fits your budget (or team up with a friend to pool your resources and buy for a bigger family!) You buy each person at least $25 gift. You can do way more if you like, but that is the minimum. You can also buy that family a Christmas meal (raw turkey or ham, stuffing, potatoes, corn and a bottle of soda). This is NOT mandatory!! You will get a "wish list" with the childrens names and ages. If you want to get the parents a little something, that would be great.

For those families that have not been matched, we will be collecting toys/games/clothing and wrapping them (I need volunteers!) and distributing ourselves.
:)

In need!

We need clothing and any baby items for a 2 month old boy ASAP. parents are in dire need of many things, but the baby has nothing.
Please EM us at onesmallwish2010@gmail.com if you have anything.
Thank you!

If you have EM us...

I am now caught up with EM that have come in (finally). If you have EM us about getting help and you have not gotten an EM back, please do so again.
Christmas assistance forms will be going out very soon and families will be assigned within the next 2 weeks.
God bless.
Seegal

It's that time of year.....

It's getting cold and people need coats and blankets.
Holidays are coming and people cannot afford gifts for their kids.
People need to pay extra to heat their home (if they are lucky to have one) and they can't afford to eat.

We have started getting calls for Christmas help.
This year we will be matching families that need help to families that want to give help.

If you are interested, whether you are a family in need or a family who wants to help, please Em us:
onesmallwish2010@gmail.com

Thank you and God bless!

Happy Fall! We're BACK!

I sincerely hope everyone had a fabulous summer!
Now that the kids are back in school, we are back in "business".
We already have some requests, I posted them on our FB page.

Here is the deal: We will accept items we ask for all the time, however, please do not drop random bags off at my house till after September 20th! My house is full of items and we need to get them out of here first.
We will only be accepting fall and winter!

On September 18th, I am having a garage sale, I have tons of summer clothes left and no room to store all of them, so I will sell them off VERY cheap and whatever money is made from the sale goes straight to One Small Wish. We CANNOT run without some kind of money, so it is desperately needed! If anyone has summer stuff they want to part with, you can bring it to my house for the sale. Anything left over, will go to the homeless shelter.

Now onto current business: we need drivers to drop off items. I no longer can do it all myself. If you are interested, please message me at FB!
We are NOT doing furniture anymore. Unfortunately, it was too much work and we spent tons of money on UHauls. Rich also got hurt the last time we delivered furniture, as he does it alone. For obvious reasons, this is not an option anymore :(

I will not be updating the blog as often, due to time. I WILL be updating FB as often as needed.

All these changes are important as it will allow us to keep running.

God bless, and lets keep helping families in need!!!!

Happy 4th!

Wanted to take this time to wish everyone a happy 4th of July! We are very lucky to be living in a country of so many freedoms.

Thank you so much for your encouragement, love and support of One Small Wish. It has been a wonderful journey thus far! Right now, we are "closed" for the summer to reorganize and to dedicate our time with our families.
We will "reopen" in late summer and will be ready for the onslaught of the holiday season!

God bless!

Update (May)

Hello everyone,
I am so sorry for the delay in this post, we are still here and still working.
There have been quite a few changes and more to come...

First off, Jenn from South Jersey needs to "retire". The work that we do is very time consuming and she needs to spend time with her children. Understandably, we are upset to see her go, but we know how hard it is. Thank you for all you have done Jenn, we will miss you!
She will be doing her last delivery today!

Kyle, is still working in North Jersey and we will be getting updates from her :)

As for Central Jersey...Seegal, Carol & Robin are still here. :)
We are getting a TON of furniture needs and donations. Unfortunately, we have no one to deliver such huge items. My husband, who has done it till now is in busy season of work, he holds 2 jobs and is no longer available to be the "shlepper" as we fondly called him.
And so, with sadness, I must announce that we will not be picking up, or delivering furniture anymore. From now on, we will only be dealing with food, clothing, toys, and any items that fit into cars.

As summer approaches, we will be slowing down quite a bit. With children home from school, it is hard for us all to do this work. Anyone that comes to us with needs will not be turned away if we have the items needed.
We also need to rest before the busy fall season comes. Christmas is always the neediest time of year. We already have tons of new items for adults and children stored, and will be asking for more as the season approaches.

Please do check in with us, we will still be around, just busy with children and life! :)
This would be a good time to announce that we (Seegal and Rich) are welcoming another child into our family. We have started the adoption of a special needs precious orphan in Eastern Europe. We will need to travel there to pick him up. We are very excited for us and for him, as his future is quite bleak where he is.

Thank you all for being a part of One Small Wish. We are not going away, just slowing it down a little. :)

God bless!!!!

Fundraiser and a new OSWer!!

Sorry for the gap in posts, I have discovered that blogging and actually doing the work sometimes doesn't work. :)

I would like to announce the arrival of our new co-ordinator, Carol Ericksen! Robin and I have known Carol a very long time and I am very confident she will be a fabulous addition to One Small Wish! All the help we get makes it easier to actually do the charity work.

Our first fundraiser is coming up fast! In case you have not heard...it is on Sunday, May 23rd at St. Anthonys church in Red Bank, starting at 9AM, ending at 2PM. We will have MANY vendors selling really cool stuff!!! You'll find jewelry, flip flops, housewares, clothes, candles, pocket books, make up and so much more! We will also have hot dogs for sale and of course baked goods!!! We hope you come out to meet us!

Most of our families we are working on need furniture or just someone to advocate for them. Right now we have everything we need, but will post when are looking for items.

Thank you for hanging in there with us...we are already planning for Christmas, so we might be taking some down time this summer as we know we are coming into very busy season.

Blessings from us all!
Seegal

Now THAT'S paying it forward!!

One of the biggest mottos of One Small Wish is "pay it forward". We love giving and we love helping others give. I have heard many times that people want to do for others but they don't know how.
Today was such a great pay it forward day!! First we got a call from someone who was emptying out her storage space and needed to get rid of her furniture. I called a family who needed it and they went directly to the storage space and picked up their many needed items! When they got to my house to pick up the rest of their stuff, I asked them if they would make a delivery for me. I have a single mom who needs a bedroom set for her son. I have located the set but have not been able to get it to her. The couple that came today said they would gladly "pay it forward" and deliver the set to her with their friends pick up truck!
2 families needed items, 2 families had them and were able to directly give their stuff to someone who needed it. How awesome is that?? !!
I also got a call from someone who heard us on the radio yesterday, who wanted to donate tons of brand new baby clothes. Since she does not live near any of us I asked if she could hold on to them and deliver them herself when I located a family who needed them. She was overjoyed.

The thing I take pride about the most with our foundation is not just that *we* help people, but that we help *people* help *other* people.
And THAT is what it is all about!! The whole world is one big family taking care of each other. It's a beautiful thing. :D

Today!

OSW is on the radio! http://www.nj1015.com/pages/5874162.php

Very excited about that. I finally figured out last night....to date we have helped 115 families since Dec 2009, 85 since january 1!
Lots more to come. :D

God bless!

Busy times ahead...

I want to remind everyone that tomorrow is the day we will be featured on the radio station 101.5 :) http://www.nj1015.com/pages/5874162.php

We have alot of requests this week. We are getting more and more Emails asking us for help.
Please check the sidebar for things we are being asked for.

Our first fundraiser is well under way. If there is anyone that has items to be donated to sell, please let us know. We welcome ANY vendor to sell their items if you donate a portion back to us. We are not charging anything to have a table!
The fundraiser will be on Sunday May 23rd from 9 AM till 2 PM, at St. Anthonys church in Red Bank, NJ.
We are in desperate need of monetary donations at this point. Rich and I have put out about $1000 of our own funds to make OSW happen and we are now limited to where we can go and what we can do for our many families. So there is my appeal (LOL).

Hope everyone has a FABULOUS week!!!!
Seegal

Quickie update!

Wanted to put a request out there for bicycles. We get many parents looking for them. Any color, size or condition. If anyone has any, we will pick them up!

We are putting together our first fundraiser, set for May 23rd. We are doing many deliveries in NJ, but being low on funds, we are limited ot the areas we can deliver to. Gas, renting UHauls and operating costs have taken its toll on our pocketbooks, unfortunately.

We will have the families we are helping up next week posted on Sunday. There are many new ones!

God bless!

BIG news!

It has been a big week for OSW :)
First and foremost - we welcomed a new North Jersey coordinator, Kyle Sanzone. As soon as we get her all the information, she is sure to be very busy up in North Jersey!
Second huge news is that we were contacted by the producer of the radio station 101.5! They are doing a show on "What’s So Great About the Garden State?” They wanted ot deature us and we said yes! Our Robin gave the interview and it will be aired next Monday the 26th!!
Lastly, we have decided to do our first fundraiser. It will be in St. Anthony's in Red Bank on Sunday May 23rd. We will have fabulous stuff to sell, handbags, jewelry, candles, tupperware, baked goods and more! We are very excited about this! More details to come!!

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week!
Seegal

Changes at OSW :)

One Small Wish continues to grow and change every day.

We are working to get a North Jersey coordinator and we're hoping to find someone to help us with the bookkeeping.

Our sad news is that Christie stepped down from being VP. Neither one of us expected OSW to catch on so fast and to grow as big as it did in such a short time. The time that must be put into it is sometimes overwhelming. With her 2 very young kids, it was impossible for her to do any of the daily tasks.
Christie will be staying on in a small way and hopefully will take on more when her older son goes to school next year :)

The good news is that Rich, who has given WAY more time, money and heart into this than he ever thought, has stepped up as Vice President. It was a natural choice since he has done almost as much work as I have. :)

Robin, our manager is a God send. I truly could not do what she does, taking care of all the back end work.

Jenn is continuing to do all the work in South Jersey, along with her volunteers Holly and Pam.

Finally, here in Central Jersey, we have been very busy trying to organize all of our inventory. Rich also hurt his knee and has not been able to do big pick ups. SO....we have been concentrating on needs closer to home, and a suspended making long trip deliveries. We took on so much so quickly, and worked so many hours, our family time took a great hit.

If anyone knows anyone in the Jersey Shore area that needs help, we are very happy to help! Also if anyone wants to volunteer time to make deliveries, we can use the help.

We will also be starting to fundraise. We welcome all ideas and help in that area.

Have a great week everyone! God bless!

Time out...

Hi all!
Just wanted to do a bit of an update on this week. Rich and I have been working NON STOP on One Small Wish. We are taking a bit of a time out to organize the items we have and iron out some details. (Although we made a small drop off yesterday of a recliner chair and have lots of little donations going on this week anyway, but nothing huge like the past 4 months!)
We will be getting ready for next week too. We have quite a few requests for beds and furniture. If anyone has any, please let us know!

Jenn at South Jersey will continue working and she will update as to what she needs.

Another request...we are looking for someone to be a coordinator for North Jersey. If you believe you can do this, please EM Seegal at Onesmallwish2010@gmail.com. Let me make sure you all know it is alot of work. Much of my personal time goes into this, however, the rewards are great!

As always, God Bless and please always remember to "pay it forward"!!!
Seegal

Our "fire family" has it all now :)

Rich and I loaded up our trailer and our kids and we took the 1 hour long trip to the family's home.
Their story is really sad, after the terrible fire, they got free things from people the mom cleans for, but most of the things don't even work (like their TV). :( The kids are good kids and were so excited!! The older boy rode his bike right away, it was so sweet!
I filled her empty freezer and stocked her cabinets. They are now completely set up for their baby boy to come! We also gave a bike, queen bed, dresser, tons and tons of clothes, tons of toys, DVD player, tons of DVD's, books...by the time we left their house looked like a bomb went off, LOL!!
The one thing I did not bring was toiletries (toilet paper, etc) and we saw they had just the one roll...it bothered me tremendously all the way home. Also, the 8 yr old Stacy, told Rich the only thing she wanted for her bday (tomorrow) was an Easy Bake oven. Rich wanted to go buy her one but the kids really wanted to get home, and it was already a long day...(We had already gotten her a box of new stuff for her birthday).
It took us many hours to load and pack and get there, unload, and we were finally almost home when we saw a garage sale sign. We stopped and guess what they had? AN EASY BAKE OVEN!! AND they had a girls bike which we did not give them, as we could not find one.
Guess what we bought? Yup, the oven and the bike with a helmet!
I called the mom to see if she could come meet us halfway and she was so happy! Rich is on the way there with a bike, the oven in a pretty pink birthday bag, and toiletries with lots of toilet paper (yay!) My husband is the sweetest to go do this, he truly ROCKS.

There are no words to express how happy the mom was. She hugged and kissed Rich and I a few times, had tears in her eyes and was over the moon relieved.
You know what bothers me the most? The dad works full time and she cleans homes for extra money , so they were turned down for food stamps. If they did not have a job, they could get them. Yeah, lets punish those who work and really try to do the right thing and not help them at all. Grrrrrr. I could go on, but I know everyone feels the same. It is so frustrating!

So happy we got to help them. Alas, I am glad this drop off is over, think I will sleep a full night tonight!!!! Whew!
PS- thank you to everyone who dropped off items, I promise you all, it was all needed tremendously!!!

My project this week

I have a very special family this week that I am working on. I need all the help I can possibly get!
These parents both work, and have 4 kids. They are due in May with #5, a baby boy.
Their house caught on fire in October and they lost EVERYTHING and have been struggling to recuperate since. They even sold their 2nd car to pay for items they desperately needed.
The father works full time and the mother cleans houses (still...in her 8th month of pregnancy). Just last night her and her 8 yr old daughter put out more flyers to get her more business.
The children have no toys. Any furniture they have has been donated and they have a few items of clothing saved from the fire, but it still smells of smoke :( The mother gives a sicount to the people she cleans for if they give her donations of clothing for the children.
They are truly struggling.

I plan on going there later this week with everything they need (and more). The little girls birthday is this Sunday and I want to make it special for her, as she has taken on the role of 2nd mom to the younger children.

Here are the ages of the children and what they need:
Patrick - age 9. Has autism and cannot read but is in special ed. He is anywhere from a size 8-12 and he is very hard on his clothes so he needs extra. He cannot play with normal 9 yr old boy toys.

Stacy- 8 this Sunday. Size 7/8. She is very mature for her age, the mom could not even come up with toys for her as she has not had any toys in a long time. I would like to get her good books and toys for her birthday!

Romeo- age 6. size 6. Loves matchbox and cars!

Karly - 2 yrs old, size 2T but can range to a 4T. She likes the regular baby girl stuff.

Baby boy due May, has NOTHING. I already have a pack n play, stroller, car seat and swing. Anything else anyone can give is wonderful.

The one thing the mom said is that they all really want bikes. 2 boy bikes and 1 girl bike (and a small one for little Karly :) )

***Added: An adult bike would be great, as they share a car and the dad can use it for work.
Here are adult sizes they need: Mens 32 x 32 or 32 x 34 pants. Medium shirts. 8 - 8 1/2 shoes.
Kids shoes: 3-5 boys/men shoes. 11-1 boys. 8 1/2 - 10 women. 1-2 girls.

Please help! EM us if you have anything for them!
THANK YOU!!!!
God bless!

Blessings on this holiday morning

Most of our population were celebrating this week, One Small Wish was quite busy handing out holiday dinners and fun goodies for the kids, trying to brighten peoples lives, even if just for one day.

Jenn, our south Jersey coordinator, needed help on her deliveries, and brought in a wonderful volunteer, Holly. Holly made the delivery to a family who desperately needed infant items for their premature baby. I asked for permission to reprint part of her letter after her delivery.


Hi Jenn,
I just completed the last delivery to the mother of the preemie baby. With the help of my wonderful husband, we loaded up his truck and I made the delivery. I met both C and the baby's mother at the mother's apt and a bunch of people and children helped carry everything in. They were surprised to see (and said so) how much was donated to them. They were extremely thankful and it was so nice to see the support from all the other people there that helped unload the things. The baby, B, is doing well, is three pounds now and has been taken off of oxygen and is breathing on her own. She'll hopefully be able to come home soon. They showed me pictures of her, she's so tiny and cute. I have to say this delivery brought me to tears. To see that there is such poverty in our own country and neighboring towns is such a eye opener.
It's crazy to see how America joins together to help other countries (ie Haiti), yet ignores what is going on right next to us. We can either help or turn a cheek, and I'm so glad I've found a way to help, even though I feel like I'm not even doing much.

Thanks again! Holly

I am not sure how many times I felt like Holly did. I get to a home where they have to ration our pasta for the week, sleep on the floor, wonder if next month they will have to find a shelter to stay in, listen to their kids pray for mommy to stop crying. It still gets the pit of my stomach when I walk into a home with conditions worse than what I saw in Guatemala.
The experience is upsetting, humbling and full of joy at the same time.

Today, whether you are still celebrating Passover, or Easter, we ask that you pray for those who are having a hard time, right in your own backyard. Lets not turn a cheek, lets keep working together to help our brothers and sisters. Lets celebrate LIFE and all it has to offer, and there is no better way to live than to GIVE to others.

Blessings and a VERY happy holiday to all.
And PS...Holly...do not think for one second that you are not doing enough. You just changed one family's life, they will never forget what you did. Congratulations on that.
Seegal