The holidays are past and we look forward to the upcoming New Year. We really achieved quite a lot over the past few weeks, even though we scaled back. If only I had more time to devote to working this cause on a more regular basis. It is a wish that I think about quite often. However, I know that our limited effort helped hundreds of people this holiday season:
- One Cub Scout troop shipped over 100 pairs of mittens and hats to our Appalachian community
- A school in Mountain Lakes for physically disabled children collected and shipped over 100 pairs of mittens/gloves and hat to the children in our adopted Appalachian community
- Premier Medical Center in Morristown collected dozens of gifts for the children
- Sankyo Pharma collected dozens of gifts for the children
- BASF NTT Division collected hundreds of gifts, almost 50 winter coats, and provided funding for shipping items to the communities we support
- Cafe Beethoven in Chatham helped collect hats/gloves for the children we support
- One individual in Rockaway organized a collection of holiday gifts for the FACT NJ children
- Several individuals sponsored families in NJ and NY once again for the holidays
We have also started working with individuals and schools to sponsor families in our Appalachian community. One woman has been mailing care packages to "her family" on a regular basis. The 5th Grade class at Assumption is adopting two additional families. we have at least 10 more families that need sponsors so, perhaps for the upcoming year, we will be able to achieve that modest goal. If only we could help more families...but that would take time and money which we do not currently have. But we are helping these families and our efforts are making a huge difference. Children will be warm this winter, families will be fed, and hope restored to a very oppressed region of our country...one that has been oppressed for generations, not due to recent natural disasters. While the eyes of America are turned to the Gulf Region, we have to remember that these other communities need our support in order to survive, too.
Here's to 2006 and all that it brings.
