Holiday Care Packages

Dear Everybody,

As Toys for Troops continues to send beanie babies to the soldiers, we focus, now, on the upcoming holidays. We intend, with your help, to send care packages to every soldier on our list at both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Please join us, to make sure this happens.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2007 COOKOUT & CARE PACKAGES
BRATS PROVIDED, POTLUCK SIDES & DESSERTS 4:00-8:00 P.M. GREENHOUSE AT SILVERCREEK RESTAURANT 402 N. RACE, URBANA

Our Thanksgiving care packages will be packed on November 3, as we cook brats in the Silvercreek parking lot, and come together in the greenhouse to pack up stuff for our boys. Brats will be provided; Bring a side or a dessert. In addition, everything on the Silvercreek menu, including appetizers, drinks, and desserts, will be available for purchase.

CARE PACKAGE DONATION ITEMS: Our Thanksgiving boxes will be care packages: If you'd like to donate, here are some standard items we'd love to send:

wet wipes	brown or tan t-shirts
beef jerky	AA batteries
energy bars	magazines & books
trail mix	zip-lock bags
sunflower seeds	books
eye drops	foot creams
aspirin	sunscreen
CDs	writing materials
playing cards	dice
Powdered Gatorade, and powdered drink mixes
koozies to keep bottles and cans cool
long socks (boot length, black, green, or white)
toiletries, such as deodorant, foot creams, eye drops, lip balm, q-tips...or any other item that you think would make a soldier's day a little bit nicer.

We will also enclose every card and letter that you write in our packages. Bring 'em on!

I ask you to remember that I'm just one mom whose kid shipped out to Iraq 6 months ago. My friends remind me not to be humble, but I seriously need your help in order to make these events happen. I mean it now! :-D

CHRISTMAS PACKAGES: The wrapping and packing party date and time for the Christmas event is still in the works, but we ARE going to make sure that every soldier on our list opens a gift from us at Christmas.

We're looking for "luxury" items for our Christmas packages. CDs. DVDs. Electronics. Sports items. I'm working on iPod Shuffles. If there's ANYTHING you can think of, to bring to our Christmas event, or to send us, please let us know. We want to wrap these gifts in Christmas paper, and send them soon after Thanksgiving to ensure their timely arrival.

Thank you so much for your time, and know this: Nothing that we've done so far could have happened without you, and the people you know. Please forward this to everyone in your e-mail contacts, and help us circulate the news of these events. You cannot understand how extraordinary that gesture alone will be in the success of these projects.

And thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Lori Stewart

Donations for either event can be brought to Silvercreek on Nov. 3, OR, mailed to

Lori Stewart
c/o Omegatype Typography
3101 W. Clark Road
Champaign, IL 61802

or contact us at any of the following:

Lori Stewart ljstewart@gmail.com
Jeff Jolley jolleyjeff@aol.com
Michelle Jolley mjolley1997@yahoo.com
Marcee Hampton, marceeh@gmail.com

Donation items can also be dropped off at the Champaign Police Department lobby.

_________________________

P.S. I am attaching a photo Brian took of friends, in their "barracks." These boys are still living in tents. I encourage you to blow the picture up and scroll around, to see exactly where my son and his friends are living right now. Help me brainstorm about how we can make them a bit more comfortable! Yeah!

Inc.

When Brian left for Iraq, I ordered this bracelet I'd seen at an art show months before, made by Pam Kehoe Peterson. It's inscribed with the words:

"Live the Life You've Imagined"

I bought it as a reminder to myself not to wallow, as I worried about my son. I worried that I would wear thin on you, with my worrying. I am a "soldier's mother," yes, but I'm more than that, and I can do more than this. I might paint. Or something.

Many of you have watched the turn of events in my life, since Brian was deployed in March. You read the initial call, only 4 months ago, for beanie babies, and of my astonishment when I found myself with 60 of them! And then 500. You were here as cash donations began rolling in, and local businesses stepped up: Areawide Technologies continues to provide and maintain the website, for free. Dean's Blueprints has supplied, vinyl banners, printing and mounting posters. I distribute flyers that Custom Color Graphics printed for us, for nothing. So many local businesses sent gifts and services for our spaghetti dinner.

One more has come forward, to help me out.

Champaign Attorney John Otto was directed to my blog in March '06, when a piece I wrote about roadkill memorials ended up on the front page of the News Gazette. Roadkill. The entry I thought twice about, but closed my eyes and hit "Publish Post" anyway.

It was five days after that, that I wrote about Brian enlisting in the Army, and John read that one also. And he has been reading since, and occasionally sending words of encouragement, and support. Until 3 weeks ago, he was on my list of "Friends I Haven't Met Yet."

But I have met him now.

I have an announcement:

Mister Champaign Attorney John Otto has taken on, for free, all of the paperwork and legal work involved in establishing Toys for Troops as an official Not-for-Profit Organization. That's no picnic, honey; the IRS exemption application alone is 28 pages long.

I have another announcement:

Toys for Troops is now Incorporated.

Yes! I am now the President of Toys for Troops, Inc., NFP.

I preferred the title "Queen of Toys for Troops," but our attorney insists on following something called "The Law," which states that we must have a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. Jeff Jolley is the VP, Marcee Hampton is the Secretary, and I am doubling up as the treasurer until further notice. I'm going to wear the tiara anyway, when I want to.

And once again, the generosity of others has left me dumbstruck. Teary. Mooshy. Sentimental.

"Live the Life You've Imagined," my bracelet reads.

Funny.

I find myself living a life that I never in a million years imagined.

It's pretty nice.




P.S. Thank you, John.

Lots still happening in Beanie World. While we are busy mailing beanies, and YOU are busy mailing beanies, we are sneaking around and planning events behind your back. There will be cookouts and Thanksgiving packages, and Christmas gifts. We'll be at festivals, in schools, and...hey, we'll show up wherever you want us to be.

Next up on the calendar:

September 7 & 8, Virginia Theater

The News-Gazette is hosting a collection/drive to benefit Toys for Troops during The News-Gazette Film Series at the next movie, M*A*S*H next Friday and Saturday at the Virginia Theater.

Stop by and see us, and bring your beanies, soccer balls, and care-package items. The movie plays at 7:00 Friday night, and at 1:00 and 7:00 Saturday, and we'll be there before and after.

With the holidays fast approaching, we hope to expand our focus to care packages for the soldiers at Thanksgiving and Christmas. In addition to beanies, we're going to send each soldier on our list a box filled with some basic necessities, and a few gifts and luxuries. If you'd like to donate towards care packages, feel free to bring any of the following items:

• wet wipes, beef jerky, energy bars, sunflower seeds, trail mix, Powdered Gatorade, and powdered drink mixes
• koozies to keep bottles and cans cool
• long socks (boot length, black, green, or white), brown or tan t-shirts
• AA batteries
• magazines & books
• zip-lock bags
• books
• eye drops, aspirin, foot creams
• toiletries, such as deodorant, foot creams, eye drops, lip balm, q-tips
• sunscreen
• writing materials
• CDs, playing cards, dice

...or any other item that you think would make a soldier's day a little bit nicer.

At any rate, come and see the movie, and stop and say hello!

Spaghetti Dinner Wrap Up

Better late than never, I guess, but I do have some spaghetti dinner updates for you. I spent as much time as I could in the last week with Brian, before he shipped back out to Iraq. As I write, he's in Atlanta, waiting to board a plane to Germany. From there, Kuwait, Baghdad, and as he put it, "home."

Meanwhile, I owe an update. The spaghetti dinner evening was a phenomenal success. The Spaghetti Shop in Savoy gave us a great break on the price of Spaghetti for 200. Spaghetti for 200, by the way, pretty much fills up the back of a small SUV.

It is 10 days later, and I'm still blown away by the community's response. A dozen volunteers were at the ready by 3:30 in the afternoon, some of whom I'd never met before.

20 businesses and individuals donated over $1000 worth of door prizes. We had a 50/50 raffle also, and the tickets just sold themselves. Literally; we put the tickets and some cans on the pool table, and people just bought what they wanted.

Friends, family, people I've met, and people I'd never met, showed up throughout the evening. The Mayor and his wife graced us with their presence. So many people stopped to shake Brian's hand, and tell him thank you for what he does...I wish we could send this message back with every soldier that's heading back. Every single one. I'm going to have to figure out how to do that.

By Sunday evening's end, we had over $2000 in cash, added to nearly $1000 in PayPal donations the week before. Several people took boxes already packed and addressed to a soldier, and mailed them theirselves the week after.

Spaghetti, drinks, and laughter was had, and we walked away with enough money to send all we have, by now nearly 10,000 beanies. With a few corporate sponsors up our sleeves, we'll focus our efforts on soccer balls and care packages also.

A HUGE thanks to everyone that showed up, brought desserts, helped set up, helped do dishes, and to everyone that just said "you can do it, I know you can!"

You really were the wind beneath our wings.

***************

To see more photos of the evening, click HERE.

And special thanks to these sponsors:

The Esquire Lounge, providing us with space and staff for the evening.
Dean's Blueprints

And for donations:

Body & Soul, Savoy
Boomerang, Urbana
Chilli's, Champaign
Courier Cafe, Urbana
Hairbenders Salon, Urbana
JM Jones, Urbana
Julen's Optical, Champaign
Lyn Oleson: Mia Bella Candles
Old Time Meat & Deli, Champaign
Outback Steakhouse, Champaign
Papa Del's, Champaign
Triple T Lube & Car Wash, Champaign
Silvercreek Restaurant, Urbana
Spa Envy & Salon, Champaign
Chris Lyke: Popcorn & movies
Lindsay Roseman, Mary Kaye basket
Laurie Anderson, Texas Blogger extraordinair
Dona Abel, friend, donated Best Buy gift certificate

Gaining Momentum!

The Spaghetti Dinner's Updates

I'm not fixing it all myself, this time around; I couldn't figure out how to bring 90 crockpots of spaghetti sauce into the Esquire, all by myself. I wanted to. I really wanted to. At any rate, there will be spaghetti, with meat sauce, and without.

Door Prizes: Goodness, everyone has been so nice, donating doorprizes. We have oil changes, and candles, and Mary Kaye baskets, and car washes, and gift certificates, and pizzas and pedicures, and a bunch of other stuff I don't even know yet.

50/50 Drawing. Well, I bought the tickets for that, and I'm recruiting sunny pushy personalities to sell them on Sunday night.

I'm already amazed and excited about the community response to the idea. Financial donations are already rolling in from around the state, to help out with the dinner, and the cause.

If you volunteered to help out and you haven't heard from me, please e-mail me, and I'll catch you up further.

RSVP?
(French, for Respond So Very Promptly,
according to Laverne, on Laverne & Shirley)

I know it will be a vague headcount, but if you're coming for sure, can you comment here, or send me a quick note, at ljstewart@gmail.com? It's difficult to know how much spaghetti to bring, will there be 40 or 400 at the party? Oooo, I hope it's 400, I want to meet each and every one of you!

Ok. Off to work. See you Sunday!

WIXY Interview

My first radio interview! Steve & Melissa of WIXY invited me in yesterday morning.

To hear how it went, click HERE.

VBS: Paxton Church of Christ

The kids at the Vacation Bible School at the Church of Christ in Paxton, Illinois, rallied for a week for Toys for Troops. They had one week to bring animals to their ranch: Beanie Animals.

Last week, they mailed 352 Beanies to 3 separate soldiers in Iraq.

Hey. I love you guys!