Sincerely Stacie: My Day at Mission of Hope

Thursday, December 23, 2010

My Day at Mission of Hope

Yesterday I spent my day volunteering at the Mission of Hope. We had to assemble food baskets for 225+ people. The baskets included rolls, corn, beans, apples, oranges, potatoes, candy, pie, rolls, ham, and milk. Each of these baskets were tied with a ribbon and a card from the Mission and from Kurt and Brenda Warner. Yes, THAT Kurt Warner. His foundation donated $5000 and 58 Columbia coats toward this Christmas giveaway. Kurt is from Cedar Rapids and his mom, Sue, was there helping out all day as well.

After getting their basket, the patron was able to pick out 1 coat, hats and gloves, and a toy for each child in their family. That was where I spent my time. I helped fathers and mothers choose toys for their children, many times choosing the Zhu Zhu pets that were generously donated by the Zhu Zhu Pets 10,000 Smiles Campaign that I wrote about in this post.

It was such a blessing to see the many, many volunteers giving up there day (many I'm sure could have been shopping or baking) and instead gave their day to see God's work happen right in front of our eyes. Everyone was so completely thankful for the gifts of food and clothing and toys. Many of them mentioned how their child or themselves didn't have a winter coat and now would be able to keep warm. For some, this was the only opportunity to get a gift for their child. It was just an awesome reminder of how much I am blessed and I am so glad to be able to share my blessings with others.

Here are some photos from my day. I had such a fun day and there were many, many laughs. Thanks to Julie, Tina, Kimmie, Tom, Jeanie, Garret, and LuEllyn for making my day so much fun.