What To Do: Free Summer Bowling

If you are like me, you are constantly looking for fun activities. I wanted to share a few opportunities for free bowling for children during the summer. Most deals are for 2 free games of bowling per child per day. Make sure you check the days of the week and times when the vouchers are valid.

Happy Bowling!

1.     http://www.kidsbowlfree.com

2.     http://bne.wemailmarketing.com/landing/cooltobowlsignup/

3.     https://bowlsummergames.com

May Service Project: Pay It 4ward

Let me state the obvious.... yes, it has been a while since we have updated the blog. The reason there has been such a delay... it's a little personal, but stay tuned for the reason in a future post. This post is to share what we did for our May service project (and yes, we still owe you April's, but before I get further behind I figured I needed to get this out). For May we borrowed an idea from one of my fellow Howard Bison and her children, we decided to pay it forward.


We made note cards that said, "Have a dollar on us. Please pay it forward." and stapled a $1 bill to the back of them.

We visited the Dollar Tree on Freedom Drive in Charlotte and placed the notecards near/between various items throughout the store and quickly hurried out of the store. Tyler commented that it would be pretty cool if someone reached out that found one of the cards to share how they used it, I agreed but we know that a few people benefitted and that was all that mattered.

I kind of wish that we had been recorded placing the note cards around the store, not to capture the activity but to help me teach my child how to not draw attention to himself. Clearly I'm basically saying I want my child to be a better sneak, but he needs to learn the skill of being incognito, I mean how else will he successfully pull of planning a surprise party/event for me in the future?! ;-)

This was a very simple, yet rewarding activity that we would encourage anyone to do. Pick a place, it could be a grocery store, fast food drive through, doctors office (cover the co-pay or a certain dollar amount for an unsuspecting patient), restaurant, etc.

Explorers Of Greatness: 3rd Graders That Rock!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!! Let me tell y'all about those 3rd graders at Oaklawn Language Academy!!!!!! After the read aloud, Tyler shared our challenge to the 3rd graders to do a service project by the end of the year and boy did those arms shoot in the air. This is the one picture I took (my father was there and took more, we will post those later) from the back of the room. Look at all of those arms raised with ideas on ways they can help others. Some of the ideas included bake sales and donating the money to help others, donating old shoes and sending them to children in other countries, growing plants and selling them to donate the money, etc. And these were on the spot ideas. I won't spill the beans on the idea they selected but I was moved with the energy and excitement they had to come up with ways to help others. #TheGivingTree #ExplorersOfGreatness #CommunityOfGiving #13Days4Love #WRAD 

Message of Thanks!!!!

We wanted to say thank you for all of your generous support in helping us Bring The Giving Tree to Oaklawn!

March Birthday Service Project: Bring The Giving Tree to Oaklawn Language Academy

March Service Project announcement!!!!!! Our project just went live on StartSomeGood! Check it out, share with your friends and contribute if you can so I can start some good. We only receive funds if we meet our goal. 

http://www.startsomegood.com/venture/ebonis_birthday_bookapalooza_4_oaklawn/campaigns/show/bring_the_giving_tree_to_oaklawn_language_academy

Random Acts of Kindness Week is here!!!

February 9-15 is Random Acts of Kindness Week. Brighten at least one person's day each day for a week by doing random acts of kindness. This is a great way for families to do things in their respective 'workplaces' (school & office) to do something nice for the people with whom they spend most of their days. Need some ideas to get your creative juices flowing?

- (Children) Purchase dessert at lunch for a classmate.

- Eat lunch with someone new.

- Write notes of appreciation to people who often go unappreciated (custodian staff, cafeteria staff, hospital volunteers, etc).

- Give $5 to the cashier at the grocery store to go towards the groceries of the person behind you.

- Mail a handwritten note to an older relative/close family friend.

- Make & share a CD of your favorite songs with a friend. 

Those are just a few ideas to get you started. If you participate, take pictures of your Random Acts of Kindness and email them to us, we'll post some at the end of each day. If you post pictures, use the hashtags #RandomActsOfKindness & #13Days4Love. 

February Service Project: Volunteer

Go to a nursing home and read to residents. Sign up and help serve a meal to guests at a local shelter or soup kitchen. Make handmade Valentine cards for guests at a residential treatment program. Reach out to your local museums and inquire about volunteer opportunities, there are plenty! Park and Rec departments also have multiple volunteer needs. The possibilities are endless! Pick an organization and/or group of people and dedicate your time to help others in need. Share pictures with us (13Days4Love@gmail.com) with a brief description of how you are helping others and we will post on our page.

January 2015 Service Project Update: Warmth 4 The Homeless

Thank you Pop (a.k.a. Tyler's grandfather a.k.a. my dad), Cedric Steele and Vanessa Haywood for your donations of hats, scarves and gloves for today's service project.  The men and women that chose items were very grateful for the much needed items to keep them warm! #CommunityOfGiving #Warmth4TheHomeless #13Days4Love #IntentionalParenting #HelpTheHomeless #Service

January Service Project: Winter Warmth 4 The Homeless

We are partnering with the Urban Ministry Center and will be participating in the 2015 Point in Time Count. This major event will help us to identify all individuals experiencing street homelessness and long-term homelessness. 13 Days 4 Love is collecting hats, scarfs, gloves and hand warmers to be donated to the homeless with whom we interact during the Point in Time Count. While we are interviewing people, we would like for them to be able to take a pair of gloves, hat, scarf or hand warmer.

We will be collecting these items until Friday, January 30. If you have items to donate, please email us, 13Days4Love@gmail.com, to schedule a place and time to meet.

Many thanks,
Eboni & Tyler

Volunteers Needed to Help the Homeless in Charlotte

This January, our community is mobilizing a major effort to identify all individuals experiencing street homelessness and long-term homelessness. We need 100+ volunteers in order to make the effort a success.  Volunteers will conduct a brief questionnaire with individuals on the street, in a camp, or at a service provider location.  Please consider volunteering your time for this important effort.  You can sign-up here.

A few details:

·         The effort will take place Thursday, January 29 – Saturday, January 31^st. While we recognize everyone’s lives are busy, we are hopeful volunteers can commit for all three days of the effort.  

·         There are a variety of times you can sign-up for, though the majority of volunteers are needed for early morning hours.

·         We want volunteers to be as well-equipped as possible, so we are asking all volunteers to participate in a 2-hour training offered on Sunday, January 25th from 2pm - 4pm or Tuesday, January 27th from 7pm - 9pm.   

·         All volunteers will be placed on a small team with a team leader, to guide you through this effort.  We recognize this might feel like a stretch outside your comfort zone, so we want to ensure you are well-supported. 

Thank you for considering giving our time to this effort.  If you have questions, you can contact Liz Clasen-Kelly at lclasen-kelly@urbanministrycenter.org.