Live Interview on WBTV on Bounce AM

On Friday morning Tyler and I were interviewed during a local news program about our service projects. I must say I was sooooo very proud of Tyler, he did an excellent job. Click the link below to view the interview.  

http://youtu.be/LGnzvXkH210

Hydration 4 The Homeless Update

Due to the on again off again showers we are going to postpone today's service project. 😢We will share the new date soon. Thank you for all of the support received thus far. 

July Service Project: Hydration 4 The Homeless

We are going to pass out water to the homeless. Last year we did this and had given out 3 cases of water in just 2 blocks. This year we would love it if you and your family can join us on Saturday, July 19,2014. We will start at the Hal Marshall building at 11:00 am and walk our way through uptown Charlotte until we have given out our last bottle of water. All you need to bring are your coolers and 2-3 cases of cold water to help the homeless stay hydrated. If you don't live in Charlotte, you can do this as well in your respective community. Send me a message and I will create an event for your city with your meeting time and location. Please take and share pictures with the hashtags #Hydration4Homeless. This is a great and easy way to get your children involved in helping the community. #communityofgiving #intentionalparenting #13days4love

Pictures from last year's service project passing out water

July Service Project announcement coming

July Service Project Announcement coming later today. We hope many of you will join in and for those that don't live on Charlotte, gather your family and friends to do it in your respective areas. #communityofgiving #intentionalparenting #13days4love

Tyler's Birthday Service Project: Bounce 4 Books

Tyler wanted to do an activity that involved physical activity in a way that helps people, specifically other children. Well April 13-19 is National Library Week, and we have been frequenting the library recently checking out books, so we decided to do an activity that benefitted children through the library. 

Join us at BounceU Charlotte on Wednesday, April 16 from 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm. Admission is $10 per child (adults are free) and all proceeds will go to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation's Summer Reading Program. If you are unable to attend but would like to make a donation to the library you can do so online, https://give.cmlibrary.org/pages/securegiving. You can designate your donation directly to the Summer Reading Program by selecting 'Other'. Also if you would put In Honor of Tyler Lewis so the library knows you are donating because of Tyler's Birthday Service Project that would be greatly appreciated. ***This is NOT a birthday party so please do not bring gifts!***

Why did we choose the library?
During the summer months, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library sees an increase in books being checked out thanks to the popular Summer Reading Program.To meet the demand, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation is hoping to be able to purchase an additional 10,000 books for their Summer Reading Program.

In 2013, the 15,591 school age children and teens who participated in Summer Reading read more than 213,448 hours. Plus, 2,771 pre-K children signed up for Wee Read, a program dedicated to building reading skills with little ones who aren’t quite readers yet.

Summer is of particular interest because children who read during the summer months can avoid losing up to half of what they learned in the previous school year compared to students who do not read during June, July, and August.

For the Library, it is important that children are not only reading, but reading books they truly love. However, they continue to find some books spike in popularity so quickly that they cannot keep them on the shelves. For instance, the young adult book Divergent has 277 people on the waitlist. Students could wait all summer to check out this book.

Join us in helping the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library by giving today to the 10,000 Book Challenge.

We hope to see you Wednesday!

February Service Project Update: Cell Phones for Safe Alliance

Delivering donated cell phones to Safe Alliance

In February we did two service projects, the first was Sentiments 4 Seniors in which handmade Valentine cards were given to residents at two local nursing homes.  The second project was collecting used cell phones to donate to Safe Alliance. Safe Alliance assists over 20,000 people annually throughout Cabarrus County, Charlotte, Lake Norman and Union County. Safe Alliance provides hope and healing for people in crisis.  They have multiple programs and services so of which include:

• 24 hour sexual assault/rape and domestic violence crisis lines.
• Safety planning for survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence and child abuse.
• Shelter for survivors of domestic violence.
• Hospital accompaniment for survivors of sexual assault/rape (24/7).
• Trauma informed counseling for adults or children who have witnessed or experienced physical or sexual abuse or other traumatic situations.
• Adult support groups for survivors of sexual assault/rape and domestic violence.
• Teen support groups for survivors of sexual assault/rape.
• Post-traumatic stress debriefings for groups affected by violence.
• Cell phones that are collected are refurbished by a third party organization that makes a donation to Safe Alliance based on the number and type of phones collected. 

The cell phones that are donated are refurbished by a third party organization that makes a donation to Safe Alliance based on the number and type of phones collected.

March Monthly Service Project Part 1: Community Birthday Celebration

My birthday request was by asking people to volunteer for four hours during the month of March.  So how do you think I spent my birthday....yep, by volunteering. Every year I take off of work for my birthday to spend the day celebrating myself.  This year I spent the day having a spanish lesson, parent/teacher conference, massage & facial and then I threw a party.  Not just any party, but a party for the children that attend an after school program where I have volunteered a few times this year. What is a party without favor bags?!?!?  So I reached out to friends and family asking for donations to go in the swag bags and boy did they come through!!  A big thank you to the following people that donated items for the 36 swag bags and prizes that were given to each child:

- Donyell Aycock
- Alfreda Belton & Microsoft
- Lara Harris & Project L.I.F.T.
- Kevin Henry & Snyder's-Lance
- Warren Hollier
- Denada Jackson & Project L.I.F.T.
- Arden McLaughlin & Charlotte Public Library Foundation
- Cynthia Parker-Ham
- Beverly Spainhour
- Nancy Stroud
- Liz Thomas-Hollier
- Jada Wellman & WBTV

Everyday when they arrive at after school they have two writing assignments; one is a cursive writing exercise and the other a journal topic.  The executive director let me choose both items for the day and I chose the following:
Cursive Writing Exercise: 'I am unique because......'
Journal topic: 'Describe what you can do to help your community. Be specific!'

It was definitely a busy but very FOURfilling day.  Happy Birthday to me!! Who else is going to help me celebrate this month?!?!?