I have this crazy idea....
Indulge me while I explain...
:O)
My sister started this amazing charity called
"Project Rudolph was created to give deployed and deploying service members a bit of holiday cheer. Our goal is to provide gift bags for not only the military members transitioning through the airport on days leading up to Christmas, but also for active duty Air Force members who work round the clock to keep the airport running smoothly, injured troops at the hospital, injured warriors at transition barracks, deployed Army, Navy and Marines working in Germany, and our deployed troops downrange. Last year we were able to send Project Rudolph bags to Iraq, Afganistan, Kuwait and North Africa.
Project Rudolph has continued to grow and expand, providing nearly 15,000 gift bags for Christmas 2011!! Our goal for 2012 is again ... 15,000 gift bags!!! We hope to have 5,000 produced in Germany and 10,000 produced out of our stateside headquarters in Southern Idaho. Many bags were sent downrange after the needs at the airport base and the hospital were met. Our new goal requires more people to be involved. 15,000 brown paper lunch bags need to be decorated, 45,000 letters need to be written, 15,000 ornaments need to be donated, 15,000 candy canes need to be sent over and thousands of bags of candy need to be donated. The cost of shipping this much, also needs to be met.
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| My sister and niece handing out bags in Germany. |
For some soldiers, this was the only Christmas gift they received.
We are looking for volunteers to become involved with writing letters, providing other items for inclusion in the gift bags, and helping assemble the bags for distribution. We also need monetary donations to help with shipping costs."
We are looking for volunteers to become involved with writing letters, providing other items for inclusion in the gift bags, and helping assemble the bags for distribution. We also need monetary donations to help with shipping costs."
As you can see, every year
WE. ARE. BUSY.
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| My Mom, in a funny hat! |
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| My sister in a funny hat! |
In order to meet our goal every year, we have to
BEG BEG BEG
for letters & ornaments.
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| My Dad packing boxes. |
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| My daughter, (purple) and nieces writing letters. |
Collecting 15,000 ornaments and TRIPLE that in letters is difficult!
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| Me, (on the right) & friends making ornaments. |
So I propose this:
Now {10 A day} doesn't mean 10 EVERY day. Just 10 in a day!
My goal is to post (at least once a week!) ten ornaments I have made, and hopefully be able to post pics of ornaments from YOU!!
I want to get people involved writing letters and making ornaments...
Just 10!!
Can we do that?
I think I can!!
Can you??
Here are some different ornaments I have come up with.
None of them take much time or expense.
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| Stuffed Christmas trees... Easy Peasy!! |
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| Canning lids w/ fabric, ribbons & buttons. |
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| Crocheted ornaments. Right~ mine. Left~ my 9 yr old daughter! |
No Excuses!! Anyone can do it!!
My sister has pledged to make 1,000 ornaments this year, and already has 450 finished!!!!
I've gotta get CRACKIN'!!!
How About You???
Join in the fun!!
Here are the guidelines:
One of the most important aspects of our Project Rudolph Christmas Bags are our ornaments. These ornaments prove to be a lasting memento of the kindness, support and love of a grateful nation to our servicemen and women. In order to make sure these ornaments survive the trip from the donors hands, through our volunteers, into the bags and to the hand of our servicemen and women we have come up with a set of guidelines that we have found to be helpful.
Guidelines for ornaments
Ornaments SHOULD be:
*flat non-breakable
*larger than 1 inch but no larger than 5 inches across
*sturdy and solid
Ornaments SHOULD NOT be:
*made of foamies. (These are cheap and easy to make, but the foamies fall apart and often stick to other things around them, ruining them)
*made of paper. (Paper ornaments are easily crushed, torn or ripped and often do not make it to our servicemen and women in one piece)
*Contain lots of glitter. (The glitter gets all over and makes a horrible mess for volunteers to deal with when assembling bags)
*made of pipe cleaners. (The pipe cleaners bend easily and lose their shape. There are a few exceptions to this, so please consider each ornament accordingly)
*made of glass.
*easily broken. (If you can drop the ornament from 4 feet and it breaks, it probably won't make it home from a war zone with a service member)
*balls. (We often get packages of glass or plastic ball ornaments. These are difficult for the servicemen and women to carry in their pockets without breaking)
Some examples of EXCELLENT ornaments are:
*fabric
*wood
*metal
*crochet
*knit
*hard plastic
*ornaments made out of old CDs or DVDs
NOTE: Many times Michaels has wonderful wooden ornaments you can buy and paint yourself, also Orientaltrading.com has many ornaments that work well and they often have sales.
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