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Merry Christmas and good will to all... |
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Due to the generosity of the faith community of Holy Cross,
friends, and family my mission was made possible through their donations.
Additional funds outside of my CMMB fund raising and the tribute page have given
me the opportunity to provide essential classroom supplies for the students. In addition, I have been able to introduce recreational skills and
interests for the individuals I serve.
To date, those additional funds paid for a
printer for the Tawawami project, entrance and transportation for swimming
excursions for the Morning Star students, $900 was gifted to
Morning Star for their building project of the boys' dorm – which was only a
blemish to its demanding costs. An
electric saw was purchased to speed the process of the building itself. Unfortunately, due to the varied
blackouts, the carpenter has to periodically return to the traditional hand held saw. Trust me, we are all
smiling when the lights come on!
The purchases of rulers, protractors, color pencils,
classroom erasers, pens, hand held pencil sharpeners that have
replaced students razor blades have all enhanced my teaching and the individual
classrooms.
Grade 7 at Holy Cross just recently donated $400 that will go to the purchase
of crayons, which has been non-existent at this time in the classroom. The crayons will be distributed to the children upon their return in January.
My sister, Jane and her husband Ron, recently held a holiday
party and guests generously brought a myriad of school supplies that Jane and
Ron will be bringing upon their visit to me December 15th…10 more
days – but whose counting? Their friends were extremely enthused, and Jane and Ron can only bring a
fraction of the donations.
Evidently three large containers will remain in the states until a route to get them here safely is determined.
Any ideas?
My husband and friends have sent packages in and around
Halloween, and I haven’t received them to date. I am somewhat tentative now about sending packages directly
because it may take three to four months if not longer. However, I am still hopeful…even though I continuously
check the outside post office box in town, and then I go inside and inquire. Let’s just say, the postmaster knows me now, and I’m
not going to get the vote for Miss Popularity!
As
you can see the list of needs is endless.
The other day, I extended my classroom studies with the
students that remained during the break and traveled into town for a restaurant
visit. We had a wonderful time,
but I must say the highlight of our trip was their first time in an
elevator. Their faces and giggles
were memorable. Tonight, they will
be attending their first play performed by a local private school. I am looking forward to seeing
their faces light up more so than the play, The Sound of Music,
itself.
Friends and family continue to ask me, “How can
they contribute." I’ve found tremendous success with donations that go directly to my
Jersey home and my husband has placed those funds directly into my personal
account, and then I draw it from an ATM machine in town and do the purchasing
accordingly. I may be missing
Christmas with my loved ones, but I suddenly feel like Santa Claus due to the generosity of donors.
Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas!