HELP!

Okay friends, I need your help. We have less than one month left until all boxes are do...how can you help??

We need:
TOOTHPASTE
Notebooks/notepads
Pencils
Pencil Sharpeners
Crayons
Washclothes
Toys for kids ages 2-14
Socks
Stuffies

I am hoping to pack at LEAST 150 boxes...that means we need supplies for 40 or so more! We can do this-with your help! You can purchase supplies OR make a financial donation and leave the shopping to me!! Either way-PLEASE consider helping a child who may not ever have had or get another Christmas present in their life!! These boxes make their lives just *this* much better...don't you want to put a smile on a childs face?

Thank you to Tabbi R. and Melanie V. for their donations to help!

CONTEST!!

Okay, I finally have a contest for yall!! Guess how many bags of soap are pictured below to win!


Contest details:
The contest will close midnite on the 17th of October (one week from today). If more than one person guesses the correct answer, the winner will be chosen by random.org. You may only enter one guess. To enter, please leave a comment on this blog post or on my link to this page, including your name, email and guess. If no one guesses right, the closet answer will be accepted as a win. Prize is yet TBD, but it will be a good one :)

Girl, 2-4.

Okay. BY FAR my favorite age to pack for :) It's just so fun!


So I only got one picture of this box. Dont ask me why.
Anyways, whats in it?
-2 notebooks and color crayons
-Washcloth and soap
-Sesame street fork and spoon set
-An adorable jumpsuit 4T outfit I got on sale at Kmart for 1.50!!
-A little bracelet I made
-A pair of socks
-Toothbrush, 2 small toothpastes and floss
-Balloons
-Toy story happy meal toy
-Bouncy ball
-Hair Pretties!

Girl, 5-9.

Probably the most difficult age to pack for. I know what girls my age like, and what 2-4 year olds like. 5-9 year olds? Thats beyond me :)


-A barbie doll (yes, dont worry. I have already called the dollar tree managment location, to let them know I was very offended they did not have any african american, asian, southern american, etc. dolls...)
-Pack of socks
-Pez dispenser with candies
-Washcloth and soap
-Toothbrush and toothpaste
-hair pretties set
-flamingo stuffie
-snoopie stuffie (he ran away for the first pic!)

This box has a lot less than most, but the barbie thing takes a lot of room up!

All packed up, snoopie waiting to meet his new friend!!

Girl, 10-14.

So the box for a 10-14 year old girl?
-A writing set and an extra notebook, pencils, and a pencil sharpener.
-Lipbalm.
-A keychain clip
-A bracelet making set.
-2 mini-jars of playdough
-balloons
-a purse/bag (that says Jesus loves you!) on it
-A plastic cup with hearts on it
-A packet of tissues
-Toothbrush, toothpaste
-A hair comb
-A seal stuffie
-A Threads of Hope bracelet
-Washclothe and bar of soap
-2 pack of cutsie socks :)

The box all packed up, minus the bag of candy that needs to go to the "box doctor" before I bring it to church, because it has the icky jolly rancher in it!

Boy, 10-14.

We have the least amount of 10-14 year old boy boxes. Cause they are harder to pack. But, heres what Ive put in a box for that age group!

What on earth do you pack for a 10-14 year old boy!?
-A watch, with battery
-A toothbrush, 2 things of smaller toothpaste
-A flashlight with 4 extra batteries
-A pack of glow-stick bracelets
-A Waterbottle with hard candy in it (the candy still needs to be put in a zip bag...whoops)
-A washcloth and bar of soap
-Pencils and pencil sharpener
-A 50 piece puzzle
-Balloons
-A pair of sunglasses (from the dollar store. Can you imagine living in africa or south america and NOT having a pair of sunglassesa? What a great idea to include these!)
-Neosporin lip balm


The box all packed up. You can kind see under the flashlight all the light blue/teal. I wrapped the sunglasses in two pieces of tissue paper. You have to remember that 90% of these boxes are going to rural areas...and after traveling by boat and or plane, they travel by tiny boats, on top of camels or elephants, or on a persons bicycle to reach these children...and Im sure many of them are dropped on the way. Thats one important thing to remember when you pack your box...make sure things fit well, and are NOT breakable. And if they are, make sure that you wrap them in tissue paper or the like to keep them from braking!

Boy, 5-9.

(Above) The box is already to be shipped off!

Okay..what does a 5-9 year old boy want in his box?
-Socks,
-Turtle stuffed animal
-Avatar action figure
-iQ "study putty" (like a silly putty)
-Soap and washclothes
-Bat of candy
-Pencils, pencil sharpener, and erasers.
-Bouncy Ball
-School Scissors
-Threads of Hope bracelet
-Balloons
-Deck of Playing cards.
-Flip Flops

Something you might notice is that this shoebox is packed in a sterlite plastic container...there are pros and cons to that fact. The pro is that the child now also has a reusable bucket...for carrying water, storing food, toys, etc. The con is that when these are packed into the larger boxes at the warehouse, they can crack, and are harder to fit...either way, it doesnt matter :)

Boy, 2-4

Here's a box that I've packed for a 2-4 year old boy.

1. The box, all packed and ready to be shipped off the the Minnesota processing center, where it will be checked, categorized, scanned, and packed into a larger box containing at least 14 boxes...then sent of to meet it's new friend :)

2. Here is the box as it appears when it will be first opened. All packed up with the CUTE stuffie on top...I love these little lizzard stuffies-the light blue ones are my favorite!

3. The contents of the box all spread out for you to see...
-A coloring book with crayons on sale, 2/$1.00, so 50 cents.
-A jar of blue playdough, 88 cents at walmart with a 50 cents off coupon: 38 cents.
-A hat and mitten set, bought each for 50 cents on target clearance
-The lizzard stuffie, dollar store
-Toothbrush (25 cents, came in pack of 4)
-Toothpaste (50 cents, came in 2 pack at dollar store)
-Bundle of q-tips
-Monster truck car toy (on sale at walmart I believe, 2/$1.00)
-Packet of tissues, 25 cents, 4/$1.00 sale at Walmart
-3-pack of socks, dollar store
-Washcloth(8 pack for $2 so 25 cents) and bar of soap-3/$1.00 at dollar store, so 33 cents)

So, there you have it-a box for a 2-4 year old boy. Every box is different-I dont think any other 2-4 year old boy box I've packed before or will pack will have the exact same things-and thats what makes the box so special!

Why We Pack Candy...

....in a SEPARATE bag.


See that blue goop? Yeah, look below. Thats a half-empty jolly rancher. That decided to melt. All over the rest of the candy in the bag.


This is why I pack all the candy in a SEALED bag. Luckily, the jolly rancher only melted on the candy, not onto the toys. Can you imagine opening the first Christmas present you've ever received in your life, only to find that the stuffed animal and the coloring book are covered in melted, sticky, goop? It'd be sad :(

So, thats why we need zip-lock bags!

(I discovered this bag of candy in a box I packed about a month ago, just opened it today to take pictures...yikes! Before I bring my boxes to church to drop-off late October/early November, I will once again go through every box to make sure they are 100% ready to meet their new friend!)

Biggest Needs

Thank you to EVERYONE who has had interest in helping me by donating supplies to pack these boxes!! It is so exciting to see how many different people are becoming involved!

Today I ordered 25 free coloring books called "You Can Be a Nurse" from the nurses hotline or something online (: Yay-free!!

Here is a list of our greatest needs right now:
-Toothpaste (sometimes you can get 2 packs at the dollar store or use coupons and get them super-cheep at walmart/target. Yesterday I got a box of full size toothpaste for 24 cents with tax!)

-Washclothes (every box we pack we include soap and washclothes...we have LOTS of soap...but only 3 washclothes left! You can get a huge pack-like 22-of these at Walmart for about 4 bucks or something crazy cheap like that!)

-Hard Candies (Gum, lollipops, etc...no chocolate, tootsie rolls or food items (ie fruit snacks, granola bars, etc.)

-Socks, ages 2-14 boys and girls

-Toothbrushes for teen boys (ie big ones-we have lots of pink and purple, nothing else)

-Filler items for boys and girls. Stuffed animals, small puzzles, small balls, dolls, card games (numbers, not letters), crayons, notebooks, floss, pencils, pencil sharpeners, markers, flashlights with extra batteries, small tools (screwdrivers, hammers, bungee ties), hair pretties...anything that your 2-14 year old boy or girl would like!

-Zip lock bags, sandwich size (to put candies in...who wants a melted candy on their notebook and hair pretties?)

Things we can't pack: Any guns (includes water guns :( but we don't know if these boxes are going to a child who lives in a war-ridden country) army toys, and chocolate, used items, any food items, used items, liquids, lotions, nail polishes, no aerosol cans, glass containers, etc. (Deoderant can be solid, toothpaste is accepted)

Here is the list on Operation Christmas Child:
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/Pack_A_Shoe_Box/
Anything that is included on this list can also be included :)


Thank you again to everyone who is wanting to help-it means SO much to me to get so much support!!


(stay tuned for an update with PICTURES of all the boxes packed so far!)

Update!

Sorry to all who follow that I havent updated in so long. Going to Latvia in June, I took a small break from packing OCC boxes.

Now that I'm back at it, we are in need of A LOT! We are only 1/3 of the way to the goal of 365 boxes....which means we are way behind in packing!

How can you help?

Sponsor a Box
-Be a Half Box Sponsor: $7 will go to either shipping of one box or the purchasing of filler items for one box.
-Be a Box Sponsor: $15 sponsors one full box-it covers the shipping cost and also purchases supplies for one box.

Collect and Donate Supplies
Have your family, friend, youth group or Bible study group collect supplies! I will include a list of needed supplies at the bottom of this post. This is a great way to get involved and help those in need! I can even come to your youth group, etc. to share a little bit about Operation Christmas Child/Samaritan's Purse and why I decided to pack so many boxes!

Thank you to Kimberly T and Diana G for their donations of supplies, as well as everyone else! It couldn't be done with out your help!


Supply List
(this is the most current list we have...if something isnt on the list-feel free to ask! We can use just about anything!)

Packing Needs:
-2 Rolls Scotch Tape
-200 Large Rubberbands (large enough to wrap around the box)
-300 lunch sized zip lock bags

Filler Items:
-Full sized toothpaste
-Toothbrushes (kids and adults)
-Floss
-Chapstick/lipbalm
-Nail sets for girls
-Deoderants for boys and girls (must be a solid-no liquid or gels)
-Q tips
-Bars of soap
-Washclothes
-Socks, ages 2-18 boy and girl
-Hard Candy (lollipops/dumdums, mints, tictacs, sprees, smarties, etc.)
-Gum (any flavors!)
-Toys for children ages 2-18

• Small Puzzles
• Toy cars
• Bouncy balls
• dress up toys
• play dough
• decks of cards
• Baby dolls
• stuffed animals
  
• spinning tops
• kids purses, wallets, etc.
• hair pretties for girls
  

Other Items:
-spiral bound or smaller notebooks (no composition books-they dont fit, but the spirals curve enough)
-Pens, pencils
-Pencil shapreners
-Crayons, markers
-Coloring books
-Small blanets
-Plates, Cups, Silverware
-Small tools for teen boys
-Flashlights
-AA Batteries

Do NOT purchase:
-Toy snakes
-Army men toys, guns, airplanes, etc.
-Any liquids (deoderants, snow globes, lip gloss, nail polish, etc.)
-Any food items (crackers, fruit snacks, etc.)
-Any chocolate (hersheys, tootsie rolls, reeses, etc.)

If you are interested in donating supplies, sponsoring a box (or more!), having me share with your group about OCC, don't hesitate to contact me at: jenn_anderson@hotmail.com

Behind.

Very, very behind in packing boxes. I'm like 70 boxes behind! Yikes!
We are in SUPER NEED of bars of soap, toothpaste and socks for ages 2-14, boys and girls in order to keep packing these boxes!! We can't do it without your help!

Thank you to Thom J. for sponsoring 2 boxes:)

Deals and Steals:

-Walmart has those Miley Cyrus Max Juniors T-Shirts on clearance for $1.00!! I think I've bought about 10 or so, I just grab a few every time that I'm at Walmart!

-Walmart also has the Granimals babies/toddlers shirts on clearance, I've been buying 4T shirts there (boys and girls) for $2.00 a piece.

-The dollar store under Walmart in Delafield has AIM toothpaste for a dollar (obviously) but it comes with a free travel size, which is actually big enough to just use for a whole seperate box! So you get a 2-for-1 deal!!


If you are able to voulenteer to help fold, pack, and organize boxes one day, please let me know! Also if you are interested in donating supplies, let me know!

Thanks!!

Oh my...

that was the look the cashier had on her face when I bought 24 things of toothpaste today at the dollar store! I rode my bike out to Walmart/the Dollar Store...it was a long ten miles...but SO beautiful! I decided that since today is earth day, I would celebrate by riding my bike instead of driving!

Anyways, I got a lot of toothpaste, and other things we need, but theres a lot more we still need.

What we are in "urgent" need of...(ie we dont have enough to pack more boxes!)

-Composition notebooks and smaller (full sized dont fit)
-Coloring books and crayons
-Socks, boys and girls ages 2-18
-Bars of soap
-Small stuffed animals or dolls
-Hard candy

Thank you all so much for your help-
thank you to Thom J. for fully sponsoring two boxes, and to Kimberly for her donation of items!

Update

Haven't updated in a while...sorry!
Life has been very busy lately, with 6 schoolweeks left, and preparing to go to Latvia (www.roadtolatvia.blogspot.com)

Thank you SO much to Sahia, Rick and Ray Bidwill for all the supplies you donated! I have more things to put boxes together, so that's exciting(: Although I'm "behind" on packing boxes, I have a feeling we are going to get caught up pretty soon here!

Deals and Steals

Thanks to Kimberly T. for her donation of stuffed animals and filler items for the boxes! Got to pack some of them today!

This week I did a good amount of shopping around, and heres what we found:

A 12-pack of Candy Canes at the K-Mart in Oconomowoc, $.10 a box on clearance, and, they dont expire til the end of 2011-the boxes are being shipped December of 2010, so we're good to go(: We bought 2 boxes, but will be going back for more.

A 4 (or 5?) pack of pens, from the Target in Delafield. These were originally $1.00 a pack, but all the "red dot" dollar items were 75% off-so, $.25 per package of pens. We bought 8 of them.

A 24-pack of Mainstays washclothes from the Walmart in Delafield (various colors), for $4.00...they are great quality, not to mention they were less than $.17 a piece...at the dollar store, you usually only get a 2-pack for a dollar, if you're really lucky, a 4 pack. What a deal!

I also was given coupons for crayola crayons...BOGO...so, it evened out to $.42 a box...which to me is still pricey, seeing as how during the "back to school" sales at Walmart, they are only $.25 a box!

I think thats all for now, other than I will note that if you have an extra dollar or two, pick up a few boxes of toothpaste at the dollar store (or if you find them cheeper somewhere else(: ) as we have 14 already packed boxes that still need toothpaste, and a whole lot of boxes left for the year(:

Hope yall have a great day tomorrow!

More Packing(:

First off, thank you to the Bidwill family for all the work they have done so far in helping collect supplies...you guys are awesome!

Today Jack and I packed some more boxes...Jack was rather proud of the fact that he is smarter than me and figured out how to correctly fold the boxes(:


We are still in desperate need of a lot of things....toothpaste, soap, pencil sharpeners, socks, and filler items. If you can donate anything, please let me know!

Hope yall have a great week! Also remember to check out www.roadtolatvia.blogspot.com (:

Thanks and have a great ntie!

Sorry, Jack...

...but headbands and hair pretties are for girls.

Important

When we talk about including hygiene items, you probably think of toothpaste, a toothbrush, soap, deodorant. Yet there are two things that you don't think of right away, but your mind breezes right over them. Why? Because you have them so readily available to you you don't think twice about them. Hint: They are the most important hygiene items we include in a box!

How many days can you go without Q-Tips or Chapstick? Especially in the middle of a cold, dry winter? These are two of the very most important things we pack. They give the child the ability to feel fully clean (soap and a washcloth only go so far) and to experience healed lips, many for the first time ever. So many children live with cracked, dry, bleeding lips. When we get chapped lips, we put on chapstick and don't think twice about it. When these children don't have chapstick available, they lick their lips, causing temporary relief, but actually causing more damage by drying the lips out more.

Please consider donating boxes of Q-Tips or a handful of chapsticks or lip balm (solid only, please. Lip gloss is considered a liquid and cannot be shipped).

Hope you are all are having a great Thursday!!

P.S. Happy Birthday, Mom! Hope you have an even better Thursday!

Day 40!

(Packing some more shoeboxes today!)

Today we should have 40 shoeboxes packed...but we only have about 30! That's where you come in! We are in need of the following items:
-Toothpaste
-Pencil Sharpeners
-Notebooks
-Soap
-Chapstick and lip balm
-Coloring books and Crayons
-Socks for ages 2-14
-Hard Candy
-Teen boy tools/toys/filler items
-2-4 year old boy and girl filler items
-Washcloths

If you can donate some of the above items, please contact me (jenn_anderson@hotmail.com, or you can write to Jenn Anderson @ PO BOX 236, Dousman, WI 53118)

Thank you to Kimberly Taugher for her donation of toys and filler items for the boxes! It is very appreciated(:

2/08/2010

Hope you all enjoyed Jacks last post(: I think it's a fun way to keep you guys up to date!
We currently need a lot more box sponsors and supplies.

Immediate Needs:
You can donate any box "filler" items (toys and hygiene items) but here's what we currently need:
-pencil sharpeners.
-toothpaste. lots and lots of toothpaste.
-socks for boys and girls (ages 2-14)
-washcloths

Deals and Steals:
One of the biggest deals we have found yet is on washclothes. At Walmart (I purchased them from the Delafield walmart) there is a 22-pack of "dish clothes" for $4.00 (I think). The package has a variety of colors and even though they say they are for dishes, they are VERY soft! This equates to $.18 a piece, where as you can only get a 2 pack (sometimes a 4 pack if you are lucky) at the dollar store. What a steal!

Box Sponsors:
We currently need more box sponsors. You can sponsor an entire box for $14. $7 of this goes to buy filler items, and the other $7 goes to the shipping of the box. You can also be a partial sponsor and donate $7, which will be matched with another $7 to fully complete a box. ALL box sponsors (whether partial or full) are encouraged to write a letter to the child, or fill out the "about me" picture page which can be found on the OCC website. If you include an envalope with your name and address on it, you may get a letter back!

Update:
Jack and I are behind on packing shoeboxes, partially to a lack of supplies and partially due to time. This past week I was laid off from a nannying job (the family I nanny for no longer needed care), so money is tight and there isn't a lot of extra money in the budget for filled items (I used to spend $50-$75 a week on filler things!) We are hoping to catch up soon!

How to Pack a Shoebox

(Brought to you by Jack, a friend of mine who has been helping me pack the shoeboxes!)

First, you need to find a standard size shoebox. We chose to use the Operation Christmas Child "Deco" boxes that we requested to be sent to us. Folding them to make a box (they come flat!) was quite the process...thank goodness I have a tail to help!The second step is to then decide if your box is for a girl or boy, and cut out the label...quite a tricky process when they don't make scissors your size!Then you decide what age group you want your box to be (ages 2-4, 5-9 or 10-14)Then, pack your shoebox with toys, hygiene items, etc. In every box that Jenn and I pack, we include: Soap and washcloth, toothbrush and toothpaste, q-tips, a stuffed animal, hard-candy, chap-stick, age-appropriate toys, socks, a coloring book and crayons or a notebook with pencils and pencil sharpeners and other fun items!
Lastly, we include $7 in each shoebox to help cover shipping. The money should be placed in the envelope that is included on the flyer that you can get from Jenn, your church, or by visiting Operation Christmas Child's website! (It's the same flyer that we cut the boy/girl labels out of!)

Welcome!

Today is day 33 of 365.

Let's start from the beginning. December 8-10, I was privileged to travel to an Operation Christmas Child warehouse in Minnesota with 5 other ladies and one gentleman. There, we inspected and packed the shoeboxes filled with gifts and hygiene items that would go to underprivileged kids throughout the world!

What is Operation Christmas Child?
Check out there website, http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/index/ for more information!

Our immediate needs are:
-Toothpaste
-Pencil Sharpeners and Notebooks
-Hard Candies
-Teen (boy and girl) filler items for ages 10-14

Hope you are all having a great week! I will update soon, I promise(: