UPDATE 11-21-2013: Congratulations to the winners of the Angel Tree donation project. The winners are: Amy, Barb, Dana, David, and Dawn. As soon as the toys have been chosen, ordered, and sent to the Salvation Army Angel Tree donation site in West Michigan and given to the Salvation Army Angel Tree program in Central Virginia, follow-up photos will be added to this blog. Please check back for further updates. Thank you to everyone for entering.
UPDATE 11-8-2013: Yesterday I visited the Richmond Salvation Army that covers the Angel Tree program for Central Virginia. M. was very helpful with choosing 10 angel cards from his area. 10 more will be helped in Grand Rapids. Thanks, M., for being a ONE!
Young or old, we can all make a difference in another person’s life and become an angel on earth.
Roger Mulder was truly an angel on earth. For years he purchased toys and gifts, loaded them into the back of his pickup truck, and delivered the toys to the Angel Tree drop off location at WoodTV 8 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The children that received one of his toys never had the opportunity to meet him. But, I am certain that Mr. Mulder felt the warmth of the smiles and laughter generated by his thoughtful and selfless act of kindness.
An act of kindness is the truest form of a win-win situation—both the giver and the recipient benefit from the generosity.
Sadly, Mr. Mulder passed away in 2009. In an effort to continue his generosity, I am conducting my own Angel Tree donation project with this post that will hopefully reach every corner of the United States.
Today’s post marks the beginning of a very special season of giving and showing thanks for those in our lives that have taken us under their wing. Please read the details of this very special giveaway as the guidelines will be strictly followed.
THE DETAILS: The giveaway for the toys and books will work as follows:
A. Parents will submit an entry into the giveaway the by posting a comment on this blog post AND an providing an email contact (emailed privately to the moderator of this blog).*
B. At the conclusion of this giveaway, 5 names will be randomly selected from the entry list. Those 5 entrants will assist their children in choosing an appropriate toy from Amazon that is within the $10-$15 price range.
C. The 5 winners will receive the toy they have selected, as a gift from the blog moderator. In addition to their toy, a duplicate toy will be sent to the Angel Tree collection site in Grand Rapds, Michigan in memory of Roger Mulder AND a duplicate toy will be delivered to the Angel Tree collection site in Richmond, Virginia. They will also receive a copy of Welcome Comfort by Patricia Polacco. Quinton Hamp, a main character in the story, was based on an employee of the Union City, Michigan school system—a real angel on earth who was ONE that made a difference.
D. The winners of the giveaway must create a handprint Angel as shown below. A photocopy or scan of the Angel with the child’s first initial of their first name and the state they live in must be added to the line at the bottom of the angel’s robe. These scans or photocopies will also be given to the Angel Tree coordinator in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in memory of Roger Mulder.
A pdf of the activity components will be furnished to the winners via email.
E. A collage of the handprint angels will also be posted onto this blog, as a virtual tribute to Mr. Mulder’s generosity.
*Due to the time sensitivity of this giveaway, the winners of the toy and book giveaway must contact the blog moderator within 3 days of the giveaway’s end. If a response is not received within three days (72 hours) of the givaway’s end, an alternate winner will be selected.
**This post will be reposted two more times in November.
ACTIVITY: TAKE SOMEONE UNDER YOUR WING & BECOME ONE THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Materials:
Blue construction paper
White paint
Pipe Cleaners
Scissors
Glue and tape
Printouts of angel parts
Crayons or markers
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Prior to creating the handprint angel, discuss how your child helps out others. For example: A big sister may help a younger sibling carry a toy that is a bit too heavy for him or her. A little one may help Mom pick up things that have rolled under a table. A classmate may invite the new child in the class to join them at the lunch table. This discussion will definitely carry over into the creating portion of the activity.
2. Print out choice of angel sheet—with either a pink or green body.
4. Cut out the angel body, head, and star. Write your name (first initial and state you live in if you are completing this for the Angel Tree ONE project) on the line at the bottom of the angel body.
6. With tape or glue, attach the ends of the pipe cleaner to the back of the angel body, shaping to form arms.
7. Attach the body and head to the dried handprints.
8. Add eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
BOOK REVIEW: WELCOME COMFORT by Patricia Polacco
The image is timeless. In fact, at some point in our lives, we have all been a character in this portrait of recess time at school.
Imagine a group of smiling children gathered in the schoolyard with the sound of laughter filling the air. Initially, the sight of such a happy scene brings fond memories of games of hopscotch, basketball, and high water-low water.
However, upon a closer look, the source of the laughter becomes more evident. The warm fuzzies created by the sight of the beaming faces are washed away. They are replaced by a sadness brought on by the tears streaming down the face of the forlorn child trapped in the center of the cluster of children. That child is the victim of bullying.
In Welcome Comfort by Patricia Polacco, this heartbreaking scene is played out in a school in Union City, Michigan. However, the setting could by any where or anytime.
Welcome Comfort (yes, his name really is Welcome Comfort) is the new kid in school. And, as often happens in situations like this, little time passes before Welcome is teased about his name, teased about his weight, and teased about his family.
This story could have easily taken any turn by the end of the book. Welcome could have turned bitter at being teased. He could have lashed out at others, turning from the bullied to the bullier. He could have withdrawn from society and never allowed his own light to shine. However, Polacco chose a brighter path for Welcome.
When Mr. Hamp, the humble school custodian, witnesses the bullying, he takes Welcome under his wing. Together with his librarian wife, Mr. Hamp shows Welcome that there are caring people in this world. Mr. Hamp becomes a mentor and a friend, forming a lifelong bond.He takes him fishing.
He teaches him how to whittle.
He invites Welcome into his heart and into his home.
With Mr. Hamp’s help, Welcome finds happiness and success. He pays this act forward by the story’s end, allowing his own bright light to shine upon others.
Through heartwarming illustrations and lyrical prose, Polacco succeeds in teaching an important lesson to both children and adults—it only takes one person to make a difference.
Intended as a read-aloud, this story of love and hope is perfect to experience while snuggling under a fluffy blanket and sipping a cup of hot cocoa. By the story’s end, everyone that reads Welcome Comfort will most assuredly be inspired to become a ONE.
*This giveaway will include a toy selected from Amazon with a total value not to exceed $15 and a copy of Welcome Comfort by Patricia Polacco. The registration will last from the posting of this blog post until midnight, November 18, 2013. EST. Five winners will be randomly selected from the entries.The books and toy will be shipped from Amazon within approximately 2 weeks following the close of the giveaway. Of the 5 selected winners, 1 will receive, in addition to the toy and book, a $10 Amazon gift card. The winners MUST contact the blog moderator to confirm receipt of their notice of winning within 3 days of the end of the giveaway. Alternate winners will be selected in the event of no confirmation contact within that three day guideline. By accepting a winning entry, the winner agrees to create a handprint angel and send a scan or photocopy of that angel to the blog administrator to be given to the Angel Tree donation site in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The giveaway is open to residents of the United States with a United State’s mailing address.
To be considered for entry into this giveaway, the entrant’s email address must be submitted to the blog administrator.
THANK YOU FOR READING THIS POST. And, THANK YOU, MR. MULDER, for showing us ALL how to become a ONE.
I hope you join me and help make another child’s light shine brighter by becoming a ONE!
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