Category: Christmas

Christmas Angels, Day 3: Delivery

12/16/2013

Today we got up really early to head down to southern Ohio to deliver gifts. The snow fall the night before was quite bad, but if Santa can make it -- so can we! We made three stops, pictures are below of the day. Stop number one was in Portsmouth, Ohio where we dropped off new toys, gently used toys, and gently used clothing to a church from Adams county (who agreed to meet us so we didn't have to drive out in the truck in the snow too far). Stop two was in Ironton, Ohio at the Harvest for the Hungry Food Bank. There were unloaded bags and bags of gently used clothing and hygiene products! Stop three was Symmes Valley elementary school where we purchased holiday gifts for 35 children, about 3,000 new and gently used books (2,000 new, 1,000 gently used), and about 1,700 dental hygiene items. This would not have been possible if it weren't for our amazing donors. THANK YOU!

Gently Used Clothing FMV: $15,000
Holiday Gifts FMV: $8,750
Toys FMV: $5,000
Books FMV: $20,000
Hygiene Supplies (same as listed from day 1): $2,180

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Christmas Angels, Day 2: Shop & Pack

12/15/2013

Today we shopped till we about dropped and then we loaded the truck. Below, in the picture on the left you see high schooler Ellie Adkins, she definitely did a bit of shopping for the children she decided to adopt as well as the kids the lovely staff at Highbanks Dental decided to adopt. We are grateful for their help with our Christmas project. Below to the right you see George McNab (left) and Zach Douglas (right). While it was freezing outside, they packed up the truck just perfectly! We made them stop about half-way to take their picture!

We also have to send out a special thank you to Thea Sheffey, David Stanton, and Hillary Galbraith for helping us raid Target in record time!

Christmas Angels, Day 1: Sort & Pack

12/14/2013

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Today we had about 15 volunteers helping to unpack, sort, pack, and repack boxes of Christmas gifts and dental hygiene supplies like dental floss, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, shampoo, deodorant, etc. Every child we worked to provide holiday gifts for this year received a bag of hygiene supplies in addition to their gifts. We also donated approximately 2,000 pieces of dental supplies to a southern Ohio school district for the nurse to handout when they saw fit!

Dental/Hygiene Supplies FMV: $2,180

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Ironton Schools Receive Turkeys!

12/10/2013

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With the help of an Ironton native and Kentucky school Principal, Tom Collins, Grandma's Gifts was able to provide 21 turkeys to Ironton City Schools for their holiday food basket program! Tom organized the purchasing, hauling, and delivery of goods. We don't know where we'd be without him! We are also grateful to the Save-A-Lot manager for hooking us up with a great sale price!

Donation Value: $371.92

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Thoughtful People Changing the World

12/8/2013

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Just as the famous philanthropist and cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead said,

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizen can change the world;
indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

At Grandma's Gifts we know this to be true... and we have proof:

A group of volunteers, headed up by do-gooders Bonnie Valentino, Kathy Slaus, Orpha Robinson, Eva Hager, Vikvi Ramsey, and Linda Gillespie, contacted their friends and asked for gently used items, new items, and canned food. While they knew they'd collect a ton - we don't think they quite expected what they got! Thousands of pounds of gently used clothing, coats, and shoes; canned food for people and dogs; gorgeous handmade glass dollies; hygiene supplies; and the list goes on and on... and on. Then they decided they wanted to help Grandma's Gifts. We were moved and overwhelmed by their generosity! Just check out the photos below of what they collected and how much fun they had sorting and packing everything! Zachary Douglas attended the event to help out and lend a bit of strength.

While this blog post, hugs, tears, and thank you's are not enough, we would like to thank the following people who made a donation to this holiday gift collection effort:

Organizing Committee
Bonnie Valentino
Kathy Slaus
Orpha Robinson
Eva Hager
Vicki Ramsey
Linda Gillespie

Donors & Volunteers
Lori Coleman
The Martin Family
The Koan Family
The Owings Family
Marie Noble
Shari Sparky

Donors & Volunteers (cont.)
Nancy Engle
Lori Davis
Bonnie Patterson
Tracy Goleman
Lisa Helms
Lori Grivel

We love to know their are people in the world with hearts of gold like these lovely people. We are so very thankful. These goods were then donated to the Harvest for the Hungry Food Pantry (they have a clothing bank) and a church in Adams County Ohio. Pictures of the delivery of these goods can be seen in the 'Day 3: Delivery' post!

Donation FMV: $11,000

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Christmas Gifts Delivered!

12/21/2012

George McNab and Emily Douglas delivered Christmas gifts today to Willow Wood, Ohio in Lawrence County for 29 children ages 14 months through 20. Many children will receive brightly wrapped gifts for the holidays due to many wonderful donors generosity. All children were provided with jeans, shoes, socks, shirts, sweatshirts, coats, gloves, hats, underwear, toys, books, and hygiene items.

Donors included:

The Flannery Family
Terri and Jerry Douglas
George McNab and Emily Douglas
"Occupational Therapists/Physical Therapists Do Gooders"
Blackburn Family
Brett and Ashley
Tina B, Kristen, and Sarah
Webb Family
Brownie Troop 1081
McKee Family
Battelle for Kids OAC staff
Naima Khandaker

Grandma's Gifts Christmas Gift Delivery A Huge Success!

1/1/2012

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On Monday, December 19th, George McNab and Emily Douglas delivered Christmas gifts such as clothing, shoes, toys, and books as well as over 5,000 dental hygiene items and blankets to Symmes Valley Elementary School, New Jerusalem Christian Center, and the County/ Ironton City Health Department in Lawrence County, Mt. Unger Church in Adams County, as well as the Daughter of Ruth, Women's Shelter in Ross County.

Such assistance would not have been possible without help from volunteers Tina Behrens, Andrew Flannery, Naima Khandaker, Thom Griffith, George McNab, Zachary Douglas, Dean Gardner, Terri Douglas, Jerry Douglas, and Emily Douglas. This team worked for weeks collecting donations, making deliveries, shopping, loading boxes, and more. We owe a great amount of thanks to all of our individual donors, Battelle for Kids, Morning Star MiniStorage, Mouton, and (last but not least LIMA 3/25 Toys for Tots. Without support from these caring individuals, our efforts would not have been successful!

For the holiday's Grandma's Gifts also made donations to First United Methodist Church Food Pantry in Ironton, Ohio, Briggs Lawrence County Public Library, Pike County Partnership Against Domestic Violence, and Big Creek People in Action located in War, West Virginia.

What a fantastic Christmas! THANK YOU!

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Grandma's Gifts Founder, Emily Douglas, Mentioned In The Ironton Tribune

12/25/2011

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Emily Elizabeth Douglas, founder and executive director of Grandma's Gifts, was mentioned in the Ironton Tribune today for the work the organization did to help Lawrence County for the 2010 Christmas season. Volunteer, George McNab, was also with Emily when delivering the gifts. He was not mentioned in this article.

You can read the article by clicking HERE.

Note: Article Corrections/Errors - In the article, Emily's grandma's last name was misspelled ("Atkinison"). The correct spelling is Norma "ACKISON."

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Grandma's Gifts Takes The 'Made in the USA' Challenge!

12/14/2011

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In February, ABC issued the 'Made in America' challenge stating that, "If every American spent an extra $3.33 on goods made in the U.S.A., it would create almost 10,000 new jobs in this country." Then later ABC issued the 'Made in American Christmas: Are you In?' challenge stating that, "The average American will spend $700 on holiday gifts and goodies this year, totaling more than $465 billion... If that money was spent entirely on US made products it would create 4.6 million jobs... If each of us spent just $64 on American made goods during our holiday shopping, the result would be 200,000 new jobs."

After hearing about the challenge we knew we had to take part! Not only do we do a TON of shopping but we (obviously) love helping people here in the USA. Thus, this year we plan to donate 'I Spy' books, Harry Potter books, Highlights, ZooBooks, clothing, shoes, puzzles, toys, and more made in the USA!

We like helping out the country and ask YOU to help create 200,000 jobs by spending at least $64 on American made gifts for Christmas! Here is a list things 'Made in the USA' by state to help you out: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/MadeInAmerica

Good luck! Let us know how your endeavors work out!

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United States Marines Corpes & ABC Channel 6 make Toys for Tots Drive A HUGE Success!

12/5/2011

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This year the Marines in Columbus, Ohio teamed up with ABC Channel 6 (WSYX) to get the word out about how people could donate to Toys for Tots. And on Saturday December 3, 2011, Columbus residents donated over 10,000 toys filling a full tractor trailer full of toys. (Nice work Columbus!) It's great to see that the season of giving is alive and well here in central Ohio.

For more than ten years Grandma's Gifts has received toys from the program to assist children living in Appalachian Ohio. This year we are helping children in many Appalachian counties including Adams, Ross, and Lawrence. These toys will go along with stockings full of personal hygiene products, coats, shoes, blankets, and clothing from Grandma's Gifts donors from across all over the world.

While picking up toys today in the pouring rain, Channel 6 caught me (Emily) and asked me a bit about where the toys go from here... to share with all of the Columbus residents to helped the US Marines via Toys for Tots.I had no clue this was going to happen. Thank you to the Marines, Toys for Tots, and Channel 6!

You can check out the video of the Toys for Tots program HERE!

If you're interested in helping out Grandma's Gifts with our Secret Santa project, you can do so by checking out the Secret Santa page or reading the post below.

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Make a Difference this Christmas: Be a Secret Santa!

11/27/2011

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Grandma’s Gifts is a nonprofit that I founded at the age of 11 in memory of my Appalachian grandmother after she died from breast cancer. My grandma was born and raised in Ironton, Ohio as one of twelve children and lost her father at a young age. She grew-up personally experiencing the humiliation and difficulties associated with poverty. As a young child she shared stories with me about what it was like growing up in Depression-era Appalachia and how children had made fun of her home with newspaper curtains and her tattered clothing.

While growing up was hard, neighbors had graciously helped her family by giving them extra food from their gardens or hand-me-down clothes. My grandmother never forgot the caring neighbors who reached out to help her and the family. After her marriage my grandfather, and as an owners of a small business, my grandma never forgot her roots. Often she took us along to shop for clothes and toys to donate at Christmas time or to deliver food to veterans who lived in caves throughout the county. As children, my brother, sister, and I believed that everyone's grandmother did the same. We always knew our grandma was special, but we never knew just how special. Once she passed away we began to realize that not everyone acted this way and the need for help was greater than imagined. While I was only 9 when she passed away, through her words and her actions she taught us that it is our responsibility to reach out and help others who do not know the advantages that we often take for granted.

Grandma’s Gifts has now been in existence for 18 years and through the support of people from all over the world we have been able to provide more than $12.7M in goods, services, and opportunities to Appalachian peoples of all backgrounds in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and New York. We are a recognized IRS nonprofit meaning that donations are tax-deductible. We have been lucky enough to have been recognized by President Bill Clinton, featured on Oprah, and profiled in People, Time, Business Week, Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, Guideposts, Family, Seventeen, The Angelos of Kappa Delta, and The Ohio State Alumni Magazine. I serve as the Executive Director and we have many people who help to make a difference. No one receives compensation to run this organization allowing all donation go to the cause!

If you are looking for a way to make a difference this Christmas, join us for the Secret Santa Project... and here's how!

Option 1: Be a Secret Santa!
Click here to see kids on our list and email us about what child or children you hope to help. Individuals, families, or organizations can ‘adopt’ children off the tree. Please note that these children need the necessities such as new clothes, coats, shoes, socks, underwear, and gloves. Yet, every child loves toys, so we would suggest new books or new educational games that DO NOT require batteries or have easily-breakable parts! We suggest spending $80-$120 per child. We ask that all Christmas gifts are NEW. All donations are tax-deductible.We also ask that people do NOT wrap gifts. While this is fun, wrapping paper tears easily and does not survive transport. If you would like to donate a roll of wrapping paper you are more than welcome to do so, as we present this to families to wrap gifts donated. We ask that all gifts be received by Monday, December 13th.

Option 2: Donate Cash, Check, or Gift Card!
If you’re not in the shopping mood, you can make a cash donation or write a check. All donations ARE tax-deductible. We also love gift cards to places like Target or Old Navy. With these donations Grandma’s Gifts volunteers shop for children who do not have a Secret Santa. We ask that all donations be received by Monday, December 13th.

Send donations to:
Grandma's Gifts
444 Green Meadows Drive West
Powell, OH 43065

Option 3: Help Spread the Word or Fundraise with us All Year-Long!
Feel free to copy and share this information with friends and family, follow us on Twitter (@GrandmasGifts), or send people to our new website (www.GrandmasGifts.org). If you have a group looking to make a difference for the holidays, the Secret Santa child list will be on our website. Spreading the word of service is as important as volunteering and donating!

Another option

Thank you for reading this post, we hope you decide to help out this holiday!

-Em

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Christmas Angels, Day 3: Delivery

Christmas Angels, Day 2: Shop & Pack

Christmas Angels, Day 1: Sort & Pack

Ironton Schools Receive Turkeys!

Thoughtful People Changing the World

Christmas Gifts Delivered!

Grandma's Gifts Christmas Gift Delivery A Huge Success!

Grandma's Gifts Founder, Emily Douglas, Mentioned In The Ironton Tribune

Grandma's Gifts Takes The 'Made in the USA' Challenge!

United States Marines Corpes & ABC Channel 6 make Toys for Tots Drive A HUGE Success!

Make a Difference this Christmas: Be a Secret Santa!

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