9th Annual Toys & More Drive! // Michelle Lankwarden's Page
Every year we say, "We can't believe we still get to do this." And here we are, YEAR 9! As most of you know by now, we started our little project nine years ago with some emails and a Facebook post. We raised about $2000 in a few days and brought three carloads of toys to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center for the kids who were stuck in the hospital over the holidays. We chose St. Joe's because they've taken such good care of the Hissrich family over the years. We quickly learned that people really want to help; they just want to know their donations are being used wisely. So we got ourselves organized and partnered with Providence Saint Joseph Foundation. They provided us with a fee-free and tax-deductible fundraising platform and connected us with five organizations in the Los Angeles area that do amazing work to help those who are struggling in our community:
Covenant House California, Family Promise of the Verdugos, Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission, The San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission, and The Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley. Please check out the links at the bottom for each organization.
If you can believe it, we've raised more than $171,000 over the past eight years, thanks to the generosity of our families, friends, co-workers, and complete strangers! Our partnership with Providence Saint Joseph Foundation means all donations are FEE-FREE and TAX-DEDUCTIBLE and 100% of all donations gets spent by our team of volunteers on our shopping day, AKA The Best Day Of the Year! We spend a few hours madly shopping for toys, clothes, coats, hats, socks, underwear, diapers, toiletries, and gift cards and we send it all in a big truck off to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center where it gets sorted based on our organizations' needs.
We've spent time at each organization and we see how hard their folks work year-round to try and help as many people and families as they can. It continually inspires us and we've seen how our small efforts CAN and DO make a difference.
So please consider donating this year - no donation is too small! We know there are so many people in need and perhaps you've already given to other organizations and you're tapped out. If so, please consider sharing our link with your families and friends. If you're looking for a great cause, please consider us! And don't forget, all donations are tax-deductible and every penny we raise gets spent at Target on our shopping day!
Finally, we can't say a big enough THANK YOU to everyone who has donated in the past. We literally would not be able to help so many people without your generosity.
With Love & Gratitude,
Michelle.
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For the full backstory on how we got started and for more information on our mission, please visit our website: http://thehopeendeavor.org
Follow us on Twitter @TheHopeEndeavor
For more information on the organizations we give to, please visit their websites:
https://covenanthousecalifornia.org
http://familypromiseverdugos.org