Let's Get This Party Started!

Howdy! Welcome to my blog! I'm thrilled that you've come this far to see what we're up to.

Our neighborhood is full of young kids and old kids and old folks and everything under the sun. We have an annual community 5K run and Santa Claus rides around on top of a fire truck and throws out candy to rot our teeth and if that's not enough an ice cream truck comes around in another season to help. And we have adult night at the pool where the adults get crazy and a swim team and garden club and golf club. I could go on and on but the point of this post is to tell you how much stuff we have and what we do with our extra. We have bikes and DVD's and cell phones galore and lacrosse sticks and basketballs and clothes and books and toys, holy smokes at the toys. Our closets are full and so our our bellies and our garages and attics.

So wait, enough is enough. We are a neighborhood full of abundance and in this world where that is not true for all, what we want to do is share our excess with others.

Several years ago we started a Food Drive. In our neighborhood there are 8 drop off homes with signs that read "Monthly Food Drive" and plastic bins that go out yep, once a month. We collect for a local organization that provides help to poor and needy families in our greater community.

We also got a group of women together to collect nice business attire for struggling women who wanted to enter the work force. My basement was FULL of beautiful suits and jewels and shoes which were immediately scooped up by another local organization called Suited To Succeed (google it, amazing) and before you know it word spread and we were asked by a wonderful woman at the Department of Social Services to collect underwear (diapers through depends), toiletries, school supplies, shoes, uniforms and more. We've collected hundreds of shoes at our annual 5K neighborhood race.

We have ONE important meeting a year. At this meeting we set goals for the next year.

A wonderful young HON in advertising (my daughter Emily - what can I say?? She is wonderful) just designed a brochure for us and yep, she set up this blog that you are now reading.

The purpose of this blog - keep info flowing locally and also let other neighborhoods in Maryland and other states and other countries and even other multiverses (we can't call it universe any longer since there is now evidence that multi universes exist) know how easy it is to help and how little time it takes.

So, now that you have spent way toooo long reading this and the children are running loose, water is boiling over on the stove, granny is wandering the streets going through trash cans and your sig other is standing around asking what's for dinner, I'll tell you the bottom line.

THE REASON OUR ORGANIZATION IS SOOOOOOOOOO SUCCESSFUL IS THAT WE KEEP IT VERY SIMPLE AND IT TAKES VERY LITTLE TIME TO DO A TON OF GOOD.

*Get a group together
*Find out what people need, find out one thing or two things
*Ask your community, your workplace, your email list, your book club, your peeps and you will receive
*Don't ever ask for money
*Ask for STUFF. Stuff that people have outgrown or don't care about or have too much of
*Dont' have too many important meetings - have one a year. And when you do serve something nice (something red and something white even) and chat for a few minutes and then get down to business.

The business of helping others. It will fill your heart up with so much dang joy. After all, "we are one". I'll tell you that story another time.

Meanwhile, please comment on this blog if you wish or email me if you have questions (donnaraesmith1952@gmail.com). And if you start a HOAM, please let me know.

Now, off to retrieve granny!
Donna Rae Smith