HOLY CROSS CHILDREN’S SERVICES THE NUMBER-ONE CHARITY FOR THE MICHIGAN KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS for 2011 Raffle at Mackinac Island Gift Cards & Cash
$30,000.00 $5,210.00
4,000 Sweatshirts 850 Bath Baskets 500 Hats, Scarves & Mittens 300 Sets of Sheets
Hello Ladies, This pamphlet is for your information. We support Holy Cross through a variety of fundraising efforts, but we don’t expect you to do every fundraiser in this pamphlet. We would rather you pick one project and do it well— value quality over quantity. With the exception of items for the State Convention Raffle, everything has to be brought to the Winter Meeting at the Lansing Lexington on November 30 where most of it will be packed on a semi truck to be delivered to the children of Holy Cross in time for Christmas. For most of the children, these items are the only things that they will be receiving for Christmas. In fact, some of these children have never received a gift for Christmas. Since this is the only thing they have ever gotten for Christmas, you can see why we want their gifts to be perfect and special. Used items are not acceptable. Gift cards and cash will be given to Brother Francis to distribute to individual students. Brother Francis wants the children to try to budget money; they can only learn this if they actually have money to budget. You are not expected to do this on your own. When your husband visits the councils in his district, you can meet with the wives of these councils to decide which projects to support. Get the ladies involved by asking them for their help in shopping, wrapping and packing. Make it a fun project, and you will find that most want to help. They just need someone to guide them. Picking only one project will help to focus their efforts and not overwhelm them. If you are having trouble, please do not hesitate to call or email asking any of the State Officers wives for help or advice. Now go ahead and get started! -1–
SWEATSHIRTS Collecting sweatshirts for Christmas gifts began back in 1986 by the State Deputy George Psaris’s wife, Doris. Just think how many thousands of sweatshirts have been dispersed in the past twenty years! We collect ONLY NEW, ADULT-SIZE SWEATSHIRTS. When you realize that this may be the only gift the child receives, we are sure you will agree that it has to be very special. The best sweatshirts are those with a sports team or college logo. Buy them in Large, XL, XXL, XXXL, and even XXXXL. These are all adult-size children. Hoodies are very popular, and so are fleece sweatshirts. Embroidered shirts and hoodies cost more, but that’s okay! Just buy fewer, better shirts. Again, value quality over quantity. Package the sweatshirts in decorated gift boxes (or wrap plain boxes) and write the size on the outside. If the sweatshirt is only for a girl or only for a boy, write that on the box too. Place all gift boxes of like sizes in a heavy packing box and mark the outside of the box. That way we will know what is inside the box, and it can go directly onto the semi truck, thus saving anyone from sorting again. If you live near a HCCS Campus and would like to celebrate Christmas with the children, please contact Brother Francis’s office. -2-
BATH BASKETS Giving gifts of bath baskets filled with personal hygiene items was started in 2007 by State Deputy Thomas Wegener’s wife, Joyce, in order to give the girls at Holy Cross their very own items and a way to take these items with them to the showers. There will be 500 bath baskets available at the Summer Leadership Meeting. Please follow these simple directions:
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Purchase items for a dollar at a local store. If you wish, coordinate products by color or scent. Return the filled basket(s) to the Winter Meeting. Please choose ONLY one of each item on the list below. Please NO SCISSORS, HAIRSPRAY, NAIL CLIPPERS, BRUSHES, PENCILS, SHARP OBJECTS, OR AEROSOL CANS (pump sprays are ok).
All baskets must be similar in order to avoid rivalry!!! The total cost should be no more than $10.00. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Shampoo 6. Hair gel or mousse Conditioner 7. Body lotion or hand lotion Body wash, scrub or gel 8. Deodorant Toothpaste & Brush 9. Bath puff/Loofa Chap stick 10. Emery boards
Fill the basket and place it in a plastic bag. If you have several, place them in a sturdy box ready to go on the truck headed for Holy Cross Children’s Services. On behalf of Brother Francis and all the girls and boys at Holy Cross, thank you for being so generous in all you do.
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HATS, SCARVES & MITTENS OR GLOVES Donating handmade hats was begun back in 2004 by Sandy Fox, at the time a district deputy’s wife. They continue to be popular with teenagers and with the mothers with small children. Since then we have added the scarves, mittens & gloves, which can be handmade or storebought. If you need patterns for the handmade hat you can contact Sandy, wife of the state secretary. For people who do not sew, there is a pattern for fleece hats on the website. Bring them to the Winter Meeting in a container that can go directly onto the truck for Holy Cross.
TWIN BED SHEET SETS In 2010 when she found out about the need for sheets for our kids at Holy Cross, State Deputy Thomas Marcetti’s wife, Arlene, sent out the call; since then we have collected 300 sets of twin bed sheets. We received the following letter of thanks: Dear Ms. Marcetti, Thank you so much for the sheet sets you provided for our kids last year. Not only were they a benefit to them while they were in our care, but the kids wanted to take them with them when they left! Many of our youth leave our programs and go into apartments or with home providers, and have next to nothing to start their new lives with. We try to provide them with household supplies, especially for those teens that also have toddlers/babies, but often we are in short supply. The sheet sets were such a blessing to so many! Thank you so much for your kindness. Please thank all of those who also helped provide sheet sets for our kids. Your kindness is so very much appreciated! Sincerely, Sharon R. Berkobien LMSW CAADC Just bring your sheet sets in boxes to the Winter Meeting ready to go directly on the truck bound for Holy Cross. -4-
GIFT CARDS Gift card donations were started four years ago by State Deputy John “Bob” Moody’s wife, Judy. A few years ago, HCCS started housing and caring for young pregnant girls and girls with babies and toddlers in order to assist them on life’s journey. The girls receive training in childcare along with assistance in order to allow them to finish high school. HCCS does not receive federal or state assistance to purchase baby items such as diapers, bottles, formula, socks, toys, bibs, etc. One way to help Brother Francis with the kids is to purchase gift cards in the amounts of $5 or $10 from K-Mart, Target, Walmart, or Meijer. The cards MUST be for these four stores. These stores were chosen by Brother Francis because they are located state-wide, thus allowing councils from all over the state to be involved. These gifts help Brother Francis and Holy Cross Children’s Services all year long. Cash and checks are also welcome. Gift cards, cash, and checks should all be brought to the collection room at the Winter Meeting where they will be collected, totaled and presented to Brother Francis at the Friday evening Ladies Meeting.
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THE MACKINAC ISLAND RAFFLE The raffle was started in 1998 by State Deputy Martin Poleni’s wife, Diane, as a live auction with all proceeds going to Holy Cross Children’s Services. In 2000, State Deputy Kenneth Grembowski’s wife, Carol Ann, changed the auction to the raffle we have today. The subsequent state deputies’ wives have worked hard to help the raffle continue to grow. Donations can be made by a person or several people, by a business or organization, council or several councils, an assembly, LOTA, ladies auxiliary or a district. They can have a theme or can be a single item. Donation forms must be filled out for every donation and can be found on the Knights of Columbus web site (www.mikofc.org) Ladies Corner. The forms are necessary to make sure the item is listed correctly and we know who to thank. For the next two years, the raffle will be run by Sue Vittorini, the wife of the State Advocate. She can be reached at s.vittorini@mikofc.org. According to the raffle license, donations must be assigned a value. Please assign an amount to your gift. Donations must be brought to the Grand Hotel’s Art Gallery for the 2013 Convention. If you have your raffle item ready by November 30, please bring it to the Winter Meeting and the state officers will see to it that it is hand-delivered to the convention. You can give the gift to any state officer before April 1st and they will deliver it for you. You will be seeing sign-up sheets at different Knights’ functions that you attend. These sign-up sheets include: helping with the raffle by setting up the gifts, selling tickets, and packing up the gifts while at the convention. It takes many people to make the raffle a success. Please sign up. You will meet new friends and enjoy being a part of this very worthwhile effort. In the past we have had a business volunteer who has matched the funds that were raised—first the Detroit Free Press, and for the last two years the funds were matched by Weingartz Lawn to Snow. All contributions are welcome.
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Our Father‌ You are our light and our salvation, Lord. Grant us light to see your truth and wisdom to love what we see, that we may walk in your ways today and all the days of our life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Love and Gratitude, Maureen Malinowski mk.malinowski@mikofc.org Sandy Fox s.fox@mikofc.org Ellie Unterbrink e.unterbrink@mikofc.org Sue Vittorini s.vittorini@mikofc.org Beth McCloy b.mccloy@mikofc.org Visit the website at: www.mikofc.org