The girls at our Greater Manchester Girls' Center also have plenty to smile about. Their new library has been completed!  Thanks to Ronald McDonald House Charities our girls now have a quiet room to complete their homework, join a book club and improve their reading skills. Volunteers from the Manchester Home Depot are ready to give the "great" room a fresh coat of paint and rumor has it that we may be seeing some new bathroom fixtures!
In Rochester the girls are busy enjoying a huge donation of art materials from our friends at the Passport Center, located at Pease Airport.  And they are thrilled to have Loribeth Smith from Liberty Mutual join their Advocacy Council.

Walk through the doors of any one of our four girls' centers and you will experience a break from all the bad news about our economy.  You will witness the most extreme examples of generosity as people who are struggling to keep their jobs and to make ends meet, drop by with donations of clothing, games, books, and art supplies. But what will really impress you is the number of individuals who are giving of their time. Two weeks into February we have 49 new volunteers! One of our newest volunteers told me when he walked out of the building the first night after helping at Café Lauren, he noticed he was walking with a new "spring" in his step, he felt full of energy and happiness!
 
Have a great weekend.