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| Santa Claus is Coming to Town! |
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 Spread some Holiday Magic this Season by Sponsoring a Child or a Family!
Saturday with Santa is Rainbow Days' annual Christmas party for homeless children and parents who are residing in one of 18 different domestic violence centers, homeless shelters & transitional living centers in Dallas.
You can spread some holiday magic by making a donation to Rainbow Days in support of this event. Your donation of $25 will help provide a homeless child a day filled with holiday magic; a donation of $100 will sponsor a family of 4.
Your donation will help provide:
- Transportation to and from the shelter
- A Holiday-themed movie
- Fun games and holiday crafts
- An opportunity to write a personal letter to Santa
- Refreshments
- A Stocking Filled with Small Presents (yo-yo's, games, balls, etc.)
- A visit from Santa Claus himself!!
Please mail your donation (make checks payable to Rainbow Days) to:
Rainbow Days, Inc.
8150 N. Central Expressway, Suite 1600,
Dallas, TX 75206
If you would like to make your donation by credit card, please visit www.rdikids.org and click on "Donate Now" & designate your gift to Saturday with Santa, or call 214-887-0726 to make your donation by phone.
Thank you for your continued support! |
| Texas Hold'em Tournament was a HUGE Success! |
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Thanks to the 60 players who joined us on Thursday, October 22nd at the Doubletree Hotel for helping make our 5th Annual Texas Hold'em Tournament & Casino Party a big success! Through everyone's generosity, we raised over $12,000 for the programs of Rainbow Days!
Congratulations to our Texas Hold'em Winners:
1st Place: John Belders 2nd Place: James Lucente 3rd Place: Seth Barker 4th Place: Eric Appel 5th Place: Melvin Glasco Congratulations to our Blackjack Winners:
1st Place: Nadine Meyer
2nd Place: Cathy Zale Cotter
3rd Place: Sandi McFarland
And a Special Thanks to our Sponsors
Dale & Jill Hurd
And to Co-Chairs Eric Appel & Will Ridgway
for their generous support!
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| Walking with Dinosaurs |
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 Children from Family Gateway Downtown recently enjoyed a field trip away from the shelter with Rainbow Days staff that included tickets to the Walking with Dinosaurs performance at American Airlines Center. Walking with Dinosaurs is a dazzling '10 million pound arena spectacle of unprecedented size and quality set to captivate young and old alike'. Throughout the performance, the children learned how dinosaurs ruled the earth for more than 200 million years. They also marveled and screamed with excitement as the dinosaurs walked and roared around the American Airlines Center. The day ended with a trip to McDonalds where everyone had the opportunity to share his/her "Sunshine and Cloud". The opportunity to attend this performance was the unanimous "Sunshine" for all the children. A special thanks to AT&T for providing the tickets for this show! |
| Hoop it Up! |
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 Basketball season is officially underway and what better way to get the season started than by attending the Mavericks' season opener! On October 27th, the children of Spencer Gardens, along with Rainbow Days staff, had the opportunity to attend the Mavericks vs. the Washington Wizards game at American Airlines Center. Before the game, the children got into full "Maverick-mode" by decorating their faces and spray-painting their hair blue and green (Mavericks team colors, of course!). They also adorned their attire with foam fingers, beaded necklaces, bracelets and glow sticks-all in effort to cheer on the home team. Unfortunately the Mavericks lost, but this Family Outing was definitely a WIN for the children! A special thanks to the Dallas Mavericks for donating the tickets to this game! |
| Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities |
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 Movie with Santa
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Location: Lakewood Theater
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Movie with Santa is an annual Christmas party for homeless children and parents. During this event children enjoy a holiday-themed movie, games, and refreshments-at the conclusion, each child receives a Christmas stocking filled with toys and treats followed by a special visit from Santa, himself!
Volunteers are needed to help with crowd control, serve refreshments, and distribute stockings.
To volunteer for this event, please call the Rainbow Days offices at 214-887-0726 (groups are encouraged for this event).
**Please note, a Criminal Background Check in required for all new volunteers prior to being scheduled for a volunteer assignment. Please allow two weeks to process your paperwork.
 Support Group Co-Facilitator - Ongoing: Volunteers are needed to help co-facilitate small groups of children using our Curriculum-Based Support Group (CBSG®) program, which incorporates guided discussions, games, art projects and other activities.
Groups are held at one of the 72 partnering sites throughout the Dallas area including shelters, recreational centers, and schools. Trained volunteers are paired with a Rainbow Days staff member to help lead the support groups. In addition to attending a volunteer orientation, all group co-facilitators must attend a 6-hour training session.
Groups meet weekly, days and evenings, and volunteers are asked to work in 2 hour shifts-which includes preparation time. Volunteers are also required to give an 8-week commitment to the group(s) they sign up for.
The next training date for Support Group Co-Facilitators is scheduled for Saturday, January 30, 2010, from 9:00am - 3:00pm. To register for this training, please call the Rainbow Days offices at 214-887-0726.
Birthday Boxes
Want to help a homeless child celebrate his/her birthday?
Birthday Boxes are a fun way to help a homeless child celebrate his or her birthday. Shoe boxes are decorated with birthday wrap and filled with small gifts, games, and special surprises for homeless children who are celebrating their birthdays while living in a shelter. The birthday boxes provide a great opportunity for children of all ages and backgrounds to help other children who are less fortunate. It's also a great group project. If you would like to make some birthday magic by donating Birthday Boxes, please contact Shawn Wills via email or at 214-887-0726.
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| Good Search |
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 What if Rainbow Days earned a donation every time you searched the Internet? Or what if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can! Goodsearch.com is a Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine and watch the donations add up! GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Best Buy and others have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you'll be supporting your favorite cause. To start raising money for Rainbow Days through your internet searches, just go to goodsearch.com and be sure to enter Rainbow Days as the charity you want to support. Be sure to spread the word! |
| Volunteer in the Spotlight: Melissa Preston |
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 Melissa Preston, (AKA Ms. Milky Way), is no stranger to Rainbow Days. In fact, since 2002, she has volunteered with our Family Connection Team as well as helped secure donations for the Resource Development Department.
Melissa first came to Rainbow Days as a co-facilitator at Dallas Life. It was then that she says she really "fell in love" with Rainbow Days and our mission. From this volunteer assignment she moved on to helping with other Family Outings as well as Art-with-a-Heart projects. During one of our larger Family Outings, Saturday with Santa, Melissa offered to take pictures. The pictures were so good that Melissa was instantly promoted to the official photographer of Family Connection - capturing the children in those "rare, fleeting moments that so often go unnoticed".
Not only does Melissa lend her time and expertise with Family Connection, but also to the Resource Development Team as well. During her years of working with a local commercial real estate company, Melissa was able to speak to the company executives about Rainbow Days and the many wonderful programs and services we offer to at-risk children. The company was so impressed with Rainbow Days that they made a donation of $10,000, which of course would not have been possible without Melissa there to champion our cause.
Thank you Melissa, for making lasting memories for our organization that detail our history and the happy moments we share with the children we serve! | |
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eConnection is a monthly newsletter published by the staff of Rainbow Days, Inc. For more information on our programs, please contact us at:
8150 N. Central Expwy.
Suite 1600
Dallas, TX 75206
214-887-0726 / 214-887-0729 FAX
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