Growing up I loved watching Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.  The puppets were fun, but I really enjoyed listening to Mr. Rogers' calm voice.  It felt like hearing a favorite grandparent relay some of life's important truths.

 

Once, he told a story about the Special Olympics. For the hundred-yard dash, there were nine contestants, all of them so-called physically or mentally disabled. All nine of them assembled at the starting line and, at the sound of the gun, they took off. But one little boy didn't get very far. He stumbled and fell and hurt his knee and began to cry. The other eight children heard the boy crying. They slowed down, turned around, and ran back to him--every one of them ran back to him. The little boy got up, and he and the rest of the runners linked their arms together and joyfully walked to the finish line. They all finished the race at the same time. And when they did, everyone in the stadium stood up and clapped and whistled and cheered for a long, long time.

 

And do you know why? Because deep down we know that what matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves.

 

What really matters is helping others win, too, even if it means slowing down and changing our course now and then. Helping others win.  Isn't that what we are doing right now?  Helping with the Holiday Wish Drive?  Spending our lunch money on children who are used to going without?

 

I bet if Mr. Rogers were here he would be proud of every one of us.  Thank you for helping so many families have their "win" this year!

 

With love, 

Jennifer 

 

Overloaded by all the post-Thanksgiving shopping days?

 

#GivingTuesday is just the remedy! This is an opportunity to give back and support your favorite charitable organizations. Family Giving Tree has been selected to participate in Microsoft's Global Giving Youth Spark Campaign.

 

TODAY, on Giving Tuesday, December 3rd, starting promptly at 9 a.m. PST, every donation made to one of our projects on the Global Giving website will be matched 100% by Microsoft via a $250,000 matching fund. Once the grant is exhausted, the matching ends.

 

Every second counts in this season of giving! Help Microsoft and Family Giving Tree deliver joy to low-income children this holiday season. 

 

Gifts may be due to our warehouse by December 10th, but it's not too late to request more wish cards!

 

We have several thousand wishes left in the office, and we'd be happy to mail them out ASAP! If you're able to provide a FedEx number, we could overnight the wish cards to you.

 

Online donations can continue to be made through the Virtual Giving Trees through January 5th. These donations help cover the cost of the most requested items we order in bulk.  Let us know if we can set a Virtual Giving Tree up for your group today.  We can even add your group's logo if you send it to us in pdf, jpg, or png format. Email us to request one now.

 

Remember, every gift is another wish fulfilled!     

This year, you can help Family Giving Tree spread the word about our Holiday Wish Drive through your social activity! Post photos of your elf activities on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook using #BeMyElf to let the world know you're delivering hope to kids in need- and encourage them to do the same! One lucky participant will be the winner of an iPod touch at the end of the holiday season. Show us how you can #BeMyElf now!

 

Did you know that your regular online shopping could help the Family Giving Tree?

 

Through  the Impact Shopping program from OURewards, you can shop through our personalized Family Giving Tree page, and a portion of the sale will go to support our programs.

 

To make it even easier, download our Shopping Tag browser app by visiting this page.  Once installed, this tiny browser extension will "flag" with our logo, specific item search results at participating merchants, allowing us to receive a donation on a portion of eligible purchases.  It's safe. It's easy. It's quick to install, and you will be earning money for us even if you forget to go to the shopping page first!

 

So, next time you shop online, think about using the Impact Shopping program. Even better, pass along the link for the Shopping Site to your family and friends!  

 

 

  In case you hadn't heard, we have a warehouse!  Thanks to the fine folks at the Sobrato Organization, we're back where we were for the Back to School Drive; 151 Commonwealth, Menlo Park, CA 94025. 

 

We've got a lot of creative supporters when it comes to running successful Holiday Wish Drives:

• Chevron's legal department held a very enticing kick-off event at their San Ramon offices. They used pies, lots of them, to attract fellow legal department staff to come over, find out what the drive is all about, and take a wish card or two.
• Intuit held a social event with a Thanksgiving theme to jump start their holiday drive.  The host coordinator there even had participants sign out for the wish cards they chose!
• HP recently held a volunteer fair at their Fremont location, and there was a great turnout by both HP employees and other local nonprofit organizations. Lots of excitement about the upcoming holiday wish drive from visiting employees.
• Our Angel Elf volunteers are getting into the act, too!  Emily Fowler posted pictures of numerous wish cards on her personal Face Book page for her "friends" to take.  See how it works by visiting her "Birthday Giving Tree" album now!

We look forward to continuing to bring you news from the front lines of the Holiday Wish Drive this year, and don't hesitate to contact us if you'd like to contribute your creative Holiday Wish Drive stories!