Welcome New Sponsors!
This January, we welcome two new sponsors. Thank you for helping My Joyful Heart's kids!
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The editor of The Frankfort Station newspaper visited My Joyful Heart on Saturday, December 5 to talk to us about what we do and who we help. A wonderful article about the agency appeared in both The Mokena Messenger and The Lockport Legend. You can see a copy of the article by clicking here and downloading the file - "Mokena Messenger December 31, 2015."
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We are trying something new this year! Beginning in February, we will hold Heartbeats Volunteer Meetings on the first Tuesday of every month at 10:30 a.m. at the ministry center.
Around special events such as the dinner dance, Heartbeats Meetings will be held more frequently, and evening meetings will be added to accommodate the schedules of those who cannot attend during the day.
Our first 2016 meeting will be Tuesday, February 2 - we look forward to seeing you.
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Will you help us? We need:
- toothpaste, shampoo and bar soap
- new washloths
- copy paper - white and colored
- brown grocery bags
You can drop off these items at our ministry center located at 9981 W. 190th Street, Suite I, Mokena.
Thank you in advance for your help. If you have questions, email or call us at 815.806.1700. |
This is a letter we received from one of the children we serve:
"Dear My Joyful Heart,
I really appreciate how long you've been giving me clothes, back-to-school supplies, snacks that come within the bags, and home supplies like toothpaste, deodorant, and shampoo. I hope you people at the organization understand how grateful I am for everything. Thank you!!!" |
Do you have experience planning events? If so, we'd love to hear from you. My Joyful Heart is looking for a part-time Fundraising Associate.
If you are interested, please click here for the more details and to complete an employment application. |
Combined, our volunteers worked a total of 497 hours for the Christmas Gift Event - that's a lot of donated time. We are grateful for their dedication, support, and attention to detail. The Christmas Gift Event is one of the more time consuming gift events for us, but our sorters, shoppers, and packers were absolutely amazing. They made sure that the My Joyful Heart program children had smiles on their faces Christmas morning. They packed nearly 1,000 gift bags and emptied the shelves; over 14,000 individual items were given to the kids in the program!
Thank you volunteers; we are blessed to have you on our team!
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Shopping on Amazon? You Could be Helping My Joyful Heart!
If you shop on Amazon, you can help My Joyful Heart receive donations. Simply go to smile.amazon.com and log in as usual to your Amazon account.
You will be able to select "My Joyful Heart Nfp" as your charity to support, then shop as you normally do. Amazon will send My Joyful Heart a donation of 0.5% of the price of all eligible purchases. There is no additional cost to you, all you need to do is shop Amazon Smile and choose us as your charity - it's that simple!
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My Joyful Heart's mission is:
Nurturing disadvantaged children with the love of Jesus Christ by providing life's essentials so they thrive!
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We are celebrating fresh beginnings and we're excited to share our news. To kick off this year, My Joyful Heart has launched a new website! This new site is more informative and easier to navigate than the old. We'll be able to keep you updated on upcoming events, fundraisers, meetings, and volunteer days through the "Events & Fundraisers" pages and the calendar feature. Sponsoring a child is easier for those who want to. And, later this month we'll be opening a "Charity Shop" where you can purchase My Joyful Heart teddy bears, T-shirts, sweatshirts, or purchase items for kids for the Gift Events. Plus, we will keep the site current with photographs and letters from the kids enrolled in the program. We can't wait for you to see it and we are interested in your feedback. Please click here to take a look and then email us to let us know what you think.
We have also decided to theme 2016 as the year of "Kids Helping Kids." Not only are we going to increase volunteer days and volunteer projects for students and youth groups, we are also going to make a very important addition to our team. We are forming a new volunteer group - a Junior Board. The Junior Board will consist of 4 to 8 high school students who are interested in leading the charge of organizing a variety of fundraising events and activities. The events will appeal to families, other kids and young adults, and when possible, include attendance from My Joyful Heart children so you can have the chance to meet the kids you help. The first Junior Board meeting will be at the ministry center on Martin Luther King Day - Monday, January 18, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. If you are interested in learning more about Kids Helping Kids and/or the Junior Board, please email or call us at 815.806.1700 for additional information.
I hope you are as excited as we are about these fresh beginnings and the potential they have to help us help more underprivileged children throughout 2016.
For the children we serve,
Diane Carroll
Founder & Executive Director
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We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and celebrated the arrival of 2016 surrounded by family and friends.
Beyond watching the ball drop while singing Auld Lang Syne, January has another special meaning to the folks at My Joyful Heart; this month we celebrate our 14th anniversary. It's hard to believe that so much time has passed and how much the agency has grown. When we started, we were helping two children from one school. We now have more than 800 kids in the program from 25 institutions that include schools, day care centers, churches, and other agencies.
Our growth is bittersweet; while we are thrilled to be helping so many underprivileged children, it is sad our services are needed. However, we are grateful to each and every one of our supporters. You made turning 14 a reality and we look forward to working with you in the years to come. Thank you.
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My Joyful Heart
Ministry Center
9981 West 190th Street
Open Monday - Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
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