Faith Focus
Anyone who puts their trust in Jesus and completely surrenders to Him is on a "Journey Off The Map." It's unknown to us but known to Him.
|
Welcome New Sponsors!
During the month of February, two new sponsors joined My Joyful Heart. Thank you Barbara W. from Mokena and Denise C. from Buffalo Grove for helping Chicago area children in need. More Sponsor News... If you would like to include a letter or note to your sponsored child for the Summer Gift Event, please make sure it's at the ministry center by April 1. If it's more convenient, you can email us your letter. We will remove all of your contact information from the email, and print your note to include with the gifts.
|
Volunteer News
Heartbeats Meeting, Fundraising Volunteers, and A Unique Opportunity Heartbeats Meeting Join us for our Heartbeats Volunteer Meeting on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. at the ministry center. This meeting is open to all existing volunteers and those interested in becoming part of the team. If you're new to My Joyful Heart, there are a variety of volunteer opportunities available like shopping, sorting donations, office work, or fundraising! Learn more about the ways you can help children in need while working on the kinds of projects that appeal to you most. Fundraising Volunteers We need extra help this year! There are two big fundraisers on the calendar - our annual gala and our inaugural golf outing. If fundraising is what you enjoy there will be plenty of volunteer opportunities available. Stay tuned for more information about specific needs and upcoming meetings. Unique Volunteer Opportunity We're looking for a volunteer to make deliveries five times during the year to one of our schools in Englewood. This school has the highest rate of homeless kids in our program, and the administration is having difficulty releasing a staff member to pick up the gift bags for the Gift Events. As a result, the bags are getting to the kids very late or not at all! These children need our help and we need you! If you can pick up and deliver gift bags, call 815.806.1700 or email us today! |
How Your Support Helps The Children!
You made it special! The My Joyful Heart program children received their Valentine's Day gifts and their thank you notes told us how much they appreciate you and the help you give them to make their lives better.
One child wrote this, "I'm very thankful for all you have given me. It helps my mom save money for other things like food or bills. Thank you very much My Joyful Heart!"
Another wrote, "God bless each and every one of you who help kids like me." They say it better than we can, but our sincere thanks to all who contributed. Imagine how happy the children were when they received gift bags because of you!
|
We purchased some items for the Valentine's Day Gift Event from Kohl's and we were rewarded for our purchases with $40 in Kohl's Cash. Not wanting to let the opportunity pass for getting more for the kids, we headed to Kohl's and we shopped the clearance racks. We bought 16 new items, saved $332.99, used our $40 Kohl's Cash, and spent only $6.51!
We've all been there. Sometimes you just can't get to Kohl's to use your reward before it expires. If that happens, please consider donating it to us! My Joyful Heart has volunteers who shop for us; they'd be delighted to forage clearance racks for more great deals!
|
Shopping on Amazon?
You Could be Helping My Joyful Heart!
I f 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 - another incredibly easy way to help underprivileged kids in Chicagoland!
|
|
|
Our Mission:
Nurturing disadvantaged children with the love of Jesus Christ by providing life's essentials so they thrive!
|
|
Wish List-We Wish We Didn't Have to Ask!
A Letter From the Founder and Executive Director
There are definite signs that alert school staff members that a child is suffering. The signs can be subtle or they can be obvious. One of the more obvious signs is that the child smells. Or the child has bad breath. And other children are making fun of him. Imagine being in grade school and not having friends because you can't bathe and don't have deodorant and you stink. Imagine how this would affect your self-esteem, your grades, and your outlook about your future. It's a lot to handle for someone so young.
We wish there weren't children who needed toothpaste, a toothbrush, soap, or towels, but there are. If there weren't, we wouldn't have to ask for help, but there are. So, we do.
In fact, there are many children suffering in our own backyard. Each year we provide kids in need with more than 1,800 tubes of toothpaste, toothbrushes, bottles of shampoo, bars of soap, and bottles of body wash. We also provide them with over 900 tubes of lip balm, band aids, tubes of lotion, combs, wash cloths, and bath towels.
If you would like to give a child enrolled in our program personal hygiene items, it's easy to help and there are a couple of ways you can! While doing your own shopping, consider picking up one or two extra tubes of toothpaste, toothbrushes, or deodorants to donate to us. Or, if it's easier you can DONATE NOW!
Make a $10 donation or more and
we'll purchase the items for you. Please join other caring people and help us buy toiletries so these innocent kids won't be embarrassed at school!
The Summer Gift Event includes a complete hygiene kit for the kids. We will begin working on this Gift Event in April. Perhaps you'll consider hosting a "Clean Me Up" donation drive at your office, church, or school! If you are interested, please email or call 815.806.1700 today!
Thank you in advance for helping a child in need.
For the children we serve,
Diane Carroll
Founder & Executive Director
|
Easy Breezy Shopping
One of our dedicated volunteers buys a cup of joe nearly every morning from her neighborhood Dunkin' Donuts. Instead of paying for her coffee with cash or credit, she uses a Manna Express Gift Card. Why? You might ask. The answer is simple; she uses it to help My Joyful Heart children. Every month, for $50, she gets two $25 Dunkin' gift cards. Still worth the entire $50 she paid for the cards, $1.50 of her purchase is donated to My Joyful Heart. She does not pay one penny more by purchasing these cards. The only changes she made were to buy gift cards through My Joyful Heart and use them for her coffee purchase instead of paying with cash. If every supporter of our charity bought just a few items a month with Manna Gift Cards in lieu of cash or credit, we could potentially have thousands of more dollars to help our kids! Will you join other smart shoppers and help Chicagoland's children in need? Click here to see the order form that lists participating retailers and the dollar amount of the gift cards that are available. The column titled "discount" is the amount that's given to charity. So, for example, if you purchase a $25 gift card to Dunkin' Donuts, 3% of your $25 purchase will be given to us. It's that easy. Order your gift cards by noon Monday, March 28. The cards will be ready for pick up at the ministry center on Thursday, March 31, 2016. Thank you for your participation and happy shopping!
|
|
 Combining Resources For The Greater Good
My Joyful Heart and Be The Church (BTC) ministries work alongside each other to lend a hand for people in need. Recently, a beautiful crib and mattress were donated to My Joyful Heart. We didn't have anyone who had an immediate need for them, but God knew where they should go!
We had been working on a project with Mary Rogers from BTC - she was helping spread the word about My Joyful Heart and the services we provide. We called Mary on that subject, and our conversation turned into one of recent news about each of our ministries. We shared that a crib and mattress had been donated that morning. Mary couldn't believe her ears. Just the day before BTC furnished an apartment with donated furniture and household items for a woman leaving a shelter. She was in need of absolutely everything, and the only items BTC didn't have were a crib and mattress! We called the donor of these items to share the news - she couldn't have been happier that her gift helped this mom and baby. Praise God!
We are blessed to have been able to exchange good deeds with BTC and touch the lives of this beautiful family.
|
Back by popular demand is our annual Papa Nicholas Fundraiser.
Create your own in-home coffee shop and purchase coffee, tea, and cocoa to benefit underprivileged kids. Select from from nine delicious coffee flavors, a tea variety pack, and scrumptiously rich hot cocoa. All are priced at $8 each. The coffees are available in whole bean, ground, or single serve cups. Proceeds will benefit the My Joyful Heart children.
Orders are due by March 31, and will be available for pickup at the ministry center April 15, 2016. Click here to download your order form today! For more information, please email Cathy or My Joyful Heart - we're happy to answer any questions you may have.
|
Many Hands Make Light Work
That saying may be true, but we had a lot of big projects at the ministry center. We were blessed to have had a couple of volunteer groups join us during the month of February to tackle these projects.
A very special thank you goes to The Village of Orland Park Special Recreation Department and to Southwest Chicago Christian School - Oak Lawn Campus. We know the work wasn't necessarily "light," so please know how much your time and efforts were appreciated.
|
| | The Village of Orland Park Special Recreation Group poses for a photo after volunteering. |
|
| | Two students from Southwest Chicago Christian School sort donations. |
|
 It's Baaaaaack!
The Best Ever Garage Sale is returning! In late April, one of our loyal volunteers is hosting a garage sale for My Joyful Heart at her home. All of the proceeds will benefit the children enrolled in the program. We will be accepting donations for the garage sale from now through April 15. If you have unique and sought after household items, antiques, or collectibles that you'd like to donate, drop them off at the ministry center. Please note we cannot accept holiday decorations.
We will keep you posted about the garage sale in upcoming issues of our newsletter and on Facebook. Thank you advance for your donations!
|
Mokena Business Expo and Health Fair
The Mokena Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Business Expo & Health Fair on Saturday, February 27. Hundreds of residents attended the event and My Joyful Heart was there to share information about the services we provide for local children in need. Executive Director, Diane Carroll and volunteer, Barbara Haase had a wonderful time connecting with old friends and meeting new people. They were particularly thrilled to meet this mysterious character!
|
| | Holy exposition! There were a lot of vendors and hundreds of attendees! |
|
|
|
