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My Joyful Heart's Monthly E-News
See What's New! April 2016
In This Issue
Letter From the Founder
Shake Out The Cobwebs
Burgers and More for Charity
Faith Focus
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"In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" 

Acts 20:35
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Welcome New Sponsors!
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During the month of March several members of the Tinley Park-Frankfort Rotary joined together to sponsor a child. Thank you for your support!
Volunteer News
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Heartbeats Meeting and Fundraising Volunteers Needed!
 
Heartbeats Meeting 
Join us for our Heartbeats Volunteer Meeting on Tuesday, April 12, 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. You can also call 815.806.1700 or email us to learn more about volunteering at My Joyful Heart.
How Your Support Helps The Children!
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David is in the My Joyful Heart program. His mom wrote a letter after receiving the bag from the Valentine's Day Gift Event. She said they were both very grateful for the gifts and went on to say that she was not only overwhelmed by the presents, but by the love we have for God to keep doing something so great.
 
Thank you My Joyful Heart supporters! Because of you we get wonderful letters like this after each gift event. All that you do makes a difference in the lives of children in need.


At The Podium

Diane Carroll has been invited to speak at the Faith United Methodist Church Women's Group in Orland Park on Friday, April 8. Faith United Church is a longtime supporter of My Joyful Heart; both financially and through volunteerism. We appreciate this opportunity to meet some of the members of the Women's Group for the first time and look forward to making new friends. Thank you for inviting us to your Church!
Shopping on Amazon? Shop Amazon Smile
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 - another incredibly easy way to help underprivileged kids in Chicagoland!
Summer Gift Event
 



Most of the kids in the program will get out of school for their summer break the third week in May, so we're kicking off the Summer Gift Event on April 18. We'll need all hands on deck to sort, shop, and pack! Our regular volunteer hours are Tuesday's and Thursday's from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., but when we start the Gift Event, we'll be expanding volunteer hours. Stay tuned for more information.

Thank You Volunteers and Happy National Volunteer Week! 
Our Mission:
Nurturing disadvantaged children with the love of Jesus Christ by providing life's essentials so they thrive!

It's a Celebration of Volunteers
A Letter From the Founder and Executive Director
 
National Volunteer Week begins April 10. My Joyful Heart is blessed with volunteers who selflessly donate their valuable time to improve the lives of local impoverished children. We will celebrate during the week with some surprises and random acts of kindness for our volunteers, just small tokens of appreciation for what they do for the My Joyful Heart kids. All of our volunteers are superstars, but I'd like to give special recognition to two of our longest serving volunteers - Julie Curran started volunteering for us 2006 and Lorayne Beiner in 2007! Thank you both for your years of service and commitment to the organization.  
 
Large groups of volunteers visit the ministry center for special projects, and our team of "regulars" (37 of them to be exact) has given us a total of 2,068 hours of work in 2015. That is a lot of donated time spent sorting, shopping, packing, fundraising, entering data, answering the phone, serving on the boards, and performing so many other tasks that make My Joyful Heart operate like a well-oiled machine. Simply put, if it were not for volunteers, the kids in our program wouldn't get their gift bags!
 
It's true - we could not provide for the children if it weren't for volunteers. For this, I am eternally grateful to each and every one of you for your dedication and making the lives of underprivileged children better. Thank you. 

For the children we serve, 

Diane Carroll
Founder & Executive Director


 
Spring Cleaning?  


This is the time of year to shake out the cobwebs, open the windows, and to get rid of clutter. When you're doing your spring cleaning and decluttering, remember, we'll take any unique and sought after household items, antiques, or collectibles (no holiday decorations, please) that you'd like to donate. These donations will be used for our Best Ever Garage Sale.
 
That's right! The Best Ever Garage Sale is making a comeback. One of our valued volunteers, Colleen LoConte, is hosting it at her home on April 29 and 30, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. You can drop off your donations at the ministry center or drop them at Colleen's house - 11300 Stratford Road, Mokena. All donations must be delivered by April 15. The proceeds from the garage sale will benefit the children enrolled in the My Joyful Heart program. Because of you, the last garage sale allowed us to purchase new underwear and socks for almost half of the children enrolled in the program!  
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Sometimes things just fall into your lap. Well, this month we were particularly blessed to have
three interesting encounters with friends, both old and new. They are providing us with some unique fundraising opportunities, and we are really excited to share the news!

1)  Burger 21- One of our volunteers happened to be dining at Burger 21 in Orland Park when she noticed a sign that the restaurateurs were donating proceeds from sales that day to a local charity. Well, we called to ask if My Joyful Heart could be one of the charities they donate to. The answer was "yes!" On Thursday, April 21, a portion of the sales at Burger 21 will be donated to My Joyful Heart. The restaurant is located at 14650 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park and wait until you see their menu! They truly have something for everyone, so please treat yourself to lunch or dinner at Burger 21 on Thursday, April 21! Click here to download the flyer and present the "coupon" on the bottom when paying your bill. 


2)   Pampered Chef - A few weeks ago the phone rang; it was a woman who offered to host a Pampered Chef fundraiser for us! From now through April 20, a portion of every purchase you make through Pampered Chef will be donated to us. It's all online and your orders will be shipped directly to your house. Please click here to begin shopping today!
3)   jean lachet photography - Each year, Jean hosts a Mother's Day event called "Mama and Me" to celebrate a mother's love for her children. The event's purpose is to create a portrait of a mother with her child during a mini-photography session at jean lachet photography, 11210 Front Street in Mokena. The mini sessions will be on Sunday, May 1, 2016. Session fees are $75 each - and this will be donated to My Joyful Heart! Reservations will fill up fast, so call Jean at 708.263.7269 or email Jean to reserve your spot now.


THANK YOU to our friends at Burger 21, Pampered Chef, and jean lachet photography. You are kind and generous to host these fundraising events for us. And to our subscribers, please support the businesses that support My Joyful Heart!  
Manna Express

One of our volunteers bought her Easter ham at HoneyBaked. To make her purchase, she used two $25 Manna Express Gift cards that she purchased through My Joyful Heart. The total value of the cards she bought was $50. HoneyBaked gives 9% of the value of gift cards purchased to their stores back to charity. My Joyful Heart got $4.50 for the children. So, our volunteer spent $50, got $50 in gift cards, fed her family a delicious ham on Easter Sunday, and without really "donating," she donated $4.50 to our charity. Nice.
 
Order your Manna Gift Cards by noon on Monday, April 25, and pick them up on Wednesday, April 28, 2016. Click here to see the complete list of participating vendors. You can place your order by completing the form and returning it to My Joyful Heart along with your check, or you can order and pay online. Just call us at 815.806.1700 for your personal identification number. 
The Junior Board of Directors Make a Huge Impact
My Joyful Heart's Junior Board of Directors pose for a photo after sorting food donations. Pictured left to right - Maura Fenessey, Director; Regan LoConte, Director; Lauren Kopec, Treasurer; Grace Pawelczyk, President; and Delaney LoConte, Vice President/Secretary. Not pictured is Payton Moyzis, Director

My Joyful Heart's Junior Board members have hit the ground running - they've already completed their first big project for the agency. They have so much enthusiasm and so many good ideas on how to raise funds and in-kind donations for My Joyful Heart. But their first project was expanding the annual food drive that volunteer, Regan LoConte, started four years ago and up until this year, has managed on her own. 

The Junior Board thought expanding Regan's donation drive made good sense and they were right. Each year, Regan has brought in amazing amounts of food donated by very generous people. But this year, with additional helping hands from the Junior Board members, the amount of food donations almost tripled.
 
The teens did a lot of work and spent a great deal of time on this project. First they collected brown bags from local grocery stores and then they created flyers with details about the food drive. They distributed the bags with the flyers attached to over 700 residences in Frankfort, Mokena, and Joliet.  They collected the donations and brought them to My Joyful Heart's ministry center, but their hard work didn't end there. While on their spring breaks, the Junior Board members spent hours sorting the food to prepare the items for inclusion in the Summer Gift Event.
 
It's wonderful that this Gift Event will not only include clothing, hygiene products, and toys, but the addition of food will be a blessing for children who have so little. It is heartwarming to see kids helping kids - thank you Junior Board!
My Joyful Heart
9981 West 190th Street 
Suite I
Mokena, IL 60448
p 815.806.1700
 www.myjoyfulheart.org
 
Open Monday - Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.