Faith Focus
"Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people."
1 Chronicles 16:8
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Welcome New Sponsors!
In April, we welcomed three new sponsors: Urmi K., Flossmoor Ann N., Tinley Park Deanne and Jeff A., Orland Hills
Thank you for sponsoring a disadvantaged child, we appreciate your support! |
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Volunteer News
Heartbeats Meeting and Fundraising Volunteers Needed! Heartbeats Meeting Join us for our Heartbeats Volunteer Meeting on Tuesday, May 10, 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. |
Summer Gift Event
 We're still working on the Summer Gift Event. Our volunteers have been putting in a lot of extra time, but we need more help. Most of our program children will be out of school the third week in May, so it's all hands on deck for the next week or so. If you have some time to donate, we need shoppers and packers. Please stop by the ministry center anytime Monday - Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thank you!
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We Need Baskets!
If you have baskets around the house that you're not using, please consider donating them to us. Or, if you happen to see them at garage sales or thrift stores, pick them up! We need baskets for silent auction items for our annual gala on November 12, 2016.
If you have an item to donate, in-kind donations are being accepted. If you own your own business or think your employer would be interested in advertising his/her business to hundreds of event attendees and My Joyful Heart supporters we'd be delighted to hear from you! Please email Kristen, Fundraising/Event Coordinator, or call her at 815.806.1700.
Suggested donations include: Airfare, Artwork, Electronics, Family Friendly Destination Tickets, Gift Certificates, Hotel Stays, Jewelry, Spa Packages, Sports Tickets/Items, Theater Tickets, Travel Packages, and Weekend Getaway Packages.
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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.
"My Joyful Heart Nfp" is selected as your charity to support. Just 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!
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Our Mission:
Nurturing disadvantaged children with the love of Jesus Christ by providing life's essentials so they thrive!
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A Letter From the Founder and Executive Director
This month, many of us will celebrate the special women in our lives. We'll give gifts of flowers, brunch, cards, candy, or other tokens of appreciation and love. But what about giving your mom or special someone something a little different? Thoughts of mom can elicit feelings of warmth and comfort. Why not appeal to her nurturing side and give the gift of child sponsorship?
That would be a gift she's sure to treasure! If you haven't made your gift purchase yet, you can click here now to sponsor a child in the name of the woman most special to you. I recently read consumers will spend, on average, about $170 on a gift this upcoming Mother's Day. For right around that same amount you can sponsor an impoverished child for five full months!
And, if you chose to sponsor the child for the full year, we'll give you one of our cuddly My Joyful Heart teddy bears! You can give the bear to the special woman in your life, or you can donate it to the child you sponsor. Remember, annual sponsorship provides personalized gifts to an impoverished child FIVE times throughout the year. Won't your special someone be delighted to know that she is giving gifts that will improve the life of a child in need?
Sponsoring a child will be a unique gift and one that will be remembered. But hurry, Mother's Day is Sunday, so click here to sign up today!
For the children we serve,
Diane Carroll
Founder & Executive Director
P.S. Purchasing a child sponsorship for mom is a great gift idea - ask your siblings if they'd all like to pitch in to help mom nurture an underprivileged child!
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Thank You
My Joyful Heart volunteer, Colleen LoConte, and her family did an amazing amount of work for our Best Ever Garage Sale - we are so very grateful. Thank you for collecting donations, sorting, pricing, and hosting the event.
The garage sale was a success and brought in almost $1,500 for the children. Thank you to all who volunteered. We appreciate you and your hard work and dedication!
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We Are So Blessed! 
When we moved to our new ministry center we were in need of a 10' rolling ladder and a forklift. Well, God has provided!
We are so thankful to have these items - they sure make warehouse manager, Jeff Schwartz's, job a little easier.
"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." Matthew 21:22
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"Oh! I Have a Manna Card For That!"
One of our volunteers uses the Manna program...shall we say...A LOT! Here's a photograph of the cards she purchased, just for the month of April. When she picked up her last order, she told us she frequently finds herself saying "Oh! I have a Manna card for that!" In fact, her husband and kids often tease her. Before they make purchases they always ask if she happens to have a Manna card they can use!
For our volunteer, she feels the program helps her adhere to a monthly budget. For My Joyful Heart, it helps us provide for the program children, so it's a win-win! Remember, it's easy to participate. Click here to see a complete list of participating vendors. The discount amount listed is the percent of the sale that is donated to My Joyful Heart. You spend face value, you get face value, My Joyful Heart gets a percentage of the sale. You are not "short" one penny. Last month, our supporters who bought Manna cards raised $156.20 for the My Joyful Heart kids! That helped us buy toothpaste for about 150 of the non-sponsored children for the Summer Gift Event!
Use Manna Express Gift Cards for upcoming celebrations like graduations, weddings, and more. Place your order by noon on Monday, May 30, and pick up on Wednesday, June 1, 2016.
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The Junior Board of Directors Recognized in the Local News
The story about My Joyful Heart's Junior Board and their food drive made the local papers! You can read the articles on our website by clicking here. Thank you Junior Board for all your hard work and thank you to those who generously donated. The kids will appreciate the food in their bags for the Summer Gift Event.
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Perhaps It Was An Aversion For The Letter "A?"
This newsletter writer was apparently having "issues" when writing the last issue! There were two spelling errors in the April newsletter and both times it was replacing the letter "a" with the letter "e." Please accept this sincere apology, Ms. Lorayne Beinar, volunteer, and Ms. Jean Lachat, of jean lachat photography. In the April edition, Lorayne was recognized for her dedication to My Joyful Heart and her volunteer service since 2007. Jean was recognized for hosting her fabulous Mama & Me fundraiser for Mother's Day and donating proceeds from the event to My Joyful Heart. Lorayne and Jean, again, please accept this apology for the misspellings and thank you for your commitment to My Joyful Heart!
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