"I feel a part of something. Not only was
I helping others,
I was learning and receiving help." - Sunday Friends Volunteer
Holiday
Opportunities
At Sunday Friends, we make the most of every holiday. We devise ways to
explore, learn, create and celebrate together. We
give opportunities, not charity,
at holiday time. Instead of reinforcing feelings of neediness or
attitudes of entitlement, we honor our program participants by making
it possible for them to personally earn, select and gift wrap special
gifts for each of their loved ones.
Ways to Contribute to Our Holidays Programs:
Donate new toys or holiday gifts. We
need a variety of new,
unwrapped gifts for all ages. Our families enjoy the same gifts that
yours do (except for anything requiring a computer). CD players and other
electronic music players are the very most popular. Children love
toys, videos and sports equipment, although we do not pass on anything
involving weapons or violence. Parents appreciate new jewelry, purses, wallets,
colognes, bath sets, kitchen wares, tools, gloves, sweaters, photo albums, etc. And, we need batteries, particularly size AA.
Organize a drive throughout your
school, workplace, palce of whorship, social club, neighborhood or extended
family. Ask us for help.
Combine a toy collection or a raffle with your holiday party.
Are you already planning a party? Is your company or business or church
or synagogue planning a party? Please consider combining a collection
or a raffle with the event to make it extra meaningful.
We have
many ways to help
you.
Donate funds for the holidays. We will
need to purchase the gifts and supplies that are not otherwise donated.
Please help us with a generous tax-deductible donation.
Create a fundraiser for Sunday Friends.
Share your idea with us. We’ll do everything we can to help.
Be our Guest Group on a Sunday that is on or near
a Holiday
When you sign up, we'll ask you to commit to co-planning, supplying and
leading one activity for your holiday Sunday. This could be:
•
Easter Egg Dying or an Easter Egg Hunt for Easter
•
Gift Wrapping on Mothers' Day, Fathers' Day or Christmas
•
Helping Children Cook Hispanic Foods for Cinco de Mayo, Chinese Food
for Chinese New Year, Kwanzaa Foods for Kwanzaa, Matzo and Eggs for
Passover, etc.
•
Flag and Tall-Red-White-and-Blue Hat Making, along with a parade, for
Patriotic Holidays
•
Valentine Making for Valentines' Day
•
Magic Potion Making on Halloween
•
Creating a Bulletin Board Display for Presidents' Day, Martin Luther
King's Birthday, Caesar Chavez Day, etc.
You probably have some ideas by now. What's your favorite holiday? Contact
us soon to be part of it.
Have a Party and Collect Holiday Items
Do you enjoy hosting parties? How about asking each of your guests to bring:
•
New toys for children
•
Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day Gifts (that the children can earn,
select, giftwrap and give to their parents)
•
Adult Gifts for Christmas
•
Teen Gifts for Christmas
•
Polaroid Film
•
Sugar-free goodies (such as small toys and art supplies) for Easter
Baskets (assemble the baskets together at the party)
•
Stickers and other craft materials for Valentines' Day, Easter,
Patriotic Holidays, Halloween, etc.
•
School Supplies for the Start of the School Year
Photograph
our Holiday Events
Come
with a camera and photograph the children in their costumes or engaged
in holiday activities. Photos given to parents as gifts mean the world
to them, since many have lost their photographic histories during their
many moves. The photos are also essential to the children's
self-esteem.
In
addition, we need photographers to provide pictures for our website and
other publications.
Help
Prepare Holiday Donations
Much
work goes into preparing our holiday programs. You can:
•
Assist with our annual Halloween Costume Sort in October
•
Join our annual Christmas Sort in December
•
Help set up the Treasure Chest for special holiday shopping before most
holidays
Register
to Receive Email Notifications as new Opportunities Arise
Make sure we know how to contact your group when new volunteer
opportunities arise. They come up all the time! Email
us with the following (complete) information:
•Your
Group’s Full Name (including school or other affiliation)
•Contact
Person’s Full Name
•Email
Address for Contact Person
•Phone
Number(s) for Contact Person (including area code)
Support
a Holiday Program with a Cash Donation
Even
though we receive many in-kind gifts preceding holidays, we still need
to purchase the items that were not sufficiently donated. We can't run
out of pumpkins for families or little boys' costumes on Halloween or
teen gifts at Christmas time.
If
you choose to raise or donate money, you can specify the area in which
you wish the funds to be applied. We will be happy to support your
efforts to the best of our ability and to provide an accounting of how
the funds were used.
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