Tuesday, December 22, 2009


Shivali Seoni had a birthday party last week! In lieu of presents for herself, she generously asked people to bring gifts for the Holiday Giving Project, which her mom Kim dropped off Monday, just in time to get sorted into the toy pickups. They were beautiful gifts and much-needed! Thank you for your generosity!

Maldens and Majanes Dig Out the Pantry


The snowplow kicked up some mounds of snow in the way of the Pantry driveway - not as much as in the amazing, 14-foot-tall ice mounds of several years ago, but enough to be in the way - and didn't plow our driveway. Christopher and Robert Malden (and their dad Michael's snowblower) came to help Kevin, Abby and Carolyn Majane shovel out the pantry this morning and pack some boxes, too. They knocked it out in an hour, but it was a tough hour! Hard workers and good neighbors... Thanks for your help!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Hughes Network Systems Reaches Out...

We would like to thank many organizations and individuals who have stepped forward this holiday season to help with the Holiday Giving Project in Germantown. One of the biggest contributors this December has been Hughes Network Systems. Not only have they contributed hundreds of toys and hundreds of gift cards; they have delivered them and sorted them, too! We wish we had thought to take pictures of them and their piles of gifts as they scurried about, but we have been racing to beat the snow AND the clock. What a wonderful group, so generous with their time, as well as their donations!

Thanks, Hughes!!

Here's their really neat online holiday card:

http://www.hughes.com/HUGHES/Doc/0/CT22IPOEBN74V86GJBB97U8H34/seasons_greetings_2009_121009.swf

Julia Nonnenkamp Holds Art Mart


Ms. Julia Nonnenkamp, age seven, recently set up a holiday craft boutique and sold art to her relatives. She raised $37.80, which she presented to Germantown HELP when she and her mom, Karen Stohr, came by to help alphabetize bags and sort toys. Thanks, Julia! That was a very kind and creative idea!

The Toys Come Pouring In...


Toy donations are coming in from all corners of Germantown; we picked up 150 from William Gibbs Elementary School on Friday! Victory Christian Church is striving to collect 350, but 20+ inches of snow is real problem. Hopefully, some people will be able to drop them by the church Monday the 21st, so we can get them Tuesday, sort them immediately, and get them out the door. Tuesday is looking like a real bruiser of a day!

The picture is of some wonderful Northwest High School students who collected money and went on a toy-buying extravaganza at Toys R Us! They brought their wonderful toys over on Wednesday...

Monday, December 7, 2009

The Zarates Work Hard!


After Scouting for Food and a bunch of other food drives came in, the pantry was a MESS! Silvina, Carolina and Diego Zarate came in and spent SIX hours in the pantry, knocking it into shape! Not only did they go through tons of stuff and throw out the expired items, they went through the baby food cabinet, too! Thank you, Zarates!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

William B. Gibbs Jr. Elementary Collects Food!


Last week, Judy Brodback and Cindy Majane picked up the Gibbs Elementary School food drive. It's a good thing Judy has a big truck, because they collected over 1800 items! It was hauled into the storage unit, where Ching Ingalla, her daughter and a couple friends sorted a bunch of it on Sunday. They packed some bags to bring to the Salvation Army, too, thanks very much!

It's a little dim in the storage unit, but they have sharp eyes! Thanks for your help!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Kids Town Wins!


And the winner of the most creatively-decorated food collection box of 2009 is... Kids Town! It got a little squashed on the trip to the pantry, but still worthy of the prize!

Clarksburg High School Honors Spanish Club


What nice kids! And they are lucky to have Marisol Maldonado as their teacher, too...

The Food Comes Pouring In...



THANK YOU to Novovax, Neelsville Presbyterian Church, Kids Town, DRT, Clarksburg High School Honors Spanish Club, and the Boy Scouts of Matsunaga Elementary School! We have LOTS of food (although still low on peanut butter and cereal, it's always something!).

Here are some pictures from the Boy Scouts, Scouting for Food on November 14!

810 Families for Thanksgiving

We had 810 households for Thanksgiving in the Holiday Giving Project this year! A lot of people called in to say their caseworker hadn't gotten them into the database before the cutoff, so I know the number will be much higher for December. Thanks very, very much to the school guidance counselors and caseworkers who helped with the distribution of over $16,000 worth of Giant cards! We couldn't have done it without your help! Also, thanks for the help of many volunteers and friends, who turned up the days before Thanksgiving to deliver gift cards and food. In the four days before Thanksgiving, we delivered 30 boxes of food and over 70 envelopes of gift cards! Wow!