Lions 4 Kids Bonney Lake Lions

Lions 4 Kids update 6-5-09

2009-06-07T23:53:00.001-07:00

In this update:

Work parties

Prom memories

Volunteer training

Garage Sale

Thanks Giving

Needs

Upcoming

Children served in May: 2009 184

2008 146

Hello everyone! After our miserable winter, isn't it wonderful to feel the warmth of the sun again?! Well, maybe not at 90+ degrees!

Work Parties:

On Saturday May 30th Mike and Cindy Connelly helped set fence posts around the north and east sides of our garden. A work party is this coming Saturday was originally planned to stretch the chain link fabric. However this past Monday, Mike, who is a home framer, didn't receive a lumber shipment at work so instead took it upon himself to spend the entire day installing our chainlink material. WE HAVE FENCE!! He's also constructing a privacy fence on the west side of the property near the shed. A white vinyl picket fence and gate will be installed in the next couple weeks on one last stretch on either side of our arbor.

We have a work crew in place to insulate and drywall our storage shed on Saturday in the persons of Pastor Steve Wilhite, Joe Desimone, Craig Releford, Stu Hopkins and others, and we thank you in advance sincerely for your help!

If you had planned to help with the fence installation this Saturday you can rejoice that the work is complete; however there are still some projects which would be most helpful to have done including moving and replanting a couple old rhodies and doing some extreme pruning on some of the plants lining the driveway leading to our client parking area. Take out your frustrations on our plants!!! An hour or two invested between 9 and 1 would be sincerely appreciated. Thank you for your consideration!

Proms:

The ball has ended but the memories will live on for thirty Cinderellas and Cinderfellas served by this year's Prom Project. It is with deepest thanks and appreciation that we acknowledge the contributions of the following donors and volunteers:

Business donors: Walmart, Fred Meyer, Target, Hair Lounge - Federal Way, Men's Wearhouse, The Tux Shop, Quality Cleaners - Sumner, Windermere R.E. Lake Tapps, Colleen's Hair Design - Orting, Cedar Ridge Retirement and Senior Living, Blooms at Windmill Gardens, Jennifer Tibbetts Photography, Steve Vandegrift - Photos for Life

Community Volunteers:

Marv Smith, Alison Winters, Jessica Wahl, Iona Catonio, April Young, Samantha Brendible, Dana Williams, Colleen West, Alexis and Jacklyn Brendible, Juli Bell, Cheryl Fried, Linda Morris, Eleni Sloan, Heather Laurin, Jen Espinoza, Melinda Blevins, Natasha Moffitt, Ramona Jirak, Gina Jirak, Vanessa Witkowski, Shirley Lewis, Cris Entrop, Susan Van Slyke, Brenda Howick, Juanita Breeden, Joanne May, Christine, Ivan; countless donors of gowns, accessories and financial contributions

High School Coordinators:

Nicole Bortle SHS

Dasha Berry BLHS

Patti Harjehausen WRHS

Renee Globe Collins HS

Leon Matz OHS

And to each of our high schools we thank you for donated or discounted prom tickets

Volunteer Training:

Volunteer training for June is set for next Wednesday the 10th at 7 p.m. at Lions 4 Kids House. It takes about 75 minutes. July training is on the 15th; there will be no training in August or September; October is the 14th; November is the 18th and there is no training in December. We will resume our schedule again in mid-January 2010. All volunteers are subject to a Washington State Patrol background check.

There are SO many creative ways you can contribute to the children who are our future. Many tasks can be done from home such as bagging new socks and underwear by size or bagging granulated laundry soap. Maybe you could purchase a few dollars worth of fast food gift certificates that we can give as grades incentives to Our Kids as part of our Kudos 4 Kids program? Maybe you are an internet whiz and could research some distributors, manufacturers, etc. who would be willing to donate socks, underwear or personal care items to us that are maybe second quality?

Brad Hand is a data entry expert and has been using his expertise to set up our two newest programs, College 4 Kids and Kudos 4 Kids and his help has been invaluable!

Are you a gardener? We could absolutely use your skills periodically over the summer to help maintain the Serenity Garden to pull weeds or water our new fledgling plantings.

We only schedule those volunteers who work with our children during open hours, and that is done on a month-by-month basis. You have no long-term commitments. As we all know, "life happens" so if you need to tend to your life, you can withdraw from volunteering for a time and return when you are able. We have some volunteers like Iona Catonio, Dana Williams and April Young who invest many hours a week; Sherry Leistico, Paula Fabela and Rose Covey spend four hours over two days per week sorting and hanging clothing; other volunteers are available an hour a week or an hour a month. Everyone's contribution helps us take care of Our Kids.

Garage Sale:

Our garage sale is rescheduled for Saturday, July 25th from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. We are working to secure a wonderful site, so please stay tuned for that information very soon! Proceeds of this sale will benefit the annual Back to School initiative for Lions 4 Kids House. We expect to welcome over 400 children this August for clothing, personal care items and school supplies. In our three year history we have never had to turn a child away for lack of resources, thanks to our incredible communities.

Thanks Giving:

- To Mike Judkins, troop leader for Boy Scouts #172, for our lawn and leaf blower! Thank you Mike!

- To Susan McCammon our awesome housekeeper who makes sure our little place is sparkling for Our Kids. She also spent hours and hours at a laundromat this past Tuesday laundering 24 huge garbage bags full of clothing that normally would have been done by our community partners at McNeil Island but they are temporarily unavailable. Susan you are an angel!

We never want to take for granted the blessing that McNeil Island has been to us as we were shoveling $60 worth of quarters in the machines and spending hour upon scorching hot hour schlepping clothes between washer, dryer and folding tables.

Another blessing though was that the owner of the laundromat in Auburn donated $15 back to us! (You gotta really watch that Susan, aka Glitterbug. She's one amazing lady and could talk a slug right out of it's slime in a heartbeat!)

- Cory McCammon mowed the lawns for us and whacked a whole bunch of tall grass last week and also hauled laundry back from the laundromat after working all night at his job! Thank you Cory!

- Shirley Lewis, Brenda Kikuchi, Joanna and Stu Hopkins and Jessica Larios are the wonderful volunteers who are contacting nearly 50 Lions 4 Kids outgoing 8th and 9th grade students and their families regarding the College Bound Scholarships. These students can still apply for this four year college scholarship but only if they apply with their school counselors by June 30th. Imagine the gift of a college education for some of these families who have known only poverty as far back as family history is recorded!

- Iona Catonio, Samantha Brendible, Dana Williams and April Young were the point people for the Prom Project and did a fabulous job coordinating with the schools and the teens in addition to lining up volunteers and donors. You were magical!!

- Jen Shears has been coordinator for our Cuts 4 Kids program since last fall and has scheduled three volunteer professional stylists from around our communities each month to help keep Our Kids tidy. We are suspending the program for the summer but will be scheduling two separate haircutting sessions in August before the kids return to school. Jen, thank you for making sure we have cutters available! You're great!

- Cindy and Mike Connelly have been absolutely awesome to help wherever needed whether it's with fencing, sorting or whatever. You are both such an amazing gift to us!

- Andrea Henschell has taken a big mess of receipts and expense reports from the renovation project and made sense of them. Andrea, you are a godsend, and sincerely appreciated for keeping us on track!

- Kathie Pelley spent a whole day functioning as secretary to help work through a mountain of way-tardy paperwork. Kathie, thank you!

- We have received a generous check from the Bonney Lake Senior Center raffle held during their recent fashion show. Thank you SO much!

- We have received some huge and awesome donations from all over our communities that we are able to stockpile for Back to School time, and we do thank you so much.

As you clean out the closets and drawers of stuff that won't fit come fall, please consider a donation to Lions 4 Kids House. We have a special partnership with Northwest Center where they pay us pennies on the pound for ALL textile items. We take men's and women's clothing, infant wear, sheets, towels, blankets, used socks and underwear, fabric scraps...we just ask that all of it be clean, please. The money we collect from Northwest Center each month helps purchase the socks, underwear and personal care items we need. You still get a tax receipt, we receive the benefit of the donation, NWC has items for their outreach...everyone wins! We also accept prom attire and accessories all year long.

Needs:

- We are in need of the donation or inexpensive purchase of a gas lawn mower, either new or used, please.

- An individual or team to water our fledgling garden plantings once a week beginning June 17th through July 8th.

Upcoming:

Back to School Supply Boxes: After our record-breaking August of 2008 when we served 333 children, we are expecting another big turnout for Back to School this year. We will soon be asking our local merchants to allow school supply collection boxes in their places of business during the month of August. In the past, the generous donations from our communities in those boxes have made it possible to supply everything Our Kids need to properly function in school.

We are helping Our Kids be "invisible" in the very best possible way. Our goal is to enable them to fit in with every other child around them and have the basic tools they need, whether it is clothing, grooming items or school needs. If they can succeed in school, graduate and go on to further schooling whether technical or college they stand a much better chance of succeeding in life and staying off welfare and out of trouble. That's a win for all of US!

Did you know that it is middle school when most kids will determine whether they care about graduating from high school? We have to keep kids in school! Thanks to our awesome schools and many organizations all around our community we are all working toward that same goal. THANK YOU for your contributions to the success of Our Kids!

With heartfelt gratitude, Carol

Lions 4 Kids update - 5/17/09

2009-06-01T12:22:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone on a glorious spring afternoon!

In this update:

Senior Center Event

Proms

Requests

Thanks-giving

Upcoming opportunities for service

Training

Out and About:

I had the pleasure of narrating the second annual Bonney Lake Senior Center fashion show this past Friday. A group of eight senior center models strutted their stuff in front of an appreciative audience of 100 guests. The reality show Next Top Model has nothing on these fabulous folks who showed off their shopping savvy in multiple outfits acquired from Grannie's Attic, Value Village and Jewell's Premier Consignment in Puyallup or borrowed from Fred Meyer. The calendars will say they're over 65 but the bounce in their steps and smiles on their faces indicated their hearts are definitely MUCH younger. What joy to share the biographies of our community's seniors and their plans for the future!

A special delight was the appearance of six 4-7 year old girls modeling fashions from A Simple Wish in Puyallup. These little charmers knew exactly how to capture hearts, either with their shyness or in the case of one captivating little redhead, brimming confidence! The sparkle wasn't just in the dresses!

From the wisdom of the years, the enchanting freshness and effervescence of childhood and loving creativity of those in mid generations who gave freely of themselves to create this special event and serve a delicious lunch, led by Jan Smith and Staci Guirsch of the Senior Center staff and Lara Wheeler's team in the kitchen, what a thoroughly fabulous morning!

Of special note was the raffle of donated items that raised almost $700 for Lions 4 Kids House! Many, many thanks to each of you for your kindness, generosity and the opportunity to share this very fun event.

Proms!

Thanks to Ken and Judy Freed of Windermere Real Estate and Freed Insurance Group for the use of their conference room as "Prom Central" to prepare three young women from Orting High School for their prom last week, and for a devoted group of Fairy Godmothers who transformed the girls from their ordinary everyday selves into perfectly exquisite princesses: April Young, Dana Williams, Eleni Sloan, Juli Bell, Gina Jirack, Mona Jirak, Alexandra Lyon and our photographer Linda Morris.

It brings a smile to the face and joy to the heart to watch the transformation: one reserved, one uncertain and one 100% jock. Sit them down for two hours of hair, makeup and pampering under the loving ministrations of some very talented godmothers, zip them into the perfect gown and put their feet in slippers, not made of glass, but magical nonetheless. Add a bit of manufactured "bling", and the rest of the sparkle comes from the eyes and spirits of these girls who never thought they'd be able to join their friends at the signature event of one's high school career.

The girls seem to get the most attention this time of year, but we make sure young men have a chance to make dreams come true too. On Friday afternoon I was working in our Serenity Garden when a young man approached on his way to the Library. He identified himself as one of our Cinderfellas and wanted to express his gratitude for our help. He said he was really excited to be picking up his tux on Sunday and couldn't wait to go to the dance. So, because it is YOU, our wonderful communities, who have supported us so generously with funds and resources, I will pass along his thanks. Never doubt, you DO make dreams come true!

Our final prom of the season will be Bonney Lake's on Friday May 29th when ten young men and women will get their chance at Happily Ever After memories.

Special thanks to Brenda Howett for her time and talents in altering the dress for one of our Cinderellas! Our goal was met: this difficult-to-fit girl's face and spirit just transforms into joy and confidence when she puts on her gown! THANK YOU!!

We have been very blessed with generous donations of tuxes for the boys from the Tux Shoppe and Men's Wearhouse in Puyallup. Thank you!!

Prom season itself is short but we collect gowns, shoes, handbags, "bling", wraps, underpinnings and funds for the prom all year long!

Requests:

We have two young men who have agreed to mow the lawn at the clothing bank but we are in need of an easy- to-use power mower and electric leaf blower. They don't have to be new, just serviceable. In the past I've brought equipment from home to use at my convenience, but that isn't going to work for busy kids with other commitments. Thank you! A donation receipt will gladly be provided!

School-appropriate clothing needed: With all the kids growing like weeds and outgrowing clothes, we are requesting that if you are cleaning out drawers and closets these next couple months that you consider donating children's and adult clothing to Lions 4 Kids House. As we think ahead to Back-To-School we would like to have a substantial inventory of attire on hand as we expect an increase from last year's record of 333 children outfitted in August . Especially needed are boys jeans, shirts and shoes...they're hard to find because boys don't do "gently used"!

Our address is 18429-89th St. E in Bonney Lake. We are just behind Grocery Outlet, east on 89th Street, off Main. We're at the end of the block by the stop sign, across the street from Sam and Sue's barber shop. Our donation station is located on the left front corner of our building next to the sliding glass door. If you would like a receipt please leave your name and address and it will be mailed. Or you can drop off donations during our open hours Tuesdays 10:30-1:30; Wednesday 4-7 and Saturday 10-2. We will be closed next Saturday in observation of the Memorial Day weekend.

Sincere thanks to:

- Nicole and Jeff England for donating a washer and dryer for our use

- McNeil Island Corrections Center for handling our big loads of laundry for the last almost-three years

- Our dedicated volunteers who routinely take home smaller laundry loads

- Bruce and Debbie Duncan, Marcy Boulet, Karen McPeak, Myrna and Robert Vernon and Susan and James Fiala for recent donations to Lions 4 Kids

- Troop 172's Daniel Barrett and his dad Pat for painting Daniel's Eagle Scout project, our beautiful garden arbor.

- Officer Steve Flaherty and Barbara Wigton of the Bonney Lake Police who saved my bacon on Friday by quickly providing information for children's ID and fingerprint kits needed early the following morning for the annual Henschell Chiropractic Bike Helmet giveaway. (Oops! Too many fun things to do and places to go, and too little concentration on what comes next!)

This is the fourth year I've had the pleasure to fingerprint children and provide safety information to parents at this event. Bike safety and free helmuts are one benefit; East Pierce Fire and Rescue had their educational trailer there to teach kids what to do in the event of a fire and then there was the "fun" component added with face painting and balloons by Glitterbug and Beep-Beep of Clownbuggie Entertainment.

- To Girl Scout Troop #40878 for their generous clothing donations

- To Mike Connelly for functioning as our faithful handy man taking care of "honey-do" list items for us! Thank you for sharing him with us, Cindy!!

- To George and Thian Brown who own Thian Thai, we awarded our first free meal certificate to a family of seven in need of a pick-me-up. They were so delighted to know they will receive a great meal out. THEN, we heard from Wendi and Lauren, owners of Dinners Done Right who are also putting together a program that we'll be able to pass along to some of our clients on a monthly basis. What a wonderful gift to give those who need a boost, not just with food but morale! Thank you all!

- To Kourtney Layton of Bonney Lake High School and the Humanitarian Club who collected bags and bags and bags of clothing for us, and to her parents for delivering it.

- To Suellen of the Lacey Noon Lions who donated many beautiful prom dresses and accessories

Coming up:

Work parties:

Saturday morning May 30th from 9-1 or any segment of time in between we would sincerely appreciate a half dozen people willing to cement our fence posts. All but five holes are dug, the posts are on site and ready to install. Teens are welcome to assist!

Saturday morning June 6th from 9-1 or any segment of time in between we are requesting perhaps ten people to help install the chainlink material and one gate to make our garden secure and safe for the children, AND/OR to help us install wall and ceiling insulation and ceiling drywall in our storage shed. We're praying for no precip as the shed will need to be emptied out into the yard first. Teens are welcome to assist!

Help with these tasks will be most appreciated and beverages will be available...sorry, no Bloody Mary's!

Friday, July 24th, 9-6: Garage Sale at a location to be announced with proceeds to benefit Lions 4 Kids House as we prepare for Back to School. We will welcome donations of items to sell, however we have no storage space at this time. We'll provide further details soon!

Volunteers:

We welcomed seven new adult volunteers plus a number of their children last Wednesday at our training! The next trainings will be Wednesdays, June 10th and July 15th. All are at 7 p.m. and take about 75 minutes at Lions 4 Kids House. There will be no training in August or September as I will go "bionic" in mid-August with the replacement of a hip. Training resumes for October and November.

I will be asking for individuals or teams to keep the Serenity Garden watered and weed free during my recuperation from mid August through September. Help will be MOST appreciated.

There are many, many ways to assist at Lions 4 Kids House, limited only by one's time and imagination. Our volunteers are the heart of our outreach, and our donors our lifeblood.

Brad Hand is skilled at data entry and is preparing a list of our clients who qualify for the Washington State "College Bound" scholarship. This program provides a full-ride four-year college scholarship at any Washington college for children who qualify for free and reduced lunch programs. Children must enroll when they're 7th or 8th graders, maintain at least a 2.0 gpa and remain crime-free during their enrollment period.

I discovered that very few children in our service area (Sumner, White River, Carbonado, Orting and Dieringer districts) actually apply for the program for a number of reasons: it sounds too good to be true, it can be overwhelming for parents who perhaps never graduated from high school themselves, it represents a scary layer of bureaucracy, perhaps for families mired in generational poverty it just never enters their mind to strive for more and certainly there are a million other reasons.

When we first conceived "College 4 Kids", our own program for identifying and cheering on potential recipients of the College Bound program, I figured we might have 50 or 60 kids amongst our client base who would qualify. Scanning our client cards Brad and I have found almost 250 students in 6th-9th grades!

Time is of the essence for this year's 8th and 9th graders as the deadline to enroll in the program is June 30th. We are culling those kids first and will provide them with information encouraging them to visit their school's counseling office asap. This year's 6th and 7th graders will be identified later and encouraged to apply.

Later when the kids come in for clothing each month we'll be able to cheer them on and provide some additional incentives to keep them motivated. We are SO excited to watch this effort unfold, as a college education will open doors unimagined by many of these kids, and in the future they will surely make a difference for all of us! There are so many bright and talented kids we serve, with limitless potential. What a joy to be able to reach out to them and offer something of such infinite value, beyond clothing, soap and shampoo, beyond self-esteem.

That's it for now! If you have questions, would like to assist in some way, or would like a tour of our wonderful facility please email me. Our garden is in glorious bloom and the kids are loving the smelly wonders they are discovering.

With grateful thanks for your support and wishes for a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. Carol

Lions 4 Kids House Request

2009-05-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

Lions 4 Kids

Hello everyone, I hope you had a memorable Memorial weekend and are enjoying this glorious weather.

We are requesting assistance this Saturday, May 30th from about 9-1 (or any portion thereof) to set fence posts in cement around the east side of our children's garden. The holes are dug, posts are on site and the cement mix will be there on Saturday. We just need to mix the cement, set the posts and make sure they are straight and level.

Next Saturday, June 6th from 9-1 (or any portion thereof) we are requesting assistance to stretch the chain link fencing material and attach it to the posts. With permission from the City we moved the fencing and posts from our former location to the new one, but having never done this before I don't know what additional supplies will be needed such as ties, nuts & bolts, etc. If you have experience with chain link fence installation and would be willing to help me figure out what is needed please email me at cwells-reed@comcast.net to set up a convenient time to meet and review what we have already and what we will need.

We will also be insulating and sheetrocking our storage shed and I believe we have a team willing to help with that project.

Thank you all for any assistance you can offer! These are the biggest of the chores needed to make our new location safe for the kids and give us adequate storage for out of season inventory. Enjoy this week!

With deepest thanks, Carol

Lions 4 Kids House Update 5/3/09

2009-05-07T07:11:00.001-07:00

In this edition:

- The Proms!

- Children served

- Volunteer training schedule

- New program rollout

- Haircuts

- Upcoming events

- May is Clean Out Your Closets Month (School clothes and other stuff needed!)

- Fence Install and Shed fix-up days

- Garage Sale

- Christmas Angels

- Thanks-giving

Hello everyone!

Close your eyes for a moment and remember back to being a teenager (that's a LONG time ago for some of us!) and the most special event in your life ...then multiply it by about a bazillion...and you'll have some idea of the way our 15 Cinderellas and Cinderfellas from Sumner and White River High Schools felt on Saturday April 25th when they prepared to attend their proms. Most said they thought they'd never be able to go because of their family's circumstances; one young lady said she'd been dreaming of her prom since she was four years old and saw her older cousin dressed up for hers. And our young tomboy who on Primping Day was was so adamant about hating dresses, couldn't stop twirling in front of the mirrors when she put on her ballgown and saw how exquisite she looked. There wasn't a dry eye in the house!

It was, as it always is, a remarkable experience to watch these kids who have dealt with some of the most difficult challenges imaginable (and even a few too horrible to imagine), absolutely bloom right in front of your eyes. The Orting prom is next Saturday, May 9th and Bonney Lake's is Friday, May 29th.

Sincere and deepest thanks to:

- Cedar Ridge Retirement and Senior Living Center for allowing us to take over a suite, the Hospitality Room and grounds

to prepare and photograph the kids!

- The staff advisors at each of our high schools who coordinated with the appropriate students and referred them to us:

Nicole Bortle at Sumner, Dasha Berry at Bonney Lake, Patti Harjehausen at White River, Renee Globe at Collins

and Leon Matz at Orting

- The high schools for either reducing the cost of the tickets or finding funds to provide tickets to us at no

charge. What a HUGE help! Thank you!!

- Donors of funds, dresses, accessories and all sorts of related goodies who have made it possible for us to

enable kids to attend this important landmark event

- Fairy godmothers and godfathers: Natasha Moffitt, Ramona Jirak, Samantha Brendible, Dana Williams, Iona Catonio, Marv,

Jessica, Ivan and Allison from The Hair Lounge in Federal Way for hair and makeup services, Cheryl Fried, Heather Laurin,

Linda Morris, Juli Bell, Jen Espinoza, Melinda Blevins, and April Young

- Quality Cleaners in Sumner for donating the cleaning all of our gowns, Windmill Florist in Sumner for discounts on the purchase

of our corsages and boutonnieres

- For ALL of the responses received to our request for an experienced seamstress to alter a dress for one of our Cinderellas!

WOW!! Thank you for your interest in assisting either by doing the work or by referring someone you know: Brenda Sowell,

Yvonne Simmermon, Elizabeth Lindenmuth, Sue Hilberg, Marcia Madsen, Sherry Creson, Rebecca DeLine, Judy Halone,

Heather Meier, Jessie Thompson, Phil DeLeo, Shirley Lewis, Linda Budinich, Larry Cassity, Rebecca Alvarez and Patty

Tanner. Brenda Howick was among the first referred and interviewed and is doing the work, but if I may keep your names

available there may be other opportunities in the future. Thank you again!!

Children served:

In April 2009 we had 224 visits, compared to 117 in 2008 and 53 in 2007. Since September 2008 we have had 1572 visits, compared to 1648 for all of the previous school year.

Volunteer training:

Our next volunteer training is Wednesday, May 13th at 7 p.m. at the clothing bank; June training is Wednesday June 10th, July is Wednesday, July 15th, same time, same place. No pre-registration is necessary. We're done by 8:30 and there is no obligation to join us once you've been to a training session. (Volunteers are subject to a Washington State Patrol background check.)

We are especially looking for individuals who will keep our yard mowed and trimmed and weeds in the beds eradicated in the summer and fall months. These tasks lend themselves well to a team approach. It takes less than 30 minutes to mow both the front and back lawns each week.

New programs and person to assist:

Thanks to Brad Hand who has agreed to assist with the development and rollout of two new Lions 4 Kids programs: College 4 Kids and Kudos 4 Kids!

College 4 Kids will focus on making our clients in 7th and 8th grades and their parents aware of the Washington State "College Bound" program that provides a four-year full-ride college scholarship to kids living in poverty as long as they maintain their grades and do not commit a felony between the time they register in the program and high school graduation. (The felony part is sort of a "duh" to most of us, but for some of these kids who live in some very difficult environments, it can be a huge challenge.) Millions of dollars in grant money is left unused every year because kids don't apply with their school counselors, so we're putting together a program that will not only bring the program to the attention of the families, but will encourage the kids to apply and we would like to provide mentors who will cheer the kids on periodically via telephone or written note.

Kudos 4 Kids will recognize kids who improve their grades and/or attendance from report card to report card. They'll be listed on our Wall of Fame and also receive some sort of incentive from our goody grab box such as fast-food coupons, movie tickets, etc. Kelly Jo Patterson of Jumping Jack & Jill was one of the first to offer incentives...thanks Kelly Jo!

Please stay tuned for more information!

Coming soon: Dentists 4 Kids!! Like our volunteer haircutting, we hope to find a rotating group of local dentists who will do monthly basic dental checkups for Our Kids and then refer them for no- or low-cost dental care. It's been proven that good oral health is critical to good overall physical health and since we have the kids in-house, being able to do basic checkups and then refer them for care may catch some early oral health issues early. If you would like to consider being a coordinator for this outreach, please let me know!

Haircuts: Jen Shears is our coordinator for the tidiness haircuts provided on the last Wednesday of each month. Jen contacts salons requesting professional haircutters either on a one-time or rotating basis. After four months, this program has proven very popular and welcome with our young clients. Our three stylists cut hair for about 30 kids each session.

For April our cutters were Tammy Vance of Salon Bella Dea in Auburn and Trish and Becky, co-owners of Tangles Salon in Bonney Lake (this is their second time cutting for us!) Thank you ALL!

Upcoming events:

May is Closet-Clean-Out Month!!

As you prepare for the summer months, may we respectfully suggest that Lions 4 Kids House would LOVE to take used clothing of all sizes, and especially items that are suitable for school wear! Remember, we take adult-size clothing as well because we have some really big kids.

As we think ahead to August and Back to School, we'd like to have an ample supply of clothing in our inventory. Last August we saw 333 children, a 300% increase over the previous year. If our projections are correct, the number of kids we see this August will shatter all records. Thanks to you, we've never had to turn a child away because we didn't have the resources to help them, and we'd love to keep that record in tact.

Also just a reminder: even if stuff if not suitable for wearing and/or you have other textile (cloth) items such as sheets, towels, blankets, coats, sewing scraps, etc., or used socks and underwear, we do take those items as well (we respectfully request that they be clean). Items we are not able to use we donate to Northwest Center who either uses them in their outreach or sends scraps overseas to be recycled into rugs, etc. YOU still get the tax receipt from us, and WE get seven cents per pound of donated textiles from Northwest Center which helps us purchase personal care items, socks, underwear and school supplies for Our Kids. Socks and underwear that is used but still in good condition is donated to a local battered women's shelter.

Other items we gratefully accept: shoes (we are desperate for BOY'S shoes right now!!); belts, handbags, books, small toys, puzzles and games (with all their pieces please), stuffed animals, new socks and underwear, personal care items of all kinds.

We continue to actively solicit prom attire including dresses, shoes, handbags, wraps, "bling" and underpinnings; however, we do take these items all year 'round.

We are unable to accept any furniture or household items.

Fence and shed fix-up days, assistance requested:

On Saturday May 30th starting at 9:30 a.m. we would appreciate a crew of a half-dozen or so who will install our cyclone fence posts for us. There will be approximately 22 posts that need to be installed in cement. Most of the holes are already dug...we just need to pop the posts in the ground, mix up the cement and set 'em straight.

The following Saturday, June 6th starting at 9:30, we would appreciate a couple crews: one to stretch and secure the fencing material and the other to help insulate our storage shed. The storage shed project will also require moving stuff out of the shed so we can access the walls...pray for dry weather!

Garage Sale:

On Friday July 24th from 10-6 we are holding a garage and bake sale to benefit Lions 4 Kids House. A venue will be announced soon. We would be delighted to have donations to sell; however we have nowhere to store anything at this time. If you have items you'd like to donate please hold onto them and we'll advise where and when to deliver them.

Many thanks to those who so very generously supported our "Primp the Prom" garage sale several weeks ago with donations and day-of-sale support! The proceeds from this event helped immensely as we supported all of our prom kids.

Thinking about Christmas already??

Well, sorta. Since we're talking about collecting things and cleaning out closets, during December our "Christmas Angels" program allows our young clients to select a special gift for their parent(s) or significant adult and have it wrapped by volunteers so it's a holiday surprise. All year long, we set aside items like unopened men's and women's colognes, lotions and potions in pretty containers, nice jewelry, gloves, calculators, and related items that Our Kids can give with pride. If you have any of this kind of stuff taking up room at your house that you might like to regift, we'd be delighted to have it. Donation receipts gladly provided, of course!

More thanks!!

George and Thian Brown of Thian Thai have pledged FOUR no-cost meals per month for four of our families! This is an amazing offer, George and Thian, and the first family we have spoken with is SO excited to partake of their meal. Can you imagine how it will feel for some of Our Kids to be able to treat their families to a meal out? This is very, very cool!

It is the incredible generosity of so many like George and Thian who make it possible for Lions 4 Kids House to do what we do. We absolutely LOVE our new building, created with the time, energy, funds and kindness of so many.

If you haven't seen it yet, please let me know...we love to show it off! Our kid-friendly Serenity Garden is in coming into glorious bloom! The heirloom 40+ year old lilacs are really scenting the yard! 75% of the work on the creation of this garden was done by young people: Boy Scouts, middle schoolers, little kids, LDS elders far from home; senior project kids. All those young gardners are part of our Kids 4 Kids program now -- they're kids making a difference for other kids.

If you haven't noticed, we are about so much more than just putting clothes on kids. We are about providing those resources in an environment that makes the kids happy and makes them feel valued; we are about volunteers and donors who give from the heart and share their time, talent and resources with joy; we are about communities coming together to give kids in poverty a chance to succeed in school and ultimately in life. We KNOW we couldn't do what we do without your support in innumerable ways. THANK YOU so much.

With a deeply grateful and humble heart, Carol

Lions 4 Kids House update - March 18, 2009

2009-03-19T00:42:00.001-07:00

My Hotmail account was hacked last week. I have been notified that someone on my hotmail contact list has been solicited for money to be sent to an overseas address. If you should receive such a request, it is NOT legit and I respectfully request you report it as junk/spam/a scam.

I'm in the process of retrieving and setting up all new contact information. I do apologize for any inconvenience. New email address is cwells-reed@comcast.net.

In this installment:

- The Open House

- Inventory Needed!

- Death By Chocolate

- The Prom Project

- Work Party to set fence posts

- Volunteer Training in April

- Faces of the Homeless

THE OPEN HOUSE ON MARCH 8th:

MANY thanks to those who attended! Over the course of that rainy/snowy/windy/sleety/sunny/freezing afternoon we had about 100 guests. Deepest thanks to Pastors Steve Wilhite, Scott Hatfield and Chaplain Art Sphar for offering blessings on our new building, on the volunteers who make things happen there and the children who will find peace, joy and hope within its walls.

A hearty debt of gratitude to our volunteers who organized the event and especially to Andrea Henschell who coordinated it; people who created our tasty treats, especially Abertson's; Mona Jirak who was the coffee-making lady; Dana Williams who retrieved warm refreshments from Starbuck's; April Young who had a fabulous activity table and to Lisa Peters and the Home Depot crew who offered a crafts table, a number of tents, tables and their popcorn maker!

To Marilee Hill-Anderson from the Sumner School District who did a totally awesome job of emceeing the event and for your wonderful, inspiring words; to Dr. Gil Mendoza, School District Superintendent for your very kind words and the presentation of the incredibly generous Target gift card from the School District's Leadership Team. And to young Joel Anderson, for your generous gift card contribution! I was able to purchase two Target shopping carts full to overflowing with much-needed underwear for our young clients today. THANK YOU!!

To the Lions 4 Kids volunteers who presented me with a massage gift certificate (soon to be savored!), a gift card for a rhododendron for the garden (which will be dedicated to my recently deceased dad who took lots of convincing that Lions 4 Kids was a worthy outlet for my passion, even though it lacked pay, but then was forever pestering my mom to send money for one thing or another), and a dedication stone for the garden, I feel so blessed and very humbly grateful. Thank you! I hadn't expected to see my name etched in stone until it was in the form of an epitaph! What a lovely gift.

Despite the ugly weather it was wonderful to be able to share the results of our community's incredibly giving spirit in creating "The House That Love Built". In the course of our renovation and relandscape project approximately $125,000 in materials was donated along with roughly 7,000 hours of volunteer labor. Approximately 80% of the work accomplished in the Serenity Garden was done by young people of all ages. What an amazing testament to so many who dug deep to find the resources, funds, time and energy to contribute, especially in a really miserable economy.

The complete list of contributors, an incredible number as you will see, will be available on our website next week and will be published in the Courier-Herald. More very exciting stuff to come soon on publicity too!

I would, however, like to especially acknowledge the City of Bonney Lake, Mayor Neil Johnson and the City Council for leasing the property to us and allowing us the freedom to renovate. And to Bryan and Marilyn Long for seven months of unending, back-breaking work in so many, many ways. Marilyn was still cleaning windows 15 minutes before our guests arrived on open house day to make sure the place was as perfect as could be for guests.

To our extraordinary volunteers who have, since last August, made sure Our Kids were outfitted and cared for in the most wonderful ways in our other building -- especially our manager Iona Catonio, Dana Williams, April Young, Lisa Peters, Susan McCammon, and so many others who give an hour or two or ten. To Andrea Henschell who keeps the volunteers coordinated; to Linda Morris who has photographically chronicled the renovation start to finish, and to David Colbeth who has managed our website.

It's been really cool to watch our young clients as they experience this new little building that has been likened to a beautiful boutique and especially -- for some reason -- six-year-old boys. This mini demographic walks in and invariably exclaims: "wow, this place is really COOL". The garden is a hit with its little nooks and pathways and "settin' rocks" just the right size for a child sit to ponder nature.

I believe that the quality of the environment where the children get their clothing is as important as the quality of the resources themselves. When they come to our little place they don't feel like "poor kids" visiting a clothing bank. This new building provides them with a sense of value, of worthiness, of dignity and esteem. They're just kids going shopping like everyone else. It is YOU, our amazing and generous communities, who have made that possible. YOU give Our Kids hope for a brighter future. Thank you so very much.

INVENTORY NEEDED!

We find ourselves very low on inventory on clothing of all kinds for kids of all sizes: shirts, pants, hoodies, shoes, etc. If you are doing some spring housecleaning (weather notwithstanding, it IS spring almost, isn't it??) by cleaning out your kids' closets please consider a donation to Lions 4 Kids. We will be MOST appreciative for your assistance!

Where's the new place??? Our previous building was in front of the Bonney Lake Library which is off of Main Street on 90th. From that location head one block north to 89th Street (on the back side of Grocery Outlet), turn east and go to the end of the road. We're on the right. The address is 18429-89th St. East, Bonney Lake. We are a gray building with black shutters and a red door. Our donation station is in the front of the building on the east end, painted gray to match the main building. Sam and Sue's barber shop is right across the street. If you would like a receipt please leave your name and address with your donation and a tax receipt will be mailed.

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE IS THIS SATURDAY!!

The event is SO much more than just a dessert auction this year!! David Colbeth has chaired the planning of this fabulous evening and has totally outdone himself! Join us for the "dessert dash" after feasting on an elegant meal prepared by the Bonney Lake High School culinary arts students (who again this year did very well in the state-wide culinary competition)! Beef tenderloin is on the menu and vegetarian options are also available!

Enjoy the sounds of the Bonney Lake High School jazz choir, the jazz ensemble AND the vocal talents of the very unique Four Tunes! The live and silent auctions will have a delightful array of wonderful treats and treasures including a full week at the TrendWest resort in Depoe Bay, Oregon; a weekend at Duck Lake in the Cascades; home makeovers; mind, body & soul makeovers; handmade leather and textile creations; death & taxes preparations (the ONLY two sure things in life!!), and SO very much more! There will truly be something for everyone!

The location is Bonney Lake High School commons; doors open at 5 p.m. with auction previews until dinner which will be served at 6:30. Tickets may be purchased ahead of time for $30 from our website, http://www.bonneylakelions.com, or for $40 at the door the night of the event. We can only accommodate 200 guests, but some tickets are still available. Proceeds will benefit programs of the Bonney Lake Lions Club including Lions 4 Kids House. Hope to see you there!!

THE PROM PROJECT:

We are now accepting donations of prom attire including gowns, shoes, handbags, jewelry, "underpinnings", and items to fill the kids' goodie bags for their preparations the day of their events: shampoo, body wash, lotions, shave gear for the Cinderfellas, breath mints, etc. Our Primping Day for the girls will be Saturday April 4th at Cedar Ridge Retirement Center. If you may be interested to volunteer as a Fairy Godmother, please email me. We aren't sure how many we'll need this year as we don't yet have a firm count of kids we'll be assisting but will know within a week.

If you don't wish to put the items in the donation station you may drop them at the Lions 4 Kids building during our open hours which are Tuesdays 10:30-1:30; Wednesdays 4:00-7:00 and Saturdays 10:00-2:00. Donations of prom items are also accepted at Windermere Real Estate in Bonney Lake, Liberty Tax Service in Bonney Lake, the Sumner Family Center and Sumner School District main office and in Orting at Colleen's hair design (call for address at 253-862-7746.) As always your donations are tax deductible.

UPCOMING WORK PARTY:

On Saturday March 28th from 9-1 we are asking for volunteers to assist with digging holes for the fence posts to enclose our garden. We have 19 holes to dig. Community volunteer Jim Bouchard pulled a number of the posts from our previous property so they will be reset along with about a dozen new posts. A week or so thereafter we will stretch the chainlink fabric so that our property will be more secure and little kids can't escape into the street.

VOLUNTEER TRAINING:

Training in April will be Wednesday the 15th at 7 p.m. and lasts about 75 minutes. There is no obligation to volunteer afterward; no need to pre-register. All volunteers are subject to a Washington State Patrol background check.

Two special needs we have:

Librarian - we get lots of great books for kids and try to organize them on our selves by age group and/or subject matter...for example, animal stories, princess stories, other cultures, seasonal, first books, early readers, teens, etc. An individual or two or three willing to shelve the new donations and keep the bookshelves organized would be most welcome. It would require an investment of maybe a half hour per week.

Housekeeping - we would love to have a regular housekeeper who could clean floors, countertops, the bathroom, dust the tops of our fixtures, etc. on a regular, preferably weekly, basis. Again, this could be a team effort and shouldn't require more than about 90 minutes per session per week.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION!

FACES OF THE HOMELESS:

Tuesday March 17th, 11:00 a.m.: A call arrived from one of our volunteers who also happens to be employed in one of the Sumner District school offices. She had the mother of six children with her who had fled extreme domestic violence on the east coast. She and the kids, ages 6-17, had put some clothes and a few treasured possessions in two small boxes and stashed them in the belly of a Greyhound bus enroute to the northwest to stay with friends. Three days later they arrived here with nothing but the clothes on their back, two small boxes and the promise of a temporary roof over their head. The kids are enrolled in school but needed virtually everything. Enter Lions 4 Kids!

The mom and the three older kids arrived, and within an hour had filled bags and bags with great clothes, shoes, coats, personal care items and school supplies for the whole family. Even though the family is starting from Square One, the children will all be on a level playing field with their peers appearance-wise on Day One. The kids were signed up for our Cuts 4 Kids program next week and will have tidiness haircuts all around. The mom received referral information for other resources like the Sumner Family Center, St. Francis House for items for her, and a place she can get one of the younger children's abscessed teeth treated. (Imagine being a young child, 3 days on a bus, moving far from everything you've ever known AND having an painful, swollen infected tooth.)

Soon, the mom will be looking for a job in the medical field. For, in spite of being terribly battered and having six children, she put herself through school, graduating with a 4.0 gpa. The three older kids we met were clean, very polite, well-behaved and so grateful.

It was an emotional and very remarkable experience that was incredibly joyful. Because of YOU, we had everything the children need to get a fresh start. Because of our volunteers Iona, April, Sherry, Rose and Paula the racks were well stocked, tidy and the place clean. Because of our volunteers Dayna, Dana and Amanda, the family was served with dignity and respect. The mom kept saying how blessed she felt to have so much help available to her family and how very grateful she is. To be able to be part of that experience was a gift.

This exemplified what Lions 4 Kids House is all about: to be a safety net for now AND a springboard to future success. Thank you so much for making that possible not just to this family but for all the families we serve -- 130 children so far in the first two weeks of March.

With an overflowingly grateful heart, Carol

Lions 4 Kids Update - 3/1/09

2009-03-03T07:22:00.001-08:00

In this edition:
Death By Chocolate
Lions 4 Kids Open House
New Clients
Prom Project
Volunteer Training
Other Stuff

February clients served: Feb. 07 (full month): 48; Feb. 08 (full month): 106
                                  Feb. 09 two weeks in new building 2/14-2/28: 137

Hello everyone! Be of good cheer: Spring is only three weeks away!

That also means that Death By Chocolate, the Bonney Lake Lions' premier fundraising event is coming as well! David Colbeth, our event chair, has been planning this event since last March and guarantees great food, fun, entertainment and surprises! Joined by coordinators Susan McCammon, Andrea Maiuri, Andrea Henschell, April Young, David Wells and yours truly, we believe we have put together a winning evening on the first full day of Spring!

The event is MUCH more than a chocolate auction this year, but we'll have plenty of those delectable confections for your enjoyment too!  Please join us -- we think you'll make it an annual event!  Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 21st in the Bonney Lake High School commons, starting at 5 for social hour, dinner at 6:30 and activities all evening long! You may purchase your tickets online at http://www.bonneylakelions.com.

Speaking of upcoming events, NEXT SUNDAY, March 8th from 1-5 is the open house and volunteer acknowledgement celebration at the new Lions 4 Kids House!! It has taken countless hours and a significant financial investment by many donors to make this place a reality.  You won't believe the transformation of this building, and you'll be stunned to count the number of people it took to create it!

Saturday we had Daniel, Pat and Amy Barrett from Scout Troop 172 spreading beauty bark; Susan and Cory McCammon and their daughter and son-in-law laying topsoil and sod, and Kevin Havener and Senior Project student Killian McDaniel helping wherever they were needed. Grateful thanks to Ken Struss of Struss Wood Products and Sound Turf Farms for their contributions and our "muscle" for doing the heavy lifting!

Thanks too to Bryan Long, Mike Connelly, Ruth and Mari for your help this week!

We are now open for clients on Tuesdays from 10:30-1:30 in addition to our Wednesday and Saturday hours, and I've had the joy to observe the kids' reactions to our new place. I'm delighted to report we've gotten two very enthusiastic "seals of approval", both from 6 year-old boys.

One little guy walked in, stopped cold in the doorway as his eyes got big and his jaw dropped. He said "WOW, this place is bea-U-T-ful!!" He proceeded to wander through the whole place just glowing. The other little one had much the same reaction but his critique was a bit more sedate. His comment: "this place is awesome!"

We have found that "Our Kids" often live in environments that could be described as dreary and gray. In creating this bright, beautiful place for them, we endeavor to offer them respect and dignity that may be in short supply the rest of the time.

Saturday we had several new clients including a very pouty 14 year-old girl who obviously didn't want to be shopping for clothes at a clothing bank. However, by the time she left 45 minutes later toting her big shopping bag full of great clothes and grooming items, she was smiling and chatty. (Yea!! one more on the road to improved self-esteem!)

And, there was a family with four kids including a very poised and gracious 11 year-old girl. About an hour after they had left, the young lady and her mom returned. The pre-teen was toting a wonderfully snuggly (and very big) stuffed animal that she presented to me and said it was her favorite but she wanted to say thank you. Good thing we keep LOTS of tissues on hand!

Join us Sunday to say thank you to our contributors and volunteers and see where miracles happen every single day!  Tour the building, wander in the serenity garden, enjoy refreshments and crafts for kids all afternoon with a team from Home Depot and April Young. Opening comments and ribbon cutting at 1 p.m.

Address: 18429 - 89th St. E., Bonney Lake

There will be NO PARKING AVAILABLE ON OUR SITE!! Please park in the City of Bonney Lake Lot, entering on 89th Street from Main Street, right behind Grocery Outlet. It's a one-block walk to our location. Attendants will be on site to guide you.

p.s. Please pray for no rain, just for the afternoon!!

The Prom Project is coming!!
We have connected with the schools: Sumner, Bonney Lake, Orting, White River and Collins High Schools and they are in the process of identifying low income high school seniors who would like to attend their proms but don't have the financial resources to do so on their own.

Our Fairy Godmothers-In-Chief, Samantha Brendible, Dana Williams, Iona Catonio and Melody DaCorsi are busy brewing big batches of magic fairy dust to make dreams come true!

Due to our upcoming open house we respectfully request you please hold onto your prom-related donations until Monday March 9th. (We will be really busy this week seeing to finalization of our building and grounds details and still have limited storage.) Thank you for your patience! Our annual Bibbity Bobbity Boo ad will be in the Courier Herald on the 11th which will mark our official kick off. (Thank you so much Bill Marcum and Dottie!)

We gratefully accept gowns, "underpinnings", "bling", shoes, handbags, stoles, unused personal care items and financial donations or gift cards.

"Prom Central" locations this year are:

- For Primping Day and Prom Day, Saturday April 25th: Cedar Ridge Retirement and Senior Living Community (Sumner, White River and Orting proms)

- For Bonney Lake Prom Day, Friday May 29th: Windermere Real Estate

Primping Day for the Cinderellas is Saturday, April 4th all day.

Tux fitting and Fun Day for the Cinderfellas is Saturday, March 28th.

You may drop off donations after March 9th at the following locations:
Bonney Lake: Windermere Real Estate and Liberty Tax Service
Sumner: Sumner Family Center and Sumner School District main office
Orting: Colleen's Hair Design

If you'd like to participate as a donor, sponsor a teen to attend, be a Fairy Godmother or godfather please let me know. We have LOTS of opportunities to contribute!

Our adult helpers from the past two years swear they have more fun than the kids!! At the very least you will create memories for kids that they'll cherish happily ever after!!

Our next volunteer training will be Wednesday, March 11th. Next ones after that are Wednesday April 15th and Wednesday, May 13th. All are at 7 p.m. at our new building and last about 75 minutes. There are many, many ways to participate at Lions 4 Kids and we encourage your creativity to utilize your individual gifts! There is no obligation and you need not make an advance reservation. (Please note, all volunteers are subject to a Washington State Patrol background check.)

Other stuff:
Saturday marked the 60th Birthday of Bonney Lake and the opening of the new Main Street! Nice job putting together a fun and festive event, City team!!

Need office suites? Ken Freed at the beautiful Windermere building has space to lease!

That's it for now. We hope you'll join us next Sunday!

Enjoy this week and THANK YOU SO MUCH for helping us help the kids!! We never forget you are the reason we are able to do what we do. You ARE making a difference!

With a grateful heart, Carol

Carol Wells-Reed
Founder and Director
Lions 4 Kids House
20825 SR 410 East, PMB #198
Bonney Lake WA 98391
Message phone: 253-447-3844
Website: www.lions4kids.com
Email: cwells-reed@hotmail.com
*The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a
501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543

Lions 4 Kids update - 2/22/09

2009-02-24T09:30:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone!

Crocus leaves popping through the soil, robins chirping, garden centers receiving shipments of new stock and these few days of sunshine are like a whispered promise of spring ahead. Savor the moments!

As I puttered in the new garden yesterday clients came from our building laden with huge bags of clothes. The little kids were bouncing like Tigger, clutching new toys and books; the teens were more stoic but still had this satisfied little smile on their faces. A number of the parents expressed their gratitude for the resource and one stated as tears rolled down her face that Lions 4 Kids House has been a "salvation" for her family for the last year.

When you visit our open house in two weeks you'll see what YOU, our incredible communities, have done for our families: beautiful clothing in a wonderful new place served by volunteers who give from the heart. Thank you for your gifts!

This week deepest thanks to go:

Mark O'Brien of Marx Construction and his son Benji who used the reroofing of our building as the activity for Benji's high school senior project.

Victor Villa of Villa Painting for refreshing the paint on our new cabinets, and repainting our donation station and our storage shed!

Ruben Hernandez for the speakers in the building and getting us all wired for sound!

Bryan Long, Mari and Ruth who have been such an amazing gift to us over the last many months

Kelly Moore Paint in Tacoma and Parker Paint in Bonney Lake who have donated ALL of our paint materials

Our volunteers who came to help with clients on Tuesday and getting the racks and storage area organized: Tamyi, Jen, Shirley, Jessica, Elizabeth and Kathy.

Our volunteers Iona, April, Dana and Susan who seem ever-present to assist clients during open hours.

Jeff Bowie, a senior project candidate, who has organized his schedule to invest hours at the building on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

                                                 *************

WE WILL HAVE TOPSOIL AND BEAUTY BARK!! Thanks to Ken Struss of Yellow Brick Bark/ Struss Wood Products in Puyallup, our gardening materials will be delivered this week!

We are still searching for 550-600 s.f. of sod if anyone knows someone who may be able to help us out, it would be sincerely appreciated please. Thank you!

We weren't able to get the post holes dug for the chainlink fence this weekend but we hope to engage some young muscle in that task this week so we can get our fence installed.

                                               ****************
Save the dates:

Sunday, March 8th:1:00-5:00 Open House at Lions 4 Kids House, 18429-89th St. E. Bonney Lake.   Wander through our new facility and garden, enjoy food, entertainment, crafts for the kids presented by Home Depot and April Young. We will line up some convenient parking areas this week so please stay tuned for that information.  Everyone is invited for this event. Please join us!

Saturday, March 21st: 5:00-10:00 Death By Chocolate at Bonney Lake High School. Savor a delightful dinner created by the BLHS Culinary Arts Team, great entertainment, and a selection of wonderful auction items! We are much more than a chocolate auction this year!!

One item on the agenda: A one-week stay at the TrendWest resort in Depoe Bay OR. This beautiful two bedroom, two bath suite with full kitchen sits right on the rocks overlooking the vast Pacific and magnificent sunsets. A pod of resident gray whales frequent the area not 300 feet from your deck, feeding among the rocks or lolling in the sea.  Depoe Bay has the smallest harbor in the world and is a jumping off place for visits to many other wonderful Oregon Coast delights. Want to just relax at the condo? There's a fireplace and comfy seating to watch the ocean roll by outside your window or for a refreshing dip, an indoor pool right across the parking lot. Come to DBC and be the winning bidder for this tantalizing vacation!

Order your tickets online at http://www.bonneylakelions.com.

And don't forget the festive celebration in Bonney Lake this next Saturday!! Parade and Cake on Main Street on February 28th starting at 3 p.m., sixty years to the day from when Bonney Lake was founded!

Again, thank YOU for your support of Lions 4 Kids House and the children we serve. It is because of you we are able to do what we do. Have a great week! With deepest gratitude, Carol

Carol Wells-Reed
Founder and Director
Lions 4 Kids House
20825 SR 410 East, PMB #198
Bonney Lake WA 98391
Message phone: 253-447-3844
Website: www.lions4kids.com
Email: cwells-reed@hotmail.com
*The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a
501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543

Lions 4 Kids House Open House Celebration

2009-02-24T09:03:00.001-08:00

Lions 4 Kids House

"A necessities resource for homeless and underserved kids in the Sumner, Dieringer, Orting, Carbonado and White River School Districts, sponsored with pride by the Bonney Lake Lions Club"

A Celebration!

In joy and thanksgiving

please join us at the grand opening of our beautiful new facility,

"The House That Love Built"

and a celebration of our generous donors and volunteers

Where: Lions 4 Kids House

18429-89^th St. E., Bonney Lake

When: Sunday, March 8, 2009

1:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Ribbon Cutting and Opening Comments

At 1:00 p.m.

Tours and refreshments

Kids Clinic sponsored by Home Depot

(first 50 kids)

Kids crafts all afternoon with April Young

We could not serve the thousands of kids in need

in our communities without your support!

Thank you!

Due to very limited space at our location, parking will only be available in the City of Bonney Lake parking lot on the corner of Main Street and 89^th St. E. It is a one-block walk from there to our facility. Attendants will be available to direct you.

Please join us!

Carol Wells-Reed
Founder and Director
Lions 4 Kids House
20825 SR 410 East, PMB #198
Bonney Lake WA 98391
Message phone: 253-447-3844
Website: www.lions4kids.com
Email: cwells-reed@hotmail.com
*The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a
501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543

Lions 4 Kids House update - 2/15/09

2009-02-16T05:55:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone!

Through the years many of us have experienced moments that take our breath away: meeting or marrying our one true love; the birth of a child; watching said child walk across the stage, all grown up, in cap and gown to receive a diploma and wondering how the time flew so quickly; a piece of music or art so achingly beautiful you can do nothing but let the tears flow; a flower so perfect even an artist could not make it moreso; phosphorescence in the nighttime sea; millions of diamond-like stars thrown across a black velvet sky. I've had the joy of experiencing all those events and get to add another: the creation of the new Lions 4 Kids House: "the house that love built". The breathless moments have come mostly because of the people who have made this place a reality.

This last month, so many from all over our communities have come together to work on the completion of the building. With our back handrail installed, electrical work bought off and fire extinguishers on site we opened on Saturday to our first 52 young clients.

While Iona, April, Dana and Kathy clothed kids, Marx Construction (Mark O'Brien and his crew, referred by Lisa Peters of Home Depot) and Dan from Dan's Roofing (referred by Julie Terry) installed our new shingles.

Boy Scout troop 172, MANY children and parents, installed the rock-lined gravel pathways through the garden; several high school senior project candidates, our friend Kevin Havener, and four LDS missionaries referred by Julie Terry and Susan McCammon, worked in the garden raking rocks, moving soil, cleaning out our storage shed and many other tasks.  Victor, the dad of a couple of our young clients asked to be able to "give back" some of what has been given to his children by painting our storage shed.

Ruben Hernandez of Honor Electric has spent hours installing our lighting and even a new electrical panel. He had to crawl under the house (yuck!) to hook up the lighting to our new clothing fixtures this week but our building is SO light and bright now!

On Friday Sean of Darkhorse Construction, referred by Dana Williams, showed up with his very seriously huge "big boy toy" to move our donation station from the old building, move boulders, redistribute fill dirt, and spread two trucksful of gravel that had been dropped on Thursday by Miles Sand and Gravel, coordinated by Jeff Kushmaul.

This next week Tony Lind, of Lind Construction, referred by his cousin April Young, will provide the rest of our gravel and installation in our parking areas.

Over the course of the week there were numerous phone calls and offers of assistance on the roof installation and helping with the yard completion. Several senior project kids came to mix cement and install handrailing posts for us.  THANK YOU ALL. You are such a blessing to us!!

In three weeks, on March 8th from 1-5 p.m. Lions 4 Kids House will have our formal public open house and volunteer appreciation celebration of those people who not only made this lovely new place a reality but all those who over the last year have contributed to our success. We know that without YOU, without the donations, the contributions, the prayers and caring and referrals, and so many other things, we simply would not exist.

For the open house we will create and hang posters listing names and business/organization affiliation, and behind each of those names is most likely a special story -- sort of "the rest of the story" -- that you won't hear or see. Like other take-your-breath-away moments, the threads of caring from each are woven into the tapestry that is this place that will make a difference to children whose lives are in turmoil sometimes beyond their comprehension and always beyond their control.

This is first an invitation to come to the open house to see the place that love built and please bring your family and friends. Find out more about what we do and why. There will be entertainment, refreshments and kids' activities but most of all there will be an acknowledgement of those who have given the most precious gifts of all -- TIME and THEMSELVES -- to make a difference to others. Evites will arrive shortly. Please plan to join us.

Next: a few requests: (sorry -- we aren't quite done yet!!)

*To complete our front yard and garden we need the following materials:
Five yards of beauty bark
Three yard of top soil
550 s.f. of sod

I think we have the labor we need to get it all installed, but are requesting the materials...all or part..even a yard from one place and a yard from another will get the job done! Do you know someone who might help us with those materials? We can take them anytime.

(The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543.)

* For our open house we are requesting a very large enclosed tent (and a heater if possible) (up to 50'x50') for our refreshments and for our guests to mingle. We have put in our order for great weather that day but around the Northwest you never know what you'll get, so we'd like to be prepared in case of surprises.

* To secure our garden, and before we can let our young clients enjoy it, we need to install our chainlink fence. We have the materials but need the labor to get it installed. Next weekend our senior project candidates will get the holes dug and posts cemented in the ground and then we'll need the fencing material stretched. There will be one gate. The new fence will adjoin an existing one along the east side of the property, a short run across the front, then run back by the new arbor and adjoin our donation station. We have one 15-foot run across the west side of the property with no gate.

* We would like to secure our parking lot by installing a simple barricade along 186th Street that we can close to keep cars from pulling into the lot at times when we aren't on site. Can you help create and install something for us or know someone who can?

* We are in need of boy's and girl's pants and jeans of all sizes please.

THANK YOU FOR ANY HELP YOU CAN OFFER WITH THE ABOVE!!

* Don't forget Death By Chocolate on Saturday March 21st starting at 5 p.m.! Visit our website at http://www.BonneyLakeLions.com for more information. You can buy tickets on line, and it's a guaranteed
fun evening with LOTS of surprises and great food! This year we have planned an event that is FAR more than an auction of irresistible chocolate confections (but of course we'll have a bunch of those!!).  Visit the website for all the details. It WILL be a fabulous, not-to-be-missed event!

_______________________
* The Prom Project is coming!! This year, our third, we hope to send up to 65 seniors to their proms (15 each from Sumner, Bonney Lake, Orting and White River high schools and 5 from Collins) who could not afford to go without some level of assistance. We are accepting donations of gowns, shoes, handbags, jewelry, gift cards to local retailers, cash donations, etc. You can also "sponsor" a child to attend.  We'll be asking for Fairy Godmothers and godfathers to help make this event one the kids will remember happily ever after!

Dates to remember for Prom Project activities:
- Primping Day for Cinderellas to select gowns, accessories and have hair and makeup consultations is Saturday April 4th, ALL DAY.
- The Cinderfellas Fun Day has not been scheduled yet but will be in the next week. This is an opportunity for the guys to be fitted for tuxes, select their prom flowers, and have an afternoon of great food and fun!

Prom Day for Sumner, White River and Orting is Saturday, April 25th. (Collins kids attend one of the other school's proms).

Prom Day for Bonney Lake is Friday, May 29th.

If you'd like to help please let me know! More information will be forthcoming shortly.

________________________
Finally, I'd like to mention a breakfast I attended this past Friday to benefit Auburn Youth Services and Enumclaw Youth Services.  These organizations were founded many years ago by a visionary former priest named Dick Brugger who saw promise in children, realizing long before it was "fashionable" to do so that children are "our future". He harrassed local politicians for money and services until they finally gave in. He often complained that there was "no money" for children's programs and of course there still isn't enough. The breakfast, the 18th annual event, was a fundraiser attended by OVER 600 people! The donations received at this event will help fund a $4MM annual budget that serves thousands of kids in those two King County communities.

Lions 4 Kids House and many other local services -- family centers, food banks, clothing banks, counseling services, our schools, and many others -- always struggle with having enough funds, but with what they do have, serve "Our Kids" who will carry us into the future. Together we DO make a difference! What was touching and very special on Friday was an awareness of the needs of kids all around our local communities and the willingness of hundreds and hundreds of people to work together to help fill those needs and work on solving the issues faced by thousands of kids, and doing so one child at a time.

While the Lions 4 Kids budget is FAR, FAR less than $4 million, (as if to be on a completely different planet!) Death By Chocolate is our biggest annual fundraiser that will help us achieve our mission. A portion of the funds from the event will help us help many more kids. Our seating is limited to just 200 guests this year. We'd love to have you there and we do THANK YOU for your contributions to our children!!

Lions 4 Kids mission: to provide kids with great clothes, personal care items, school supplies and other resources so they are nicely attired, clean, groomed and outfitted for learning, unencumbered by derision and ridicule from their peers, thereby boosting their self-image and potential for success in school and in life.

May this week bring you a moment that takes your breath away!

With deepest gratitude and thanksgiving, Carol

Carol Wells-Reed
Founder and Director
Lions 4 Kids House
20825 SR 410 East, PMB #198
Bonney Lake WA 98391
Message phone: 253-447-3844
Website: www.lions4kids.com
Email: cwells-reed@hotmail.com
*The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a
501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543

Lions 4 Kids House update 2/8/09 and special requests

2009-02-08T10:31:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone!

There has been a great flurry of activity at our new building to prepare for opening. We had originally hoped to open to clients last Wednesday but wisely chose to give ourselves more time to get settled -- opening is now scheduled for Wednesday February 11th at 4 p.m. We're making terrific progress thanks to the efforts of many.

Our new address: 18429 - 89th St. E., Bonney Lake. From our old building in front of the library (on 90th St.) head north one block to 89th, turn right and go to the end of the block. We're on the right.

Our donation station remains at our old location until we can get it moved (see "Urgent Request 4", below).

Bottom Line First:

Urgent request 1: We are in a pretty big pickle once more (hopefully this is the last time!) The roofers who have been promising for two months to install our new shingles have backed out, so we have piles of shingles atop the roof that blow around the neighborhood with every big wind.   We are installing the new shingles over the old ones, removing the aluminum chimney and adding two air vents; we just need professional assistance getting it accomplished. Do you know someone who may be able to help? We have a number of volunteers who have offered their services but need a knowledgeable leader or two to guide the project and handle the peaks and valleys. This is an asap request. Please let me know if you can assist. Thank you so much!

Urgent request 2: Our Serenity Garden project is nearing completion. Are you able to help us find any of the following materials?
- 3 yards of top soil
- 5 yards of fine/beauty bark
- 450-500 s.f. of sod

Please note: we are not an "all or nothing" operation. If we can get one yard of dirt from one place and another yard from another place, eventually we'll get the job done. We can take the materials anytime and if necessary we can pick it up. Thank you!

Urgent requests 3 and 4: We are looking for a Bobcat and operator to move some fill dirt from the pile over to our driveway, and a fork lift and operator to move our donation station from our old location to the new. Can you help??

This message will still not thank all who need to be yet but I would like to acknowledge some of the Angels who have been an integral part of our progress this week:

- Becky Berry beautifully reupholstered our waiting area chairs and has stored them for months awaiting our project completion.

- Resonate Church and their continuing contributions of clothing, personal care items and underwear/sox collected at their "Undie Sundays".

- Andrea Henschell who keeps volunteers scheduled to work with our families in addition to handling a large variety of other tasks for the Foundation as she juggles her duties as a mom of three little ones.

- Jen Shears who has volunteered to be our Haircut Coordinator to schedule hair stylists for our twice-monthly tidiness haircuts for Our Kids. (The first round of cuts done by Talitha and her associate from In-Style Salon of South Hill was a huge success! Thank you to Cindy Van Meter of CR Gutters for lining that up for us!)

- Boy Scout Troop 172 under the leadership of Mike Judkins is ever present to help in the garden in many ways

- Amy Rupert who redid all of our A-Boards in a short timeframe and they look fabulous!

- Stephanie Kelly and Tom Watson from Office Depot for their assistance with our printing needs

- Tom Watson through his sideline "Watson's Wooden Words" and his really cool signage for our restroom and parking areas. You have skills we never imagined Tom, thank you!

- Linda Morris who has been chronicling the progress of our project from the beginning with her ever-present camera (see her contributions at our website: www.lions4kids.com). Thank you Linda!

Jody Barnes of Prime Fitness is a wonderful cheerleader for us. Her clients are ever-present in their support thanks to Jody's commercials! Thank you Jody and clients!!

- Cadena Printing donated the two Lions 4 Kids House signs now installed on our building and are just beautiful. Thank you for your donations!

- Ruben and Imelda Hernandez of Honor Electric for all their donations of time and materials on our project. He recruited some in-wall speakers from an associate so we are wired for sound and he even changed out the entire electrical panel for us as the 35-year-old old one was known for causing fires. Thank you Ruben!

- Mike Connelly who gave up three weeks of his life to work on "the list". He can do anything we discovered and we took advantage of that and his good nature. Mike, we'd never have gotten this project accomplished on time without you. You are a gem!! Thank you too to Cindy for loaning him to us!!

- Jason and Sarah from Green Earth Construction beautifully installed all of our trim. Jason's "real" jobs have taken him many, many miles away on a daily basis and yet he showed up in the evenings to work on our project. You are talented and awesome!

- James Larson from Aggregate Construction is also a Bonney Lake Police Officer. We got our cement surfaces this week and they are beautiful! James and his crew were on site on Tuesday by 7:30 a.m. to greet the Miles Sand and Gravel truck for the pour, and they didn't finish until mid-afternoon, not even stopping for lunch. An hour afterward James was at his "other" job for the City. James, you're a true craftsman!

- And thank you to Miles Sand and Gravel -- Walt Miles and associate Jeff Kushmaul -- for their very generous donations!!

- Mark Johnson has been working on caulking and trim painting. He works nights at Boeing and after a quick nap has been on-site to help us with this task. Thank you Mark.

- Clark, a pro in the plumbing department at Home Depot, after working all day got all of our plumbing hooked up. It sometimes took a couple trips back to the store for him to get the parts he needed. Thank you so much. (And to Lisa Peters who recruited his assistance.)

- Scott Angevine works nights, sleeps awhile, then has been working on our tile backsplash. Thank you Scott!

- To Bryan, Mari and Ruth who have been ever-present to help with a multitude of tasks.

- Marilee Hill-Anderson of the Sumner School District belongs to every known organization that supports families in need and she has been tireless in making her fellow leaders aware of the needs of Lions 4 Kids. Marilee, you are one in a million!

- We'd like to thank our local food banks for allowing us to come in with clothing and referrals for your clients. We appreciate your partnership and being able to get to the families who canuse our assistance!

- One of our fun stories occurred this week. If you know our clown friends Glitterbug and Beep-Beep (aka Susan McCammon and Julie Terry), they're a fearless duo. We were in need of some fill dirt quickly, and they put their heads together to come up with a solution. They spied that massive equipment operated by Tucci at the Ehli Hill Rim Road project and decided that there was all this dirt being dug and surely a scoop or two wouldn't be missed. So the Beautiful Ms. Bug climbs up to the cab of one of the trucks to inquire how she might get a scoop or two of dirt. Long story short, after being referred to the supervisor and telling the tale of Lions 4 Kids House, down the road comes a dump truck with two loads of fill that perfectly served our purposes.

THEN: it had to get moved from Point A to Point B. So Susan's husband Cory who has been battling a nasty respiratory bug of his own was out, shovel and wheelbarrow in hand. Then those clown girls remembered some young missionaries from various wards of the Church of Latter Day Saints who need to accumulate community service hours weekly. So the next day six strapping cheerful young men show up to haul fill dirt. It was an amazing and wonderful experience!! Thanks to you all, Susan, Julie, Cory, Tucci, missionaries!

- I'd like to thank the associates at both Home Depot and Lowe's for their courtesy and great customer service. I've been up and down Highway 410 from our building to to one store or the other the last few weeks for materials and/or returns and their teams have provided helpful, courteous assistance. Thank you for all your teams' assistance Steve and Doug!

- Gill from the Lumber Department at McLendon's was most patient in helping us locate the correct handle and lock for our entry door and had it in our hands within 24 hours. Great service Gill, thank you!

- We wouldn't be where we are without the generous assistance of so many who have showed up, often daily for all day in many cases, to help get our new building painted and organized: Iona Catonio, Dana Williams, April Young, Sherry and Bob Leistico, Dayna Richards, Rose Covey, Paula Fabela, Mari and others.

- Eight high school seniors are accumulating Senior Project hours with Lions 4 Kids House, and several of them are working in the garden: Buddy Burleson, Blake Leon, and Killian McDaniel (with a broken right hand) -- and they are great. I have been SO impressed with all these kids. When I interview them to uncover what their interests are to try to match them with something we need, this group, to a person, mentioned what they like to do with their time but then added "tell me what you need done". WOW...great answer!! Yesterday Blake even enlisted his sister Aubriella to help. (It should be mentioned, these kids go to school full time and work jobs too.) You are all awesome, thank you!

- We're getting closer to unearthing the list of volunteers who helped with the move last week. Please stay tuned!

On our new signs installed on our building we have added the line: "This is the house that love built". And it is. There has been a great deal of love, joy, time and sacrifice woven into the tapestry that is this place and it shows.

Please refer to the lines above of people with homes, families and jobs that have taken on some facet of creating this place and making it bright, beautiful and special -- and add them to the lists of names from updates over the last several months. Add still more people who donate clothing, personal care items and other resources. It's a pretty impressive list of people making contributions.    Together we provide children in need with great clothing and personal care items that makes them look just like their peers; but perhaps even more importantly we provide them with a sense of dignity and that they are important, which translates to self-esteem. And a special gift: hope for the future.

I'd like to also mention Dr. Gil Mendoza and his team of professionals who keep one of our service area districts, Sumner, running smoothly. I attended a recent leadership breakfast where Dr. Mendoza shared all it takes financially and strategically to keep the business of educating our future generation properly funded and operating smoothly. Our schools do far more than teach the 3 "r's"...I was blown away by the strategies necessary to keep so many balls in the air while factoring in uncertain biennial state budgets and local economies. It was an impressive and eye-opening hour and I applaud you all. Thank you for caring so much about the children who are our future.

The Prom Project: Not ones to let much grass grow under our feet we are busily preparing for our third annual Prom Project. This year we will attempt to send 65 high school seniors from five high schools to their proms who could not otherwise afford to go. One's prom is a significant life experience and we believe it shouldn't be missed due to circumstances beyond a child's control. We'll be accepting 15 applications each from Bonney Lake, Orting, Sumner and White River, and 5 from Collins (who attend one of the other school's events). Primping Day for our Cinderellas is Saturday April 4th; Fun Day for our Cinderfellas has yet to be scheduled. Prom Day for Sumner, Orting and White River is Saturday, April 25th; for Bonney Lake is Friday, May 29th. Please stay tuned for more information. Our Fairy Godmothers and godfathers who have assisted at previous events swear they have more fun than the kids!!

Save the dates:
- Volunteer Training at our new building (18429-89th St. E., in Bonney Lake) is scheduled for this Wednesday, 2/11, at 7 p.m. It takes about 75 minutes and there is no pre-registration necessary and no obligation to participate afterward. Volunteers who work directly with our young clients are subject to a Washington State Patrol background check. Next training is Wednesday March 11th, then Wednesday April 15th all at 7 p.m. in our building.

- Sunday, March 8th from 1-5 p.m. - Public open house and donor/volunteer recognition event at Lions 4 Kids House. Refreshments, entertainment, tours!

- Saturday, March 21st from 5 p.m. - ?? in the Bonney Lake High School Commons: third annual Death by Chocolate.  Dinner presented by the Bonney Lake High School Culinary Arts Department; superb entertainment, fabulous auction items. This is a fundraiser to support outreach activities of the Bonney Lake Lions including Lions 4 Kids House. It'll be bigger and better than ever this year! Buy your tickets on line at http://bonneylakelions.com.

Saturday, December 12th - Jingle Bell Ball, a community celebration to support the Bonney Lake and Sumner Food Banks and Lions 4 Kids House. Location: Swiss Park "Ballroom". Put on your fancy clothes and dancing shoes to feast and dance the night away!


Clients served in January 2009: 182         1/08: 148     1/07: 32

Client visits school year to date: 1025 (4 months)
Client visits for school year 2007-2008: 1658 (12 months)
Client visits for school year 2006-2007: 644 (12 months)

That's it for now. Thank you in advance for any assistance you can offer with the Urgent Request items listed above!

With a grateful heart, Carol

Carol Wells-Reed
Founder and Director
Lions 4 Kids House
20825 SR 410 East, PMB #198
Bonney Lake WA 98391
Message phone: 253-447-3844
Website: www.lions4kids.com
Email: cwells-reed@hotmail.com
*The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a
501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543

Lions 4 Kids update - 2/2/09

2009-02-03T09:33:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone!

A hearty WAHOOOOOOOO!!! is in order, as we are now installed in our new building! Individual recognition for over 50 volunteers who gave up their Saturday to help shall be forthcoming -- our sign-in sheets are buried in the "remains of the day" -- but will be unearthed by next weekend. Please know your efforts are so very appreciated!
(And I truly haven't forgotten our Christmas Angels who have not yet been individually recognized...you WILL BE!)

We had two shifts for the move: the early one at 10 a.m. brought over all our back room inventory and "stuff"; the second one at 2:00 after we closed to clients brought over racks and clothing and pretty much everything else that wasn't bolted down (and a few things that were! -- with the permission of our landlords, the City of Bonney Lake, of course.)

In the midst of the chaos our incredible, amazing volunteers, Iona, April, Dana and others outfitted 33 kids, most of them new clients, with clothes. THEN they spent more hours moving stuff! You are angels to so many!!

There are a few other very special people who must be acknowledged as the heroes they truly are:

Mark Baumgarten, and his associates Troy and Tom, all from the Sumner School District, left all that needed doing on their regular jobs to install our blown insulation into the night on Thursday and most of the day Friday. It was a dirty, exhausting job and they were magnificent! You are awesome!!

50 bags of insulation were donated by Lowe's manager Steve Fox, along with the hopper to install it. Thank you so much!

Another FAR less-than-desirable job was laying the sheet vinyl flooring in our workroom, office and laundry area. That was handled personally by Doug Reman, manager of Home Depot, Jeff, Debi, and a team of their associates. Thanks too to Lisa Peters for asking Doug to help. Our dark, formerly gray cement spaces are so bright and clean now, thanks to each of you. It took most the day on that hard. cold floor but it looks wonderful! Thank you!!

Our tile counters are being installed by a great team of volunteers: Gordon and Rosalie Nast were the "first shift" on Saturday, and then later in the day came Scott Angevine who also worked for several hours Sunday and will return on Monday to complete the backsplash.

After working his real job Saturday night, Mark Johnson was on site early Sunday morning to work on caulking and painting the trim. He'll be back every day this week to complete the task.

Jason from Green Earth Construction has been a meticulous installer of all our trim. He too probably has a sleeping bag stashed somewhere as he's spent long, long hours working. He'll finish early this week.

Ruben and Imelda Hernandez from Honor Electric have spent hours and hours installing light fixtures and wiring stuff up for us. They will return Friday to complete their tasks.

So ever present for the last three weeks that we've accused him of sleeping there has been Mike Connelly doing whatever carpentry is needed. He'll spend Monday with us, then will probably be really, really thankful to get back to his real job.

James Larson from Aggregate Construction and his team will return on Tuesday this week to work with Miles Sand and Gravel on installing our hard surfaces. Everything is all formed up and ready to go.

410 Rentals has been so very generous with the use of equipment for all sorts of tasks and we appreciate it so much.

Mari, Ruth and Bryan too have hung in there with us from the beginning and I think are very glad to see this project coming to its beautiful conclusion.

This Saturday members of Boy Scout Troop 172 helped with the move but also in the yard, as did Sumner High School senior Blake Leon and our Kevin-of-all-trades, Kevin Havener.

We must also acknowledge the efforts of the City of Bonney Lake and particularly Mayor Neil Johnson, the City Council, Administrator Don Morrison, Gary Leaf, HD Messinger, Dana Fugere, and Jennie Sage for a variety of assistance. We've been so blessed to have a place to serve clients and look forward with great excitement to what comes next. Our landlords have allowed us great leeway in the renovation of our facility and I believe you will be pleased with what we have wrought over the last six months.

Now we commence making order out of chaos. Not unlike homeowners who slowly accumulate possessions as they go about their lives and don't realize the extent of it until they move, so too have we! In the 2 1/2 years we've been in our little place in front of the library we have built a program that has more than tripled in size. I naively thought we'd whip our new place into some semblence of order in a few long days but it ain't gonna happen! What A LOT of stuff we have!! We had hoped to be open to clients this Wednesday but have wisely decided to give ourselves a few more days to get organized. Consequently we'll be available to clients next Saturday.

Our DONATION STATION will remain at our old location in front of the library until Wednesday 2/4 when we will have a cement pad at the new place on which to site it. You MAY donate items there as it will be emptied daily; however we respectfully request that if at all possible you hold your donations until next weekend to allow us to get situated. You have been so incredibly generous and it is truly thanks to you and others in our communities who have made us what we are. We never forget that without you we could not do what we do for the children who are OUR FUTURE.

The events of the last three weeks, and especially the last weekend have left me (almost!) speechless, tired, and tremendously humbled. We are blessed. Thank you, thank you from me and the children we serve.

Please mark your calendars:
- Wednesday, February 11 at 7 p.m. in our NEW BUILDING: Volunteer training
- Sunday, March 8 from 1-5 p.m.: our public open house and volunteer/donor recognition
- Saturday, March 21 from 5:30-10:30: Death By Chocolate at Bonney Lake High School

With a very grateful heart, Carol

Carol Wells-Reed
Founder and Director
Lions 4 Kids House
20825 SR 410 East, PMB #198
Bonney Lake WA 98391
Message phone: 253-447-3844
Website: www.lions4kids.com
Email: cwells-reed@hotmail.com
*The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a
501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543

Lions 4 Kids House crunch time 1/26/09

2009-01-26T22:54:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

It's almost time!! Our amazing renovation project is nearly complete! Visit our website, www.lions4kids.com and click on the Extreme Makeover photos to see the "before and during" photos!

There are some last minute very important projects we need to accomplish this week if you or someone you know might be able to help please? The two most important:

1. Do you know someone who would be able to set tile countertops for us? There is a small bathroom counter and backsplash (4"x4" tiles) and the kitchen counter (about 30 s.f. total -- 12"x12") and backsplash, with no sink to work around.

2. Someone to lay sheet vinyl in our workroom area is needed late in the week

Then:
We are asking for a crew on Friday to clean and polish our beautiful new space top to bottom before we move.

AND: Our big move is coming up this Saturday!  Beginning at 10 a.m. we'll move bins and boxes from the workroom in the old building to the workroom in the new building. Then, after we close our doors to clients at 2 p.m., we'll begin moving clothing and racks.   Pickup trucks will be helpful for the latter, but pretty much any conveyance will work for the clothes, bins and boxes!

Even a half hou helps greatly, and your efforts will be most appreciated!

Sincere thanks for ALL the hard work last week to the Connelly family, Mike, Cindy, Chris and Dan who laid our new laminate floors, installed and grouted the bathroom tile floor, reset a couple windows, wrapped up the outside siding and trim, and myriad other details. Ruth and Mari were ever-present doing whatever was needed, as was Clark from Home Depot. Brad Doll reworked his schedule to finish the drywall patching and texturing.

Our new trellis is done except for painting when the weather warms thanks to Eagle Scout candidate Daniel Barrett and his dad Pat. It's a gorgeous addition to our Serenity Garden! Thank you so much!

We'll have cement hard surfaces this week thanks to James from Aggregate Construction and Miles Sand and Gravel; trim and doors will go in starting today thanks to Green Earth Construction; lighting and security equipment will be installed starting Tuesday thanks to Ruben Hernandez of Honor Electric; trim painting is happening thanks to Mark Johnson. We are hopeful that we have the donation of blown insulation for our attic and if so that will be accomplished this week!

So many people have literally dropped everything to work us into their schedules to help finish the project before the end of January. You are angels!!!

Thanks to Miss Jadyn Johnson for cleaning out her closet to benefit Our Kids, as have SO many others. Girl Scout Troop #40878 did a clothing drive to benefit Lions 4 Kids -- THANK YOU! We have a beautiful selection of great clothing to rival any retail outlet!

Our amazing volunteers Iona, April and Kathy visited the Bread of Life and Bonney Lake food banks last Friday to distribute clothing, warm coats, hat, mittens and information about Lions 4 Kids House in an effort to reach more kids and help them feel warm, inside and out!


Senior Projects:
We have three senior high school culminating project kids we are mentoring so far with more to schedule: from Bonney Lake H.S. are Jeff Bowie who will be collecting clothing, and Jessica Jennings who will spearhead a prom wear collection. Buddy Burleson from Sumner is going to do some heavy lifting work in our Serenity Garden. These "Kids Helping Kids" participants are important links in our outreach efforts and SO appreciated! Thank you all!

Proms!
The Prom Project is in the planning stages and we'll soon ask for donations of prom wear and other resources, including Fairy Godmothers and godfathers, to make this event very magical for up to 65 kids from Bonney Lake, Sumner, Orting, White River and Collins high schools. We do respectfully request no donations until after we move, please!

Primping and dress/accessory selection day for all our Cinderellas is Saturday, April 4th. The Cinderfella Fun Day for tux fittings is yet to be scheduled. Three proms are scheduled for Saturday, April 25th with the fourth, Bonney Lake's, on May 29th. (Collins has no event of its own so the kids attend the White River event).

As always, YOU, our incredibly generous and supportive community members are the reason we are able to do what we do to serve hundreds and hundreds of children living in poverty. THANK YOU from them and from me. With a deeply grateful heart, Carol

Carol Wells-Reed
Founder and Director
Lions 4 Kids House
20825 SR 410 East, PMB #198
Bonney Lake WA 98391
Message phone: 253-447-3844
Website: www.lions4kids.com
Email: cwells-reed@hotmail.com
*The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a
501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543

Lions 4 Kids update 1-18-09

2009-01-20T07:58:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone!

It's SO fun after all this time -- six months of construction and countless months of planning before that!! -- to report on the progress of our new building now that we're seeing things moving quickly in preparation for our move on Saturday, January 31!

- Saturday morning an energetic group of volunteers gathered their trucks, and muscle to move our new floor-mounted cabinets from their storage location into our new building! These were the cabinets donated to us by a boutique in Seattle last fall.

Deepest thanks: to Mike Connelly, Cory and Susan McCammon, David Colbeth, David Moberg, Gary Shay, Tom and Denise Watson, Jim Bouchard, Kevin Havener, Andrea and Marty Henschell, Jen Shears and April Young. Thanks too to April and her husband for allowing us to store the cabinets in their garage for many months!

After the cabinets were in the building several folks configured them to fit...it was like fitting together giant puzzle pieces because the way they were configured in their original site was definitely not going to work in our building! The fixtures will be installed permanently this week.

- WE FOUND FLOORING!!  Monday we will pick up our laminate from Lowe's! Deepest thanks to Steve Fox of Lowe's and our friend Jeff Oliphant for securing this product for us! This is a wonderful gift!

- We discovered that the sliding glass door that had been donated to us was extra tall so we had to purchase a new slider. We appreciate the discount provided by Home Depot enabling us to do that! Thank you Doug, Lisa and Home Depot team!

- We are looking for the blown insulation for the attic this week and hope to have it discovered soon. WOW, that stuff is expensive!! We're calling Puget Sound Energy in the hopes we may qualify for an energy assistance grant. We had batt insulation donated from Home Depot that we were able to use in part of the structure and it will be beefed up to R38 with blown insulation; the garage area has no insulation as yet and the rest of the building with existing insulation will be beefed up to R38 as well.

- We have heat! For the first time since we started last fall we have a central heat source! Thanks to the City of Bonney Lake for having the furnace serviced, ducting cleaned and a programable thermostat installed that will make us energy efficient! Except for when drywall was taped, we've been working without heat all winter. Jesse from Advanced Filter and Mechanical was the representative that did the work and he was awesome!

- We have new windows! Thanks to the generosity of Champion Windows and the efforts of four teams of their employees who volunteered their time, we have wonderful new energy efficient windows throughout! Thank you Jim Marowicz, Cary, Sam, Victor, Sergei, Dimitri, Mike, Jason and Justin.

- Thanks too to Mike Connelly, Bryan Long and Cory McCammon for solving our other little window issue!

- Brad Doll has textured the walls and ceilings and has been exceedingly flexible with his schedule to work around some of our issues. Thank you Brad!

- Mike Connelly has been our woodworking angel! He has been so helpful installing exterior siding and trim and helping with various other chores.

- Wall and trim painting is being done, thanks to the efforts of Mari, Ruth and Mark Johnson!

- Trim and doors will be installed from the 26th-28th by Green Earth Construction. Thank you Sarah!

- Electrical work continues this week thanks to Ruben Hernandez of Honor Electric! We'll have lights by the middle of the week and will no longer have to fumble in the dark!

- Gail and Victor of 410 Rentals have been so generous with the donation of various equipment. Thank you so much for your kindness!

- Sunday, Scouts from Troop 172 were working in our garden finishing the digging out of walkways from the back of our building through the Serenity Garden. Thank you Mike and Scouts!! It's really hard work digging through all that rock and moving soil. Your efforts are sincerely appreciated.

- Also Sunday Eagle Scout Candidate Daniel Barrett started installing the garden arbor he is constructing for his Eagle project!

Construction activities coming up:
- The bathroom floor will be installed Monday. Thank you Mike!

- The laminate floor will be installed in our main client-access areas. This will be done starting Wednesday. If you are able to help during the daytime hours please let me know as I'm sure Mike, Marilyn and Ruth would appreciate a few extra hands if only for an hour!

- The new roofing material will be installed sometime in the next two weeks thanks to Ruben Hernandez who has found us roofing contractor, Joe Roddaway. Thank you Ruben and Joe!

- The cement work will commence on our hard surfaces sometime in the next two weeks thanks to Pete Spain who was able to find us James from Aggregate Construction Inc. to do the installation and finishing with materials supplied by Miles Sand and Gravel. Thank you James and Pete, Walt Miles and Jeff!

ASSISTANCE REQUESTED PLEASE: Lots of little odds and ends:
- Tile installer: We are installing a tile countertop and backsplash in the kitchen (there will be no sink -- this is just flat countertop) -- about 10 l.f. total with 12" square tiles on the countertop and 6" tiles on the backsplash. Bathroom countertop tile and backsplash -- 6 lf. less the sink area. These are 4" square tiles. Tile backsplash behind the laundry tub -- 6 l.f. in either 8" tiles. We hope to be ready for this installation by next weekend. We'll be installing wood self-edge along the front edges of the kitchen cabinets to match the trim on our floor-mounted hanging racks. All materials furnished - just need the expertise.

- Installation of hooks in dressing rooms, smoke detectors; wall hanging rods, mirrors and assorted other "odd jobs". Installation of door knobs and locks throughout. This is a "honey-do" list that can be started after 1/23.

- Installation of exterior decorative shutters as soon as we can finish the exterior siding painting and get the shutters painted...this project to be done by 1/31

- We need our bathroom counter built..this will be a counter 3' wide and about 2' deep in an alcove and will have a 6" high wood facing across the front.

- We have several fire extinguishers acquired from various resources. We'd appreciate someone who could have them tested at the fire department and return them to us so we know which ones work and which need to be serviced.

- House cleaning: By Friday, January 30th we will be "substantially complete" with the construction and will need to have everything inside the building cleaned, dusted and polished in preparation for moving on the 31st.

- We have four "A" boards that need to be repainted and some lettering done.   We'd need them by February 2nd. They'll require some sanding to rough up the old finish before painting.

- We need some posters and other artwork done in preparation for our open house on March 8th.

If you are able to help with any of these activities, please contact me at cwells-reed@hotmail.com.

New Volunteers: We welcomed our newest volunteers last week: Matt Bohnert, Madelene Mullner, Cindy and Mike Connelly, Amy Rupert, Kathy Walton and Kathie Pelley. We're delighted to have you all "officially" on board! Mike and Kathy Walton have been working on our new building prior to this.

Our next training will be held Wednesdays, February 11 and March 11 at 7 p.m. at our new building at 18429-89th St. East, Bonney Lake. It takes about 75 minutes and there is no obligation to join us after the training if you find it isn't your cup of tea.

We have several high school seniors doing their culminating projects with Lions 4 Kids House including Jeff Bowie who will be doing a clothing drive at BLHS; Megan Waldron who will be taking senior portraits for kids who can't afford to have them done professionally and Jessica Jennings whose project is as yet undetermined. You are AWESOME young community partners and we thank you for your efforts on behalf of the kids who are our future!!

Many thanks to Jen Shears, Jody Barnes of Prime Fitness, Brent of Prime Fitness, the Puyallup Kiwanis for their recent donation of laundry detergent, and to ALL our donors without whose contributions in so many ways we could not do what we do. To Nancy Thomson and Andrea Henschell for researching flooring acquisition options for us, to Paul Nee for researching dry wall finisher options, to the Sumner REI warehouse for their fundraiser proceeds. To Lora Butterfield from the Bonney Lake Chamber who also works at Penney's at South Hill who called to mention their incredible sale of merchandise for pennies on the dollar! To Catrina Marth who did a pajama collection at school.
To Jo Bryant and her daughter Kim Fosterwho are hard at work sewing our window toppers and to Rebecca Berry for reupholstering the chairs for our client sitting area.

Save the date:
Saturday January 31: Lions 4 Kids House moving! We will be open to serve clients from 10-2 that day but we are going to transfer and store back room stuff early. At 2:30 after the clients have left we will move clothing, racks, bins and "stuff".

Saturday January 31 Chamber of Commerce dinner: Swiss Sportsmen's Club. Check the Chamber website for more information.

Sunday March 8th, public open house and volunteer/donor appreciation day at the new Lions 4 Kids House. House blessing and dignitary comments starting at 1 with information, tours, activities, fun and refreshments continuing until 5 p.m.

Saturday March 21, Death By Chocolate at Bonney Lake High School 5:30-11 p.m. Dinner, auction, entertainment, and fun, fun, fun! This event is the premier fundraiser for the Bonney Lake Lions and supports all of our community outreach including Lions 4 Kids House. More information coming soon!

Saturday December 12, Jingle Bell Ball, a community celebration to benefit the Bonney Lake Food Bank and Lions 4 Kids House. 8 p.m. to midnight at the Swiss "Ballroom".

Congratulations!!
Please join me in congratulating the Bonney Lake Citizen of the Year, Stew Bowen, director of the Bonney Lake and Bread of Life Food Banks! Stew will be honored at the Chamber of Commerce annual dinner on Saturday January 31st at the Swiss Sportsmen's Club in Bonney Lake.  To help celebrate Stew and the accomplishments of many other community contributors, log onto the Chamber website and reserve your place at the dinner! www.bonneylakechamber.org. It'll be a western hoedown and barbecue and tons of fun!! Bonney Lake does know how to party! Job well done Stew! Many hundreds of people have food on their tables because of your efforts and the coordination of your volunteers!

Finally:
Regardless of our individual political views, we have the incredible privilege to witness our nation celebrating democracy on Tuesday like no other country in the world with the inaguration of a new president. May President Obama and all elected officials serve wisely to restore peace and prosperity and our country's respect in the world. It is a long, rough road ahead for the entire country but by working together we CAN and WILL make a difference.

Lions 4 Kids House in this last two years is a prime example of how amazing things happen when people work together for a common goal. We have come so far and accomplished so much for hundreds of children thanks to the incredible support of our communities.  Thanks to each of you for the role you have played in our success. We simply could not do what we do without YOU. With sincere thanks. Carol

Carol Wells-Reed
Founder and Director
Lions 4 Kids House
20825 SR 410 East, PMB #198
Bonney Lake WA 98391
Message phone: 253-447-3844
Website: www.lions4kids.com
Email: cwells-reed@hotmail.com
*The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a
501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543

Lions 4 Kids House update - 01/17/2009

2009-01-17T21:04:00.001-08:00

Good evening all! First of all THANK YOU to each of you for your time and muscle today. What a feat to get everything in one trip! You rock!! Thank you April for the use of your garage all this time and for supervising the relocation on your end!

Just to catch everybody up to speed, the status of the floor installation changed a couple times after several of you left.  First we weren't going to put the laminate floor down before the cabinet installation, then we were, then we weren't and in the end it was decided we were, with a caveat.  Jim and David went up to Lowe's to look at the material, they talked to one of the knowledgeable associates and got the name of the manufacturer with whom they will check on Monday to see about any weight limits or special issues. Depending on the answer they receive, the floor will proceed one way or the other.

The manager of Lowe's won't be back to the store before Monday morning and other associates were unable to find a gift card anywhere in the vault and knew nothing about any special arrangements. Thanks Jim and David for checking on that! I'll check in with Lowe's manager first thing Monday and get the materials relocated asap to allow them to acclimate to the new building.

Several volunteers reconfigured the cabinets beautifully to make sure we have maximum hanging capacity while meeting requirements for wheelchair access and accommodating wall-hanging racks and wire shelving/bins. It looks absolutely awesome!! Well, it will when all the cabinets are properly aligned, screwed together and the boo-boos fixed. We used all but three of the cabinets which are temporarily being stored in the garage/workroom pending a decision what to do with them.

Mike has kindly agreed to lay the bathroom floor tile Monday and I will pick up the wet saw at 410 Rentals first thing (they are donating use of the equipment to us).  Mike, the tiles are in the garage area as is a bag of thin set. The toilet can be removed completely...it was reset for convenience after the bath was replumbed but we'll be bringing the commode from the other building over next week. Mike and Bryan also worked out a fix for changing out the two windows. Thank you Mike for your expertise and time!

The electrician will be working in the building Sunday and there will be some Boy Scouts working in the yard for the afternoon. I'll call Puget Sound Energy Monday to see if we can qualify for one of their energy conservation programs and get insulation. Marilyn and Ruth will be painting as time allows, and also agreed to help install the flooring along with Mike.

The trim painter will be working during the week; the finish carpenters will be in starting next Friday to set doors and install base and door trim. I'm going to check with them to see if they might be willing to do the window trim as well...that wasn't part of their original package.

Things are proceeding, and in the end it will be so beautiful. Thank you for your patience with me as I whine, control, get in my "zone", complain and get frustrated!!

I will be around the area pretty much every day next week except Wednesday and am available to do whatever. I'll be in town Friday during the day but Friday evening and through the weekend are family gatherings and my dad's memorial service is Saturday so I won't be available until Monday the 26th.  If anyone would like to putter next weekend with anything please let me know and I'll make sure you have whatever materials you need.

The cement contractor did come by late in the afternoon. In the front we will have a porch and sidewalk, a driveway and a pad for the donation station. We won't be getting our semi-circular drive, so I'll start working with the City to see if we can get a stop sign installed at the blind corner at 186th and 89th in lieu of. In the back we will have our handicap landing, ramp, a sidewalk through the gate and a paved parking place for handicap parking. The rest of the rear parking next to the handicap access will be gravel, and the other half of that back section will continue to be grass -- available for overflow parking as needed. I'm going to try to get gravel supplied by Miles for the easement/right of way across the front of the property so we don't have to mow so much grass.

That's it for now. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR HELP!! Carol



Carol Wells-Reed
Founder and Director
Lions 4 Kids House
20825 SR 410 East, PMB #198
Bonney Lake WA 98391
Message phone: 253-447-3844
Website: www.lions4kids.com
Email: cwells-reed@hotmail.com
*The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a
501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543

Lions 4 Kids House update 1/11/09

2009-01-12T10:12:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone!

Upcoming Volunteer Training: Just a reminder if you are interested in volunteering at Lions 4 Kids House we have a training session this Wednesday evening, January 14th, at 7 in our OLD building at 9004-184th Ave. E., in front of the Bonney Lake Library. The next trainings will take place on February 11th and March 11th in our NEW building.

Status of new building construction:

It is SO exciting to see things progressing in our wonderful new facility! The walls are now textured thanks to the efforts of Brad Doll; we have donated batt insulation installed over half of the attic (thanks to donations by Ruth Wergin and Home Depot) with installation courtesy of Kevin Havener (a true lifesaver was he!); the floors are being cleaned up thanks to the efforts of Kevin, Mike Connelly, Ruth Wergin and Marilyn Long in preparation for new flooring. There was a bit more old sheetrock tear-out required accomplished by Ruth Wergin. Our new back door (which will actually be our main entry) and side light window were installed by Bryan Long. We've been able to get all the drywall mud, primer and texture dry thanks to the propane heater donation from 410 Rentals. THANK YOU ALL!

This week we get our new windows from Champion Windows, the walls and ceilings will be painted, the new front slider installed, the balance of the rough-in plumbing will be done, our furnace and ductwork will be cleaned and serviced, interior light fixtures installed thanks to Ruben Hernandez of Honor Electric, and our floor-mounted cabinets will be moved and installed on Saturday.

REQUEST: I am requesting about a dozen guys or gals who may be able to assist us with the moving and installation of cabinets starting Saturday 1/17 at 9 a.m. until noon-1 p.m. Pick up trucks will be most helpful. If you can't stay the whole time, we still appreciate any assistance to get the cabinets moved out of their storage place and into the new building. Pizza will be ordered around noon to refuel our helpers.

If you are able to assist please let me know and I'll send you the local address where to meet to retrieve the cabinets. THANK YOU!!

The quest goes on for flooring, but I am confident we'll find something this week.

REQUEST for floor installation help: Mike Connelly has offered to begin installing the laminate-type material during the day the week of the 18th. If you would be able to assist him, please let me know. The goal is to get the flooring down so our finish contractors, Green Earth Construction, can being installing doors and trim late that week.

REQUEST for "odd jobs" assistance: On Saturday the 24th we'll be installing wall-mounted hanging racks, bathroom grab bars, mirrors, fitting room hooks, kitchen/bath laminate countertops, tile backsplashes, bathroom sink/ faucet and and essentially any odds and ends that need to be done before a final inspection. It is our hope we can request our final inspection for 1/26 to allow time for any necessary fixes. (It would be helpful to have someone experienced in laminate countertop installation too!)

Please email me if you are able to volunteer for any of the above. Thank you SO MUCH!!

Our new roof material will be installed sometime before the end of January and we await word early this week on installation of our exterior hard surfaces.

MOVING: Moving from the old building commences Saturday morning 1/31 and hopefully will be finished that day. We'll be open for clients from 10-2, moving non-essential stuff while the building is open to clients, and final clothing and racks after the doors close. What we can't finish on Saturday we'll do on Sunday. We open for clients on Wednesday February 4th.

Without the incredible teamwork and generosity of so many this huge project spanning nearly six months would not have been possible. It is such a cool little space and will make such a difference to so many children. They are going to be totally jazzed!

Ken Freed, Windermere Real Estate and Freed Insurance Group had a putt-putt golf tourney in December that raised over $500 for Our Kids. Thank you ALL for your efforts! (This was a VERY cool course!!)

When you're out and about shopping at McLendon, Home Depot and 410 Rentals, please say thank you to them for supporting the renovation of our new Lions 4 Kids House. Home Depot in particular has been an incredible materials donation partner and have extended so much support.

We have sustained a very high level of clothing donations this winter which enables us to put all "Our Kids" on a level playing field with their peers. Because of YOU they have an improved chance at a better life. Thank YOU for making it possible to do what we do!

With a very full and thankful heart, Carol

Carol Wells-Reed
Founder and Director
Lions 4 Kids House
20825 SR 410 East, PMB #198
Bonney Lake WA 98391
Message phone: 253-447-3844
Website: www.lions4kids.com
Email: cwells-reed@hotmail.com
*The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543

Lions 4 Kids update - 1/4/09

2009-01-05T16:56:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone! Thank you for the GREAT response to our request for drywall tapers. That piece of the project is now complete! Sanding, priming, texturing and possibly painting will happen this week!

In this installment:
- Brief thanks giving (more to come shortly - the lists are being compiled)
- Year-over-year kids helped
- Clothing donations requested and one other thing
- Warm coats distribution for the homeless
- Upcoming volunteer training sessions
- Save the date
- Planning for proms
- Status of new building
- Classifieds
- Note

Deepest thanks to:
- Larios Family Enterprises for finishing the drywall taping.
- Brad Doll for agreeing to sand and texture
- Bryan Long and his wife Marilyn who have been a stalwart helpers and support throughout this whole process
- 410 Rentals for use of the propane heater and dehumidifier
- Fred Jacobsen for forwarding our urgent message about needing a drywall taper in his newsletter
- Cadena Printing, Bonney Lake, for our beautiful new signs for the building! They're gorgeous!

And to:
- Our incredible volunteers who worked SO hard during November and December to serve Our 301 Kids
- Our Christmas Angels who wrapped gifts and brought joy and excitement into the hearts of so many children and their parents
- Our wonderful donors who made it possible for us to serve all Our Kids in this very difficult economic environment
- Susan (Glitterbug) McCammon who handed out warm coats, hats, mittens and smiles at the Sumner and Bonney Lake Food banks right before Christmas!

Year over year kids served:
November 06: 35    November 07: 73   November 08: Amended from 155 to 213
December 06: 100  December 07: 157 December 08: 301

The entire school year of 07-08 we served 1658 kids; so far the first four months of this school year we are at 843.

Clothing Donations Requested and one other thing:
- Our supply of jeans and pants for elementary-age girls from sizes 4-16 is very low. If your girls got new ones for Christmas and you're looking for somewhere to donate the gently-used but outgrown ones, please consider us!! (We're always in need of boy's jeans of all sizes too!)

- Also we are also in need of Boy's Large socks and also men's socks for our older boys and teens.

- We are looking for a crib with a mattress and sheets. Due to space constraints, we are unable to take baby furniture and car seats unsolicited but we do have a client in need so we're looking for a resource for baby Lyric. Thank you!

Lions 4 Kids On The Move: The next feeding program to distribute coats, hats and mittens will be in Edgewood at the Mountview Community Center at 10 a.m. on January 10th. (Yes, the Sumner School District extends to kids living in Edgewood!) For more information please contact Susan McCammon at grandmaslvsu2@msn.com.

Volunteer training sessions:
Interested in more information about volunteering with Lions 4 Kids? We have SO many ways you can help, limited only by your own imagination; many can be done from home. We welcome teens and youngsters to serve with their parents. Our youngest volunteer helps put toys on the shelves; Connor is not quite 2.

No pre-registration is required. All trainings start at 7 p.m. and last about 75 minutes. There is no obligation to serve after the training. We are extremely flexible with work hours; some volunteers serve an hour a month; others a couple hours a week at their convenience; others like Iona, Dana, April and Lisa give MANY, MANY hours. For everyone's safety, all volunteers are subject to a Washington State Patrol background check. This is a very special outreach to the children who are Our Future!

Location: Old House (in front of the Bonney Lake Library):     Wednesday January 14th
              New House (18924 - 89th St. E., Bonney Lake):   Wednesday February 11th
              New House                                                      Wednesday, March 11th

Hair cut coordinator needed:  Beginning this month, we are offering tidiness haircuts for Our Kids on the last Wednesday and last Saturday of each month. We are requesting someone who could take our list of interested cutters and line up three cutters for each of the dates and confirm with them in advance that they're still available. January has been scheduled.

Save the dates:
March 8th, Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Lions 4 Kids House Open House and Volunteer/Donor Appreciation Day
Dignitary opening comments and house blessing at 1 p.m. Refreshments!! Entertainment!! Tour our new facility built entirely with donated materials and labor!! (Do you know how RARE this is??) Acknowledge our volunteers and donors who are the ones who make it all happen for so many kids!

March 21, Saturday 8 -12 p.m. Death By Chocolate Location to be announced
Enjoy fabulous food provided by the award-winning Culinary Arts students at Bonney Lake High School; fabulous entertainment; silent and live auctions of amazing chocolate confections and other great stuff! This is the Bonney Lake Lions Club's premier fundraiser for the year and supports our work in the community including Lions 4 Kids House. If you missed last year's amazing entertainment, don't despair...we have some awesome stuff planned for this year! (Don't be misled by the name of the event, either...Death by Chocolate just sounds more enticing than Death by Vanilla -- there IS something for everyone at this very fun evening -- not the least of which is fabulous fellowship!)

December 12, Saturday 8-12 p.m. Jingle Bell Ball, a community celebration to benefit the Bonney Lake Food Bank and Lions 4 Kids House - Swiss Park "Ballroom". Put on your dancing shoes, your fancy duds and have a ball for a great cause!   More to come on this first of it's kind event in Bonney Lake! If you're interested in participating in the planning which will begin in the spring, let me know.

Prom Project Planning:
We don't have prom dates yet, nor anything definite scheduled in the way of planning, but if you think you might be interested in being a Fairy Godmother working with our Cinderellas, a godfather working with the Cinderfellas, or participating in some way in the Prom Projects for all four of our high schools (Bonney Lake, Sumner, White River and Orting), please send me an email and we'll get you on the list. We are changing the process this year to simplify it for our volunteers and details will be forthcoming.

Participating in the Prom Project is available to high school seniors (only) in living in poverty, are in good standing and on track to graduate. This is a really cool opportunity to make a difference in the lives of kids in poverty enabling them to attend this ultimate moment in their high school careers. For our volunteers, this is absolutely THE BEST goosebump moment in the world!!

New Building Update:
The City has graciously extended our stay to serve clients in the old building by the library until the end of January. Thank you! We're up against a hard deadline and are looking to the next four weeks to substantially complete the project so we can obtain final approvals and get moved.

- As mentioned earlier, texture and painting will be happening during this week (contractors scheduled).

Saturday 1/10 starting at 9: install batt insulation in accessible attic; install sliding glass door, back window, some door hardware and locks, patch siding; finish plumbing rough-in. Requesting assistance! Contractor will be on site, just need helpers please.

The following week: doors will be installed; furnace and ducts will be cleaned (contractors scheduled).

Saturday 1/17: Starting at 9 we would very much appreciate some heavy-lifters to move our floor-mounted cabinetry from a local garage to the building and set in place. Pickup trucks or panel trucks/vans would be extremely helpful as would dollies to roll the cabinets to their place.  (This could also happen evenings during the previous week.) Requesting assistance please!

At some point after the floor-mounted cabinets are in place we will need to install the laminate flooring (Pergo-type).

The following week: lighting installation, baseboards; (contractors available)

Saturday 1/24: Wall-mounted racks installed, counter tops, backsplash, plumbing fixtures and faucets;
hang exterior shutters; final "stuff" and inspections. Requesting assistance please! Will have contractor on site, just need helpers.

Saturday 1/31: Finish whatever else needs to be done: hang window blinds and curtains; hang dressing room curtains; place furniture. Requesting assistance please!

Sunday 2/1 from 1-5: Subject to final inspection approvals: MOVE from old building to new! Pickup trucks and vans very helpful. Requesting assistance please!

Still to be scheduled subject to weather: exterior hard surface installation; roofing material; beauty bark and walkway gravel.

Awaiting word on availability: windows

Still need to find: blown insulation; flooring; baseboard material. (The flooring challenge fund currently has $952!)

It's SO fun to watch this building come together after all this time. Words can't begin to express our appreciation for all the donations and help we've had. Our Kids are going to be SO thrilled with this wonderful place!

In February we will complete the Serenity Garden.

NOTE:
We are going to be unable to use a school portable at our present location but many thanks to those of you who have been looking for one for us.

Finally: THESE KIDS GET IT!!
While Christmas Angels were wrapping gifts during the month of December they asked our young clients to take a short informal survey that included their name, age and what they are thankful for. We received about 50 responses. Kids from age 4 to mid teens, to a child, responded that they are thankful for their family and friends. It isn't the "stuff" that matters; it's the people who love, support and encourage us.

As we embark upon the year ahead, again, many sincere thanks for the support of our wonderful community. YOU are the reason we are able to do what we do. May your blessings be many! With gratitude, Carol

Carol Wells-Reed
Founder and Director
Lions 4 Kids House
20825 SR 410 East, PMB #198
Bonney Lake WA 98391
Message phone: 253-447-3844

Lions 4 Kids update - 12/24/08

2008-12-25T16:55:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone:

In this installment:
- New house update
- Into the new year and assistance requested
- Volunteer training schedule - first quarter
- Thanks Giving, abbreviated version for the moment
- Reflections and what we've learned this year

New House:
With adverse weather and changes in volunteer labor schedules the big push to complete construction and the move to the new building has been delayed. We do thank the City of Bonney Lake for their patience! They have kindly granted us one more month in our old building which will enable us to round up the last of our materials, coordinate work schedules with volunteers, install our exterior hard surfaces and relocate. Please stay tuned for further updates in the next week on the construction. Special thanks to our carpenter, Bryan Long, who has hung in with us in the most incredible way since the project started last August.   The drywall will be taped by the end of the weekend and ready for texture and paint!! It's exciting to see it looking like a "real" place again!

Our Open House and Volunteer Appreciation Day is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, March 8th.

Into the New Year:
We are going to enhance our services in 2009 in some fun and exciting ways.

Open hours: We are adding client hours to the schedule. Presently we are open Wednesdays from 4-7 and Saturdays from 10-2. Beginning in February we will also be open on Tuesdays from 10:30-1:30 to coincide with open hours at the Bonney Lake Food Bank. This will enable clients on the hill to get groceries and their kids' resources all in one trip. It also helps those who work evenings, nights or weekends who may not be able to get to the clothing bank due to conflicting work hours. We will be requesting volunteers to assist on Tuesdays-- perhaps moms whose kids are in school?

Haircuts:  Beginning in January we will offer basic haircuts to our young clients. On the last Wednesday and last Saturday of each month we will have volunteers trimming locks to keep the kids tidy. Our haircut coordinator has had to step down, and we are currently looking for a replacement. We have a list of salons and interested individuals but need someone who will coordinate three cutters each time and remind them a week in advance of their commitment. This can be done from home.

Kudos 4 Kids: We have seen a number of Our Kids' grades and attendance improve over the previous school year and are going to build on that with a program that will reward them in a small but tangible way. At mid-year and the end of the school year the kids will bring us their report card showing a small but definite improvement and they'll get to dip in a prize bin with stuff like food certificates, time at Jumpin' Jack & Jill bouncy-toys, a round of putt-putt golf, movie tickets, etc. and be acknowledged on our Success Board. We hope this will provide the children with an incentive to strive and succeed and be rewarded for their efforts. Goal: keep them in school!

College 4 Kids: There is a Washington State program that (presently, at least) provides a college scholarship to children whose family income is below a certain standard. The children enroll in the program while in middle school, and over the last several years of their education must retain a certain minimum GPA and not get into trouble with the law...a no brainer for many of us perhaps, but not so simple for kids with issues we can't even begin to comprehend. We will be working with the schools in our service area to bring this program to the attention of students and parents who are our clients and get as many of Our Kids enrolled as possible. Education beyond high school of course is a key component in an individual's ability to succeed in life and obtain sustaining employment that will enable them to be tax payers instead of social services users. Goal: keep them in school and succeeding!

Surplus School Portable: The quest begins! Why do we need this?? Are we never satisfied?? Once we are moved to the new building we will begin in earnest searching for a double-wide surplus portable in good condition from within a reasonable distance that will enable us to have more space to run the above programs and build on current ones. (The Sumner S.D. does not have portables available due to construction on several schools, so we will look elsewhere for this resource.) It is our understanding that many districts give the surplus buildings away and "FREE" is what we're looking for. We will, of course, obtain permission from our landlord, the City, before undertaking any relocation to make sure we meet all codes and standards. In anticipation, though, we have set aside a space in the back of the new property specifically for this purpose.

During events like Back To School, the Prom Project, Christmas, etc. it is necessary to completely reconfigure the shelving and racks in our present building to accommodate lots more "stuff" and we won't be able to do that in our new building; hence we'd like a small expansion space. Plus, we feel there is more still we can do for Our Kids to help them succeed and a modest, open space will enable us to pursue other programs.

Volunteer Training Schedule: First quarter we will offer volunteer training as follows: Wednesday, January 14 (old building), Wednesday, February 11 and Wednesday March 11 (new building). All are at 7 p.m., last about 75 minutes, are open to the public and there is no obligation to volunteer with us if it's not what you expected.

There are SO many ways to volunteer, limited only by your imagination. We are extremely flexible (i.e., the only volunteers who are "scheduled" are those who work with Our Kids during open hours); some work one hour a month, others give several hours a week.  All volunteers are subject to a Washington State Patrol background check.

Comments from some volunteers: "I feel like I make a difference"; I used to be an athlete who volunteered on the side, now I'm a volunteer who trains on the side, and I love it!"; "I really enjoy the comraderie of the volunteers and the opportunity to help kids"; "I really look forward to my time at Lions 4 Kids"; "those kids are such an inspiration!". Come check us out!

Thanks Giving: An abbreviated list for the moment:

To ALL our Christmas Angels: THANK YOU! You brought joy to so many kids the last month! The kids were SO excited to have something to give their parent(s) and have it be a surprise. If you imagine the three Wise Men with their treasurers, this will conjure the image of Our Kids with their gifts. There were many tender, touching moments.

To Iona, April, Dana, Amanda, Jonathan, Peggy, Sherry, Paula, Tamye, Jen, Bibiana, Linda, Lisa, Melody, Shelley, Mary, Marcia, Brenda, Jessica, Elizabeth: YOU are the gifts that just keep on giving and giving and giving. THANK YOU for all your hard work in keeping shelves stocked, floors cleaned, clients served and children joyful.

To our donors of clothes, toys, gift wrap, funds, detergent, socks and undies, coats, teen gifts and so much more: THANK YOU for your warm and giving hearts. YOU made it possible for us to gift 300 children in December,100 more kids than last year.

Volunteer hours on behalf of Lions 4 Kids House from November 15 to December 15: 825 hours. This included the clothing bank process, our bazaar and garage sale, work on the new building and Christmas Angels. What can you say to a number like that??? WOW!! And deepest THANKS!!! Some people gave an hour, others gave many. What an amazing achievement to come together to serve others!

To Susan McCammon for her work distributing coats, hats, mittens and mufflers to folks at local food banks in the last few days. You are an ANGEL!!

Reflections and what we've learned this year:
There are many traditions and ways to celebrate this special time: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the winter solstice. Giving, though, is at the heart of all these events. At no other time of the year is there such a sense of purpose as a greater community that extends far beyond the borders of our own towns. Everywhere people were coming together to serve and give to those in need.  Just in our own areas thousands of people were assisted because of YOU, because we came together in community to serve others.

For some families, the holidays are anticipated with dread -- sometimes always, sometimes just this year: family issues, added pressures and no time, financial issues, death and health issues, the weather, etc., etc., etc.

I'm fortunate to have amazing memories of Christmas: Christmas Eve over the river and through the woods with one set of grandparents, eating hearty farm food and giggling with cousins not seen for a year at a time; Christmas Day with the city grandparents -- a heavily laden table that to a child looked 40 feet long, with a turkey at least as big as a moose that Gramma got up at 4 a.m. to get in the oven; fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast (recipe still unduplicated!).  Peeking between the newel posts at Grampa's English wool socks hung on the mantle with big oranges stretching them to the limit and a fire crackling on the grate, the tree laden from Santa's visit in the night; secretly sliding down the bannister on Christmas morning hoping not to acquire any splinters like on a previous forbidden but enticing slide.  That same table that seemed to groan under the sheer magnitude of food now sits in my own dining room, a mere "table", and yet still laden with sweet, sweet memories.

The children served by Lions 4 Kids and many other agencies in our greater community will have their own memories, perhaps not of groaning tables but at least of a meal, gift, a treasure, a moment of joy, that would not have been theirs were it not for someone they don't know and will never meet, who cares. Thank YOU for reaching beyond yourself to give a child a sweet memory they will cherish forever.

What we have learned this year at Lions 4 Kids:
1. Don't take anything for granted; you or someone you love may not be alive tomorrow
2. Circumstances are always beyond a child's control
3. Many of us are a medical emergency or economic downturn away from desperation

4. Little girls, when they put on a new dress, twirl in front of the mirror -- every time
5. Little boys (and big ones, too) get new clothes, look in the mirror and try to be really cool and like it's no big deal. But they get a certain look in their eye and you know they're saying to themselves, "DUUUUUDE!!! You are theee maaannn!!! -- every time

6. Smiles are the same in any language
7. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings, foster parents and others raising kids not their own deserve a special place in Heaven
8. Stuff happens -- and Life goes on anyway

9. Angels are everywhere. They don't necessarily have wings or a halo (and even if they did, they might be a little the worse for wear), but you are probably in close proximity to one right now
10. Bad kids make the news but there are a whole lot of really good ones out there -- see item #9 above

11. To a homeless child a Christmas wish can be as simple as a hat and mittens to stay warm as they sleep in their car at night...and some socks to keep their toes from being cold

12. You can take the boy out of elementary school but can't necessarily take the elementary out of the boy: give a bunch of young teens an opportunity to dig in the dirt and their first accomplishment will be to combine dirt, stones, leaves, grass and worms or bugs to create the perfect creepy-crawly habitat

13. Some adults are content with poverty but their kids aren't
14. Kids have hopes and dreams for their future and are willing to work hard to break the cycle of poverty that has often lasted for generations in their families

15. Cinderella and Cinderfella are alive and well and yes, Fairy Godmothers, godfathers and even Santa do exist
16. Kids are Our Future: they'll someday be voters to decide on funding for old folks' programs

17. If you have a choice between profession or passion, even for a little while, choose passion. It will leave you changed
18. You'll regret the things you don't do in life far more than the things you do

19. "Pay It Forward" was at one time considered by critics to be a hokey movie, yet the concept is being used all over our communities to great advantage, for the receivers and the givers. Stepping outside oneself for the benefit of others, even in a small way, changes and enriches us.

20. Poverty wears people out. It sucks the life, dignity, energy and joy, right out of them and is very, very scary, especially if they have children.
21. Never underestimate the power of a hug, a smile or a kind word
22. Individuals who are the least loveable are usually the ones who need love the most

23. Knowing there is HOPE and that someone cares DOES make a difference
24. People have put aside politics, religion and ideology to benefit thousands of kids in need in our local communities with powerful results
25. Miracles happen!

26. Snowflakes are among the most fragile of things, but look what happens when they stick together! (thanks, Susan!)
27. The conductor gives the orders but it's the orchestra that makes the music -- YOU, our community, are the orchestra that has brought joy and comfort to many.   May you be greatly blessed in return.

Finally, I received a lovely gift yesterday of a CD of Josh Groben's Christmas songs. One of the cuts says "WE are the change we want to see, and while we can always do more, we have so much to be thankful for."  To that I must say AMEN.  From the children we serve, their parents to whom you bring relief and from me, thank you for the gift of sharing, of smiles, of giving, of hugs, tears, goose bumps, joy, incredulousness.

May your holidays how ever you celebrate them be happy, safe and create treasured memories to last your life long.

With humble gratitude, Carol

Carol Wells-Reed
Founder and Director
Lions 4 Kids House
20825 SR 410 East, PMB #198
Bonney Lake WA 98391
Message phone: 253-447-3844

Lions 4 Kids update - 12/14/08

2008-12-16T06:34:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone.

This has been an emotional weekend in many ways. My "baby girl" daughter of 31 was here from Wisconsin for the weekend as was my sister from Texas to join with my parents and local siblings for a warm family gathering and simple meal on Friday evening. It was hard to send the non-locals back to their own homes not knowing when we'd all be together again.

Saturday I was able to be part of several events around our local communities that have continued a strong emotional response. I've been searching for 24 hours for the right word(s) to describe it, and still it eludes me but I'd like to share some of it:

Community Dinner at Sumner High School on 12/13: I arrived late in the afternoon as things were winding down but what I observed were teens who had been planning for weeks, preparing for days -- in addition to regular school work, sports and jobs -- still cheerfully engaged in greeting guests, seeing to their empty dishes or the need for a beverage; yummy, hot food -- FREE-- for everyone regardless of financial situation to enjoy; a wonderful Children's Corner to keep youngsters amused; a Santa and sleigh filled with donated gifts that a child in need could take home for that special day of waking in the morning to a surprise! There was a table laden with food donations for the food bank. Guests were sitting and chatting together. People were brought together, and there was this sense of complete "community". I guess I expected the teens would be antsy to get things cleaned up and be done with it that late in the day, but they weren't. They were relaxed and chatting with each other and totally attuned to the needs of the remaining guests and focused on their mission.

It is a testament to many: the donors who made the meal and gifting possible; the parents who have raised caring grounded kids; the teachers and educational community who further guide them on their way to help them see the value of working together for a purpose; the kids themselves for their willingness to reach out to others with energy and compassion.

I left there feeling very well fed, blessed and hopeful. I hope those who attended the event who are stretched financially felt even a portion of what I did. It was a very special and touching experience. Thank you to all involved for your vision, your energy, your caring and compassion.

Bazaar and garage sale:
Andrea Henschell, Iona Catonio and April Young have been planning for months the wonderful bazaar and rummage sale fundraiser Saturday afternoon at the Bonney Lake Sr. Center (whom we thank for the use of their wonderful facility). We had asked for donations of "nice" garage sale items and received tons of them from our generous community!

Vendors from such companies as Pampered Chef, Sensy, Sensaria, and others gave an afternoon to share their wares and proceeds from sales with Lions 4 Kids. Baked goods and wonderful creations for immediate consumption or worthy of gifting were available for sale to our guests. We had two Santas and a Mrs. Santa who gave their time for portions of the afternoon; volunteers who showed up at dawn to open the building and help set up like Debbie McDonald and Susan McCammon. Volunteers from Bonney Lake High School helped. Lara of the Sr. Center staff volunteered in the kitchen the entire day helping with the Play-Dayz breakfast in the morning and our event in the afternoon. Unsold garage sale items were delivered to Rainier Thrift to further their outreach.

We didn't have as many guests as we had hoped but those that attended had a good time and got some great stuff and screamin' deals. We earned around $500 that will benefit Our Kids greatly and are deeply appreciative of our volunteers who spent so much time in the planning and execution of the event, to our donors who made wares available, and our guests for their purchases. One added benefit was a connection through Mrs. Santa, Sherry Creson, to Proctor and Gamble who may be able to help with grants for detergent and personal care items.

Lions 4 Kids House and working with clients:
I've been working at our new building every Saturday since August so I've been somewhat removed from the normal goings-on at the clothing bank except for reports from our able volunteers who keep everything running with precision and popping in to help now and then with one thing or another. Because many of these same volunteers were involved in the bazaar and rummage sale fundraiser at the Sr. Center on Saturday I spent several hours working with clients and volunteers. We served 48 kids Saturday, after seeing 200 kids over the previous 3 open days, a total of just 12 hours. The parents are so grateful for the lovely clothing, shoes and warm coats for their kids. The kids themselves just shine with personal pride in their new attire. So many families are new to being in need this year and they struggle mightily with having to ask for help. We didn't have many gifts on the shelf Saturday but were able to promise some later.

We had three adults and a team of four Bonney Lake H.S. teens on duty as Christmas Angels to wrap what we did have. It was so fun to watch little ones -- and not-so-little ones -- select the perfect gift for their parent, then smuggle it carefully off for wrapping. They'd return with this sparkle in their eye and a bounce in their step that now they had a gift to give. Few were willing to have their treasures bagged for carrying, preferring instead to grasp them tightly but tenderly in their hands.

We had donors coming by with bags and boxes of toys for little ones, and gifts for teens -- movie tickets and gift cards -- and cash donations to purchase what we need that isn't donated.  We received boxes of granulated detergent we can bag up and send home with clients so they can stay clean.

I left the building overcome with so many feelings, not the least of which is that Lions 4 Kids "IS" and we can make a difference in some small way to so many children, thanks to an incredibly generous community who makes it possible for us to do what we do.

Golf Tournament at Windermere: Friday afternoon Ken and Tyler Freed and Gloria Bechtold had set up a really cool putt-putt course for guests to navigate at their annual holiday open house. The $5 entry fee for the course will benefit Lions 4 Kids. I haven't talked to Ken yet about how the day unfolded but we do sincerely appreciate their efforts.  Thanks to Tyler for not crowing too loudly when you trounced me!

Other Community Efforts:
Dana is one of our volunteers and a lightening rod of action! She has a young son and daughter who attend school in Bonney Lake. The daughter's classroom had a box for food donations with only 11 cans of food in it after a couple weeks. Dana and her four-year-old daughter went door to door in their neighborhood asking for food donations and came home with 70 cans of food. Amanda even took money from her piggy bank to buy baby food and cat food.

The Longshoremen's Local again this year has donated boxes and boxes of toys and bikes for us to give in addition to cash to purchase gifts for teens. Curves and Prime Fitness has offered us the toys they collect from their clients so we have them to offer to our families. Jody Barnes, a trainer at Prime Fitness, creates her own resource-raisers to benefit Our Kids which I understand right now is personal care items. And Brent, the manager, has agreed to a warm- coat drive.

Tom Watson at Office Depot has donated a huge box of tote bags; Bruce and Janet Emig donated eight live Christmas trees for our clients to take home to enjoy; Cory McCammon has happened upon more trees we'll be able to put out; Dennis Tompkins donated a gorgeous Noble Fir from the world's premier tree farm in Oregon for us to decorate and have outside our building. Cowgirl's Espresso is collecting clothing and food through the 23rd at their location across from Fred Meyer. Pastor Stew Bowen, director of Bread of Life and Bonney Lake food banks came by Lions 4 Kids last week and reported that their shelves were bare one day and then 6000 pounds of food appeared!

So many anonymous donors have offered so much to children in need throughout our community. They will have a bountiful holiday and will be warm and nicely attired afterward thanks to people whom they will never meet, but nonetheless, care. "Thank you" doesn't begin to seem adequate to express our appreciation and yet that, and a full-to-overflowing, grateful heart, is all we have.

New Building Update:
Saturday morning in the rain and biting cold Michael DaCorsi, Kevin Havener and Cory McCammon were kind enough to take down the chain link fence fabric from the old Lions 4 Kids building so we can erect it at the new one, saving money and recycling the materials. Thank you gentlemen!

Eric from EB Enterprises and his team finished our drywall installation. We'll call for our inspection Monday and hopefully be able to begin taping this week! Thank you!

Sealing, texturing and painting will follow. Beginning Saturday December 27th will be a big push to get everything finished in time for our opening to clients on Wednesday January 7th. I will be creating a list of to-do's that if you have an hour or so to help that week between Christmas and New Year's will enable us to meet our time constraints. We know we won't be all the way "done" but being able to get the place configured as much as possible prior to greeting clients will save a great deal of hassle. Please stay tuned later this week for more information.

Floor update: The floor challenge fund now has $352 thanks to Iona Catonio, Jessica Larios, Candy Moberg and an infusion from my doting parents. Grateful thanks to you all! We have identified vendors who can help with supplying the floor but aren't able to donate all the materials so we are attempting to collect some funds to purchase materials at cost. Every dollar helps and may be sent to the address below with a notation of "floor fund".

I had hoped that this week I'd be able to acknowledge all of our very generous donors and volunteers to date. Please stay tuned for that update as well. You are not forgotten, just scattered on lists and various paper scraps at the moment, awaiting organization. You are Angels, all of you, to so many who are going through the worst time of their lives. With what you give of your time and treasure you are giving them HOPE for the future. And as long as there is hope there is a reason to get up every morning and continue.

Thank you for allowing me to be part of this journey, not just at Christmas, but all the year through. The knowledge that we together are part of a greater good is a most treasured gift that no amount of money can buy.

With a grateful and humble heart, thank you. Carol

Carol Wells-Reed
Founder and Director
Lions 4 Kids House
20825 SR 410 East, PMB #198
Bonney Lake WA 98391
Message phone: 253-447-3844
The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a 501(c)3 non profit organization #38-3753543

Lions 4 Kids update 12/7/08

2008-12-08T17:39:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone: This will be short(er) than usual (you already know with me, it's NEVER "short" in the conventional sense, but oh my, all the great stuff to share takes room!!!) There will be much more comprehensive information next weekend and acknowledgements (pages and pages of acknowledgements!!!).

OH, the blessings!!! About the time I think Lions 4 Kids has certainly had many, many more than our share, Heaven opens and showers us with more (see below for some recent ones)!!

In this installment:
Save the date:
Kids served this month
Status of renovation:

SAVE THE DATES:

Friday, December 12th from 11-5 at Windermere Real Estate in Bonney Lake is their holiday open house and putt-putt golf tournament. Your $5 golf entry fee will benefit Lions 4 Kids. Ken Freed REALLY knows how to "DO" golf.... This is one not to miss!

SATURDAY, December 13th from 1:30-4:30 at the Bonney Lake Sr. Center (not Sunday as I mistakenly reported earlier):  Holiday bazaar and garage sale fundraiser
Consultants from numerous companies will be selling candles, stamps and accessories, cosmetics and fragrance, Pampered Chef, unique jewelry and MORE! We've been collecting a great assortment of garage sale items; there will be yummy baked items for sale (all calories removed if you're going to eat it yourself, or good enough to pass off as your own if you aren't!); Santa and the Mrs. for the kids with photo opportunities (thanks to the McConkeys and the Cresons for helping with the Ho-Ho-Ho's!!), refreshments and FUN. All proceeds will benefit the kids who are our future served by Lions 4 Kids House.  There will be some excellent and affordable gift-giving options available and you'll support a great cause!

Our incredible volunteers Iona, Andrea, April, Dana and others have been working overtime to organize this event. Grateful thanks to each of them.

Also next Saturday:  FREE community holiday dinner at Sumner High School from 12-4 sponsored by the high school's leadership class. What an amazing group of kids this is - our future's in GREAT hands! Thanks to John Norlin for his leadership!

Christmas Angels: We have a fabulous group of volunteers to help with wrapping but are in need of a couple more helpers on both Saturday 12/13 and Saturday 12/20 from 12-2. All other days and hours are covered and we sincerely thank everyone who is helping!

On the Move to deliver warm coats, hats and mittens to local homeless feeding programs in December is being organized. Please stay tuned for dates and times!

Children served:

Kids, kids everywhere!!!
We've broken all records this month so far: Wednesday 12/3 we served 69 kids from 4-8:30; Saturday 12/6 we served 67 from 10-2, with a number of families who came by choosing to return another time because we were so busy. Except for general excitement of the season, volunteers reported it was an orderly and VERY FUN couple days!!

Renovation requests filled!
- We have a roofer to install our shingles! Thank you for the referral Ruben Hernandez!
- We have a cement finisher to work with Miles Sand and Gravel to install our exterior hard surfaces! Thank you for the referral Walt Miles!

Energy inspection completed Friday 12/5. Our builder Bryan Long completed all the framing; drywall will complete this week and taping commence next weekend; sealing, texturing and painting upon completion of taping.

The race to the finish line!
You certainly don't need to be reminded about the rapid approach of Christmas!  Because volunteer projects have their own cadence as our helpers have to fit this activity into their regular work schedules, it's appearing that a good deal of the finish work will need to be completed in the week after Christmas. If you are available starting December 27th for even an hour and have a desire to help, we are in need of the following helpers:

- Finish carpenters to install doors, baseboards, trim, door hardware, etc. (materials provided)
- Individuals willing to install slot walls, hanging wall racks and shelving
- Someone to create and install shoe shelves (materials provided)
- Someone to build, paint and install book shelves (materials provided)
- Strong individuals to help us move, place and install our new cabinetry (and a few pickup
     trucks to move it from it's Bonney Lake storage location)
- Individuals willing to install batt insulation in the attic

We must vacate our old building by Monday, January 4th and are scheduled to open our doors to Our Kids on Wednesday January 7th. We know we won't be totally completed with the project by then, but having finish work done will alleviate a great deal of hassle.

Flooring challenge!
As you know the last BIG piece of our renovation project is proving to be a challenge. We're having difficulty finding flooring materials for the new building -- 1600 s.f. Pergo-like laminate material in a light maple wood finish. This segment of the building industry seems especially hard-hit by the economy and even manufacturers and distributors have been unable to assist. A couple companies have offered us materials at cost, but every undesignated dollar we receive goes to purchase items needed but not donated for Our Kids, so essentially we have no money. EVERYTHING to date on our renovation has been the result of donated materials and labor with one monetary gift early on that has purchased items we haven't been able to get donated.

Our facility manager, Iona Catonio, has issued a challenge:
Iona has put $50 in a fund to help pay for flooring and so far we have received another $101. If you would like to contribute $1, $5, $50, or anything in between toward the purchase of our floor, our mailing address is below. Please mark checks "L4K Floor Fund". Credit card donations are also accepted if you will email me with your name and phone number ONLY. DO NOT SEND CREDIT CARD INFO via email! I will contact you personally for information. Thank you Iona and Jessica Larios!

Showered by Blessings!!
Do you believe in Miracles? If you don't, please come hang around Lions 4 Kids for awhile. Why, it could even make a believer out of a hard-hearted fellow like Ebenezer Scrooge!!

- Saturday, one of our construction volunteers for the day, Bob Leistico, was asking about delivery of our new windows. I mentioned that Champion will have them onsite sometime in January but that I had received a call from the owner on Friday who indicated that due to the high cost of materials and labor to produce it they would be unable to supply our sliding glass door. Bob's face brightened and he said he'd been golfing recently at Lipoma Firs Golf Course and one of the homeowners had replaced their windows leaving a white vinyl slider leaning against their fence on the fairway marked "free slider". I checked it out on Saturday, it's still there, and a phone call from the homeowner today indicates they would LOVE for us to have it. Bob and his golfing buddy are picking it up Monday! Thank you Bob!!

- Iona was at Prime Fitness last week and was talking to one of her trainers about our need for kid's Christmas gifts. A lady standing nearby overheard the conversation and mentioned that she had a car full of gifts to donate to "someone" and she decided then and there she wanted to give them to us! Her totally stuffed Suburban pulled up at Lions 4 Kids House and off-loaded the goodies, which was enough to supply gifts for the 69 kids we saw last Wednesday!

- Friday I had a call from Lisa Peters, another of our wonderful volunteers and an employee of Home Depot. Lisa has been instrumental in bringing Lions 4 Kids to the attention of her co-workers, and Home Depot's support on the remodel and for Our Kids has been incredible. Home Depot had several bundles of attic insulation returned but it's a brand they no longer carry. Her superiors wanted to know, could we use it? Attic insulation is one of the next things I am working on finding, and this donation along with that of Ruth Wergin will take care of more than 25% of our attic. Thank you Lisa and Home Depot!

In the rush, bustle and sometimes overwhelming chaos associated with the season, please take a moment to BREATHE, to hug those you love and reflect on your blessings.

This is the season of giving and perhaps the most important thing you can offer is a hand of reconciliation, a kind word or a smile to someone. It may be the most important gift you ever give to them -- or receive yourself.

With deepest thanks to YOU, our incredible community, for the blessings showered upon Lions 4 Kids, that ARE making a difference to the children who are our future, Carol

Carol Wells-Reed
Founder and Director, Lions 4 Kids House
Mailing address: 20825 SR 410 East, PMB #198
Bonney Lake 98391
Message phone: 253-447-3844
Website: www.lions4kids.com
Email: cwells-reed@hotmail.com
The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a 501(c)3 non profit organization #38-3753543

Lions 4 Kids update - 11/23/08

2008-12-05T18:38:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone, and a very happy Thanksgiving week to you all!

We at Lions 4 Kids House have a gargantuan cornucopia overflowing with blessings big and small: from fundraisers, to teens moving a small mountain, to bulb planting, to a teen using a Sawz-All for the first time. To dads using hammers and pry bars, to mossy-roof-scraping calling on knowledge from a decades-old former profession. To donors of our gorgeous resources, to attic-checking for wrapping paper, to clothing kids, sorting, cleaning, hauling away garbage, and keeping a little building with a big mission running with military precision, we are so incredibly blessed.

It is impossible to find the words to describe how people coming together in many ways is changing the lives of children living in poverty and will continue to do so in the future. There are MANY individual thanks to offer and I will do so in my next update. It's been a really fun week watching Kids Helping Kids in particular. (One fun observation with a group of middle school boys digging in the dirt: you can take the boy out of elementary school, but you can't necessarily take the "elementary" out of the boy -- take leaves, sticks, dirt, rocks and squiggly worms, add a dozen boys, and create the perfect "worm habitat".)

Stories of wayward kids make the news but make no mistake, there are a whole bunch of pretty cool, smart, caring (and creative) kids out there who will lead us into the future.

Requests:

- Christmas Angels: if you have an hour or two during December on a Wednesday evening (4-8:30) or Saturday mid-day (10-2) to wrap gifts for Our Kids to give to the significant adult in their lives, we will sincerely appreciate your skills. You don't have to stay the entire time -- just a short shift helps immensely.  This is an opportunity to see the magic of Christmas on the face of a child who didn't expect to be able to give something special to a gramma, mom, dad or foster parent. We have the mom & dad gifts, we have the wrapping paper thanks to Lake Tapps Community Church -- we just need some Christmas Angels to wrap. This is a way-cool experience for teens.

- We are in desperate need of Santa!!!  We'll provide the fuzzy red suit in exchange for some hearty ho-ho-ho's for our holiday fundraiser to benefit Lions 4 Kids. On Sunday afternoon, December 13th, 1:30-4:30 at the Bonney Lake Senior Center, consultants from many home-based businesses will showcase their products, with a percentage of sales benefiting Our Kids. There will be a bake sale, "garage sale", refreshments and photos with Santa (but a Mrs. Santa would certainly be acceptable!) Do YOU know the perfect "jolly old elf" (or Mrs. Elf) who could be available for a few hours of Christmas magic??

If you'd like to bake some delectable delights to donate for sale, that would be awesome too. Of course, tax receipts are gratefully provided!

We'll have some great "stuff" on sale, and this is a perfect opportunity to cross some wishes off that Christmas list AND help Our Kids in the process!

- Roofing expert: We are in need of an expert please who can guide a few willing Oldie-But-Goodie volunteers in the intricacies of installing shingles. There are a few of us who can wield a hammer but lack the expertise to get started, and install the ridges, and valleys. The shingles sit atop the roof at our new building awaiting the assistance of a seasoned expert. Do you know someone who might be able to help us before the rains set in in earnest??

- Exterior door installation: Next Saturday, November 29 from 9 - noon our contractor will be installing two exterior doors. A couple holder/helpers will make the process easier and faster if you have an hour or two. Please email me if interested in assisting.

- Fence movers:  We need to move the chain link fence from our old building to our new location and are requesting some helpers. In the interest of cost savings we're going to dig up the existing posts, cement and all, and relocate them to a larger hole to fill with additional cement. We will provide augers to dig the new holes, a cement mixer and the materials, if a few helpers can provide the labor. We have a supervisor who is medically unable to participate in the physical portion of this task, but he knows the ropes of how to do the job. We have some fence across the back of the new property already; this new segment will help secure the rest.

Note: If we can get the old fence removed and transported to our new property in December, the reinstallation can wait until after the holidays. (This removal segment might be a good task for some supervised teens?)


Status of renovation:
We will be calling for our first building inspection this week and pending a successful outcome will be ready to insulate walls and begin sheetrocking the end of the week. The reconstruction process begins in earnest now, and December will be busy as we work to meet our January 1 deadline to vacate the old building. We plan to move our inventory late in the week following Christmas so we are ready to open our beautiful new energy-efficient space to our young clients on January 7th.

Work continues in the Serenity Garden, rain or shine, on Saturdays from 9-12. We hope to have some beauty bark on site in a couple weeks to help prevent weeds from sprouting in the areas that will be completed by then.

We are still working to find interior flooring materials and cement for exterior hard surfaces. The only major item that will remain after December will be the installation of our new Champion Windows that will be available in January.

From the volunteers at Lions 4 Kids House, the children we serve and me, we give heartfelt thanks for YOU.  We simply could not do what we do without your contributions in so many ways. May you and your loved ones have many things to be thankful for this week, and always.

THANK YOU for all you do for Our Kids. Together we ARE making a difference, one child at a time.

Happy Thanksgiving with deepest gratitude, Carol

Lions 4 Kids Update 11/30/08

2008-12-03T08:55:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone! I hope your Thanksgiving was blessed with love, laughter, great food and no weight gain!

In this installment:
Year-over-year kids served:    November '06:  35 November '07: 73     November '08: 155

Needs and requests for assistance (general and specialized)
Status of renovation
Thanks Giving
Save the Date
Who we are and our mission

Needed: Boxes of dry, granulated detergent. We put two cups in Zip-Lock bags to send home with each child in a family so they can launder sox and undies in the sink if necessary. (The dry detergent is much easier for us to handle and we don't have to worry about leaky containers!) Thank you!

Requested assistance:

- Christmas Angels to wrap gifts at Lions 4 Kids House for an hour or two on Wednesdays 12/3, 10 and 17 between 4 and 8:30 and Saturdays 12/6, 13 and 20 between 10-2. This is an awesome activity for teens!   Help Our Kids and their parents wrap gifts for loved ones. Please let me know if you'd like to participate and the date/time.

We can use three to four volunteers at a time and just an hour or so makes a huge difference! If our year-over-year numbers are any indication we will serve over 300 children in just six open days in December so help is deeply appreciated!

- Mom & Dad Gifts: Over the course of the year we stockpile donations of items Our Kids might like to gift to a significant adult during the holidays. This was an unexpected hit with Our Kids last year since they didn't expect to be able to surprise their significant adult with a gift. If you have something stashed that you were considering regifting, think Lions 4 Kids House! We are especially in need of guy gifts. Donation receipts are cheerfully provided!

- Gifts for Kids and Teens: There are so many requests for donations of gifts from all over the community this time of year, and wherever you support children and families in need, bless you! Lions 4 Kids stockpiles special items over the course of the year to make them available during the holidays but we are always in need of holiday gifts for teens of both genders. While we would never discourage the donation of gifts for younger kids, small gift cards to local retailers, fast food gift certificates, movie certificates, grooming items, etc. for teens are deeply appreciated if you are uncommitted to donating elsewhere. Thank you!

- On the Move with Lions 4 Kids: Volunteers are identifying feeding programs throughout our community and will be visiting various sites for an hour or two in December, January and February passing out warm coats, hats, mittens and mufflers to homeless adults and children and letting families know about the resources available for kids at Lions 4 Kids House. Want to light up someone's life and your own in the process? This outreach brings unexpected warmth to your heart and their bodies and spirits! Schedule of visits forthcoming shortly.

Neat older boy's Christmas gift, BUT: We have received the donation of a near-new boy's 24" bike that needs a new tube for the rear tire. Can you help procure the tube and replace the tire?

Requested specialized assistance for new building:
- Pro cement finisher volunteers to install our hard surfaces: parking lot, drives, walkways, porches and ramps (to be coordinated with Miles Sand and Gravel for materials!)

- finish carpenters to install doors, baseboards and trim, door hardware (est. date: Saturday 12/20)

- helpers to move the custom clothing racks from a local garage to the clothing bank and assemble them (est. date: Saturday 12/27)

- helpers to install slot walls and hanging bars (est. date: Saturday 12/27)

- helpers to install mirrors, curtain hardware (est. date: Saturday 1/3)

- someone to create and install shoe shelves (materials provided) (sometime between 12/27 and 1/4/09)

- someone to build, paint and install book shelves (materials provided) (can start anytime with installation between 12/27 and 1/4)

- someone(s) to assemble several boxed pantry and storage cabinets (materials provided) (can start assembling any time and installation between 12/27 and 1/4)

Status of renovation:
We're in the rush to the finish line before the end of December! We must vacate our present building in front of the library by January 4th and be ready to open our doors to clients on Wednesday January 7th in our newly renovated, energy-efficient building. (No, the City of Bonney Lake will not kick us to the curb if we're not out by Monday, but we do need to get moved and settled by the 7th!)

Sheetrock is being installed, taping will begin upon completion of that, painting follows that. By December 20th we hope to be ready to start installing trims and doors. (Please see "Specialized Requests" above for time frames.)

We are awaiting confirmation on roofing installers this week! If it's a "go" the roof project will commence most likely Saturday 12/6. If you want to help and have not so indicated yet let me know and I'll confirm the date and time when it's known.

Thanks Giving:

Kids Helping Kids:
- We had twenty students from North Tapps Middle School working in our new garden on November 20th and a number of young ladies that helped at the clothing bank on the 19th and the 22nd. Thank you Lauri McLeod for organizing the Pay It Forward Community Service Challenge and to the school for supporting it! Each of the 417 students were asked to donate at least one hour of community service between mid-November and December 3rd. Most of the kids we saw gave double or triple that! What a difference each of those kids made to others at Lions 4 Kids and all over the community!

- Dee Dee Street and student Kayla Wells for their assistance at the clothing bank on 11/22

- Students from around our local school districts are sponsoring resource drives of all kinds to bring to Lions 4 Kids to benefit their peers: coats, hats and mittens; pajamas; personal care items; socks and underwear; toys for Christmas. Some of these activities are Senior projects; many more are "just because". YOU ARE AWESOME and an incredible example for all of us!! Thank you!!

- To John Norlins's Leadership Class at Sumner High School and especially Brittany Fulton for the socks and underwear they collected from students throughout the school for Our Kids! (They followed the clothing drive with a food drive to benefit local food banks!)

- We have drywall installers thanks to Eric and his associate Dennis from EB Enterprises, Drywall Specialists! (Thank you Jessica Larios for the referral!)

- We have concrete and gravel thanks to Walt Miles of Miles Sand and Gravel! (Thank you Lauri McLeod for the referral!)

Our trim and door paint volunteer is Mark Johnson! (Thank you Melissa Johnson for the referral!)

Our storage shed and Donation Station so-they-match-our-new-building painter is Norm Eklund of Norm's Painting! (Thank you Norm for contacting us!)

- Our carpenter, Bryan Long, has been nothing short of steadfast and magnificent, and thanks too to his wife Marilyn for her moral support and finding donations of paint

- Our plumber, Karl Emig of Everlast Plumbing, his daughter Beth and parents Bruce and Janet for their generosity, materials and labor donations, energy and time

- Our electrician Ruben Hernandez owner of Honor Electric, wife Imelda and little boy Domingo for materials donations, labor and time (thank you Tom McBride from Home Depot for the referral!)

- Lee Entrop and wife Cris Shane-Abella for agreeing to cut, create and install the shelving in our work room

- Donations of insulation from Laurie Carter, Cindy Morris and Ruth Wergin

- Kevin Havener for assistance wherever needed. You're fast, thorough, awesome and much-needed muscle!

- Demolition assistance from Daniel and Pat Barrett, Mike Judkins, Dr. Robert Buda, DDS from Scout Troop #172; Ruth Wergin and son Matt; and Mike Kramer

- Sherry Leistico for gardening help
- Kathy Walton for removal of moss on old roof
- Milgard Windows for creation of a required window ASAP

- BJ Miller for insulation assistance
- Rebecca Berry for reupholstering the chairs for our new sitting area
- Jo Bryant for sewing our window toppers for the entire building

- Christy Fuller of The Fuller Basket for donating lots of great Mary Kay items for our teens and clothing
- Barb Wigton of the Bonney Lake PD for collecting clothing for Lions 4 Kids
- Boy Scout Troop 172 members Daniel and Connor for proposing Eagle projects that will benefit Lions 4 Kids

- Our Lions 4 Kids Volunteers who invest countless hours to sort donations, keep our building clean, in order and serve our clients with respect and caring

- Beginning Monday, December 1st, Lions 4 Kids is to be the beneficiary of new clearance garments from Walmart. THANK YOU Rebecca DeLine and Walmart team for your kindness and generosity!

- Fred Jacobsen and others in our community who pass along our email updates to their networks!
- Janet Emig for creating a list of other local community resources for families in need
- Sue Hilberg at the Bonney Lake Sr. Center and their donor for the bags of personal care items donated to Lions 4 Kids

- Linda Morris for faithful photo chronicles!
- David Colbeth for faithful updating of website!
- Andrea Henschell for making sure we have volunteers to serve Our Kids during open hours!

Save the date:
- Friday, December 12, 2008 from 11-5 at Windermere in Bonney Lake: holiday open house and putt-putt golf tourney with $5 golf entry fee to benefit Lions 4 Kids House. Thank you Ken Freed!

- Saturday December 13, 2008 from 1:30 - 4:30 at the Bonney Lake Sr. Center - Holiday Bazaar Fundraiser: consultants such as Sensy (wickless candles); Pampered Chef (cool kitchen stuff); Stampin' Up (stamps and accessories); Uniquely Charming (jewelry); Signature Homes (gift baskets), Sensaria and more, a garage sale of extra nice "stuff", photos with Santa, refreshments, a bake sale of delectable delights with absolutely no calories -- NOT!! and fun for everyone! This is a great opportunity to cross gift requests off your list! If you'd like to donate a baked item for sale please let us know. Of course, tax receipts are cheerfully provided! All proceeds will benefit children served through Lions 4 Kids House. Many thanks to Andrea Henschell, April Young and Iona Catonio for organizing this event!

- Wednesday January 14, 2009: new volunteer training at our new building 7 p.m. - 8:15. No pre-registration is necessary and there is no obligation to participate further. (All volunteers are subject to a Washington State Patrol background check.) There are SO many ways to participate and many activities can be managed from home. The only volunteers asked to commit to a specific schedule are those who work with our young clients. Others can participate as time allows. We are highly flexible!!

- Sunday, March 8, 2009 from 1-5: FINALLY, our Open House and Volunteer Appreciation Day at Lions 4 Kids House. Our beautiful new facility will be open to the public and we will recognize all of the donors and volunteers who have made such a difference to Our Kids in so many ways in this past year.

- Saturday March 21, 2009 (time and venue to be advised): Third annual Death By Chocolate! Sponsored by the Bonney Lake Lions Club to benefit Lions 4 Kids House and support our other community outreach programs. We are working to secure fabulous entertainment like last year's with live and silent auctions of delectible chocolate creations and other great items. Dinner will be catered by award winning Bonney Lake High School Culinary Arts students.

- Saturday December 12, 2009, 8 p.m. to midnight at the Swiss Park "Ballroom": Jingle Bell Ball - a community celebration to benefit the Bonney Lake Food Bank and Lions 4 Kids House.   More on this first annual event will be forthcoming. Community members are invited to help plan this evening of dining, dancing and fun and frolic.

Faces of the homeless:
Admittedly, there are addicts, alcoholics and mentally ill contributing to homelessness and poverty. But the greatest percentage of people in poverty that we see are working families, single mothers with children, and families raising relative's kids. You can't imagine the number of grandparents, aunts/uncles and even older siblings raising kids that we see each week.

The reasons are as numerous as the families themselves: foreclosures, acts of nature, addictions, abandonment, divorce, finances -- but very often it's an unforeseen accident, illness or death that ravages people's lives and bank accounts leaving them unable to care for their kids. They have "done everything right" until some unforeseen medical event altered the direction of their lives. Often family members are living with minimal incomes or severe medical issues themselves but open their homes and hearts to the children to provide them with stability and comfort.

Fortunately there are "safety nets" available in the community in the form of family centers, food banks, clothing banks, churches and other community resources that are "springboards" for the families to recover their stability. But the most important ingredient in the whole equation is YOU -- the donors and volunteers who give so generously as you are able to make sure the outreach programs can function and that enable all of us to have the resources we need to serve others. NOTHING happens without you, and speaking for all of us at Lions 4 Kids House, we are so thankful.

Who we are:
Lions 4 Kids House is a private 501(c)3 non-profit foundation entirely comprised of volunteers, sponsored by the Bonney Lake Lions Club, serving children attending school in five east Pierce County school districts: Sumner, Dieringer, Orting, Carbonado and White River. It is estimated there are about 4000 children of school age in these districts that qualify for free or reduced lunch programs due to family income levels. So far we have "found" and served fewer than 20% of the kids who qualify for our services. Our goal in the new year -- find and serve a minimum of another 20%!

Our mission is to provide underserved children with the tools they need to be nicely attired, clean and groomed and outfitted with the necessary school supplies so they look like their peers and stand a better chance of staying in school and succeeding in life. If they have a high school diploma and go on to advanced job training or college and stay out of mischief, they stand a far better chance of breaking the cycle of poverty that often runs in families and becoming tax payers instead of social services users.

These kids, like their non-financially-challenged peers, have unique hopes, dreams, gifts and talents. By helping these children not be targets of derision and ridicule because they look like all the other kids, we believe we are helping to remove some of the barriers that prevent them from realizing their full potential.

Together we ARE making a difference, one child at a time.

If you have questions about any of the above, please don't hesitate to contact me.

If you wish to be removed from our mailing list please let me know.

Wishing you joy and peace in this very special season of the year. With deepest thanks until next time, Carol

Carol Wells-Reed
Founder and Director
Lions 4 Kids House
20825 SR 410 East, PMB #198, Bonney Lake 98391
Message phone: 253-447-3844
Email: cwells-reed@hotmail.com
The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543

Lions 4 Kids update - special edition 11/18/08

2008-11-18T05:40:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone!

YEA!
We have sheetrockers to install our drywall! Thank you Eric! And thank you to the Courier-Herald for running the article last week that he saw and responded to!

Shingles!
Our new shingles were delivered and conveyored to the rooftop this morning! It'll be great to not have to worry about springing leaks in our newly restored building! Would anyone be able to install the shingles for us sometime in the next few weeks, please? It would be sincerely appreciated!

Thanks to Tile Tech and Sterling Exteriors for the donation of materials and to Doug and Jeff for going the extra mile to conveyor them onto the roof for us so they didn't have to be schlepped up by ladder! And thanks to Cindy Van Meter of CR Gutters for referring us to Tile Tech.

Flooring materials:
We were planning to install vinyl flooring in the building but are struggling to find donations of about 1200 s.f. of mid-grade vinyl which seems to run about $20/s.y. retail. Do you know anyone that may be able to assist us please?

It seems everyone in the flooring industry is struggling right now...well, it's not just the flooring industry either, but this is the area we've had the most difficulty procuring materials. Another option would be ceramic tile...a neutral color is what we're looking for and we do have someone who can install it if we are able to have the materials donated. Thank you for any help anyone can offer!

Thanks to Cindy Morris for the donation of some insulation!

Finally:
Many of you will remember last year Lions 4 Kids sponsored three families for the holidays in addition to providing clothing and gifts for a couple hundred other local children. One of our sponsored families in particular touched a nerve with many: a single mom with cancer raising two teens, living in a run-down rental house on a pittance. They were facing a year with no holiday celebration.

The outpouring of support for the family was astounding and boy, did they have a Christmas!! Thanks to our amazing community they got the "full meal deal", complete with tree, decorations, stockings, food for the main meal and stuff for the pantry, treats for their kitties, and gifts galore for all three, delivered by Santa Claus. It was an incredible experience for those of us who got to share in the delivery, and the mom told me later that on Christmas night the three of them sat together and cried at the outpouring of love and kindness that made the holiday so special.

The boy, Alan, was enrolled in a welding program concurrently with finishing his senior year at Sumner High School and many of you donated all the clothing, boots, gloves, and other specialty items that he needed to pursue his future livelihood.

Many of you have inquired over this past year as to how the family is faring. I had tried reaching the mom multiple times with no response but knew the children's father who lived in Arizona had offered to take the family in to help relieve the mom of some stress as she battles her illness, so I figured they were moving and settling into their new environment and schools.

I received a call this morning from the mom who advised that Alan died on April 20th. He was apparently doing brodies in the desert with his four-wheeler, lost control, landed in the Colorado River with the bike on top of him and drowned. He had just turned 19 two days before. The family is devastated of course. The mom is still battling her illness but stable. Jessica, the daughter who is not yet 17, is taking high school classes on-line and despite the terrible turmoil in her life, is excelling.

One thing the mom mentioned is that Alan LOVED his Carhartt clothes and his boots that were provided for him last Christmas and he wore them everywhere. In fact, he died in them. A shrub will be planted in our new Serenity Garden in memory of Alan. He was one of Our Kids.

A sad irony is that another local family suffered the loss of a son a few years ago during the holidays and made a very generous memorial donation to help purchase items for Alan's welding training. He too will be remembered with a special planting in our Serenity Garden.

Carol

Lions 4 Kids House update 11-14-08

2008-11-15T17:05:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone!

In this installment:
Year-Over-Year Lions 4 Kids Visits
Lions 4 Kids Information
One-off Volunteer Opportunities
Save the Dates!
Thanks Giving
Status of new building project and requests for assistance

Kids served at Lions 4 Kids in 2008 and 2007
August 2008:       331      August 2007:      108
September 2008: 169      September 2007: 77
October 2008:     160       October 2007:     62

About Lions 4 Kids House:
Our mission is very simple: we provide multiple changes of great clothing, personal care items and school supplies to children who qualify for free and reduced lunch programs in five local east-Pierce County school districts (Sumner, Dieringer, Orting, Carbonado and White River). The goal is to enable every child to look like their peers, be clean and groomed and have the necessary tools for school so they can learn. If they aren't teased and ridiculed, statistically they stand a far better chance of staying in school to graduation, staying out of mischief and not getting in trouble with the law. It's OUR tax dollars that pay for jails, food stamps, to clean up graffiti.  Putting decent clothes on kids may seem like a simplistic solution, but in just two years we are seeing better grades and improved attendance among many of Our Kids. There are other family dynamics benefits that have appeared as well. Together, we ARE making a difference, one child at a time!

Over 4000 kids in our service area qualify for free and reduced lunches due to family incomes near or below the poverty level. You may be surprised to know that while some of Our Kids do live in households where addictions are an issue, many, many are affected more by illness, death, the economy, divorce, floods and fires and abusive situations. The majority of our families have at least one employed individual. While we've assisted kids of many ethnicities, the vast majority of Our Kids are caucasian.

Lions 4 Kids is just one small piece of the safety net for children at risk in our communities; other resources include our local food banks, family centers, the Donald Loomis Memorial clothing bank in Buckley and many other services that reach out to assist families in need. Obviously there are huge needs all around us, and by working cooperatively we do impact lives. Many of these resources are run by volunteers and are supported entirely by the contributions of our community. YOU ARE making a difference and none of us could do what we do without you. Thank you!!

New volunteer training: If you may be interested in volunteering at Lions 4 Kids House in one of myriad ways, our last training of the year is this coming Wednesday, November 19th at 7 p.m. at our existing building in front of the Bonney Lake Library. It takes about an hour and there is no obligation to join. You don't need to pre-register...just show up! Next training will be Wednesday January 14th. (All volunteers are subject to a Washington State Patrol background check.)

One-off Volunteer Opportunities:

Christmas Angels!:
If you'd love to kick off the season of giving in a very special way please consider participating as a Christmas Angel at Lions 4 Kids House to help wrap gifts for our clients. An hour or more of your time would be fabulous, and teens are very welcome to help!

Starting December 3rd, each Wednesday from 4-7 and Saturday from 10-2 through December 20th we would appreciate volunteers to help wrap gifts for children to give to their parents and for the parents to give their kids so they're a surprise on Christmas morning.

We also need donations of wrapping paper, gift bags, tissue, tape, tags and ribbons. Please email me if you are interested in helping. This is a really cool activity!

On the Move with Lions 4 Kids:
The invention of our wonderful friend and volunteer, Susan "Glitterbug" McCammon, this is the second winter that we're reaching out to homeless and underserved adults and kids with On the Move. During December, January and February, Lions 4 Kids volunteers load vehicles with donated warm coats, hats, mittens and blankets to visit local church feeding programs. We pass out warm clothes to the folks who often live on the streets or in less than ideal circumstances so they'll be more comfortable in the cold weather.   There are no set dates or times and it's a bit of a "seat of the pants operation", but if you would like to be a part of this outreach and watch people's faces light up with pure joy and appreciation at this unexpected show of humanity, please let me know. Want to feel like a million bucks in about two hours time? This one's for you!

Upcoming fundraiser for Lions 4 Kids:
On Sunday, December 13th from 1:30-4:30 at the Bonney Lake Senior Center will be a wonderful opportunity to let the kids visit with Santa, do a bit of holiday shopping and raise a little money for Lions 4 Kids! We'll have representatives from Pampered Chef, Scentsy Candles, Stampin' Up and more, plus baked goods, crafts and garage sale items at very reasonable prices.

Santa will be there to hear kids' Christmas wishes -- bring your cameras for photos with Santa -- plus refreshments and FUN!!

If you'd like to donate some quality garage-sale-worthy items or baked goods to Lions 4 Kids to include in the sale, please contact me at cwells-reed@hotmail.com. Please stay tuned for more!

Save the Dates:
A year from now Bonney Lake is sure to be recognized as the Entertainment Capitol of Pierce County! Please mark your calendars for the following fun and fabulous social extravaganzas:

- March 21, 2009 - Death By Chocolate: This third annual event is presented by the Bonney Lake Lions Club as a fundraiser to benefit Lions 4 Kids House and our other community programs. A venue is not yet determined, but again this year, the award-winning Bonney Lake High School Culinary Arts students will prepare and serve our repast. Those who attended the event last year will remember extraordinary entertainment by internationally recognized musicians whom we are working to retain again (as well as some additional amusements), and the live and silent auctions of divine chocolate creations, to make this a truly enchanted evening.  More information will be forthcoming.

- December 12, 2009 - Jingle Bell Ball: A community celebration to benefit the Bonney Lake Food Bank
and Lions 4 Kids House: This first annual event is going to be totally awesome and wonderfully surprising! Dress up in your best fancy clothes to dine and dance the night away at the Swiss Park "Ballroom" from 8 p.m. to midnight. Much more to come on this in the months ahead. If you're interested in joining the planning committee for this event, please let me know!

Thanks Giving:
Lions 4 Kids is so incredibly blessed! Even in this bottom-feeding economy, thanks to the generosity of so many, we are able to make a difference to hundreds of kids. We have gorgeous fashion-forward clothes for kids from 3-18, shoes and warm coats, hats and mittens for Our Kids to select from (and basic stuff for infants and toddlers).

Yes, we DO accept adult clothing as some of our kids are really tall or large in stature.

Yes, we DO accept LAUNDERED used socks and underwear which we donate to a shelter for abused women and children.

Yes, we DO accept CLEAN blankets (some of our clients live in cars, tents, boxes, campers)

Textile items we are unable to use are donated to Northwest Center for use in their outreach programs. We receive a small cash stipend for each pound of textile items we donate to them which provides enough funds to purchase personal care items and items we need that are not directly donated. If you have a bag of textile "stuff" that isn't suitable for wear by Our Kids, just mark "Northwest Center" and drop it in our Donation Station. Upon request you will still receive a tax receipt as the Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543.
(Please provide your name and a mailing address or email address with your donation if a receipt is requested.)

NO, we regret that due to space restrictions we DO NOT accept household items or furniture, including any baby furniture. HOWEVER, these types of items may be donated to St. Francis House in Puyallup (call 848-3618 for hours and information). Home Furnishings may be donated to the Northwest Furniture Bank in Sumner (for more information call 253-341-7553 or visit their website, www.nwfurniturebank.org.)

Thank you to:
Linda and Gary Morris - at their recent joint birthday party their guests were asked to bring a toy or funds for Lions 4 Kids instead of the birthday people!

Sherry Creson - Cases of toothbrushes and paste

Socks, undies and clothing drives:
- Resonate Church of Bonney Lake - Undie Sundays!: over 200 packages of socks and undies!

Renovation project:
Simpson Timber - all of our doors and lumber
Georgia-Pacific - all of our drywall
Champion Windows - all of our windows
Calvary Community Church - generous financial donation to purchase materials
Sterling Exteriors and Tile Tech - our new shingles

Jessica Larios and father in law Juan Larios - emergency off-load of drywall
Karl Emig (EverLast Plumbing of Kent) - new plumbing and emergency off-load of drywall
Beth Emig - assist with plumbing
Bryan Long - (RDI Construction) - construction
Scott Angevine - demolition, clean up, construction
Ruben Herndandez (Honor Electric, Enumclaw) - electrical wiring
Mike Harrell (Nature's Way Tree Service LLC) - arbor services
Boy Scout Troop 172 - moving dirt, digging paths, laying flagstone sitting area and pathways
Ruth Wergin - demolition services

For a complete list of our donors and volunteers please see our website, www.lions4kids.com and click on the Extreme Makeover Materials List. You'll be wowed by ALL the great help!!

Puccini's Venetian Subs in Bonney Lake is donating a quarter for every foot-long sub sandwich sold during the month of November! They are located just west of Safeway. THANK YOU PUCCINI'S!!

Kids Helping Kids:
School kids all over our community are collecting items for Our Kids! Various current drives include: books, videos and DVD's; small toys; pajamas; socks and undies; hats and mittens; winter coats
- Sumner High School Student Body - second annual collection: a thousand packages of socks and undies!
- Boy Scout Troop 172 of Sumner: a hundred packages of socks and undies, plus lots of personal care items!
- North Tapps Middle School - "Pay It Forward" project. The 471 students of NTMS will each be doing an hour of community service in the next two weeks, and many will donate to Lions 4 Kids. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to your student body today!

Status of renovation:
- YES, we have permits!! Grateful thanks to the Bonney Lake Building Department!

- We have our drywall tapers: thanks to the Larios family!
- We are finishing the framing this weekend and hope to get that and our plumbing bought off this next week.

We are searching for the following, please:
- R-19 or R-13 insulation: A few left-over pieces from several places taking up room in garages would do the trick!
- volunteers to install insulation in some walls upon successful framing inspection
- volunteers to hang sheetrock in the next week to ten days - mostly ceilings but also a few walls.
   We'll get a lift to put lift the material in place; just need people who can affix it to the trusses with screws

- volunteers to install our new shingles to be delivered Monday 11/17
- Volunteers to put together cabinets (which we will supply) from boxed kits.
- Volunteers to cut plywood (which we will supply) into specific lengths for our storage shelving
- Volunteers to move the chainlink fence from our old building and install it at the new location

- concrete for our hard surfaces...porches, walks and driveways

We will not be moved to the new structure as hoped by early December...volunteer projects tend to have their own cadence...but we anticipate the move during the week between Christmas and New Year's. We MUST vacate our old building by the end of December. A new date has not been set for our Open House but it will be announced soon.

As always, YOU, our community, are blessings to us. THANK YOU so much, from the kids we serve and from me!
Carol

Lions 4 Kids House update

2008-11-05T11:16:00.001-08:00

Good morning everyone!

We have many people to thank for many, many amazing things and that will happen in our next message. You have been SO incredibly generous and it is deeply appreciated! We simply could not do what we do without YOU. Humbly, we THANK YOU!!

In this installment:
- Request for actors and actresses for upcoming theater presentation
- Status of remodel and assistance requested

Thespians or aspiring ones:
Joan Bolen is looking for several men and women interested in performing in an upcoming Bonney Lake Community Theater production of The Rainmaker. The date is undetermined at this time. If interested please contact Joan at 253-447-4005.

Extreme Makeover: Community Edition update

Please note: due to delays in materials procurement and reconstruction our public Open House and Volunteer/Donor Appreciation party, scheduled for Sunday December 7th is being delayed until January. Please stay tuned for further information.

This Saturday, November 8th from 9-1 we will be:
- completing framing for dressing rooms
- cleaning up the building
- completing plumbing rough-in
- working in the garden (rain or shine)
   - finishing the stone patio and walkway and sanding it in; planting thyme between stones
   - digging sod, turning earth, removing weeds, raking rocks
   - planting bulbs (must create spaces for them by doing the above sod/rock/weed removal)

We are experiencing some delays in materials procurement which is setting back our time table. Reconstruction will begin in earnest next week with insulating walls, drywall and window installation.

We are requesting someone who is experienced in drywall taping.   Do you know someone who may be willing to help?

It is our goal to be ready for painting during Thanksgiving week.

The week following Thanksgiving will be installing floors, doors, trims, cabinets and hanging racks. We will arrange work hours during the week, including days and evenings, as well as weekends, and will keep you updated on progress in the event you have an hour or two you are able to assist.

Location of the new building: 18429-89th St. E., Bonney Lake. From 184th/Main Street, head east on 89th St. to the end of the block. We are on the right at the stop sign. It's gray with white trim, gorgeous new gutters, a brown and orange garage door and no cement surfaces in the front. It's hard to miss but progress is unmistakeable!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at cwells-reed@hotmail.com.

On behalf of the kids who are OUR future, THANK YOU!!! Carol

Lions 4 Kids House update!

2008-10-27T08:09:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope you've been able to enjoy this gorgeous autumn weather the last few weeks!

In this installment:
-   Last week to order wreathes and poinsettias
-   Upcoming Fundraiser at Puccini's
-   Kids Helping Kids
-   Giving Thanks
-   New building status

Wreathes and Poinsettias
Just a reminder that the Bonney Lake Lions are again selling wreathes and poinsettias for the holidays and the final day to order and pay is this coming Wednesday, October 29th. 24" noble, cedar and berried juniper wreathes are $17, poinsettias are $12 and come in five different colors. These are gorgeous products produced locally. We do accept credit cards. Proceeds will benefit our community outreach programs including Lions 4 Kids House. Delivery will be the first week in December. Please email cwells-reed@hotmail.com if you are interested.

Fundraiser
As I've often said, without the kindness and generosity of our communities we would be unable to achieve our mission of helping kids. Another example of this generosity is the new Puccini's Subs in Bonney Lake, located a few doors north of Safeway. During the entire month of November, for every foot long sub sold Puccini's will donate $ .25 to Lions 4 Kids House. Got company coming for Thanksgiving. Don't want to feed them turkey? Think Puccini's!! Thank you Puccini's!!

Kids Helping Kids:

Sumner High School -- the entire school!! -- has been collecting socks, underwear and clothing during October thanks to the sponsorship of John Norlin's Leadership class. As you know, under-garments are the things we struggle to keep in stock despite limiting distribution, just because of the numbers of kids we serve. Thank you Sumner High School for your help!!

Members and parents from Boy Scout Troop 172 were on hand at the new Lions 4 Kids House garden on Saturday to create pathways, move a mountain of topsoil and lay the patio and walkway in our sitting area. WOW -- you got A LOT accomplished in a short time!! Thanks guys and especially Mike McConkey for bringing our project to the troop's attention!

Giving Thanks:
Several local churches have periodically sponsored "Undie Sundays" where they ask members to bring a package of socks, underwear or a personal care item for Our Kids. Resonate Church in Bonney Lake has been sponsoring several weeks of collections recently. Thank you Scott, Sarah, Petie and members!!

Thanks to Quinn Dahlstrom for her contribution of socks and shoes.

Thanks to Sherry and Bob Leistiko for their work in the Serenity Garden, the new building and donation of a water feature.

Thanks to Scott Angevine for his work at the new clothing bank helping with the last of the demolition and clean up!

Status of new building:
I'm going out on a limb here, but I think we'll have our permits this week! Following is a tentative schedule of projects, days and hours. If you would like to help but are not available during these hours, PLEASE let me know as adjustments can be made:

Saturday, November 1:
- Framing the dressing rooms and storage closet area
- Begin sheetrocking the ceilings.

Week of November 3: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 9 a.m. -2 p.m. and 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
- Insulate walls (pending favorable electrical and framing inspections)
- Install new windows and sliders
- Install the rest of the sheetrock and start taping.
- Install new shingles on roof

Our goal is to have all the sheetrock installed by the end of the day Saturday, November 8th so we can start taping/sanding the following week.

Week of November 10: Same hours as previous week
- Taping/sanding sheetrock
- Once dry toward the end of the week start texturing/priming/painting walls and ceilings
- Install new underlayment on floor
- Work on bathroom plumbing and laundry tub installation
- Prepare forms for cement installation
- Install space heaters in office and volunteer work room

Week of November 17: Same hours as previous weeks
- Install vinyl flooring
- Install new front door and interior doors
- Install track lighting; exterior fixtures
- Install baseboards and door/window trim
- Move in hanging cabinets and install

Week of November 24: Thanksgiving week - Monday, Tuesday 9-2 and 4-8, Friday, Saturday 9-whenever
- Odds and ends: installing hooks, hardware, etc.
- Build storage shelves for work room
- Build book shelves in main display area
- Complete anything that needs finishing

Throughout the month of November work will continue in the Serenity Garden and general landscaping

Week of December 1:
- Move clothing from old building to new building; final clean up and preparation for opening
- New Lions 4 Kids House opens to clients Saturday, December 6th 10-2
- Public Open House and Volunteer Appreciation Day . Sunday, December 7th 2-5 p.m.

It'll be a busy month but wait til you see the faces of our young clients when they see this wonderful new space! Thanks to the kindness and generosity of local businesses and volunteers, this is going to be one gorgeous clothing bank!!

Don't hesitate to email me at cwells-reed@hotmail.com with questions, suggestions, to volunteer for any phase of the project, etc. Thank you, thank you for ALL you have done to help thousands of kids in need in our communities.

Lions 4 Kids House Update 10/5/08

2008-10-05T20:47:00.001-07:00

In this edition:
- Bonney Lake Lions Wreathes and Poinsettia Fundraiser
- Community Health Fair
- Volunteer training
- Public Open House Celebration Scheduled
- Status of our new building and upcoming work parties
- Message of thanks

Hello everyone!

All the stores have their holiday displays up or in progress! It must be time to start thinking about celebrating the season and the Bonney Lake Lions Club is here to help! Our third annual Wreath and Poinsettia fundraiser starts NOW! Prices are the same as last year and we invite orders for:

6" poinsettias from De Goede Bulb Farm in Mossy Rock (owners of Windmill Gardens) at $12 each. Colors are red, white, pink, red and white variegated or pink and white variegated. These are beautiful, lush bushes!

24" wreathes made of noble fir, cedar, berried juniper and pine cones from Deer Run Greenery in Bonney Lake at $17.00. These are so fragrant and absolutely gorgeous. Please note, a bow is not included.

Orders must be placed and paid for no later than Monday October 27th. Checks can be made out to the Bonney Lake Lions Foundation and mailed to Bonney Lake Lions Club, 20825 SR 410 East, PMB 198, Bonney Lake 98391. Proceeds from the sale of these items benefit our community outreach programs including Lions 4 Kids House. (Unless payment is received by the deadline we are unable to place the order.) If you prefer to pay cash or personally hand me the check, please let me know and we'll make arrangements for pick up. We also accept MasterCard and Visa. DO NOT EMAIL CREDIT CARD INFORMATION ON-LINE! I will speak with you personally to obtain information. Receipts are gladly provided!

The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543. Orders will be available the first week of December.

If you wish to order these items or have any questions, please email me providing your name, phone number, number of each item and specifying the color(s) of poinsettias and preferred method of payment. Thank you for your support!!

Community Health Fair:
The second annual event is next Saturday, October 11th from 11-3 at Bonney Lake High School and will offer over 50 booths offering timely information about healthy living and community resources. Lions 4 Kids House volunteers will be on hand as well to answer questions about our program. Come check it out!

New Volunteer Training:
Our next volunteer training classes will be on Wednesday, October 15th and Wednesday, November 19th, at 7 p.m. at our existing building in front of the library. Classes take about 75-90 minutes and there is no obligation to become a volunteer afterward. No pre-registration is required. (New volunteers are subject to a Washington State Patrol background check.) No training will be held in December; the first training of the new year will be Wednesday, January 14, 2009 in our beautiful new building! Join us to find out more about this very special outreach that is changing lives!

Beautify Bonney Lake:
Saturday September 20th may have been really soggy but 50 teens and adults cheerfully congregated in the new Lions 4 Kids Serenity Garden to help remove sod, dig pathways, move topsoil and plants, rake rocks and clean up the yard. Many thanks to Ruth Conrad's girl's swim and dive team and the boy's football team from BLHS, associates from Home Depot, and assorted other individuals who gave their all on a sloppy, muddy day. Thanks too to 410 Rentals for the use of equipment.

Ours was just a small piece of an amazing effort chaired by Lillian McGinnis, organized by the board of BBL with sponsorship from many donors including Premier sponsorship by Home Depot, and accomplished with the help of over 500 citizens from around the community.  The rain didn't dampen spirits any and the pancakes made by McLendon were safe from being water- logged thanks to pop-ups erected by Home Depot!

The sixth annual event next September will coincide with the 60th anniversary of the organization of the City of Bonney Lake and promises to be a landmark celebration!!   Mark your 2009 calendar for the third Saturday in September!

Community Open House Celebration:
Speaking of celebrations!! We are planning to heartily celebrate the opening our beautiful new facility and recognizing all our volunteers and this year's donors on Sunday afternoon, December 7th from 2-5 p.m. Tours of the building, refreshments and kid's crafting and activities will be available. More information will be forthcoming soon!

Status of the renovation:
Our permit application has been turned in to the City of Bonney Lake this past week! Once permits are issued we will arrange work parties to finish the building. We'll have Saturday hours no matter what, and if we know other times prospective helpers are available we'll make every effort to have the building and materials open and available when you are!

There is a small amount of interior demolition remaining including removing studs from former walls and ceilings; removing existing kitchen vinyl and subfloor; and removing old kitchen countertops.

Needed:
- The electrician that had volunteered earlier is unable to be available so we are in need of a licensed electrician to wire switches for the new lighting and a few new plugs.

- We are presently searching for donations of new double-pane windows, shingles, vinyl flooring, and the hard surfaces for drive and walkways -- cement and/or asphalt. Do you know someone who may be able to assist us with a donation of part or all of these items? These are the last major items on our list!

It is said it isn't what you know, it's who you know and who they know. Thanks to so many in our community who have gotten in touch with someone they know, we have nearly all the items we need to complete our renovation!

Donors:
- Our doors and lumber package have been donated by Simpson Investment Company
- Cindy Van Meter of CR Gutters in Sumner donated our new aluminum gutters
- The sheetrock package is being donated by Georgia-Pacific
- The stones for our Serenity Garden patio were donated by Wilkeson Sandstone Quarry
- Our beautiful new custom hanging racks were donated by Shelley Capretto of Village Maternity
   in University Village in Seattle. She is remodeling her shop and offered the cabinets to a non-profit
    organization. We are the much-blessed recipients!
- Also to be noted is the retrieval of said cabinets by 15 wonderful volunteers who gave up their Sunday
    evening a week ago to help. Five hours including drive time, start to finish was an amazing feat!
    Sincere thanks to Michael DaCorsi, Iona Catonio and Laurence Breeden,
   Jim Anderson, Lisa Peters, April and Bob Young, Candy and David Moberg, David Colbeth, Gloria Bechtold,
    Scott Angevine, Sherm Voiles, Jen and Cory Shears.

- Sherm also graciously made a couple phone calls to line up two box trucks so we didn't have to rent one saving us
    big bucks. Thanks to Ben DeGoede of Windmill Gardens and Jerry Yoder of Sunset Chevrolet for the
    loan of their wheels!

- A generous donation was made by Premier Product Management that will help us purchase
miscellaneous needed items that didn't make it to the wish list.

- Home Depot's assistance in many ways

- Bryan Long of ADI Construction has headed up the demolition project and helped to move plants to new locations.
   Thanks too to Marilyn and Ruth for their assistance!

- $100 gift card from McLendon

As soon as our permits are issued and materials are in-house we'll send out a work schedule! Stay tuned! We'd like to have the building complete by Thanksgiving to allow time for moving, stocking and organizing.

Other thanks:
- Thanks to David Moberg for the pens, folios and shopping bags!
- The City of Bonney Lake Building Department for their guidance in preparing our permit package.
- The City of Bonney Lake for their assistance preparing for Beautify Bonney Lake

- You, members of our communities, have been so faithful to generously donate clothing, shoes, personal care items, school supplies, books, DVD's/VCR tapes and funds to help Our Kids! We outfitted 300 kids for Back to School in August -- a 260% increase from April's numbers -- and had the resources available to do it, thanks to YOU! YOU are the reason we can make a difference to so many kids.

The kids are succeeding...grades and attendance are improving. That's quantifiable. What is impossible to wrap one's arms around, but no less important, is the pure joy of watching all these kids face a new school year with confidence because they have the stuff they need to look like their peers.  They are provided with The Tools, and it's because of your kindness and spirit of giving, even in this dismal economy.  YOU are making a difference. Thank you so much!

Have a wonderful week! With deepest gratitude, Carol

Lions 4 Kids House update and requests for assistance

2008-10-05T20:42:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone!

The renovation of the new Lions 4 Kids House is coming along nicely. Interior demolition will be mostly complete in one more work session removing the old kitchen floor/underlayment and a couple cabinets.

The exterior is painted and mostly trimmed out and the new gutters should go on next week! What a difference!

Due to timing issues I haven't had a chance to submit our permit request yet but should have that done this next week. Once permits are issued we will establish and publish a work schedule in an effort to have the building ready to move into before the end of Octobedr. There is a great deal of enthusiasm for helping with the reconstruction which I deeply appreciate. Please stay tuned!

As I write, Beautify Bonney Lake is just about 36 hours away! As a designated site we'll get to watch our yard taking shape on Saturday!

SELECT EXPERIENCED HELP NEEDED:
Are you experienced at breaking up fully cured concrete, maybe with a jack hammer? Our old driveway and front walkway need to be broken up. Is there someone out there who would be able to help us with that please?

URGENT NEED, please:
We received word Thursday that we will receive a MOST amazing gift: the donation of $60,000 worth of absolutely gorgeous custom hanging racks and slot wall displays from a boutique in Seattle! Grateful thanks to Shelley Capretto of Village Maternity, Jen Spears, Serena Vilhelmsen and Jo Bryant for their role in this wonderful acquisition! We're going to have one classy operation when these are installed -- they are beautiful!

HOWEVER: We have to dismantle the displays and move them on Sunday, September 28th starting at 5 p.m. We are requesting a minimum of at least six guys with cordless screw drivers and perhaps some cabinet installation experience to help. Some ladies to help pack up and move individual shelves and rails to the truck would be most appreciated as well. It's estimated the project will take about 3-4 hours, plus commute time.

I'll buy pizza and beverages at Pizza Hut near U Village before our work session so we are all properly fueled. I am renting a really big enclosed U-Haul truck to haul everything and we do have places to store them in Bonney Lake until they can be installed in our new building. We'll plan on carpooling to the shopping center. It's a Seahawks Bye Week so we don't have to worry about traffic and other "distractions"!

If you are able to assist please let me know, and thank you in advance for your consideration!

Materials needed:
Thanks to the generosity of SO many people/companies we are SOOOO close to having all the materials needed for the majority of the reconstruction, but still lack the following:

32 pieces of underlayment
25 pieces of 3/4" plywood or particle board for shelving in our work room
Baseboard, window and door trims and sills
Please see our website, www.lions4kids.com for specs.

Also needed are our hard surface materials for drives, walks and parking: Cement and/or asphalt

Do you, or someone you know, know anyone who may be able to donate all or part of these materials? Remember, we aren't insistent on an all-or-nothing deal! One piece, one $5 gift card, added to all the others, will get the job done!

That's it for now. Six more weeks and I'll be done begging and groveling because Our Kids will have their beautiful new shopping facility! I do thank you for your help and support. This WILL make a difference for a whole lot of kids and their futures. With sincere gratitude, Carol

Lions 4 Kids update 9-7-08

2008-09-08T05:46:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! What a lovely late-summer's weekend! Hope you were able to enjoy it!

At the work party on Saturday with the excellent help of Cory McCammon, Bryan Long, Fred Jacobsen and Ruth (for whom I have no last name -- I'm sorry) we were able to demolish the last of the old outbuildings and some of the last of the interior walls, plus trim and move some plants. Things are looking so much better - THANK YOU ALL!

Many thanks too:
- To the many volunteers who so wonderfully served our clients at our present building yesterday -- you are awesome!

- In this first two open days since school started Lions 4 Kids has outfitted over 60 kids. We so appreciate our generous donors who have provided the clothing, shoes and supplies we need to serve Our Kids.

- To Lisa Peters and Jacob Jirak who helped clean garbage out of our old trailer...a nasty job! Thank you!

NEXT WORK PARTIES:
Two work parties will be held this week: Wednesday 9/10 from 3:00-7:00 and Saturday 9/13 from 8:30-1:00. On Saturday we'll take a short break about 9:45 to head up to Allan Yorke Park to join the rally for our returning Olympian Melanie Roach! YEA MELANIE -- YOU ROCK!!!

We will be priming and painting the exterior this week while the weather holds, complete the demolition on the rest of the interior walls, removing trim, base board and tack strip and carrying the materials to the dumpster. We have hard hats, face masks and safety glasses available. Snacks and refreshments will be available Wednesday; lunch will be served Saturday at 1. The interior work will not be a safe place for children; however they can help paint. We also have some yard work moving some small plants if you prefer "Dirt Therapy". If you have an hour or more to help during this time it will be much appreciated.

For each four hours of donated labor on the new building you are entered to win one of several great raffle prizes, donated by local businesses!

Materials and expertise needed:
- Batt insulation R-19 and R-30: If you have a partial roll of either R-value taking up room in your garage or would be able to buy us a roll, we'd love to take it off your hands and you'll get a tax deduction! Every little bit makes a difference. Thank you!

- Upholstering: We have four chairs for our seating area that need simple back and seat upholstering. If you have the skill and time to help us or know someone who does, please let me know.

Volunteer training:
Our next volunteer training is Wednesday September 17th at 7 at our present location. The final training before the rush of the holidays will be October 15th at 7. Training takes about 75-90 minutes and no pre-registration is necessary. There are MANY ways to serve! Only volunteers who work with children during our open hours are scheduled; everyone else works as convenient for their schedules. Some work an hour a month, others many hours a week. If you have a heart for service and would like to discover this very special outreach please join one of our classes! (All prospective volunteers are subject to a Washington State Patrol background check.)

Beautify Bonney Lake:
Saturday, September 20th from 9-12. It's the FIFTH ANNIVERSARY of this fabulous event that has resulted in wonderful improvements to our City! Ascent Gateway used to be just a beautiful monument surrounded by a bunch of rocks and weeds!

Join your neighbors at the Bonney Lake Transit Center for the kick-off, get your FREE t-shirts and enjoy the PANther CAKE BREAKFAST starting at 7:30, sponsored by McLendon Hardware. Then between 8:45 and 9 you'll disburse to your work sites throughout the City. Rejoin us at noon for a FREE pizza lunch after your on-site labors. There are numerous kid-friendly sites all over town and this is a ton-of-fun event! Thanks to YOU, over the last five years this landmark beautification opportunity has created and/or restored many lovely and environmentally sensitive places all over town. JOIN US!

The new Lions 4 Kids House property is a designated site. If you wish to help remove and haul sod, dig 4" deep x 30" wide walking paths and the sitting area for our upcoming donated flagstone paths (thanks for finding the stone April!), moving top soil, digging and relocating plants, removing ivy from the back fence, weeding beds and turning soil, etc. please let me know so you will be assigned to our site. We can utilize up to 35 adults and some strong, muscle-bound folks will be much appreciated. The front yard reconfiguration only will be child-friendly.

If you'd like to check it out ahead of time, we are located at 18429-89th St. E., one block west, turn right and go to the end of the road from our present property. Peek in the windows while you're there to see the inside of our new building!

School supply donation locations:
Lions 4 Kids was able to outfit more than 300 children in August and another 60 already in September with school supplies thanks to our generous community and the following businesses who allowed us to place donation boxes in their locations. Thank you SO much to each of you!

American Family Insurance; Bank of America; Bonney Lake City Hall; Bonney Lake Police Dept.;
Columbia Bank; Dinners Done Right; Grocery Outlet; Hairmasters Bonney Lake;
Harborstone Credit Union; Help-U-Sell Barrans Realty; Henschell Chiropractic;

I-9 Sports; John L. Scott Real Estate; Key Bank; Michelle's Studio of Dance;
Mountain View Chiropractic; Office Depot; Prime Fitness; Sylvan Learning Center;
Windermere Real Estate/Freed Insurance Group; Creator Lutheran Church;
Roach Gymnastics; Sumner Police Dept.; The Old Cannery Furniture; Curves of Orting;
Church for All Nations in Parkland.

United Way contributions:
If you donate to United Way through your business, you are able to designate individual recipients of your monetary gifts. The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation, under which Lions 4 Kids is registered, is privileged to be a United Way organization and is grateful for donations to assist in procuring supplies for Our Kids. Thank you for your consideration!

Community thanks:
Our website www.lions4kids.com has listings of many of the organizations, individuals, churches and businesses who have been an integral part of our success this past year with gifts of time, funds and clothing donations. Your contributions in so many ways make it possible to serve Our Kids. And together we ARE making a difference, one child at a time.

As always if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at cwells-reed@hotmail.com

With deepest gratitude, Carol

The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543.

Lions 4 Kids Update - August 31, 2008

2008-08-31T21:31:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying a safe and relaxing Labor Day weekend. All the fall activities start again in just a few days, so rest while you can!

"Extreme Makeover: Community Edition" Work Party on Saturday, September 6th, 9-1:

Next week is the first weekend of the Fair but we're going to try to take advantage of a good weather forecast to handle some outside chores:

- Complete tear-down of the old outbuildings: We are requesting three or four individuals to help move debris from the site into the dumpster after the tractor takes down the last of the buildings.

- Complete the interior demolition: There are some kitchen cabinets that need to be removed and put in storage, several small stretches of wall that need to come down and some shelves in the laundry area that need to be removed.

- Remove vinyl and particle board on the kitchen floor: We have a special saw that can cut close to the base cabinets but need someone to handle the labor (without removing any of their appendages) and someone else to remove the debris.

- Remove remainder of base board and trim around doors throughout; take up carpet tack strip that remains.

- Start exterior painting: This will be brush work, getting into the 1" grooves of T-111 siding. No masking is necessary since we plan to replace the windows. ANYONE HAVE A WINDOW CONNECTION YOU'RE WILLING TO CALL on our behalf to procure windows?

- Some yard work: We have a couple old lilacs that need to have the tops whacked off before we move them to another location and a couple quince bushes that also need the tops pruned. The bushes are about 9-10 feet tall.

- Remove old fence posts: The existing rail fence around one side of the property is to be replaced with chain link to improve our security. We need to remove the existing rails and posts.

There's something for almost everyone! Please shoot me an email if you wish to participate and the area you'd like to work on so we can plan.

THIS WILL NOT BE A SAFE SITE FOR CHILDREN under 16 due to all the activity. Teens 16 and 17 MUST have a parent with them on site at all times. Hard hats and safety vests will be available. Lunch will be served at 1:00; snacks available at 11.

A little bonus:
For every four hours you assist with the Extreme Makeover project, your name will be entered in a raffle to win one of a bunch of great prizes. This will also include the Beautify Bonney Lake event on September 20th (3 work hours instead of 4 for that event).

FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT!
A HUGE THANK YOU to so many who made our Family Movie Night fundraiser a success on Friday. It was such fun to watch E.T. - The Extraterrestrial on the big outdoor screen, under cloudy but RAINLESS skies with all the "trimmings" -- popcorn, cotton candy, strawberry shortcake, face painting, balloon animals, games, a jumper castle, raffles and more!

I shall be putting together a complete list of credits this week to share names of individuals and businesses who made the evening so special, but would like to thank Kurt and Serena Vilhelmsen/KAS Entertainment (www.outdoorsummermovies.com) for coming up with the idea and making it a reality; to the City of Sumner for use of their beautiful Rainier View Park; Andrea Henschell, Lisa Peters, Dana Williams, Susan McCammon and Julie Terry (www.clownbuggie.com), and Jessica Larios for the innumerable hours of energy, ideas, shoe leather, emails and phone calls last week to bring all the details together. It wouldn't have happened without you all - you are awesome.

And to our community who joined us -- it wouldn't have happened without you, either. Thank you for your generosity and support! More to come on this!

Miracles:

We have a sign on our wall at Lions 4 Kids House that says "Miracles Happen". Over the last two years we've had so much stuff we needed sort of "fall in our lap" that we've come to believe quite strongly that miracles do indeed come. This week was extraordinary, even for us!

- Last Saturday at our first work party, our plumber mentioned he'd soon be ready for lumber to frame the bathroom (after our permits are issued, of course!). I explained that we didn't have any funds at the moment but when we had some, or had some lumber donated, we'd make sure he got it. He turned and walked back into the building when a car drove up and a pair of anonymous donors handed me a gift card for $200 to Lowe's.

- A couple of volunteers and I were discussing that with all the kids we've served this month we are very short of kids' shoes. The next day I had a call from a lady who participates in a fundraising group who had heard about Lions 4 Kids. She asked for more information which was emailed to her. The following day she called me again and said they were working on our general "wish list" but that her neighbor owns a shoe store and donates a considerable number of shoes to a non-profit organization. She has agreed that Lions 4 Kids will receive the donation this year!

- We had a young man at our check-out desk with his mom when the mother mentioned that her son really needed to start using deodorant. I mentioned that we didn't have any product for boys at the moment but when we bought some, I'd call her. (Yes, we could give him "Secret" for girls, but then he'd be made fun of in the locker room, which is what Lions 4 Kids is working hard to avoid). The clients hadn't even left the counter when a donor walked in the building with a bag full of: men's deodorant.

- All last week we watched the weather forecast for Friday's event. All week the forecast grew worse. Consultations with various participants the morning of the event yielded consensus: "let's go for it." Storm clouds gathered and disbursed all day. Blue sky would appear -- then disappear. In the early evening the clouds to the southeast were nearly black. But not a drop of rain fell on our parade.  And we made enough money to buy socks and underwear to last us for the next six weeks worth of clients.

August at Lions 4 Kids House:
The images are indelible! Little kids, and big ones too, SO excited-- some literally bouncing with joy -- to have great clothes, shoes, backpacks and supplies to go to school with; moms, dads and grandparents raising grandchildren so appreciative of the help, relieved their kids will be on a more level playing field with their peers; and volunteers amazed at the stunning needs yet so thankful to be able to share their time and help make a difference.

Just about 300 children served and OVER 500 HOURS of volunteer time in the month of August. WOW!

Who do we serve?

- One of our clients with two young children has a life-threatening illness that requires an organ transplant. Due to her health situation she's unable to work. The family's medical bills are understandably huge. Her husband is in business with his dad and the family is getting by. Til Dad -- in mid-life -- ran off with a woman less than half his age. An entire young family's livelihood and future is now uncertain, as is the business and it's all beyond their control.

- Gramma's raising three kids, 8, 11 and 13 after the kids' mom relapsed in her drug addiction. The mom is back in rehab, dad's not in the picture, but in the meantime the whole family is in disarray. Gramma lives in a rooming house with her elderly mother and the three kids are sleeping on the floor as there is no room for beds. The kids now have decent clothes and shoes, and the family has been referred to the Sumner Family Center and the Child & Family Guidance Center "Relatives Raising Children Program" for further assistance.

Lions 4 Kids is privileged to be part of a resource network that provides a safety net for children and families of which the families described above are only two of thousands. Together we ARE making a difference, one child at a time.

Lions 4 Kids Wish List:
- We accept new and gently used clothing and shoes for kids of all ages and adults too as some of our kids are tall or large in stature.
- Books for kids of all ages
- Personal care items including shampoo, toothpaste, soap or body wash, deodorant, shaving gear, sanitary products, granulated laundry detergent, quart-size Ziplock bags
- Socks and underwear for kids of all ages. We respectfully request boxers for boys over size 12; bikinis or hipsters for girls over size 12 and no-show socks for kids of both genders

- When we are moved into our new facility we want to provide haircuts twice a month. Our goal is one Wednesday 4-7 p.m. and one Saturday 10-2 per month with two or three chairs. We have compiled a list of businesses in Bonney Lake and Sumner (can also use people from Buckley and Orting!) but need a volunteer willing to contact hair cutters, coordinate the calendar and make sure the cutters are reminded when they are scheduled. If 50% of our local salons would be willing to donate just one session per year, we'd have our goal met and Our Kids would be kept clean and tidy!

Extreme Makeover projects:

- We need people who can sew willing to stitch window toppers for our new building. There are nine windows altogether with three of them being wide windows. They'll be simple toppers but will have a scalloped hem on the bottom. Also need to sew four curtains for our dressing rooms and two small throw pillows.

- We are in need of windows, lumber, sheetrock, insulation, nails and screws and electrical supplies for the next phase of our project. Please see our website (www.lions4kids.com) for a complete list of materials needed. Our goal is to have construction completed by mid-October. In no way do we expect any one person or business to donate everything, but one 2x4x10, one sheet or particle board or one box of nails DOES make a difference!

Ok, this one's a funky request: Our "Miracles Happen" sign is made of tin letters. I'd like to have the word "Here" added to it but I'm creativity-challenged in this regard. Is there someone out there who might be able to help?

Financial Donations: it's coming up on United Way renewal time. If you donate to organizations through United Way you are able to designate specific, local non-profits as beneficiaries of your funds. We are privileged to be a United Way- designated organization under the Bonney Lake Lions Foundation, and the thousands of kids in our service area will benefit greatly from your donations to Lions 4 Kids House. We will appreciate your consideration.

The Bonney Lake Lions Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization #38-3753543 and your donation is tax deductible.

Next Volunteer Training: Our next training is scheduled for Wednesday, September 17th at 7 p.m. at our present building in front of the Bonney Lake Library. It takes 75-90 minutes, and after the training there is no obligation to become a volunteer. No pre-registration is necessary. The next class after that (and the last before the holidays) will be October 15th. After the initial training evening new volunteers will be working with a veteran volunteer for a time to make you comfortable with our procedures.

The only volunteers who are actually "scheduled" are those who work with Our Kids during open hours. Other than that, you are able to work as much or as little time as you wish. Some of our volunteers only have an hour a month to give; others work 10 or more hours per week. There are a number of activities that can be done from home as well. We desire individuals who won't see this as "just one more thing" on their plate, but rather as an opportunity to serve with a joyful heart.

Kids are OUR future and are SO worth the investment we are making. Thank you for your support of Lions 4 Kids House in so many ways.  Miracles DO Happen Here, every single day!

With a grateful heart, Carol

Lions 4 Kids update - August 24

2008-08-25T16:38:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone!

Our volunteers are SO AWESOME!  Lions 4 Kids has been open double the normal hours during August. Our facility has been kept stocked and clean by a few amazing and dedicated people and it 's been such a gift to Our Kids! In July we served a total of 185 kids. Just during the week of August 16-23 we clothed 102 and expect to have outfitted about 300 before the end of the month, many of them new referrals just this month.  Stunning numbers of kids and a FABULOUS effort from our volunteers. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

MOVIE NIGHT!!

Next Friday, August 29th - Rainier View Park in Sumner. We are showing the movie classic "E.T. - the Extra Terrestrial" on the big inflatable screen, sponsored by KAS Entertainment (www.outdoorsummermovies.com). This lovely park is located behind the old QFC store on Parker Road between Main Street and Meade-McCumber. Activities start at 6 p.m., with the movie showing at dusk. There is playground equipment for the kids to play on before the movie, and our friends Glitterbug and Beep-Beep from Clownbuggie Entertainment will be on hand to entertain everyone. There will be some great raffle prizes available, including a new bike! Admission is FREE!

Sales of food concessions will benefit Lions 4 Kids House, and donations of new socks and underwear for school-age children up to age 18 (we respectfully request boxers for boys over size 12 and bikinis or hipsters for girls; all the kids seem to like the no-show socks best this season), gently-used clothing, personal care items including granulated laundry soap, and of course cash, checks and gift cards will be much appreciated. We also take CREDIT CARDS!!

Join us for a fun evening of family entertainment before the kids start back to school and all the activities start up again! Thank you for your support! We could not do what we do without YOU!!

Next up: BONNEY LAKE DAYS:

Many thanks to David Wells and ALL the City of Bonney Lake staff, police and East Pierce Fire personnel that teamed up to make this event happen. LOTS of work went on before and after the event as well as behind the scenes during the activities to make for a fun and safe family event. You all ROCK!

The dunk tank was great entertainment and we owe a great debt of thanks to all of our dunkees who willingly Took the Plunge to benefit Lions programs: Pete Esser, Bonney Lake High School basketball coach; Riley Baltazar, Matt DeGoede, Josh Zahnow, all Bonney Lake High School basketball players; Jessie Thomson, owner of Play-Dayz;

Mayor Neil Johnson; Jim Bouchard, president of the Bonney Lake Chamber; 9-year old Kaylan Peters, daughter of Lisa Peters of Home Depot; Sue Hilberg, Director of the Bonney Lake Sr. Center; Theresa McBride, advertising specialist from the Courier-Herald; Sumner School District Superintendent Gil Mendoza; Drs. Michelle Marconi and John Huynh of Mountain View Chiropractic

Sue McCammon (aka Glitterbug) from Clownbuggie Entertainment; Dr. Alta Mahan, associate at Henschell Chiropractic; Pastor Stew Bowen, Director of the Bonney Lake and Bread of Life Food Banks, Robert Blest,President of the Bonney Lake Kiwanis, Marilee Hill Anderson, Director of the STARR Project and homeless services for Sumner School District and her 10-year old son Joel; Lexie Miller, Tim Bounting, and Kelly's son in law all family members of Kelly Bounting, Massage therapist at Henschell Chiropractic. I am missing the names of a couple basketball players who were last-minute stand-ins; I apologize and do thank you for your service! (Send me your names, I want to be sure to acknowledge you next time!)

Both Tim Bounting and Pastor Stew had plenty of family on hand to take shots at their beloved "sitting ducks" (and who were pretty good shots!) and Tim's wife even sent money via messenger for all of our target shooters to take "'one extra shot" at her beloved!; Dr. Alta had the patients lined up to put her in the tank (just how badly do you work over your patients, Dr. Alta???); Mayor Johnson was a favorite of his daughter's baseball team (and we know how badly you work them over as their coach, Mr. Mayor, to have brought them so far in their championship year!).

I'd like to thank Dr. Alta Mahan, Kelly Bounting, Jessie Thompson and Shane Patrick for helping recruit dunkees. Your help was invaluable!

To Dana, Mary and your team from the City of Bonney Lake who kept our tank filled and "refreshing" - many thanks!

And to those who came by to dunk our Hot Seat Volunteers, THANK YOU!

EXTREME MAKEOVER: COMMUNITY EDITION:

WOW!!!   At our first work party on Saturday, August 23rd from 9-1, our wonderful and hard working volunteers made short work of 90% of the interior walls in our main structure, and half the outbuildings are gone! It was amazing to watch so much progress in a short time! They filled a 30 cubic yard dumpster and we're ready for the next one!

Many thanks to:
Deputy Mayor Dan Swatman, Councilmember Jim Rackley, Sherry and Bob Leistiko, Corey McCammon, our general contractor of A.D.I. Construction with his wonderful "big boy toy" tractor, Bryan Long, our plumber Karl Emig from Everlast Plumbing.

There were some logistical issues resolved handily for this first day which were solved by Jennie Sage, David Wells, and Chuck Heistumann from Cascade Towing. Alfy's Pizza donated our lunch, thank you Cindy and Becca!

We expect to apply for our building permits this week so that when all the demolition is complete we can begin the transformation of our wonderful new facility!

Materials needed status:

Items received:
PAINT! Thanks to Glidden Paint, Marilyn Long and Kelly-Moore Paint!
Washer and dryer, thanks to Nicole and Jeff England
Cabinets for over the laundry pair thanks to Home Depot
Mirrors for our dressing rooms thanks to Home Depot and Home Decor Inc.

$100 gift certificate from McLendon's Hardware
Materials at cost from Arrow Lumber
Lumber and plumbing supplies thanks to an anonymous donor

In the works:
Sheetrock and related materials
Doors

Items needed most for our next phase:
Framing lumber, beam and insulation

ALL THE REST: Our materials list is posted on our website: www.lions4kids.com. Who do YOU know who knows someone else who may be willing to donate a small item on our list?

COMPLETION DEADLINE: We are aiming for our community Open House, and Volunteer Appreciation celebration on Saturday, October 25th.

Subject to having permits in place our next work party will be 9-1 on Saturday, September 6th  - Activities will be announced next week.

We hope to see you at the MOVIE NIGHT on Friday! It hardly seems possible that three generations of families are enjoying this movie. My kids were 5 and 8 when it first appeared, and now they are old enough to have their own kids of an age to enjoy it. How'd all these kids get so old and I didn't????

Have a safe and wonderful Labor Day weekend.

From me and from ALL the children we serve, heartfelt and deepest thanks for your support. We simply could not do what we do without you. Thank you. Carol

Lions 4 Kids House update.

2008-02-17T19:48:00.001-08:00

Here's all the exciting stuff happening at Lions 4 Kids, including the Prom Project! Thank you! Carol

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