Past Community Service

 

 

In 2014, the Willow Glen 2012 playgroup made a generous donation with their year-end group funds- $600 to Sacred Heart Family Services! What a wonderful way to help others, and share what charitable moms we have here in Las Madres.

 

BACKPACK DRIVE FOR SACRED HEART "PACK A BACK" PROGRAM

Our Working Moms 2006 ran a Backpack Drive!  They worked with Sacred Heart to collect backpacks, school supplies and gift cards to help families in need.

For more information about the Sacred Heart "Pack a Back" Program see their website: http://www.sacredheartcs.org/get-involved/pack-a-back-2012#BackPackSupplies

Sacred Heart had a goal of filling 2,300 backpacks and we were eager to help!

Please consider donating some of the below items. It is not necessary to donate every item for one backpack. Any and all donations are appreciated.  All of the supplies donated will be sorted to make complete packs.

KINDERGARTEN - 2nd Grade	3rd - 4th GRADES	5th - 12th GRADES
1 Backpack (NO red or blue) 3 Erasers 1 Glue stick 2 Pocket folders 1 Pack of 16 LARGE/JUMBO crayons 1 Pack of #2 pencils 1 Pack broad tip markers 1 Pencil sharpener 2 Wide-ruled notebooks 1 Box of Kleenex 1 Pair safety scissors 1 Bottle hand sanitizer 1 $20 gift card for shoes	1 Backpack (NO red or blue) 1 Erasers 2 Glue sticks 2 Pocket folders 1 Pack of mechanical pencils 1 Ruler 1 Pack of 16 or more crayons 1 Pack of black or blue ballpoint pens 1 Pack broad tip markers 2 Packs of wide-ruled paper 3 Wide-ruled notebooks (neat-tear preferred) 1 Three-ring Binder 1 $20 gift card for shoes	1 Black backpack 1 Eraser 2 Glue sticks 1 Pack of black or blue ballpoint pens 3 College-ruled notebooks (neat-tear preferred) 3 Packs of college-ruled paper 1 Three-ring binder 5 Report covers (clear front) 1 Ruler 1 Pack of markers 5 Pocket folders 1 Pack of mechanical pencils 1 Scientific calculator 1 Pack of highlighters 2 Packs of index cards 1 USB memory stick 1 Stick of deodorant 1 $20 gift card for shoes

Thanks for your help in making this a successful backpack drive!

DIAPER DRIVE FOR THE HELP A MOTHER OUT ORGANIZATION

The Willow Glen 2012 group ran a diaper drive for the Help a Mother Out organization (http://www.helpamotherout.org/). HAMO is a local non-profit that provides diapers and wipes to families in need. I cannot even imagine how difficult it would be as a new mom to have to worry about not being able to provide something as basic as diapers for my precious little person!

 

How to Donate:

• HAMO accepts any size diapers or pull ups, opened or unopened. If the diaper pack is opened, please leave in original packaging, seal it with tape and write down the number left somewhere on the package so we can keep a count. They also accept new cloth pocket diapers and unopened wipes.
• Host your own diaper drive play date

The drive ended July 31st and was very successful. Las Madres will be donating 3,087 diapers and $761 to Help A Mother Out. Thank you to all of the mamas who made donations and coordinated collections for their respective groups. LM is making a big difference for local babies!

CLOTHING DRIVE FOR MOMS IN NEED.

Club 2011 with Club 2008 collected clothes for Loved Twice (www.lovedtwice.org), an organization that collects 0-12 month clothing, socks, bibs, blankets, and other babywear and distributes the donations by sorted boxes through licensed social workers in hospitals, shelters, and clinics.

 

The clothing goes to foster mothers and other needy moms when the baby is born in the hospital. They are given a box that contains a years worth of clothes for the baby. Club 2011 collected the clothes from all clubs; and Club 2008, with the help of their kids, sorted and packed the boxes and then delivered them. Some organizations have offered tours so we can see where the clothes are going.

LAS MADRES NEIGHBORHOOD PLAYGROUPS DONATES $3000 TO SANTA CLARA CITY LIBRARY

Santa Clara, CA March 28, 2011 — Sandra Maat, Executive President of Las Madres Neighborhood Playgroups, presented a $3000 check to the Santa Clara City Library Foundation & Friends at the Santa Clara Central Park Library at 6pm. The money went towards creating a family place within the library from which many Las Madres members will benefit.

LAS MADRES JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE RELIEF GARAGE SALE

Dear Madres,

As one of the three Japanese on the committee of the Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Garage/Bake Sale, which raised $2,607.50 last weekend, I'd like to thank the incredible Las Madres moms who supported this event.

- Eriko Demilta is the visionary who started the project, and gave her all to see through it.
- Dylan Wooten generously donated supplies and made out-of-this-world cupcakes for the bake sale.  
- Thushitha Deepak took the challenge of organizing the volunteers, and did a terrific job.
- Tiffany Trevers offered us useful advice, and linked us with another Japanese mom, who became one of the driving forces of the sale.
- Kumi Wang also joined us as soon as her own charity event ended, and gave us indispensable support.
- Sandra Maat, executive president of Las Madres, let us use the Las Madres name for the garage sale, providing us with the credibility which obviously boosted the revenues.  She even showed up at the sale to help out in person.

And I must not forget Adrienne Cox, the gracious host of the garage sale.  She and her whole family worked tremendously to make this event not only possible, but also a huge success.

I've been touched by Adrienne's amazing passion and dedication to help strangers in a dire emergency, regardless of their nationality or place of residence. Meeting and working with people like her and other volunteers makes me happy that I've come to live in this country.

Last but not the least, let me appreciate the work of all those, both in and out of Las Madres, who donated their valuable goods, time and talent for the garage sale. Hundreds of people also came to the sale as customers, and purchased many goods, often giving us a cash donation. It takes more than a village to help natural disaster victims, and I'm proud of be part of this wonderful community.

I will conclude this message with a quote from Adrienne's mail, since I don't have better words to express how I feel now:

"All of your hard work was worth it, and even though the needs in Japan seem insurmountable at this time, even this small amount will help alleviate some pressure and make some peoples lives a little bit easier as they begin the rebuilding process. My heart 'goes out to them and I know the Japanese people will pull together, like we all did this weekend, and rebuild a stronger, better Japan."

Best wishes,
Mikako Tanaka

FAMILY PLACE LIBRARY

The “Family Place Library" was implemented with a grant from the California State Library directed at making the library a richer experience for children ages 0-5 and their parents, and the additional support from Las Madres; Family Place Libraries support parent education, encourage imagination play between parents and children, and support emerging literacy skills in young children.