Relay for Life

Dear Sisters,

In this message, SOS stands for Save Our Ship, as well as all the other acronyms! :)

On June 26th, Joel and I will be participating in a Relay for Life in Oswego, close to his parent's house. The event is a big fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, which helps research cures for cancer as well as educating people in ways to prevent cancer (smoking cessation, etc). Our team captain, Debbie, is a non-member friend of Joel's dad, and she's a very outgoing, friendly lady.

Here's my problem: Debbie has organized a team fund raiser that Joel and I can't participate in (a wine tasting) which she hopes will cover most of her fundraising requirements. I told Debbie Joel and I would come up with some fundraising ideas of our own to make up our part of the team effort. Here's where I need some help!

One of my ideas was to have a pancake breakfast or a spaghetti dinner, asking for a 1or 2 dollar donation for the meal. If that were to happen, I would need: 1. a place to host a meal; 2. a few people to help set up beforehand; 3. whatever food items people were willing to donate, and 4. everyone to invite their friends of other faiths! I was kind of thinking of doing it at the Stake Center or Institute building, but I'm not sure if church buildings are available for fundraising activities like that. Does anybody know?

Another idea would be to have a bake sale at a local community site (haven't figured out where yet), and that would be me just asking for everyone's best goodies. :) Also, a person or two to share watching the table with me would be wonderful!

A third option, suggested by Joel's mom, would be to have a "service auction". People would donate service items, like gardening for so many hours, making a blanket or pillow, cleaning up someone's living room, singing someone's favorite song, etc. Upon arrival, people would pick up "money" for the auction. I think people could get our auction "money" by figuring out how much service they have given to people during the past week, or by figuring out how they have prevented/helped others prevent cancer during the week. This could be a smaller activity, maybe at someone's house... my apartment might be too small for it to work well. Then we would request donations, etc. Kind of like a bridal shower, but for a different cause! The more I think about it, the more this idea sounds like it could be cool... :)

Anyway... Those are my issues, ideas, and I hope to hear from you soon! If one of these ideas works out, everyone involved can count up their service hours for the American Cancer Society.

Take care!

~Katy

P.S. I have a little website related to the relay, if anyone wants to look at it... We have a fundraising goal as a team, and donations are always much appreciated.

Click HERE for Katy's website and HERE for the American Cancer Society

A Week Ago Yesterday...

We held our Relief Society SOS kick off Event!

See what a delightful time we had chatting over our scrumptious Italian-themed Pot Luck dinner?

The food really was fantastic, and for those of you who would like the recipe to the amazing Zoupa Toscana soup that Rachel brought click HERE!

The turnout for the event was spectacular, and we were so excited for the support and enthusiasm from the sisters of our ward for this new goal we have set.

Some of the most touching moments of the night came during the program's beautiful musical numbers:

We are so blessed to have such musically gifted sisters who are willing to share their talents with us!

The first speaker of the evening was Sister Burton who shared a message about service and love. She talked about the Saviors example, and the many admonitions we have in the scriptures and from our modern day Prophets to serve our fellow men. She talked about the blessings that come into our own lives as we develop the attribute of love, and do our best to give that love away.

Following her message she outlined how the SOS program will work, and how we will document our progress:

The Concluding Speaker was Bishop Johnson who also spoke about service, and who promised missionary opportunities that will come as a result of us getting out into the community.

The kickoff activity was such a nice evening, and we thank everyone who contributed to making it a success!

And a special thank you to Crystal for taking these pictures!

A First!

Woot Woot!

Look at the sidebar folks... we have our very first ever recorded hours! I got an e-mail from one of the Sisters informing me of some hours she served this week.

I will have a sign up sheet ready for Relief Society this week in case anyone else has hours to record. If you have some to record yourself you can send me an email or you can wait till Sunday when the sign up sheet comes around.

Thanks guys!

Ashlee

Ten Thousand Villages

I have been volunteering at 10,000 Villages for over 10 years. The shop is located at 105 North Walnut Street in downtown Champaign. Ten Thousand Villages provides vital, fair income to Third World people by marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America. Ten Thousand Villages works with over 130 artisan groups in more than 38 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East to produce fair trade jewelry, home decor, gifts and more. Ten Thousand Villages is one of the world's oldest and largest fair trade organizations and is a nonprofit program of Mennonite Central Committee.

I usually volunteer 7 hours per month and thoroughly enjoy my association with the store manager, the part time employees, and the over 40 volunteers who keep the champaign shop going. The people I've met there are from many different religious affiliations. All of them are warm, and loving, and the type of people who enjoy giving back to their community. I've discovered that many of them give many hours of service to their churches and other community organizations as well as the time they donate to the mission of Ten Thousand Villages.

I work full time and often go to my volunteer shift feeling tired and run down but it's such an uplifting environment, and I've learned what a difference this organization has made in the lives of our brothers and sister all over the world.

It's a pleasure to buy a special gift or treasure at the shop. Gifts purchased at Ten Thousand Villages give twice. Once to the artist who created it and once again to the person who buys or receives it.

--Sharon McFarland

Thank you Sister McFarland! To learn more about Ten Thousand Villages click HERE

Dance for Parkinson’s Disease

I teach a dance class called Dance for Parkinson’s Disease. It is a class especially for people with Parkinson’s Disease, but anyone with balance or mobility problems is welcome, along with family members or caregivers. I team-teach with dance educator Kate Kuper, and the music for every class is provided by piano accompanist Beverly Hilman. We are paid for our service through grants that make it possible for the participants to attend for free. Kate and I received training from two members of the New York-based Mark Morris Dance Group, which does a weeklong residence at the U of I every year. These professional dancers hold weekly Dance for Parkinson’s classes in their Brooklyn studio. When I was contacted by the dance department head at the U of I, I had a very strong feeling that this was something I needed to do. I have always loved visiting my ailing Grandparents and trying to alleviate their difficulties in some way. My grandparents are far away now, but teaching Dance for PD is a way for me to use my talents and skills to help others in a similar situation.

One very prevalent symptom of Parkinson’s Disease is rigidity; the muscles freeze up, making it difficult to move freely. Dancing together with live music (popular music from their era, show tunes, and classical music) Parkinson’s sufferers find an increase in range of motion and motor control. And all the time we’re having fun. It’s like magic!

We started our monthly class at the U of I Krannert Center in November 2009, and we typically have around 25 people participating in the class. I love associating with the people and seeing their minds and bodies “come alive” as they experience the joy of movement that many may have thought was no longer possible for them. These people have become my friends. I love learning from those of the older generation because they know and have experienced so much. They have a softness and ease about them that I don’t see in any other people I associate with. I love talking with them before and after class, and we all leave edified for having been together.

--Marianne Jarvi

Thank you Marianne!