We did it! Toys for Tots was a huge success!

So, last night we hosted a Toys for Tots event at the studio. Initially it was going to be a small gathering of the usual "Girls Night Out" clan along with their significant others and kids. I thought it would be an intimate gathering so everyone can meet and greet each other's family, have a pot luck, drink some beverages and do the usual good deed. Thankfully, the event blossomed into a blow out! About 50 people showed up with arms full of toys and delicious food to share. If I had to guess, we probably ended up with about 300 toys to donate.

The 'Red Alert' went out a few days before the event, notifying everyone that Toys for Tots had record low donations and needed help. The timing was perfect for our good deed gathering. Everyone stepped up to the plate and earned about 300 smiles from little kids last night. Some of our friends brought their kids and joined in on the giving. Even though they were eye-balling the toys, they understood the purpose and were more excited to see three of our nation's finest Marines arrive to take part in the gathering... and so were all the girls!

The embarrassing part is my attempt at a speech. I guess that's why "ass" is a part of the word 'embarrass'! Anyway, what I could not successfully do last night is extend a heart-felt thank you to everyone who helped and participated. I just wanted to say... "Look at what you did!" and point at the huge table full of toys. I mean if you think about it, the idea of one person grew to the strength of a small army because of everyone's support, belief and desire to make life better for someone else. Completely selfless acts by 50+ people, are going to make 300 kids and all of their family happy and full of hope at a really difficult point in their lives. How can you not feel good about what we did? Thank you so much.

I passed around a sign up sheet but I don't think everyone saw it or signed it. I would like to call out special thanks to some folks that really went above and beyond what I ever imagined.
Dawn Crawford rallied up all of her business neighbors and brought in a car load of toys from the fine folks at Ballard Home Comforts, Lucca, Bridget Zehring, Collective, Clover, Rick Heiner Architect Group, Souvenir, and Geno Galvan. Unbelievable... same story goes... one person can make a huge difference and she did! I'd also like to thank Jennie, Teri, Mickie, Dawn & Jeff for helping set up and clean up. Can't thank you enough for helping pull this off so smoothly. Dennis was in charge of lighting.... Great job db! Earl picked up the keg and cooked wings. Thanks honey! I know more people helped and gave in so many ways. My thanks extend to everyone.

For those who check in on the blog and might be interested in taking part, The Girls meet the second Tuesday of the month here at the studio. We meet for at least two reasons. One is selfish: to do something for ourselves, hang with the girls, make new friends, drink some wine, eat some food, get away from the kids and spouses, and have fun. Sometimes we exchange beauty secrets or talk about our periods. That's why Earl goes next door to Stellar Pizza. The second is selfless: we help a charity at the same time. Sometimes we help two or three in one month. It depends on what we gather up and focus on. We might as well do something with all of our power and might. We can't just let it go to waste. That would be a shame.

If you want to join in the fun, shoot me an email (doreen at harperstudios.com, at=@) and I'll add you to the email list of what we are doing. There is never any pressure to come or donate anything to the charity, there is no membership fee, no dress code, no expectations. Come as you are and make new friends.

January 13th is 'Dress for Success' night and we'll be collecting clothing to get women in transition back in the work force. I'll post the wish list soon. Since it's a work theme, I think we all should get the skinny on each others livelihoods and do a little networking amongst the group. If anyone is looking for a job, and anyone is hiring at their work place let's share it amongst the group and help each other out. That's what we do!

Thanks again to everyone!
Doreen

Toys For Tots 12/9/08

Hey Ladies of the GNO.

It's about time we start shakin' it up a bit and get ready for the holidays. The next gathering will be at the studio. This time bring your boyfriend, husband, lover, pool boy, significant other... hell, bring all five and the kids that go with them! The more the merrier.

Admission to this year-end extravaganza is easy! Bring at least one new, unwrapped toy for our Sharity of the Month: Toys For Tots http://www.toys4tots.org/index.html . That's right. We're givin' to the children and they are gonna love these toys.

Here is the skinny... it's 'pot-luck' style so if you would like to share a dish, bring it on in. If you aren't too keen on cooking up something, than bring some wine. If that doesn't suit you, then bring some food goods for Northwest Harvest http://www.northwestharvest.org/. If none of that floats your fancy, then just show up with an extra toy. It's all about the giving, because when you give you get (karma, warm fuzzies, smiles, thanks, points, miles, one step closer to heaven, etc.).

Let the festivities begin! The Wii, foosball, ping-pong and pool tables will be ready for the male dominated competitions that usually unfold when drinks are consumed. While they are preoccupied amongst themselves, we'll be enjoying the company of three of the Marines finest representatives! There is something for everybody, so bring a bunch of toys for the tots, and your favorite peeps along to enjoy the evening with friends.

One more thing... our Homeless Helper was another success! We donated five huge bags and two large boxes full of coats, sweaters, gloves, hats, socks, blankets, and fleeces. The Union Gospel Mission picked everything up on 11/18 and were grateful for the contributions! Good job ladies. We did it again!

Looking forward to it!
Doreen

Homeless Helper is next Tuesday!

Hi Girls,
11/11/08, Tuesday night at the studio is Homeless Helper night. Come by after work, enjoy some beverages, chit-chat and bring warm clothing items for the Union Gospel Mission. If you know of other needful charities, we'll include them too. We usually have enough stuff to spread around to several organizations.

It sounds like this will be a pretty good turnout! We have Roger's on tap from Georgetown Brewing and I'll have easy-to-prepare snacks. You know my talents in the kitchen are lacking. But don't be shy if you want to share a snack or some wine.

See you next Tuesday!
Same place, same time, bring a friend and a bottle of wine!
Doreen

Make-A-Wish and Art Roundup!

Remember when we did the "Back-to-School" drive? Well, we received some awesome rolling backpacks w/Disney themes and figured the Make-A-Wish Foundation could put these to good use for all of the Disney trips they fulfill. Jennie & I dropped them off to Jeni and her Make-A-Wish team. They were really grateful for the contributions. Big shout out to Casandra for tapping her resources! Those two big suitcases are packed full of backpacks.

The Art Roundup was last night. We collected a lot of art supplies and even have Patrice's flute to find a good home for. I actually found my old airbrush and am hoping someone will have fun getting creative with it.

A local Georgetown resident who has a non-profit child & family therapy service has an open-studio art group for the kids in her agency. I made contact with her and she'll be by Monday to pick up all of your sharitable contributions and will put them to good use right away!

Mickie outdid herself with strawberries, cream and brown sugar. As if that wasn't delectable enough, she had to add brownies to the mix. Thank you for the goodies! We had great snacks, good wine & beer, and excellent conversations.

Patrice has started knitting hats! She is working her fingers to the bone, mastering her newly found craft and plans on selling them for next year's 3-day breast cancer walk. Sign up to buy one or two!

Saundra announced the Shoptoberfest in Issaquah this weekend, 10/18 from 4-8pm. Here is the address if you want to get some good buys and a jump start on the holidays: 1700 NW Gilman Blvd., Suite 300.

Our next GNO is November 11th. Focus is Help the Homeless and Working Women's Wardrobe.
Needs for the homeless: Blankets, Coats, Sleeping Bags, Sleeping Pads, etc.
Needs for Women getting back to the workplace: Smart dress clothes, blouses, skirts, shoes, jewelery, purses. You get the idea.

Thanks again ladies! Good work. Bring a friend and make new ones!

ART ROUNDUP: October 14th!

Hey GNO's,

Well the next GNO gathering is coming up on October 14th and I'm sounding the alarm! Remember... we are focusing on the arts for kids and youth. Check out the links below and see what they need, what you have, and what you can share. The goal is to inspire, promote, encourage and feed the need to be creative. Let's give these kids the tools to express themselves with their naturally born talents.

Here are just a few organizations to check out. Please add others that we should all know about. They all need help fueling the arts!

http://www.sanctuaryartcenter.org/donate.htm
http://www.theveraproject.org/
http://www.coyotecentral.org/index.html
http://www.artscool.org/index.html

Same place, same time. Bring a friend and a bottle of wine.

FYI: for those living in a cave... if you don't know already, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breasts are one thing we all have in common, so lets get active and take part like our fellow GNO's! Let's give a big shout out to Patrice, Michelle & Melinda who did the 3-day breast cancer walk! Way to go ladies. Share your stories when we gather up on Tuesday!

Speaking of boobs... check this out! You can actually help breast cancer research by signing up to participate in studies. I did!
http://www.armyofwomen.org/

Project Cool and Treehouse For Kids: Well received

Results are in and everyone attending the last GNO on 8/26 all received Gold Stars! Treehouse For Kids (http://www.treehouseforkids.org/) received their backpacks and school supplies on Friday 8/29. Reports state that the day before the GNO 'Sharity' donation, about 200+ needy kids had been "shopping" for school supplies. Our drop off came just in time to replenish stock for more kids.

Mickie & Teri's investigative research found out that in the Spring, Treehouse collects housewares (small appliances, plates, towels, linens, etc.) for young adults flying the coop and heading away to college or their own apartments. Keep that in mind as you come across re-purposable items in your household and locate the nearest donation station (or contact us and we'll make it happen).

Jennie and I met Victoria from Project Cool (http://www.homelessinfo.org/cool.html) yesterday. She stopped by the studio to pick up backpacks, school supplies and down vests. Project Cool helps homeless kids get started right in school. Victoria works her tail off helping these families and has to drive all around Puget Sound since most of them don't have tranportation to get to the help they need. Check out their web site and see how you can help.

Victoria was really grateful about the donations and is going to mention our group in the annual report. Good job ladies! We still have some things for the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the West Seattle Helpline. I'll let you know how it goes when the drop is made.

Sidenote: looking at the wish list for Make-a-Wish, they have some needs in there that a few of you may be interested in helping with... particularly graphic design services. Check it out...
http://www.makeawishwa.org/wishlist.asp.

GNO:DGD (Girls Night Out: Does Good Deeds)

Since April, I've been trying to get the girls in our circle of friends together to meet one night a month for drinks and eats. Earl has his fly fishing buddies and his group doesn't 'allow' women to attend their 'special group', so I figured we should do the same and exclude the guys. Besides, it's hard to talk about them if they are there, plus who is going to watch the kids?

The first GNO (Girls Night Out) consisted of four of us girls meeting at the Purple Cafe in downtown Seattle. The purpose was for eating great food, drinking delicious wine, catching up with friends and making new ones without distractions of our guys on one arm and kids on the other. Turnout was low, but I still had hope. I planned it for the next month and we met at Jules Maes in Georgetown. I really wanted to create an outlet for the gals I know to meet, gather, network, and make new friends.

Well, it all came together when I started spring cleaning and came across a bunch of stuff to get rid of. Things too good to toss out, or not worth the time selling in a yard sale, or not knowing the right person to give it too. I just didn't want to throw stuff in the trash if someone could re-purpose it. I had a boat load of 'Gift with Purchase' Clinique lipsticks that just weren't my color, but must be someone's! The next GNO soon had it's own purpose... reduce, reuse, recycle, repurpose and reward. Our first official 'Sharity' was launched for the next GNO.

After a little research I found an organization in downtown Seattle called the Women's Wellness Center http://www.ccsww.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homeless_womenswellness where they provide a place for homeless women to shower, wash their clothes and get cleaned up. They took shampoos, soaps, lotions, towels, bath robes, makeup, and anything a woman would want to feel better about themselves.

I put word out to the GNO gals about what the purpose of the gathering was, what we need, who we are helping and why was not even a question. Turnout was great! We had 14 gals bring in enough toiletries to fill four boxes. The shelter was grateful and we all went home feeling pretty damn good about ourselves.

The second official GNO was for Pasado's Safe Haven http://www.pasadosafehaven.org/. Again, another great turnout and a good supply of food, leashes, animal care items, gift certificates, cleaning supplies and re-usable pet supplies. Michelle is on the board for Pasado's and was able to deliver the donations and received a grateful, heartwarming response.

The third GNO we focused on Northwest Harvest http://www.northwestharvest.org/. Apparently the food banks tend to get overlooked during the summer months and that is when they have a huge need... especially during these tough times. This was another great turnout. Everyone brought in items out of their pantries, bought bulk from Costco, and secured donations from their workplace. It was great to be able to turn over eight boxes of goods to Northwest Harvest. The delivery driver asked about the donations and I filled him in on our GNO group. He was so excited and appreciative that we chose NWH to help out, especially during this time of year.

The fourth GNO was our latest one... 'Back-to-School'. The task was to round up a bunch of school supplies and new or gently used clothing for kids who need a step ahead. We had some scheduling snafu's and had to post-pone the date to late August, but turnout ended up good and the donations were unbelievable! Casandra came up with ~40 backpacks courtesy of her workplace and all the girls out did themselves with buying supplies and backpacks to help more than 50 local kids. A selection has been donated to Treehouse for Kids http://www.treehouseforkids.org/, we have more to deliver to Project Cool http://www.homelessinfo.org/cool.html, and some to deliver to West Seattle Helpline http://www.westseattlehelpline.org/ along with four boxes of clothing.

The next GNO in October will be the Art Roundup. All the gals in the group are artistic in some aspect because of their profession or their hobby and they value what art brings to their lives. Everyone is gathering art supplies, paints, brushes, musical instruments, dance shoes, old cameras, film, etc. The creative fields get lost in the education system these days, so we are working on making it easier for kids to explore the creative outlets. They just need the resources to try it and we plan to help.

Livin' up to the title: GNO:DGD (Girl's Night Out: Does Good Deeds)

Maybe this group will inspire others to join in or start their own. Here is a good web site that makes it easy to find charities in need http://www.donateseattle.org/

Thanks to all the gals and their resources for making this successful!