Mission Sleep Tight is an initiative of Sleepyhead Beds, a nonprofit dedicated to the "comfort of beds for little heads." Sleepyhead Beds also arranges on-site pick-up of gently used mattresses and box springs. Go here to learn more about Sleepyhead Beds and here for more details on mattress donation and pick-up.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Mission Sleep Tight for Sleepyhead Beds
Mission Sleep Tight is an initiative of Sleepyhead Beds, a nonprofit dedicated to the "comfort of beds for little heads." Sleepyhead Beds also arranges on-site pick-up of gently used mattresses and box springs. Go here to learn more about Sleepyhead Beds and here for more details on mattress donation and pick-up.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
2012 Project Change Challenge Information
Official announcement from Project Change:
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In March we will have a Group Project workday where teams merely show up, no planning, gathering, expectation, etc. other than to get as many people as possible to show up and take part in making a difference for a few hours at a local non‐profit (location and date TBA).
That's all Folks! The end of our season will wrap up with an award ceremony that will be a must and a great time for all!
During this season, we are striving to prove the theory that Less is More, creating memories, connections, and making a difference with attention to the little details that change lives. You won't want to miss this year's challenge event, so contact us today to be part of this amazing, adventure!
Challenge 1: The Butterfly Effect ‐Due by February 20, 2012
Make a small change that may cause larger differences in the big picture. Try to think creatively, not necessarily monetarily, to impact an unknown or seldom discussed cause. This is YOUR chance to bring a voice to a little known need or issue, and put your unique spin on a small but impactful way to address it.
Spread your wings! Work with the local organization of your choice to find your cause and give it a voice! ALL TEAMS WILL WORK WITH A DIFFERENT ORGANIZATION! No doubling up, let's spread the love! (Prior to committing to the organization, your choice needs to be approved by Project Change.) Less is More! This isn't about going big, so try to focus on a simple need and response using your efforts to bring a unique creativity to it to make people take notice!
Challenge 2: GET DIRTY! Due by April 23rd, 2012
Roll up your sleeves and dig in! Remember what it was like to be a kid?! We are giving you permission to GET DIRTY, and create change with this hands‐on project! This challenge is all about making a difference where you can see the result before you leave! It is SO rewarding to see the change that takes place with a little elbow grease and hard work. Projects LARGE or small? Inside or outside? Doesn't make a difference! ALL are welcome and appreciated with much work to do around your community!
Work with the organization you have selected as a partner, (or a nearby site that will benefit them). Include people from the partnering organization in your efforts, planning, etc. Work hand in hand with those who will enjoy your hard work! TEAM effort on this one folks!
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Monday, May 9, 2011
No Deer Allowed!!!
I got a call from Larry Schmidt at 7:00 AM this morning, letting me know that there were four deer at the new garden, but that they were OUTSIDE of the mammoth deer fence.
Jeff Cothern later confirmed the story to me, but corrected Larry’s count, changing it to five. But, Jeff also assured me that they were all OUTSIDE the deer fence that can be seen from the space shuttle.
Great work!!!!
JG
Thursday, May 5, 2011
A Garden to Last Many Years to Come!
After meeting with the amazing staff and residents at CGS, we realized that this is a special place. We also quickly learned that their greatest wish was to have a garden. They wanted to produce fresh fruit and veggies and also allow the residents to join in on the gardening fun. What a great opportunity to Grow Change -> Create Hope!
Our Burns & McDonnell + Spaces Inc. team became thrilled at this great opportunity. The excitement and desire to help was contagious. We were grateful to have Kansas City Community Gardens on board to help with planting and garden design and Turner Construction to donate their time and materials to build the facility director's dream shed. How cool is that?!?
The first day we assembled a team together to begin creating the raised beds for the garden, and it was snowing! How are we supposed to garden in the snow? Our determined crew worked hard through the weather conditions, ate some pizza, and worked some more to get 14 raised beds constructed. The next work day was our big day, and it turned out to be a beautiful one. We had over 20 people participate to continue building a garden, storage shed, and truly create change! Volunteers were all over the place: digging post holes, shoveling soil, putting up the fence, and most of all, having fun. Of course we could not have done it without residents Jeff and Larry, overseeing the work and manning the water and snacks tent. Before long a garden appeared before our eyes. Now it was time to get dirty and do some planting. It was a fantastic sight to see the plants in the beds, and witness the growth taking place.
CGS will continue to provide their wonderful services for years and years, and residents will come and go, but the bounty of the garden will live on for years to come.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Another Lovely Workday
Friday, April 15, 2011
Look! A Garden!
The wheels soon began turning though! 24 post holes were dug for our 4"x4" fence posts to go in. At the same time volunteers started hauling all of the raised beds into place, and leveling them out (or close enough :) ). Once we got all 14 beds in place and level we started hauling dirt. The dirt pile/mountain soon started dwindling as eager voulnteers began carting their precious cargo up the hill and too the beds. Ben Sharda from KC Community Gardens gave us some great tips for a handy dirt dumping method with the wheelbarrows, which was pretty slick. Even with the mid 80s weather, the team soldiered on and got all the beds filled.
Check it out! it's got plants!!
Meanwhile the fence crew was chugging along getting all the posts plumb and in their holes, and compacting the soil at the base. Then we nailed two layers of the 4'x16' cattle panels to the posts. Take that deer! We also had to add some chicken wire to the bottom to keep those killer rabbits out too!
In order to keep the weeds down we placed cut to fit rolls of carpet face down in between the raised beds. This will also keep it from getting too muddy. Ben from KCCG showed back up around this time with the prized posessions - seeds and plants! We got some of the residents involved in the planting and watering, and they all looked like they were having quite the time!
The fence
We can't wait to come back next weekend to finish up a few things and hopefully see how our plants are coming along!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Dirt, Dirt and more Dirt!
All Good in the Garden!
Monday, February 21, 2011
March - Feel A Need for TLC
We also plan to continue the ZOO theme throughout the hallway outside the classroom doors. We are planning on making each classroom a special themed ZOO animal room. We plan to paint a different ZOO animal mural over and around each doorway for the students to identify each room as the "Zebra Room", "Penguin Room", "Monkey Room", "Turtle Room", or "Lion Cub Room". This is a need that TLC is asking us to fulfill, so the kids will have more fun and welcoming for all.
We also discovered a need as we were in discussions with TLC and developing our fill a need theme. TLC is in need of purchasing therapeutic exercise equipment for their kids. There is need to raise money so that they can purchase this equipment so we are organizing and implementing a fundraiser.
The fundraiser will be a Family Poker Tournament on March 3rd from 5:00PM to 9:00PM. It will be held at Johnny’s Tavern (1310 Grand Blvd. KCMO) in the Power and Light. We welcome everyone to register and pay $40.00 dollars for the entry fee to see if you can take up the cash prize for first, second or third place. We are also selling raffle tickets for this event, $5.00 for one ticket or $20.00 for 5 tickets. We will have some very high quality products, services and gifts that we will raffle off all evening. We encourage everyone to please purchase the raffle tickets and sign up for the Poker tournament.
For registration for this event please contact Stephanie Volk at TLC, svolk@childrenstlc.org. Or phone Stephanie at 816-756-0780 ext. 2138.
We will raffle off a Toshiba 32” flat screen TV value of $520.00, Falcon Ridge Golf Outing value of $316.00, JCCC Performing Arts Series for the Joffrey Ballet Performance value of $130.00, also we have a Spa Package, Restaurant Gift Certificates, Sporting Event Tickets, and much more!
Please sign up today to help us raise the necessary funds to help TLC purchase this equipment and help us fill this need for TLC!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Carnival Games for Down Syndrome Guild of KC
Over January and February, we met with STARS three times. Our first meeting was an ice breaker in which we went through introductions (you work at McDonald’s??!!) and held a friendly competition of building the tallest possible tower out of toothpicks and marshmallows. DSG is always looking for ways to expose STARS teens to different careers and so this small contest was a great way to show them some things that engineers do. We then brainstormed as a group to decide which of their favorite carnival games we were to build. We decided on Bucket Toss, Washers, Prize Wheel, and Sucker Tree. At our second meeting, we utilized donated painting to let the teens apply some artistic flair to each masterpiece. We also had time to play board games when the work was complete. During our third and final event, we tested out the games by playing them and giving out prizes. Everyone was a winner! Perhaps the most memorable part of the meeting was dancing the night away with STARS to the Hannah Montana soundtrack.
Working with STARS and DSG was fun, educational, and inspirational for us as volunteers. Prior to these events, few of us understood what Down syndrome really was, and how it affects people’s behavior. After spending some quality time with STARS, it is easy to see that each individual with Down syndrome has his or her own strong personality, and will say the darnedest things as any teenager will. A DSG volunteer coordinator pointed out that she had never seen some of the STARS teens as animated as when they were interacting with us. It’s great to know that we made a last impression on some of the teens we worked with. And although we left DSG with some (hopefully) long lasting carnival games, we took away experiences that are even more valuable. DSG has already expressed interest in working with our group in the future. We hope to find some volunteers on the BMcD/Spaces team that would like to continue with future volunteer activities with DSG.