BLACK FRIDAY
It's so convenient that JoAnn's starts their big Black Friday sale on Wednesday! As mentioned in the previous post, this is the occasion with the best flannel prices of the year.
Patty emailed some of her quilting friends, offering to endure the sale crowds for them, if they wanted to contribute some money to buy flannel. Within a few hours, she had pledges of $180. She hit the Eugene store when they opened at 6 Wednesday morning, and reduced their flannel inventory by over 100 yards.
I took my granddaughter to the Springfield store Wednesday around 5:00 pm, when I figured the crowds might be heading home for dinner, and we started pulling bolts that met DFG's fabric guidelines. She was a great help in selecting, and loved handing the bolts to the clerk measuring for us. We bought 59 yards.
Wendy wasn't able to get to a store, but let me know she'd be happy to contribute money too, so Friday, once I figured the crowds had thinned, I went back and found the last 3 bolts with designs that would work for liners. We don't use solids much, but these mottled almost-solids should hide stains better. Especially the one at the top!
The highlight of that trip was running into and catching up with my former mailman, who retired a couple of years ago.
And I've heard from some others of you who purchased flannel too--and have washed and dried it already! Sue was already started on making liners from hers when I spoke with her this weekend.
Let me know if you're interested in doing some of the washing, drying and pressing at home. No huge rush--all this fabric will last us some time! But if you let me know in advance, I can try to squeeze some in my car.
HOW DID THIS ALL GET STARTED?
I assume many of you have watched the videos on Days for Girls' website. One of them is a TED talk by Celeste Mergens, Days for Girls founder, telling how she was inspired to form this life-changing organization. On Sunday, somebody shared another one of Celeste speaking in Seattle about a year and a half ago. Of course her statistics are out of date now. Our network of teams and chapters has continued to grow rapidly. A few weeks ago it was announced that we now had 750 teams and chapters (and new ones are added every week), which have distributed well over 400,000 kits!
GIVING TUESDAY AND THREAD OF HOPE
Veteran's Day (1938 as Armistice Day), Thanksgiving (1863), Black Friday (1960s), Small Business Saturday (2010), Cyber Monday (2005), Giving Tuesday (2012). All these special days in November! And when I worked in schools, parent-teacher conferences were always in the November mix too.
The newest one, Giving Tuesday, is a nice way to take a break in focus from all the holiday shopping hoopla. I usually think of it as monetary donations to nonprofits, but of course giving can be, in the case of Days for Girls, a pack of undies, spools of thread, etc., or your valuable time!
Days for Girls typically takes 10% of monetary donations to our chapters and teams, for their overhead expenses, but occasionally there's an online fundraiser where we get to keep 100%. They've just announced one for the holidays, Thread of Hope, just in time for Giving Tuesday donations. This fundraiser is focused on our work helping refugees.
Here's the place to donate to Thread of Hope for our chapter, if you're interested in making a monetary donation. You'll receive a receipt for tax purposes immediately and 100% of your donation stays with our chapter. I've checked with our headquarters, and am told that Thread of Hope isn't just for Giving Tuesday, but will continue at least through the holiday season. Perfect for folks who exchange charitable gifts for the holidays. I do have the gift slips available if you'd like one to put in a card, telling the recipient that a gift to Days for Girls has been made in his or her name--just ask me.
November has really flown by for me. Our next workday is the first Saturday in December, less than a week away. We'll have some of our regular tasks to work on, plus we will assemble some of the kits going to Kenya in January with Friends of Kenya Schools and Wildlife (another great nonprofit to consider on Giving Tuesday).
Something a bit different this Saturday is that we're on the route of the 64th annual Springfield Christmas parade. It starts at 1 pm on Mohawk Blvd. and will come down Main Street, right in front of Our Sewing Room. I'd suggest that you get your parking spot at the bank (or another lot) early.
OFFER OF HELP
My goal for each distribution is to have every girl receive a bag made out of a different beautiful fabric. Because the bags contain items of such a personal nature, I don't want mixing them up to be easy. We make many bags of each fabric at one time, but hope to only need one of each for a particular community's distribution. This past week I counted out 200 different bags. Have you ever noticed how fascinated cats are when you're working on something on the bed? My would-be assistant's name is Yobo. Because some of the recipients might be sensitive to cats, I had to usher her out and close the door.
Hoping for a good turnout for the December 3rd workday, our last gathering of 2016. I'll be set up at Our Sewing Room, ready to hand out tasks by 10:30. We're packed up and departed by 5 p.m. Please bring your basic sewing supplies (sharp scissors, rotary cutter, seam ripper, an empty bobbin or two, etc.), and your serger or machine if you'd like to use one.
See you Saturday!
LOTS OF BEAUTIFUL FABRIC
Our chapter has been wonderfully blessed with extremely generous donations of beautiful cotton from the stashes of our quilting friends as well as from the estates of a few going into assisted living.
I would have a hard time turning down fabric that is absolutely perfect for our kit needs, but I urge you not to spend any money on cotton fabric for the bags and shields. Donations of fabric from your stash continue to be welcome, but I'd suggest you save your purchasing dollars for other needs, at least for now.
Flannel is the fabric we mostly need to buy. If you have flannel to donate or would like to buy some, please remember that we need busy, stain-hiding prints in medium to dark colors. In earlier posts, I've shared a few photos of some that work very well. And please remember that DFG has a list of additional fabric restrictions: Avoid prints depicting weapons, people or animals with faces insects (butterflies are ok if they don't have faces showing), camouflage, religion, glam, holidays or anything culturally specific.
FLANNEL SALE
I've heard from the leader of California chapter who has already gotten a flyer in her mail that JoAnn's will have their flannel on sale as a Doorbuster on Wednesday and Friday this week. This is typically the time for the best prices of the year. She says the flannel will be $1.79 and $2.09 per yard. I assume one of the prices is for solids, which don't hide stains as well. I don't buy those.
AMAZON WISH LIST FOR OUR CHAPTER
The leader of one of the other chapters came up with a great idea--especially at this time of year when many of us buy some things on Amazon. She set up a wish list of items sold on Amazon that her chapter could use. She pointed out that often we need to spend just a few more dollars to qualify for free shipping.
So, I made a list of some items that we would appreciate receiving, that might be enough to qualify your online order for free shipping. If you're shopping on Amazon.com and need to spend a few more dollars, our list is at https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/55EHSYDTQOS7/ref=cm_wl_huc_view.
When you follow that link, it should say "Days for Girls Eugene Wishlist." Polyester threads and 1/2"--5/8" grosgrain ribbon are appreciated in any medium to dark colors--I just didn't list all the colors separately.
Those prices are not necessarily the best available, but could actually save you a few dollars, if you'd be spending that (or more) money on shipping otherwise.
JoAnn Fabrics continues to have great deals when you use their coupons.
You may already know that you can go to Amazon Smile and set up a charity to receive donations when you make purchases. Days for Girls International qualifies for that. And you can do the same at Fred Meyer.
ANOTHER ARTICLE
It's a great time to get your period? More reading for you.
THIS JUST IN!
Ellen, director of the Central Oregon Chapter, just alerted me to the underwear sale at Target. 9+1 packs for $5. That's as good as the back-to-school sale prices! If you want to pick up some undies, remember we use only BRIEFS and in sizes 10, 14, and 16. We have plenty of 12s. Please try to avoid or limit the ones with animals on them. And of course if you have a Target card, you can add that discount too. Oh, and yesterday I got a $5. Target coupon in the mail--maybe you did too!
IN THE USA
Although most Days for Girls kits go to girls and women in developing nations, we are aware of many women struggling to afford feminine hygiene supplies in the US. This is being addressed in a variety of ways, including kit distributions in some locations. In Lane and Benton Counties, we are fortunate to have a recently formed nonprofit, Rosie Center, that provides supplies (of their choice) to women in shelters. Rosie is completely run by volunteer college and high school students!
You might also enjoy reading this article about what a college in Connecticut has done. I've previously posted articles about similar programs. I'm so pleased to see that this issue is being addressed, more and more!
OUR FIRST FIRST
November 5th was the first time for us to meet on the first Saturday of the month. It seems to work better for almost everyone. We had a great turnout, and accomplished quite a bit! We actually ran out of non-sewing jobs to do while sitting down (although there's always fabric to iron)! Many thanks to all the folks who joined us. We have some friends and sisters who use our workdays as a good time to catch up with each other, while working. It feels good to accomplish so much--especially while enjoying ourselves. Here are a few of the wonderful people who joined us this month, hard at work.
If the first Saturday doesn't work for you, but you'd still like to help, let me know. There are many tasks you can do at home too.
COMING OF AGE
Gwen has distributed our kits a few times to students in the communities served by her nonprofit, Friends of Kenya Schools and Wildlife. In January she'll be bringing 200 more kits to the girls coming of age since the last distribution. She recently asked for feedback from the girls who received the first batch a couple of years ago, and they said they appreciated the kits and still used them.
POVERTY
Days for Girls International provided a link to this TED talk which I think many of you will find interesting.
GETTING THE LOWEST PRICES
Some things I never paid attention to before Days for Girls lured me in . . .
Girls' underwear prices are their lowest in late summer, during the back-to-school sales. At Target and Walmart (and on their websites) we've been able to get briefs made by Hanes and Fruit of the Loom in 9-packs that not only had their prices sliced, but also included a bonus of 3 extra pairs. The best prices there work out to about 50¢ a pair. And if you have a Target card, you get an additional discount.
Discounts on flannel at JoAnn's are huge on Black Friday--and the lines are also epic. Watch the ads--sometimes the sale is other days too. I may try purchasing some online this year--it takes a while to scroll through to find the patterns that I prefer (and not all designs are available online), but probably not as long as standing in those lines. Often there's no shipping charge if your total purchase is more than $100 or something. In past years, Snuggle flannel prints that are regularly $6.99 could be purchased for about $2.00 a yard, with the lowered price plus a coupon. At that price, we buy by the bolt!! If you're interested in buying some flannel (and that's the kind of fabric we need the most of) to donate, remember to avoid any prints with light colors or depicting faces of any kind, weapons and camouflage. Here are a few of my favorites--great stain-hiding colors in busy patterns.
And of course, busy prints in thicker, more absorbent quilt shop-quality flannel are always received with delight.
If you do make donations and would like a receipt for tax purposes, please let me know.
IN DECEMBER
Our next workday will be the first Saturday in December, the 3rd.
We're at Our Sewing Room all day--I'm usually unloaded and ready to hand out tasks by 10:30, and we pack up and leave by 5 pm.
Please join us if you can--bring basic sewing supplies, and your machine if you can sew or serge. We really appreciate your help!
