We also reached out to the local branch of Easter Seals – a charity that “provides exceptional services, education, outreach, and advocacy so that people living with autism and other disabilities can live, learn, work and play in our communities” – who were in desperate need for their children this holiday season. In fact, they were even wondering if they would be able to provide for their families and children for the holidays this year, seeing how badly everyone was faring in this devastating economic slump. When we heard this, we jumped into action and sent 25,000 dollars worth of toys and gifts to the Easter Seals through the local FOX 13 Care Force toy drive. You can actually watch the video of our representatives JackLyn and Jeannette taking the toys to the toy drive below:

We were only too glad to help such a worthy local charity brighten the lives of children in need this holiday season and, when we came back for the New Year, we had a lovely Thank You in our inbox from Tracy Clouser, the Vice President of Development for Easter Seals Florida, saying that Easter Seals Florida “would not have had enough gifts without the items you gave us.” She also wanted to share the video that FOX 13 went out and made the day of their gift giving event – something that I would like to share with you now:

The gifts that keep on giving: MyFoxTAMPABAY.com

What a marvelous event and what a wonderful charity! We are honored that we were able to help Easter Seals Florida along with other local charities during this year of economic distress. It brings us immeasurable joy to be able to bring smiles to the faces of children nationwide.

Alicia
Editorial Department

It’s an amazing old, blue train that is packed with toys, gifts and volunteers that travels through the Appalachian Mountains. Over the course of only one amazing day, the donated toys and gifts will be distributed directly into the hands of thousands of children and teenagers in need at different stops from Shelby, Kentucky to Kingsport, Tennessee. The toys are divided into pre-packaged bags according to age and gender which are then handed to the kids on the ground. For many of these kids, this is their only Christmas.

This outstanding effort has been ongoing for the past 68 years, making this the 69th annual Santa Train; it’s become an actual holiday tradition for the people of the Appalachian Mountains! Not only are there toys and gifts on the train, but there are also celebrities. In the past, Naomi and Wynonna Judd have participated and, this year, country duo Thompson Square will be participating along with the one and only Santa Claus! What a treat!

To show you a little of the excitement and joy we are so thrilled to be a part of with the CSX Santa Train, here are some pictures of last year’s event we’d like to share with you:

Also, here’s Barbara letting you know it’s getting close to Santa Train time!

See you on the train!

Alicia
Editorial Dept.

Kohl's Volunteers

As you can see from the pictures below, our friendly, hard-working volunteers organized themselves and formed an assembly line to place together the McWiz Junior Bus of Knowledge Math games that we received from Puremco earlier this year. When I went out to the warehouse to take pictures of them in action, without even asking, they all instantly grouped together and smiled. That’s how friendly they are!

In conclusion, I just want to say thank you once again to the Kohl’s Clearwater A-Team. We appreciate you taking the time out of your busy lives to help make a difference in the lives of suffering children. See you next month!

Kelly
Distribution Deptartment

Winning Moves

All these wonderful games are made by one of our cherished Guardian Angel donors, Winning Moves. Winning Moves is a leading maker of board games, card games, and puzzles. They’re also regular donors to us here at Kids Wish Network. Recently, they sent over large boxes bursting with games of Scrabble, Risk, Pass the Pigs and several others. Since games are some of the most popular items with kids, I can’t even describe how grateful we are. When the donations from Winning Moves come in, we always squeal in delight because we know how many children will be made extremely happy with their generous donation.

Without amazing donors such as Winning Moves, our mission surely would not be possible. So I just want to say many thanks to Winning Moves for their generosity. Oh, and good luck to all you kids heading back to school; I hope you all have your most successful year to date!

Kelly
Distribution Department

Yet, despite the number of books that are out there, a large percentage of children from low income families cannot proficiently read. Reason being, many don’t have easy access to books especially as state budgets tighten, causing reduced library hours and even branch closings. In addition, low income families are more distracted by hunger, housing insecurities, and family mobility, which forces them to put reading to their children on the back-burner. It’s an unfortunate truth that we here at Kids Wish Network are desperately eager to help.

Fortunately, a wonderful publishing company known as Lerner Publishing Group understands our desperation and has joined Kids Wish Network on our quest to bring the joy of books to the children who need it most by sending us an amazing donation of fabulous books of all sorts! These will be perfect for our kids aged 9-18 and they will be distributed through our Gift Banks as well as Kids Wish Network on Tour.

We are so excited to have the chance to send these amazing novels to kids and teens nationwide and we just couldn’t have done it without the assistance and understanding of our newest Guardian Angel donor, Lerner Publishing Group.

If you would like to learn more about this generous, Guardian Angel, you can visit them at https://www.lernerbooks.com. Thanks again, Lerner Publishing Group, for your outstanding generosity.

Kelly
Distribution Department

Remember when you were little and had to go to the doctor or dentist? Do you also remember how holding a soft plush toy made it seem not quite so scary? Well, these jumbo-sized, plump and adorable plush pals are going to do just that for many of the children we serve. They are guaranteed to squash a boatload of fears and to create a lot of smiles with their chubby, squishy selves.

The nice folks over at Squishables sent us a whole bunch of these adorable critters and we can’t thank them enough for their generosity. Seeing how many grownups in this office alone were soothed at the sight of their Squishables, just think what they will do for a child in need. So from all of us here at Kids Wish: thanks, Squishables!

Audrea
Distribution Dept.

They donated a full pallet of their mosaic kits and were sure to include a variety suitable for both boys and girls of different age groups. There was also a fantastic stick’n’style kit for the girls (I particularly loved this one because I can remember having something similar as a little girl and the hours of fun I had with it). This fabulous donation will be used in our upcoming gift bags and what a great addition they will make! I guess for some people it is hard to believe or understand the difference that their donation can make in the lives of these children suffering in all kinds of adverse situations. But please believe me when I say that I witness firsthand the joy, smiles, surprise and happiness that these toys bring all the time and wish more people could witness this as well.

The vast majority of children we reach are underprivileged and when they receive their very own gift bag filled with toys and games just for them….well their faces say it all and I just know that this moment and memory will stay with them, probably far longer than the actual gifts. We give some hope to children who really need it and this is what I love about my job.

Thank you again, Orb Factory, for a phenomenal donation. Your generosity is inspiring and greatly appreciated.

Ashley
Distribution Department

There is a lot of exciting stuff going on this month. The guys and I are busy because we are in the middle of packing toys, gifts, games and necessities to send out for the largest On Tour event that we’ve ever done.

The bags are being filled with all the best of what we have (which is a lot because everything we have is awesome). There are stuffed animals, board games, baby items, strollers, playpens, books, educational products…everything! There’s nothing we’re not sending out with this On Tour event and we are definitely going to make a lot of kids happy in the coming months. Well…that’s all I have for now, so I’ll see ya in a few!

Tim
Distribution Dept.

If you’re not familiar with FAB*Starpoint, they’re a “multi-category fashion driven company focusing on the Back to School Category, Accessories, Stationery, and Luggage/Travel Accessories for the youth and junior markets.”  They send us a wide variety of merchandise, including the trendiest backpacks, purses, plush, pillows, stationaries, blankets, lunch boxes, and costume jewelry.  The children always get exceptionally excited over their merchandise.  Recently, one of our wish children responded in a survey that of all the toys and gifts she received, her favorite was the Hello Kitty bag from FAB*Starpoint.

You know what else is great about FAB*Starpoint?  August starts back to school month and we’re in desperate need of school supplies, so their recent donation of backpacks, totes, and stationery items could not have come at a better time.  However, we still need more – lots more – so if you or someone you know would like to make a contribution, please visit our Ways to Help page.

If you would like to learn more about this gracious Guardian Angel, you can visit them at http://www.fabny.com.  Thanks again FAB*Starpoint! Here at Kids Wish Network, we are super grateful for your generosity and all you do to help kids in need.

Kelly
Distribution Dept.

It has been another happy yet hectic day here but I wanted to take a minute and tell you about a very important part of our team at KWN: our volunteers! We are very fortunate to have some terrific volunteers and I want to tell you about who came to help us out today.

For a while now, Kohl’s stores have so generously allowed their “A-team” to come out a regular basis to help out with various projects in the warehouse. Each time they visit, I am just so amazed. They always show up with smiles on their faces and cheerfully get to work even though many of them have already been working at Kohl’s earlier in the day.

Today it was the ladies of the A-Team from Kohl’s in Clearwater, FL and they helped us getting a really large donation of wonderful games straightened out. Honestly, today’s task was a lot of work, very tedious, and we really didn’t have any expectations that they could even complete it in such a short time, but guess what – they did! See what I mean? Amazing. Now, because of their efforts we can now put these games into gift bags for some really deserving children.

So I just want to say a big THANK YOU to Kohl’s and their A-Team for so generously donating not only their time but their effort, enthusiasm and talents to help our kids. It is very much appreciated by not only by all of us here at KWN but also the children who will have some terrific games in their hands very soon. 

Audrea
Distribution