Thank you for your Generosity by Christine Bartell

Now that The Holiday season has finally come to a close and 2011 is here I would like to reflect on how generous our volunteers were with not only the donations but their time. Everytime I turned around, someone was calling, emailing or dropping by to drop off gift donations or see if they could help in anyway. As the Office Administrator and Volunteer Coordinator, I had the job of trying to make sure all gift donations received were sorted out for each of the programs. We were completely overwhelmed with the generosity of so many people. It was incredible the various ways people gave. We even had a letter from a boy named Ethan who was abandoned by his parents, now living with his grandparents, who sent Alternative House his top 3 favorite toys to give to an AH child in our Outreach program who had very little. He wrote in his letter that he knew what it was like to be abandoned and wanted to make sure that no other kid would feel that way and that by giving his toy they would know they were loved. To see the joy in this letter from a little boy who wanted to make a difference showed me what the real meaning of Christmas is.

Our volunteers and donors may never know the difference they make outright by wrapping a gift, organizing a closet, and or sorting through a pile of used clothing, but it’s through these acts of volunteerism, coming together in support of our programs in such ways, that they are making a difference in the lives of many children. Thank you to all of you that gave monetarily, with in kind donations and most important..yourself. You are our backbone and everyone here at Alternative House is forever grateful. May you have a happy and healthy 2011!