Mended Little Hearts 2010

Thank you so much for Scentsy’s generous donation in October to Mended Little Hearts –Rochester, Hearts of Heroes! We are so grateful for this gift, which will be put to use helping children with congenital heart defects and diseases, and their families.

Sincerely,
Valerie McCarty-Kiger
Group Coordinator
MLH-Rochester

Sunshine Kids Foundation 2010

On behalf of myself, the Sunshine Kids, and the Sunshine Kids Board of Directors, I would like to thank you for your generous donation. I, myself, was a Sunshine Kid in 1990, so I can tell you first hand the impact that your donation will make on the lives of children with cancer. Thought it has been 20 years since my Sunshine Kids adventure in snowy mountains of Aspen, Colorado, I remember how much fun I had. More importantly, I remember how it renewed my hope and encouraged me to fight harder. I hope when you think of the gift you have given, you always remember that you have given the gift of courage, hope and happiness to so many children with cancer.

Thank you,
Dr. Akara Forsythe, M.D.
Sunshine Kids Foundation
Chairwoman, Board of Directors

Treasure Valley Family YMCA 2010

Thank you for your commitment to the Treasure Valley Family YMCA! Your YMCA continued to grow in 2010. Saturday, June 12, 2010 was one of the finest days in the wonderful 119-year history of this YMCA. More than 700 friends of the Y assembled on a glorious and cloudless day to celebrate the grand opening of our magnificent new Y camp that will sever kids for generations to come.

Supporters of the 2010 Strong Kids Campaign ensured that no child is turned away due to an inability to pay. Here’s a story from a family we served:

Kenley called the Homecourt YMCA to inquire about financial assistance for her son to play AAU basketball, since she could not afford the program. She filled out the forms for financial assistance and attached a letter describing her situation and what she felt she could pay to be able to give her son the opportunity to play basketball. She also came in and met with our staff a few times to discuss her struggles and along the way, we built a relationship. We learned that she was going to have to buy shoes for her son to play and knew she couldn’t afford it. After doing some research, our YMCA staff discovered someone a Nike who was willing to donate a pair of size 10 shoes so that her son could play. When our staff called Kenly and told her of the news, she was so thankful that she broke down crying. She couldn’t believe how caring the YMCA was. She was thankful we were giving her son the chance to play basketball, make new friends and learn more about our YMCA character values. She said she would try to give back and donate to our Strong Kids Campaign when she was once again financially stable.

At the Treasure Valley Family YMCA, our focus areas are youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. One of our most important goals has always been to enrich the lives of children, adults and families in our community

We promise to work diligently in our community so that you will find us worthy of your generosity. Thank you!

Sincerely,
Jim Everett
CEO
Treasure Valley Family YMCA

OPERATION GRATITUDE 2010

On behalf of OPERATION GRATITUDE and the U.S. troops deployed overseas who will benefit from your kindness, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity.

Your donation of 500+ letters and Scent Circles will enable us to send over 100,000 ‘chock full’ Patriotic and Holiday Care Packages to the brave men and women deployed overseas in 2010!

As one Private First Class Wrote:
“I cannot express to you how great it feels to come home after a long day of running missions to find a care package full of love sitting on your bunk. You are exhausted from wearing 50 plus pounds of armor for hours on end, and then you open the package, see all that love, and are rejuvenated and ready for face the world again. It may sound small but it really does help enormously. Our location doesn’t have a real PX so we rely on the support of people at Operation Gratitude for the items we need—not to mention the morale boosting items such as cookies or candy. You all are the true heroes. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Thank you again for your thoughtfulness and wonderful patriotic spirit – every donation we receive truly makes a difference to our mission of putting smiles on service members’ faces. The brave member s of the U.S. Military who receive your generosity will remember your kindness forever. And I will always be appreciative of your support and encouragement of OPERATION GRATITUDE.

Fondly,
Carolyn Blashek
President
Operation Gratitude

Boise Community Stars Special Olympics Snowshoeing and Nordic Skiing Team

I have been cross-country skiing with the Boise Community Stars Special Olympics Snowshoeing and Nordic Skiing team for about four years and in 2009 I was on the official coach’s roster for the first time. I have such an amazing time with the team, just as Boise’s gray skies start to get my spirits down, the cross-country ski seasons starts. Every Saturday I head up and out of the smog into the beautiful blue skies surrounding the Bogus Basin Nordic trail. I ski with a few Special Olympic Athletes each week and we laugh, joke, and help each other up and down the trail. It’s a perfect cure for the winter blahs.

Each Saturday, the team meets at an Albertsons to climb aboard a school bus and head up the mountain. In 2010, the fees for that very necessary bus went up significantly. I had recently started working for Scentsy, Inc. and knew they had a charitable giving organization, The Scentsy Family Foundation. When I realized just how much the lack of funds would affect the Nordic Ski team, I spoke with our head coach and we decided to see if Scentsy could help. I immediately submitted a request to the foundation for help with the team’s bus rental fees.

I got the news today that Scentsy CEO and President Orville and Heidi Thompson fulfilled the request. They generously agreed to cover the cost of the bus rental fee for the team this winter. I am thrilled to work for such a generous, community minded organization that is willing to support such an important, healthy activity for the Treasure Valley.

Pam Twilegar
Boise Community Stars Special Olympics Snowshoeing and Nordic Skiing Coach