My basement is already filling with toys and gifts for the SisterHood families.
This is the TWENTY THIRD year of the SisterHood Holiday Gift Drive and I realize that it now has a momentum of it’s own.
23 years of making a huge difference in the lives of parents, children, and teens in Burlington township. Typically, 450 kids and teens are on the list and we’ve served anywhere from 250 to all 450 during these years. I don’t have to tell you that impact. Suffice it to say that the stories I’ve heard have shown me an incredible ROI (return on investment) from every hour and each dollar. So much good has been done over the years.
This year brings new elves and maintains foundational values. Here’s the quick update followed by practical ways you may contribute.
Designing the first Holiday Gift Drive, my husband and I talked a lot about how we were gonna do this. As my daughter grew up, she chimed in with her child and then teen perspective. So did many of the volunteers at SisterHood (because I asked) and elves at Soul Sanctuary. It’s why our foundational values continue to guide this drive.
It’s hard to be a parent in lower income bracket. That’s just a fact of life in the SisterHood community.
You have to meet the basic needs of housing, food, medical care, and education for your family. Many SisterHood families work hard but can’t make ends meet. They benefit from SisterHood’s food, clothing, community support and education programs. As much as they try, they just can’t provide a Christmas morning even close to many peers at school or nearby neighborhoods.
I’ve worked with lower income communities for over 40 years and I’ve consistently heard that not having enough gets translated into not being enough.
These stories hurt my heart. Especially ’cause it isn’t true. Parents and children living in lower income brackets are as valuable as any parent and child in any income bracket. I wonder, do you agree with this foundational belief?
Respect is essential. This gift drive respects parents, children, and the SisterHood organization.
Three things to consider. First, poor kids shouldn’t get crappy gifts.
I’ve seen the donations SisterHood receives and it’s disappointing that so many used, dollar store, or cheap toys are donated. It’s better to donate a $3 new ball than McDonald’s happy meal toys. (yup, lots of those). Nothing is wasted, we put them on the Stocking Gift table for parents to choose.
We collect new, sturdy, educational, and socially current toys and gifts.
Kids recognize their worth when they receive new toys and gifts. And can hold this worth when showing or talking about their gifts with peers at school. Yes, we live in a materialistic world. We respect that and understand a kid’s value is not reflected in the gifts they receive.
However, I’ve heard countless stories of how school age kids and peers mistake a nice vs crappy gift with their value as a human. And if we do it through the mechanism of ‘name brand’ toys, so be it. It’s a tiny contribution, but it matters.
Respecting kids is a tiny ripple in a desire to change this experience.
Second, we respect parents by offering them a quality collection of toys and gifts for their children.
They choose what to do with these gifts. Are they from the parents or the jolly fat man? Their choice. We don’t have a breakfast with Santa or gifts given from SisterHood as we believe that diminishes the parents’ desire to care for their children. And the benefit to children when they see their parents take care of them. There is no judgment upon whether they are a great or mediocre parent. They deserve respect and the ability to give their kids a Christmas morning experience.
Third, we respect the SisterHood organization which cares for Burlington County families facing challenge.
The SisterHood organization is made up solely of volunteers. Founded by a small group of African American woman led by Rev Hilda Covington, they aimed to raise potential in the marginalized neighborhoods. Targeting all kinds of needs, they called themselves Sisters in the Hood. I can’t even keep up with all of the programs that serve all manner of need in the neighborhoods.
I’ve built relationships with these volunteers over the years and am constantly inspired by their big hearts, innovative minds, and committed action.
I respect and trust the SisterHood volunteers to coordinate the entire Holiday Gift Drive, beyond our contribution.
I’m not present during the distribution of family gift bags. We believe it’s best to have familiar, trustworthy people who already are in relationship with the parents and grandparents. While many know of my family and our large contributing community, the experience is a neighborhood experience. As it should be. The parents express plenty of gratitude and we give SisterHood the gift of receiving it all.
However you contribute to the wellbeing of your neighbors, I respect you.
This isn’t a hard sell to donate. Rather, I invite you to consider making a difference in any direction you choose. If it is coming to SisterHood, I’ll give you some lovely options to make Christmas magic for these families.
Meet my favorite Barnes and Noble Moorestown Managers, Drew and Scott.
They enthusiastically agreed to make SisterHood the recipient of the B&N Annual Book Drive. It has already begun and is easy peasy. Go to the B&N Moorestown Store and find the SisterHood book selections at the check out counter. You buy them, leave them there, and I’ll be over to pick them up closer to Christmas. SisterHood volunteers will set up their “book store” so parents may pick out the perfect NEW books for their kids and teens.
Here’s something I was delighted to learn. Drew and Scott both believe that this annual book drive is the most important B&N activity of the year.
Wow. Respect, guys. Getting books in the hands of kids and teens matters. Let’s support the empowering action of reading, learning, exploring different worlds, and imagining new ideas.
Meet Tarik and Berra, sibling elves who have taken on the book drive and more.
Thanks to long time elf, Esther, I met a beautiful family this past week at Barnes and Noble. Esther and her fourth grade charge are leading up the book drive. Flyers, school and community involvement, and picking the book selections. It was an entertaining and enlightening experience for me to witness how a child could lead.
I also heard a lot of jokes. Here’s one: what is the highest place in a school? (read it all to find the answer).
His sister, Berra, is heading up a high school project providing Mystery Boxes for teens.
Imagine opening a box full of goodies, all interesting and fun for a teenager. I could not of thought of this myself and to brainstorm with her on this was exhilarating. Choosing books for the teen population and chatting about our favorite authors made the day even better. I am so curious to see what her finished project will look like. For now, it’s a mystery (get it?).
After 23 years, the momentum of generosity has a path of its own.
Jody has already dropped off a carload as she does every year. June offered her annual monetary donation, and Kristina’s family is ready to shop for a family. The Joyful Gathering Spiritual Community in Voorhees is sending a check for food just in time for Thanksgiving. And Members of the Center for Conscious Living in Moorestown are gearing up to drop off or donate. All before I started my asking.
Given all that assistance, I’m left with one task. invite Toy and Teen Gift Elves to join the fun. Are you one?
Here’s a simple list of how you can contribute to the SisterHood Holiday Gift Drive.
1. Donate a quality, new toy or teen gift. Drop off at Soul Sanctuary BY FRIDAY DECEMBER 13TH.
Early drop off date this year as it takes a lot of time to organize the Family Bags.
2. Donate moohlah and I’ll shop for you. I’ll spend every penny you donate on the kids and will choose the most needed gifts (promise).
Pay Pal @kathymilanophd. Venmo: Kathleen-Milano-2 (note – NOT Kathy. I’m formal on Venmo). Put a note that it is for SisterHood. Please also text or email me so I know to look for your donation.
3. Become an Elf who gathers gifts and toys from family, friends, and colleagues.
That is a big need. Please see if it yours to fill.
4. Head to Moorestown Barnes and Noble and ask for the SisterHood Book Shelf.
Buy it and leave it. Double win as you also support this special place. In the days of Amazon, a big book store is a luxury. Let’s help keep it viable.
Any questions, don’t hesitate to email me. As always, my gratitude exceeds my asking. Just know you make a difference. Wherever you choose to ripple generosity this holiday, I send you thanks. This is a time where the generous giving from a place of love and trust in the abundance we share will benefit all of us.
Here’s the answer to the perfect Book Drive joke.
What’s the highest place in a school? The library! ‘Cause it’s full of stories. lol. Gotta love that kid.
There’s more than one teen making ripples in December. Annie Law is expanding her holiday offering with a harp concert at Soul Sanctuary on December 1st.
Join Mary and Annie Law for a free concert, original art sale, and a free group energy healing. It’s an all day fiesta with food, friends, art, music, and good vibes. Come shop for one of a kind high vibrational art. And be sure to give some love to Annie who is baking cookies and offering her heaven sent music. Just for you.
Peace be with you and with all. No exceptions.
Feeling depressed about your life or the state of the world? Research has shown that a single thoughtful act of gratitude produced an immediate 10% increase in happiness and a 35% reduction in symptoms of depression. Those effects disappear in 3 – 6 months so you’ve got to renew the effects with grateful action. That’s pretty specific, but you get the point. Consciously making thoughtful acts of appreciation lead to more happiness, less depression. Imagine if everyone in the world played this game. It begins with you.
Learn the one essential skill that allows you to face any challenge with confidence, sturdiness, and inner calm.
More than a technique. It’s a game changer.
Three months ago, I unexpectedly entered into a relationship with a horse.
I met Zor during a visit to Liberty Stables in Florida, where I had gone to spend time with a friend’s horses. I had no particular expectations. I have no background with horses, no training, and no experience in equine-assisted therapy. I simply met this magnificent Friesian, and something quietly familiar unfolded between us.
I fell in love.
The women who arrive in my classes, retreats, and therapy sessions are sincerely looking for healing, expansion, clarity, or sometimes just a little room to breathe.
They are thoughtful women, deeply engaged with the people and work they love. Rarely do they arrive because they want another spiritual philosophy. Most are carrying something much more ordinary.
A life that has become full. Beautiful in many ways, but crowded.
About twenty-five years ago, I was driving with a colleague to a local conference. As we approached the hotel entrance, I noticed an open parking spot near the front door.
“There’s a spot,” I said, pointing to the right. He drove past it.
A few seconds later, another one appeared. He drove past that one, too. Then I pointed to a third. “There’s a spot.” Without the slightest hesitation, Dan replied, “I’ll leave that for someone else.” And he calmly parked much farther away. As we walked to the entrance, I asked about that statement.
During the Seeding the Light Gathering, I had the privilege of hosting Pascual and Jose Tomas in our home.
They feel like family as this was their second visit to New Jersey. We’ve also spent a week together in Damanhur and the Temples of Humankind in Italy. I’ve sat in many ceremonies with Pascual in Peru’s Sacred Valley. His flute playing often carried me up mountain trails in the thin air and hot sun.
I planned to work a bit, complete some projects, and enjoy slow days with plenty of relaxation.
All of that certainly occurred, but beneath it all, something else began quietly inviting my attention.
The plane had begun its slow fall toward the earth when a sharp ache pierced my ears. Half-dozing, half-aware, I surfaced into the moment just as the toddler in front of me woke with a scream that broke her open. The sound wasn’t defiance or misbehavior. It was pain.
I felt her small body struggling to make sense of something she couldn’t name.
Her mother bent over her with the tenderness of someone trying very hard to be a good parent. But her soothing came dressed in urgency, in the quiet pressure to behave, to use words, to be okay, to not disturb those seated around her. Her voice shook with the effort of managing her child’s distress and her own rising shame.
