Hello AMHH Supporters We hope everyone is staying cool in these hot Summer months! We sure are trying to. Last month's school supply drive was a big help in ensuring children of single moms go back to school prepared! We truly are blessed to have such a wonderful community standing beside us! Bare Necessities Our Bare Necessities shelves are pretty well stocked, however there are a few areas that are very depleted and we need your help! Help us fill the shelves back up by holding a Bare Necessities Drive at your workplace, church, neighborhood or with your friends and family. We are more than happy to come pick up any donated items or you can drop them by the office anytime Saturday's from 10 am - 2 pm or by appointment! Here are our current top needs:
Thank You to Our Community! What a smashing success the Rotarian Flamingo Flocking was! A huge thank you to Frank and Son's Moving & Storage for helping put it all together! We are so grateful for your partnership! Thank you to Modern Woodman of America for your matching donation of $1,000! Because of your generous donation children of single moms will go back to school fully prepared! Thank you Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A. for holding a Back to School Drive at their office and collecting a generous amount of supplies for our kids and monetary donations of $850! We are were able to send our kids back to school with everything they needed. Thank you to Cape Smiles Dentistry, Martial Arts University and Florida Future Realty for acting as drop off locations for school supplies. We are blessed to have wonderful businesses in our community that care! Upcoming Events
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AMHH Newsletter
~ Real Single Moms Helping Single Moms ~ Spring 2016 Hello AMHH SupportersWe're Growing! Over the last few months, we've welcomed new members to the program. We couldn't be happier! Getting Kids Ready for Back To SchoolSummertime is when AMHH collects school supplies for all of our kids who will head back to school in August. This year we need to be ready a few weeks earlier. We help our moms by providing their kids from Kindergarten to 12th grade by providing them with a brand new backpack filled with age-appropriate supplies. You can help too!
Notebooks, Index Cards, Crayons, Markers 1 inch Binders, Colored Pencils, Flash Drives, Backpacks Dry Erase markers, Construction Paper, Loose Leaf Paper – College, Loose Leaf Paper – Wide Composition Notebooks, Tab Dividers, Sheet Protectors, Highlighters Rulers, Pencil Pouch, Small Pencil Sharpener, Graph Paper Calculator, Hand Sanitizer, Spiral Notebooks, 2 Pocket Folders w/fasteners AMHH Part of the AmazonSmile Charity Partners Program This is a great free program that allows anyone who shops at Amazon to give back. Amazon.com will donate 0.5% of your normal everyday spending on their site to AMHH! All you have to do is choose the charity you want the donations to go to. Click here to link your account to AMHH. Super Summer Volunteer Day - Saturday July 23rd We need your help! Do you have a couple hours to volunteer to help distribute backpacks with school supplies? This year's super summer volunteer day will be on Saturday July 23rd at the AMHH office. We have two volunteer shifts - a morning shift (10am-12:00pm) and an afternoon shift (12:00pm-2:00pm), with a pizza lunch provided at noon. RSVP is required to volunteer. Ready so sign up? You can do so online at the Volunteer Registration Site! Not free on the 23rd? Check out some other awesome volunteer opportunities by joining our exclusive volunteer group, AMHH Volunteers. 1st Trike-A-Thon Fundraiser Are you in Southwest Florida? Join us for the first AMHH Trike-A-Thon. That's right, a Trike-A-Thon. We're organizing this fun family event! A trike-a-thon is simple: Young children will cycle their way around a "track", collecting donations and be cheered on for each little peddle they can muster! Adorable!!! There will be games, goodies, and fun for everyone. And there is also a "Trike Decorating Contest"! This is a super positive fun day for young children and their families! And we are so excited about it!!! Details --> Who: children ages 2 - 10 When: Saturday, September 10th, 11 pm to 2 pm Where: AMHH, 3440 Marinatown Lane, North Fort Myers Pledges: Children can sign up online and they will receive an email with an online sponsor website and forms to collect donations off line too! Children that have reached specific donation levels 3 weeks prior to the event will receive their prizes the day of. all other prizes will be ordered once donations are turned in. *ALL donations are tax deductible and can be made out to A Mom's Helping Hand of SWFL Requirements: Please bring your own (decorated) tricycle or big wheel. Please register online. Vendors and Sponsors: We are currently signing up vendors and event sponsors. For more information, vendors click here and sponsor click here Bare Necessities Our Current Top Needs: • Children’s Shampoo • Men’s Body Wash (teenage boys) • Styling Products... • Tampons • Children’s Shower Gel • Cleaners • Maxi Pads • Conditioner • Mouth Wash • Hand Soap • Dish Soap A Mom’s Helping Hand of SWFL 3440 Marina Town Lane N. Ft. Myers, FL 33903 (239) 895-5341 amomshelpinghand@yahoo.com We believe parenting is one of the most important roles human beings perform in life. It takes a tremendous amount of energy and patience to raise children into thriving, independent adults. It is difficult enough with two parents, but what happens when a parent is forced to bear the weight of responsibility alone due to death, divorce, or abandonment of a spouse or partner? A Mom’s Helping Hand of SWFL We help parents bear the responsibilities by understanding first what they need. Sometimes we are simply a cheerleader, encouraging her to persevere; other times we act as trusted counselors who will use “tough love” to those who would like to hide from their challenges. Mostly we offer compassion and understanding of the difficult role they must play as solo parents. We were introduced to “Mary”, whose husband passed away just two months ago leaving behind a wife and five children in a mountain of debt. This should be a happy time of year but instead not only are they having to grieve but need to figure out how to go on from here. A Mom’s Helping Hand of SWFL We know that when Mary is empowered to manage all the day to day activities in the household both she and her children will thrive.
Would you consider sponsoring a family like Mary’s for $250? Or would you like to sponsor a mom to take a budgeting class for $50, or could you sponsor a year's services for an entire family for $500? We hope to raise $5,000 for this and the other vital programs that AMHH provides. Please help us remove the barriers that block single mom’s from guiding their children to thriving, independent adult lives. AMHH Newsletter ~ Real Single Moms Helping Single Moms ~ Winter 2015 Volume 1, ISSUE 3 Hello AMHH Supporters
It’s a busy time of year here at AMHH! With Thanksgiving just around the corner we want to say thank you for all of the community support we have received this year! With that said, the office is already full of little elves bustling to make the Christmas Holiday merry and bright. Board Member Spotlight – There have been many changes for us over the past couple of months. While sad to see a couple of board members move on to other endeavors, we wish them the best of luck and know they will do great things! We have recently welcomed new board members and are overjoyed to work with them. Our board members consist of: Kristen Schaufler - President Terry Frederick – Vice President Ashli Munt – Secretary Eileen Reynolds – Treasurer Tamar Walters – Director of Fundraising Upcoming Events Small Business Saturday Marketplace Nestled between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The day will be complete with shopping from local vendors, entertainment, raffles, games, prizes and 8 non-profits. Come out for a good time and support your local businesses and nonprofit organizations! We will be on hand collecting donations for our Bare Necessities, getting info out to the community on how we assist single moms and their children, signing up volunteers and so much more! Event Date: Saturday, November 28th Event Time: 10:00 – 5:00 Event Location: Six Bends Harley-Davidson, 9501 Thunder Rd, Fort Myers Greenwell’s Christmas Festival and Toy Walk Join us for Festivities and fun! AMHH is proud to be one of six local charities coming together with Greenwell’s Family Fun Park to sponsor a toy drive. Race your friends and family on the go cart tracks. Knock a few balls out of the park in any of the batting cages. Then finish your day by testing your skills in the arcade! Have your picture taken with Santa, discount wrist bands when you bring a toy donation. Event Date: Saturday, December 5th Event Time: 3:00 – 3:00 Event Location: Mike Greenwell’s, 35 NE Pine Island Rd, Cape Coral SWFL Santa’s Ho! Ho! Ho! The elves are on the move and are gearing up for our Adopt-A-Family holiday program! While all of our current families have been adopted, we are working on a few to finish the required steps to become active in the program. Once that is done we will have a few more families up for adoption. Please consider getting your workplace, school, church or even book club group involved. Also, we are in need of individual gifts and gift cards to restaurants and popular clothing stores. For more information contact amomshelpinghand@yahoo.com or by calling 239-895-5341 Gifts of any size will make a difference and are greatly appreciated. To make a donation, send a check payable to A Mom’s Helping Hand of SWFL (AMHH) P.O. Box 100021 Cape Coral, FL 33910 Gifts can also be made online at:http://www.amomshelpinghandofswfl.com/donate.html For more information or to arrange for delivery of Christmas Gifts, call Kristen Schaufler, 239-895-5341. Thank you to our Community! A special thank you goes out to Royal Realty of SW FL, Inc for providing a complete Thanksgiving meal to each of our families! Huge thank you to Flip Flop Gal Photography for her donation of 2 one hour photo sessions to be raffled off at the Greenwell’s Christmas Festal and Toy Walk on December 5th. These sessions will be at the location of the winner’s choice and will receive 15-20 digital edits in an online gallery and a print release. The value is $150 each. She is a fantastic photographer and the winners of the raffles will fall in love with her work! Solutions Pest Control for their donation of 2 one year pest control gift certificates! These will make awesome raffle items at our two upcoming events. Contact Tom for all your pest control needs! 239-333-6029 or email him at contractkiller.td@gmail.com Muffler Man of Cape Coral donated two basic oil changes to be raffled off at Small Business Saturday Marketplace and Greenwell’s Christmas Festival and Toy Walk. Thank you for supporting single moms and their children! Bravo, Bravo, Bravo to the countless community members that have adopted our families for Christmas! Because of your generosity we are able to make sure none of our children go without a gift under the tree! Massage Envy – Cape Coral donated two massage gift certificates. Two lucky winners will be drawn at our upcoming events! Bare Necessities Our Current Top Needs: • Children’s Shampoo • Men’s Body Wash (teenage boys) • Styling Products... • Tampons • Children’s Shower Gel • Cleaners • Maxi Pads • Conditioner • Mouth Wash • Hand Soap • Dish Soap We are in need of a Christmas Tree and decorations. If you can help, contact us at amomshelpinghand@yahoo.com or 239-895-5341 We are excited to announce we have moved into a new office! We are slowly moving our inventory of Bare Necessities, Birthday Boxes and School Supplies to the office space. We do not currently have "regular" business hours but will keep you updated of our availability. A Mom’s Helping Hand of SWFL 3440 Marina Town Lane N. Ft. Myers, FL 33903 (239) 895-5341 amomshelpinghand@yahoo.com AMHH Newsletter ~ Real Single Moms Helping Single Moms ~ Fall 2015 Volume 1, ISSUE 2 Thank You to Our Community What a busy summer we’ve had with AMHH. Our Flock-A-Friend fundraiser was a success. We flocked 82 homes and raised over $1,700! A HUGE thank you to those that flocked a friend, made a donation and those that helped replace some of our missing flock. Thank you SWFL for helping us help moms. During June, July and August we distributed 6 Birthday Boxes, assisted our moms with approximately $400 in Bare Necessities, and held a Slumber Party for our moms to have a night of relaxation! Thank you to Craig Fischer from Therapeutic Massage of SWFL for providing chair massages to our moms. Thank you to Karyn from Quarters from the Heart, vendors, businesses that donated for the Chinese Auction and everyone that came out to support AMHH at our quarter auction fundraiser. We raised $576 to help send our kids back to school prepared! Donor Highlights We are blessed to have wonderful donors in which we could not continue to help our moms without their kindness and generosity. Jackie and Justin drake, Fort Myers, first became involved with A Mom’s Helping Hand in February 2015. Upon reading a request for a preemie car seat, Jackie and Justin purchased a new infant seat so the child would come home from the hospital safely and have a seat to grow into. Researching the non-profit and realizing the impact locally, Jackie and Justin compiled boxes for the Bare Necessities and Birthday Boxes drive. Community means a great deal to the Drake’s. We each have the opportunity to do some good on some level. Give back where you can. Ask yourself, if not me, then who? If not now, then When? Board Member Spotlight – Jennalee Damico, Vice-President My name is Jennalee, and I am the Vice President of A Mom’s Helping Hand of SWFL. I have been in Cape Coral for a little over 6 years. I am also a single mother to two amazing little boys. I feel being able to directly relate to the Mom’s is the biggest quality I bring to the group. Kristen and I originally met a few years ago, we clicked instantly. While our children are different ages (hers are older than mine) we understood what each other went through daily. We knew the loneliness that the other faced, how emotionally and physically exhausting taking on the responsibility that is naturally shared by two parents is, the tears the other cried, the hardships faced. Raising children alone is not for the week. I went through a really rough patch. It was one thing after another in a very short period of time. I honestly didn’t know how I was going to make it through. Kristen and her children were there for my children and I. If that meant taking my kids to see the Christmas lights on display (my car broke down and I didn’t have the mean to have it repaired), taking us out for ice cream on a really rough day, or just being there to vent to; they were there. I know how much single moms need the support of women in situations similar to one another. When Kristen approached me with the idea to start A Mom’s Helping Hand, my heart was in it from the start. I knew it was a need, not just for the women of Southwest Florida, but for their children as well. Children of single mom’s face different struggles compared to their peers in two parent homes. A Mom’s Helping Hand of SWFL is still under a year old. When I see the impact we are making on the community, it gives me the drive to keep pushing forward, no matter how long the days are. My children put in many hours toward helping AMHH succeed. They have learned so much about compassion, acceptance, and understanding in the past year. We’ve spent hours doing random acts of kindness. The light bulb went off for one of my son’s while handing out Valentine’s in front of a Publix one evening. A woman broke down in tears, tears of joy, she asked him if she could huge him as he had made her day. At that moment, he knew exactly what doing for others with no expectations in return was all about. One evening my son’s had already had their bath and were in pajama’s waiting for bed time when I received a message about a mom and children who were in desperate need. I looked at my boys and explained to them that we needed to go out and help this family. We met the family at a gas station with bare necessities and filled their gas tank to allow the mom to make it her upcoming interviews. On the drive home my oldest said “Mom, we helped them. I like helping people. It makes me feel good”. It makes me feel good too. Recently, we dropped of a backpack full of school supplies to a 10 year old boy of a single dad. We talked about the importance of all children having what they need to go back to school and feeling good about their upcoming year. My boys get it, they get the importance of helping others; even at their young ages. They get that sometimes the little things we take for granted daily are the big things to others That makes all the experiences even more meaningful to me. I'm excited to see where this adventure will take us, all the growth to come, and the future families I will meet and impact. Volunteer Profile Terry Frederick has volunteered for more than half his life to different organizations between Southwest Florida to south central Pennsylvania. He began his volunteering years in the Civil Air Patrol. He then turned to paramedic volunteer hours. After he was old enough he has always volunteered his time with our Veterans of America. He feels that our military should always be recognized and taken care of. After moving to Florida, Terry has continued his services with the American Cancer Society and anything and everything that he can do at Dunbar High School. Terry has been a great help with our moms in gaining donations and organizing fund raising events. He has a big heart and we appreciate everything he does for us. Being a single mom wasn’t always the plan I have been a single mom since my daughter was 3 months old. I found out about her father's drug and alcohol problem a few months into our relationship. He said he wanted help to get better and I did everything I could to help. Things didn't get better, it got worse. By the time I had enough, I found out that I was 4 months pregnant. I didn't want my child to grow up without a father to I sucked it up and did the best that I could. We got evicted from our apartment when I was 8 months pregnant. My parents helped us get a place here in Cape Coral. Things got better for a little bit. My daughter was born and things started getting bad again. He got back into drugs and alcohol. I left my daughter with him for 2 hours, came home to find him high on something and strangers in my home with my daughter screaming her head of In the next room. I packed up everything he had and kicked him out. Changed the locks and started trying to put my life back in order. AMHH has helped me so much in the time that I've been a member. There is such support and love within the group. It doesn't matter what you need or say, the members are always there to help as much as they can. I've been able to share things with the group that I don't even feel comfortable sharing with ny own family. There is no judgements, just love and support. I'm so thankful and grateful for this amazing group of ladies...my extended family. Upcoming Events Car Wash Fundraiser Come out and support AMHH and get your car washed at the same time. Event Date: Saturday, November 14th Event Time: 10:00 – 1:00 Event Location: Advance Auto 831 Cape Coral Pkwy Breakfast with Santa Come have breakfast with Santa! Breakfast includes, pancakes, sausage or bacon and a beverage. Only $7.00 for kids and $9.00 for adults when purchased in advance. Tickets will be $10 at the door. There will be door prizes and your kids can get their pictures taken with Santa! Event Date: Saturday, December 12th Event Time: 8:00 – 10:00 Event Location: TBD SWFL Santa’s It’s that time of year, we are gearing up for our SWFL Santa’s holiday program. Please consider getting your work-place, school, church, Scouts, or even Bunko group involved. The success of this program will take a village, a lot of pre-planning and patient coordination. If interested you will be able to communicate the size of the family you would like to be paired with. Then AMHH will pair our families with community members and groups in November. At that time you will be given a brief bio and wish list from the family. We tell them they may not get everything on their list, but you never know…! If you are interested in participating, contact us at amomshelpinghand@yahoo.com or by calling 239-895-5341 Gifts of any size will make a difference and are greatly appreciated. To make a donation, send a check payable to A Mom’s Helping Hand of SWFL (AMHH) P.O. Box 100021 Cape Coral, FL 33910 Gifts can also be made online For more information or to arrange for delivery of Christmas Gifts, call Kristen Schaufler, 239-895-5341. The Flock has Landed! Have you seen those pin Flamingos invading SWFL lawns? Have they taken roost in your yard? Be sure to keep your eye out for these cute feathered friends for they may end up grazing in your neck of the woods. If you haven't flocked your friends or family yet, don't delay there are only a few more weeks left until they fly further south for hibernation.
To date, we have flocked 50 homes in the SWFL area. Will yours be next? Send a flock of flamingos to a yard near you! Simply fill out the for found here. Fundraisers or call 239-895-5341. So what is the Flock all about? AMHH will be providing school supplies to children of single moms in SWFL. Are you looking to get involved? We are looking for a few people that can help sort donations on Friday, August 7th and volunteer's to help distribute backpacks and supplies and cook at our BBQ event with our family's on August 8th. If you are interested in helping or would like more info contact us at 239-895-5341 or by email at amomshelpinghand@yahoo.com AMHH Newsletter ~ Real Single Moms Helping Single Moms ~ SUMMER 2015 Volume 1, Issue 1 Updates AMHH is pleased to present you with our first issue of AMHH Newsletter – an informative source of upcoming events, achievements and encouragement to our moms, supporters, donors and community. Each issue will provide you with upcoming fundraisers, events for moms, volunteer opportunities and more. In the short time since AMHH has opened its doors, we have grown to 16 moms and 20 children. We have distributed approximately $300 in Bare Necessities, 2 Birthday Boxes, help training classes to assist moms with life skills, started a budgeting program and helped a mom with a premature baby with many needed essentials. We continue to search for our permanent home, a regular meeting place for our moms. While it has been a small obstacle finding a place to meet each month, we are confident a place will be secured. Donor Highlights We are blessed to have wonderful donors; we could not continue to help our moms without their kindness and generosity. Linda has been very fortunate in her life. She’s dedicated to helping children since retiring in SWFL. She believes no child should ever go hungry or not have a surprise for birthday or Christmas. Single moms have so much on their shoulders just paying for necessities, Linda felt drawn to our organization because we are local. Many other charities move money out of Lee County where so much is needed. Linda watched her sister at twenty two working multiple jobs to support herself and two young children. While she did get child support, it was only $90 each month for two kids which barely paid a portion of her rent. Linda always felt there was a divine reason she could not have a houseful of children because that left her to help others. In addition to being a strong supporter of A Mom’s Helping Hand of SWFL, she is a strong supporter of Boys and Girls Club of Lee County, Donate 4Kids, Suncoast Community Neighborhood Task Force, Gifts of Hope, Toys for Tots, Harry Chapin Food Bank, Salvation Army, and Oma’s Heart. We are very thankful for Linda and her giving heart. She truly is helping to make a difference here in SWFL. Volunteer Profile Casey Arellano is one of our volunteers that enjoy giving back. Many years ago, Casey was a single mom herself raising 2 young children. She remembers the struggles and frustrations of being a single mom. Casey is currently tag teaming her efforts with her husband Simon and recruits her younger children in aiding in the support of volunteer work. In addition to coordinating volunteers for our fundraisers, she is also Girl Scout leader and is an office manager at a nonprofit private school. Stories of Impact SWFL has been flocked with flamingos to benefit our back to school program. Often time’s students are going back to school without the tools necessary for everyday learning. This not only makes learning a challenge, but is forced to explain why they are not prepared to not only the teacher but their fellow class mates too. This adds anxiety and stress that no child should ever have to face. Board Member Spotlight – Kristen Schaufler, President For Kristen, helping at AMHH is personal. She has been a single mom of 4 for the last 13 years, since her youngest was born. “I know and understand the struggles of being a single mom,” she says. We’re glad to have her dedication. While she has only been working with non-profits for a short time, she has her BA in Business Administration. “Working with our moms, I am able to see how local nonprofits really make an impact in the community…It is a testament to the act that a passionate few really can change the world.” AMHH was started to help those that feel they have nowhere to turn for support, friendship, and financial support. Kristen says that one of the most meaningful experiences she’s had at AMHH was delivering a Birthday Box to one of the children of a single mom. “She thanked and hugged me and said it was one of the best gifts she had received. It was a great feeling knowing we touched someone so much and showed her what giving is all about.” This gift turned out to be a simple cross stitch kit. Nothing special but it meant the world to this sixteen year old girl. “I felt that was a great moment because the SWFL community is a very active community and many folks don’t stop to think about the cause that we are supporting, what we are supporting is our community.” Kristen says she would love to see AMHH expand beyond the 16 families we are currently serving and to bring more awareness to our community of the need we are filling. Article Around the Web Are Single Parents all Created Equal? Stacey Freeman, Senior Editor, DivorcedMoms.com My now ex-husband has been living overseas for more than five years, beginning (almost to the day) two years prior to when we officially separated during January of 2012. Although we legally agreed to joint custody, the reality is, due to my ex's proximity (or lack thereof) to our children, I retain full physical custody of them most of the time. So when I titled my article and referred to myself as a single mom (which I wholeheartedly believe I am), I didn't anticipate being met with criticism from others who argued I am not, in fact, a single mother because my children's father continues to play a role in their lives. Read full story Our Upcoming Events· July 26, 2015 2:00 p.m. Quarter Auction Elks Lodge 4631 SE 10th Pl August 15, 2015 Back to School Event Time and location TBD. For the safety of our families, only those that are volunteering or VIP sponsors and donors will be in attendance. Simple, but not so easy…For many single moms getting the kids ready for school can be a painful process of determining what must be eliminated, in order to purchase school supplies. The average cost of school supplies for one child to return to school fully prepared averages $60, and of course we haven’t even touched new school clothes. Consider the dilemma of a parent confronted by the list of supplies each child must bring to school. Even kindergartners must bring crayons, pencils, glue, construction and copy paper, glue sticks, etc; by 5th grade, to that list is added composition notebooks, pocket folders, pens and more, while high school students’ lists are even more extensive. Unlike cloths and uniforms, most of these items won’t last through an entire school year and will need replacement once or several times. Life’s challenges are many for children of single parents whose economic hardship has brought them to our program. The challenges of not being able to obtain school supplies should not be added to their shoulders. Perhaps, as they read this article, several community members, businesses, and donors will consider contributing to AMHH “Going Back to School Prepared” project, so that every student of a single mom in need is prepared for the first day of school. A (tax-deductible) gift of: · $20 will supply basic school supplies · $30 will purchase an appropriate backpack · $40 will provide school supplies with the backpack · $50 will provide a full set of basic school supplies · $60 will provide a full set of basic school supplies with the backpack. Gifts of any size will make a difference and are greatly appreciated. To make a donation, send a check payable to
A Mom’s Helping Hand of SWFL (AMHH) P.O. Box 100021 Cape Coral, FL 33910 Gifts can also be made online http://www.amomshelpinghandofswfl.com/school-supply-drive.html For more information and to arrange for delivery of school supplies, call Kristen Schaufler, 239-895-5341. |