MAY: BBQ FOR THE BRAVE. Memorial Day weekend is intended to be a remembrance for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our many freedoms. We can never repay that debt, but we can help homeless veterans in our community. Along with Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids-Lexington, we hosted our SEVENTH annual Memorial Day BBQ, selling plates of pulled pork, beans, slaw and bbq hash, we raised $5,500 for local veteran programs and services. We’ll host this event every year until there is not a single homeless veteran in our community.

APRIL: CELEBRATE WITH CAKE: Birthdays are meant to be celebrated. This month, in honor of my dear friend, and dedicated GIVATION sponsor, Brigette, celebrating her 50th birthday, we assembled 250 birthday cake boxes for children in area shelters and children’s homes as well as Harvest Hope Food Bank. Each box contains cake mix, can of soda, frosting, birthday card, candles, 3 handwritten blessings, birthday button, birthday hat, noise makers, balloons, stickers and other festive items – some vary depending on quantities of items received. No matter the living situation, we’re going to make certain more kids celebrate their birthdays this year!!

MARCH: LIGHTHOUSE FOR LIFE. Dedicated to restoring the spiritual, physical, and emotional wholeness to victims of domestic sex trafficking, Lighthouse for Life is a beacon of hope to many in our community. This month, we helped to stock the survivor support center, The Harbor, for women rebuilding their lives after being rescued from sex trafficking. We also assembled 225 blessing bags that our local Law Enforcement will distribute to sex trafficking victims in time of rescue.

DECEMBER: SOLE STEPPING. This month, we volunteered with Sole Stepping to help fit over 2,000 local elementary school children with new shoes and socks for Christmas.

DOUBLE DOWN FOR GOOD. 25 Boston Butts purchased to support the Lexington High School baseball team were donated to the homeless veterans at Central Midlands Transitional Retreat, the women and children at Samaritan’s Well as well the children at Chris Myers’ Children’s place and Nancy K. Perry Children’s Shelter to enjoy a lovely Christmas dinner!

We matched two donations, got all the fixings, and delivered some holiday kindness with Irmo Fire department who lost a brother in service this past May. Doing our part to make the season merry and bright.

NOVEMBER: HALLOWEEN CANDY FOR FIRST RESPONDERS. Our fire, EMS and protective services work around the clock to make certain everyone is safe and healthy – even during the holidays. We delivered laundry baskets filled with thousands of pieces of Halloween Candy and notes of encouragement/cards of gratitude to almost 11 local fire stations, Lexington County Sheriff Department, and Lexington Police Department. 

SEPTEMBER: SHOE DRIVE. Collected 609 gently used shoes to support fundraising efforts for Sole Stepping. Every Christmas, Sole Stepping gifts new shoes to elementary school children. To help raise funds for these new shoes, they’re collecting your used shoes. All reusable sneakers are recirculated to secondhand markets so people can access quality, pre-owned footwear at affordable prices. All heavily used and damaged footwear is recycled to reuse materials or to convert waste into new energy. And Sole Stepping benefits!

JULY: SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE. We partnered with The Forgotten Initiative of Columbia, SC, a ministry dedicated to supporting the foster care community, to distribute our donated supplies to local foster youth: 2156 pencils, 198 pens, 105 markers, 1010 erasers, 79 highlighters, 134 crayons, 109 color pencils, 77 paper, 105 notebook, 108 composition notebook, 268 folders, 141 hand sanitizers, 103 post-its, 167 glue/glue sticks, 90 index cards, 35 backpacks, 103 pencil pouches, 110 pencil sharpeners, 56 binders, 63 scissors.

MAY: BBQ FOR THE BRAVE. Memorial Day weekend is intended to be a remembrance for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our many freedoms. We can never repay that debt, but we can help homeless veterans in our community. Along with Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids-Lexington, we hosted our fifith annual Memorial Day BBQ. Selling plates of pulled pork, beans, slaw and bbq hash, we raised $5,500 for Central Midlands Transitional Retreat. Plate it forward donations provided our homeless veterans dinner that night and lunch the next day. We’ll host this event every year until there is not a single homeless veteran in our community.

APRIL: CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH. Dickerson Children’s Advocacy Center provides comprehensive assessment and treatment services to physically and sexually abused children ages 0-18 years throughout the Midlands of South Carolina. They rely on the generosity of of volunteers, businesses, and the community to help the most vulnerable of victims. In recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we’re collecting items the center needs to continue their mission of hearing the voices and healing the hearts of child abuse victims. In total, we collected 130 books, 16 puzzles, 1 toy, 396 snacks, 128 juice boxes, 14 hand sanitizers, 29 hand soaps, 18 Clorox wipes, 24 paper towels, 150 trash bags, 2 air fresheners, 24 Lysol sprays, 66 rolls toilet paper, 10 boxes Kleenex. Additionally, we helped with a little spring cleaning around the facility by pressure washing the back deck oasis and staining a couple picnic tables and benches.

DECEMBER: SOLE STEPPING. This month, we donated over 600 pairs of socks and two pairs of shoes to help Sole Stepping provide 4009 pairs of new shoes and socks to ALL the students at EIGHT local elementary schools.

DOUBLE DOWN FOR GOOD. 17 Boston Butts purchased to support the Lexington High School baseball team were donated to the homeless veterans at Central Midlands Transitional Retreat, the women and children at Samaritan’s Well as well the children at Chris Myers’ Children’s place and Nancy K. Perry Children’s Shelter to enjoy a lovely Christmas dinner! 

NOVEMBER: HALLOWEEN CANDY FOR FIRST RESPONDERS. Our fire, EMS and protective services work around the clock to make certain everyone is safe and healthy – even during the holidays. We delivered laundry baskets filled with thousands of pieces of Halloween Candy and notes of encouragement/cards of gratitude to almost two dozen local stations. 

JULY: SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE. We partnered with The Forgotten Initiative of Columbia, SC, a ministry dedicated to supporting the foster care community, to distribute our donated supplies to local foster youth: 1839 pencils, 566 pens, 249 markers, 934 erasers, 310 highlighters, 587 crayons, 124 color pencils, 110 paper, 296 notebook, 264 folders, 200 hand sanitizers, 142 post-its, 916 glue/glue sticks, 17 index cards, 65 backpacks, 91 pencil pouches, 144 pencil sharpeners, 102 rulers.

JUNE: BOOKS + BACKPACKS. 95 bags of books (5-8 books per bag along with three handwritten blessing cards) were delivered to Oliver Gospel/Toby’s Place and Homeless No More. Almost 1,000 books shared with those who could benefit greatly from a moment of comfort and grace that a good book can provide. Transitions Homeless Shelter received over 300 blessing bags: 170 hygiene bags (full needed items and snacks) and 170 period packs (6 pads, 6 tampons, 6 liners each). Each pack and bag received three handwritten notes. All of this goodness was delivered in time for record breaking heat.

MAY: BBQ FOR THE BRAVE. Memorial Day weekend is intended to be a remembrance for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our many freedoms. We can never repay that debt, but we can help homeless veterans in our community. Along with Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids-Lexington, we hosted our fourth annual Memorial Day BBQ. Selling plates of pulled pork, beans, slaw and bbq hash, we raised $5,000 for Central Midlands Transitional Retreat. Plate it forward donations provided our homeless veterans dinner that night and lunch the next day. We’ll host this event every year until there is not a single homeless veteran in our community.

APRIL: WILDLIFE BABY SHOWER. As the population in Lexington County continues to expand, we rapidly encroach upon animal habitats, creating a need to protect our wildlife. We helped restock supplies at Carolina Wildlife Center to support the rehabilitation of injured and orphaned animals. Among the items we donated were: storage bins, laundry baskets, Purina Dog Chow Tenders, animal water bottles, animal sleeping hammocks, unscented laundry detergent, laundry bleach, trash bags, facial tissues, paper towels, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, gently used towels and sheets, receiving blankets, bandages, first aid wraps, duct tape and clip boards.

FEBRUARY: UNDIES FOR EVERYONE. As a frontline responder, Mission Lexington has been providing life essentials and needed resources to our community since 1978. In support of their Undercover Buddies program that provides new undergarments to those receiving clothing assistance, we collected 616 pairs of underwear (241 women underwear, 180 boy underwear, 195 girl underwear) which were divided into 308 packets of 2 underwear and a note of encouragement.

DECEMBER: CHRISTMAS CARE BASKETS. 60 baskets each containing 2 toothbrushes, 2 toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, body wash, bar of soap, comb, 4 snack packs, puzzle book, puzzle, deck of playing cards, deck of Uno, lap blanket, ornament, handwritten note, and a box of one dozen homemade cookies were delivered to the homeless veterans at Central Midlands Transitional Retreat tonight. We also shared 10 dozen cookies with the staff who work every day to help these men become gainfully employed and living in permanent housing. 

DECEMBER: DOUBLE DOWN FOR GOOD. 17 Boston Butts purchased to support the Lexington High School baseball team were donated to the homeless veterans at Central Midlands Transitional Retreat, the women and children at Samaritan’s Well as well the children at Chris Myers’ Children’s place and Nancy K. Perry Children’s Shelter to enjoy a lovely Christmas dinner! 

NOVEMBER: HALLOWEEN CANDY FOR FIRST RESPONDERS. Our fire, EMS and protective services work around the clock to make certain everyone is safe and healthy – even during the holidays. We delivered 42 buckets filled with thousands of pieces of Halloween Candy and notes of encouragement/cards of gratitude to almost two dozen local stations. 

SEPTEMBER: SOUP FOR OUR SENIORS. Many older adults face food insecurity within our own community. We collected 751 cans of soup, 443 cracker packs, 779 snack packs, 530 note of encouragement. 130 bags that included 4 cans of soup, 2 cracker packs, 4 snacks and 4 notes of encouragement were distributed to low-income seniors in our community in partnership with the Mission Lexington Mobile Food Pantry.

JULY: SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE. We partnered with The Forgotten Initiative of Columbia, SC, a ministry dedicated to supporting the foster care community, to distribute our donated supplies to local foster youth: 1008 pencils, 180 pens, 28 markers, 164 erasers, 54 highlighters, 70 crayons, 36 color pencils, 85 paper, 344 notebook, 212 folders, 240 hand sanitizers, 36 post-its, 58 glue/glue sticks, 74 index cards, 124 ear buds.

JUNE: BOOKS + BACKPACKS. We collected over 1,200 books for those staying in local homeless shelters and children’s homes. Each book included a hand-written note of encouragement.

MAY: BBQ FOR THE BRAVE. Along with Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids-Lexington, we hosted our third annual Memorial Day BBQ. Selling plates of pulled pork, beans, slaw and bbq hash, we raised $7,000 for Central Midlands Transitional Retreat. Plate it forward donations provided our homeless veterans dinner that night and lunch the next day. We’ll host this event every year until there is not a single homeless veteran in our community.

MARCH: FILLED WITH LOVE. The world has changed dramatically in the last year. Even though we now have many causes for hope in the battle against the Covid virus, we continue to suffer tremendous loss. Babci’s Blessings was created to actively honor the memory of Barbara Esbensen, who passed away in August due to Covid. As her family struggles through this season of loss, they chose to channel their unspent love into delivering baskets full of goodies to the medical staff and patients battling Covid at local Critical Care Units. We collected the following items: 900 snacks, 490 sweets, 480 snack bars, 245 activity books, 75 games, 175 supplies, 50 baskets, 100 colored pages/blessings.

FEBRUARY: UNDIES FOR EVERYONE. Children who enter the foster care system often leave their homes with very little – if any – personal belongings. Many only have the clothes they were wearing at the time of the removal. These displaced children are often required to transport the few belongings they do have in trash bags from place to place. We collected the following for children in local foster care: 2,238 Diapers, 759 Socks, 347 Boys Underwear, 479 Girl’s Underwear, 108 Backpacks/Bags, 35 Suitcases.

DECEMBER: HOLIDAY CHEER WITH CENTRAL MIDLANDS TRANSITIONAL RETREAT. Christmas is truly the season of giving. Not only giving gifts but giving back to the community. This year, we gave back to those who served our country but have fallen on hard times.

The intention was to serve a warm Christmas dinner to 60 homeless veterans at Central Midlands Transitional Retreat, but Covid forced us to pivot and change plans last minute. Rather than in person, my elves delivered all the goodness tonight so the veterans could still enjoy the Christmas goodies – just with some assembly required on their end.

In total, 65 laundry baskets FULL of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soaps, shaving cream, toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, deodorant, decks of cards, dice, puzzles, puzzle books, snacks, candies, cookies, ornaments – including handmade ornaments – colored pages -and handwritten cards of gratitude were delivered. Each gift basket had a baseball hat donated by The Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce along with a cookie box with one dozen goodies, many of which were donated by the Saluda Middle School Beta Club… comprised of teachers and students that benefitted from our October give and wanted to pay the kindness forward this month. Several large baskets overflowing with extra hygiene items, blankets and other goodies were gifted to the center to share with the residents as needed.

To fill their bellies, we delivered 17 Boston Butts with some fixings and another (at least) 30 dozen cookies/brownies along with waters from Joint Municipal Water and Sewer Commission to wash it all down.

Thank you to all who helped make this give possible. The true gift is seeing a group of like hearted people join together to make a positive impact on our community.

SEPTEMBER: SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE FOR SALUDA MIDDLE SCHOOL. To learn that a 7th grader at Saluda Middle School doesn’t have the same elective opportunities as my 7th grader is appalling. No foreign language. No dance. No drama. No chorus. No Adventure Ed. No archery. All because they don’t live in the right zip code. They don’t even have a PTA of any kind. Teachers do their own fundraising for supplies.

This month, we brought a moment of equality into the classrooms at this underserved school. In total, we collected all 75 books to restock the library shelves. We provided 54 glue sticks, 12 packs colored pencils, 8 composition notebooks, 79 folders, 3 packs paper, 2 packs markers, 150 pencils, as well as 4 bags of supplies including composition notebooks, pencils and hand sanitizer. And, with the generosity of Harvest Hope Food Bank, we also provided an ENTIRE PALETTE with boxes and boxes of supplies. Those who donated to my birthday fundraiser, your generosity was put towards the following items: Mobile desk, portable reader, 2 dozen Paper mate pens, 6 Smart Chart Tablets, 2 dozen Sharpies, Electric pencil sharpener, 6 Learning resource hooks, 12 Easel pads, 30 classroom resource books.

JUNE: BOOKS + BACKPACKS. Began by collecting for the homeless but expanded to include Epworth Children’s Home once we learned of a fire that destroyed their supply shed. A monetary donation of $2,300 was made to Epworth Children’s Home and we collected 390 garbage bags, 4 laundry baskets, 3 Fabuloso, 2 bottles bleach, 4 Dawn dish soap, 4 dish sponges, 60 bars soap, 20 deodorant, 25 lip balms, 96 razors, 200 tampons, 4 body sponges, 20 Body wash, 30 shampoo, 20 Conditioner, 12 lotion, 20 toothpaste,151 toothbrushes, 9 floss, 4 beach towels, 4 pillows, 12 pillowcases, 4 sets twin sheets, 8 shower curtains/rings, 30 hygiene packs, 200 travel shampoo, 285 travel soap, 150 travel body wash, 54 travel body lotion, 60 travel toothpaste, 8 travel mouthwash, 6 Kleenex packs, 25 first aid kits, 103 gently loved books, 25 gently loved bags, 4 gently loved book bags, 22 woven t-shirt jumpropes, and 116 granola bars. Since many items were travel size – and some gently loved – we made deliveries to Transitions Honless Center and Homeless No More to share the love.

APRIL:  Due to the Covid pandemic, several of the gives we had planned were cancelled, so we tried to help our community where we could. 

1. Mission Lexington: Collected 106 packets of grits, 3 canisters oats, 80 packets Quaker Oats, 1 canister grits, 2 boxes rice, 10 bags rice, 1 box instant mashed potatoes , 2 boxes cornbread mix, 16 bags of noodles, 6 boxes noodles, 6 boxes spaghetti, 24 boxes Mac/Cheese, 40 cans of soup, 12 cans tomato sauce, 20 cans of beans, 16 cans corn, 4 cans diced tomatoes, 9 cans tuna, 3 jars jelly, 1 jar applesauce, 6 cans fruit cocktail, 6 cans peaches, 6 cans oranges, 6 cans pineapple chunks. 2 bottles shampoo, 1 bottle shaving cream, 2 deodorant, 3 bottles body soap, and loads of grocery bags. 
2. Nancy K. Perry Children’s Shelter: Collected several boxes of snacks for the residents. 
3. HOMELESS NO MORE: The long days have been made a little sweeter for the kids with boxes of snacks as well as games, toys and a gently loved bike! 
4. Central Midlands Transitional Retreat: Delivered a few dozen donuts and several boxes of single serve ice cream.

MARCH: PAWSitivity Project. Collected much needed items for local organizations to help animals in our community. Carolina Wildlife Center, Pooch’s Partners, and Lexington County Animal Shelter received Iams puppy dog food, (2) Cat food, 12 wet dog food, 3 bags (25lbs each) poultry free dog food, 48 collars, 28 leashes , Cat Litter, 48 Fleece blankets, 4 bags Sheets, 4 Oxyclean, 2 (14×20) tarps, 4 (8×10) tarps, 10 large dog toys. 

FEBRUARY: Fairy Godparent February. Partnered with two wonderful organizations to help spread cheer and goodwill to children in need. 1) The Cinderella Project collects and distributes new and gently worn prom dresses to disadvantaged high school students throughout the state. 2) Kellan’s Kloset provides new undergarments as well as new and gently used clothing for children in foster care. In total, we collected 207 formal dresses, 12 formal shoes, 2 nylons, 2 scarves and 11 formal purses as well as 242 underwear, 254 socks, 6 bras.  

DECEMBER: Holiday Bingo. This was our 4th year sharing kindness and holiday cheer with the residents of the Finlay House, a 188 unit, low-income, senior living complex in the heart of Columbia. We celebrated the reason for the season with tables full of donated prizes and refreshments as well as a roomful of merriment as we played several rounds of BINGO.

OCTOBER: Blessing Bags for the Homeless. We can’t end homelessness through wishful thinking, but we can provide kindness to those in need. With the colder months around the corner, we assembled blessing bags for the homeless: 68 period packs, 27 women’s blessing bags, 205 blessing bags. These care kits are a simple way to provide practical help to homeless men and women in our community.

AUGUST: Family Shelter Back-to-School Bash. Back-to-school shopping can be a challenge for any family. There are detailed lists of supplies the kids need for each grade level. And all the notebooks, binders, pens, markers and colored pencils can cost a lot of money. This expense can be even more daunting for homeless students living in shelters whose families may not have the resources to tackle those lengthy “must have” lists. This was the fourth year we partnered with The Family Shelter, an emergency housing facility for children and their families, to help kick-off the new school year! In addition to collecting school supplies to stock their homework station, we hosted a BACK TO SCHOOL BASH with face painting, corn hole, BINGO and other games for all to enjoy.

JUNE: Book Drive. We collected over 1,200 books for those staying in local shelters. The beautiful books will be a wonderful escape from the blazing heat for so many!! Each book included a hand-written note of encouragement.

MAY: BBQ For The Brave. We live in the land of the free because of the brave men and women who have served and continue to serve in our armed forces. Along with Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids-Lexington, we hosted our second annual Memorial Day BBQ, selling over 500 plates of pulled pork, beans, slaw and bbq hash to raise funds for Central Midlands Transitional Retreat and Friends of Fisher House. Additionally, we were able to serve lunch to the homeless veterans at Central Midlands Transitional Retreat and had enough “plate it forward” donations to provide them dinner that night and lunch the next day. We plan on hosting this event every year until there is not a single homeless veteran in our community.

MARCH: Soup for Seniors. Winter is a difficult time for our older neighbors. A bowl of hot soup on a cold day can go a long way in making sure no senior goes hungry. In total, we collected 846 goodies, 740 packs of crackers, 600 cans of soup, and 387 note cards that were assembled into bags of goodness and delivered to 150 seniors residing in three, low-income, independent senior housing facilities in Lexington, SC.

FEBRUARY: Hero Night. We partnered with Pleasant Hill Elementary School to participate in our second annual HERO NIGHT. Through a mix of education and activity, local non-profits showcased the different ways our families can help make a positive impact on our community. 

DECEMBER: Holiday Bingo. As a 188 unit, low-income, senior living complex in the heart of Columbia, Finlay House serves a large group of seniors in need of our kindness and compassion. For the third year, we celebrated the reason for the season with tables full of donated prizes and refreshments as well as a roomful of merriment as a local Girl Scout Troop sang Christmas carols and a girl’s softball team made ornaments that were gifted to our seniors.

DECEMBER: Share the gLOVE. Along with Pleasant Hill Middle School, White Knoll High School Student Government Association and the Center Medical Reserve Corps, we collected over 200 pairs of mittens, hats and scarves for Toby’s Place (a women and children’s shelter serving the Midlands), SisterCare (provides services and shelter for survivors of domestic violence and their children) and Transition’s Homeless Shelter.

OCTOBER: Homeless Blessing Bags. We assembled over 250 blessing bags that were distributed by Transitions Homeless Shelter in Columbia. These care kits, which include toiletries, snacks as well as a handwritten blessing card, are a simple way to provide practical help to homeless men and women.

SEPTEMBER: Wildlife Rescue. Carolina Wildlife Center is devoted to the rehabilitation of injured and orphaned wild animals in our county as well as the preservation of wildlife through education. In addition to collecting items needed to care for the over 3,000 injured and orphaned animals they care for every year, we also helped clean cages and tackled yard maintenance, such as weeding and raking, of the outdoor rehabilitation area.

JULY: Family Shelter Back-to-School Bash. For the third year, we helped kick the school year off at The Family Shelter, an emergency housing facility for children and their families. In addition to collecting school supplies to stock their homework station, we hosted a BACK TO SCHOOL BASH with face painting, corn hole, a ball toss and other games for all to enjoy.

MAY: BBQ For The Brave. We live in the land of the free because of the brave men and women who have served and continue to serve in our armed forces. Along with Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids-Lexington and Society of St. Andrew we hosted a Memorial Day BBQ, selling over 300 plates of pulled pork, beans, slaw and bbq hash to raise funds for Palmetto Patriot Project, a local organization dedicated to providing services and resources for our veterans and active military personnel.  

APRIL: Child Abuse Prevention Month. Dickerson Children’s Advocacy Center provides comprehensive assessment and treatment services to physically and sexually abused children ages 0-18 years throughout the Midlands of South Carolina. Since they rely on the generosity of volunteers and community donations, we collected items the center needs in order to continue their mission of hearing the voices and healing the hearts of child abuse victims.

MARCH: Clean of Heart. We restocked supplies so Clean of Heart can continue to provide showers and laundry services to the homeless population in downtown Columbia.

FEBRUARY: Hero Night. We partnered with Pleasant Hill Elementary School to launch the first annual HERO NIGHT. Through a mix of education and activity, over 25 local non profits showcased the different ways our families can help make a positive impact on our community.   

In 2014, we started our collective giving group, Ding Dong Divas, by going door-to-door delivering neighborhood cheer and goodwill. The goodness continued to grow as we began to make an even bigger impact in more communities, states and even internationally through our monthly giving projects.

This evolution resulted in a name change to better fit  the kindness network we created. Focused on active giving, we kicked off 2017 as GIVATION.

Here’s a glimpse of the good we did in 2017:

DECEMBER 2017 GIVE: Holiday Bingo at Finlay House. As a 188 unit, low-income, senior living complex in the heart of Columbia, Finlay House serves as large group of seniors in need of our kindness and compassion.

We celebrated the reason for the season with tables full of donated prizes and refreshments as well as a roomful of merriment for these sweet seniors.

The residents even got into the giving spirit by gifting it forward. If they won more than once, they gifted their additional wins to someone else.

Regardless if they won at Bingo or not, every resident who participated in Holiday Bongo was gifted a lap blanket!

OCTOBER 2017 GIVE: Bingo Night at Transitions. We can’t end homelessness through wishful thinking, but we can provide courage and support to those in need.

We hosted our second annual evening of fun and fellowship playing BINGO with the residents at Transitions, giving them some of the only fun and social interaction they receive all month.

SEPTEMBER 2017 GIVE: Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands. Every two minutes, someone is sexually assaulted in America. This is a topic many of us are uncomfortable talking about, but it happens more often than we’d like to think.

Sexual violence affects people regardless of race, ethnicity, class, sexual and gender identity, religious affiliation, age, immigration status, and ability.

During the process of receiving medical treatment and reporting their assault, the survivor’s clothing is typically collected for evidence.

We rallied our support around the Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands by collecting the following items to stock the emergency lockers to help clothe victims after an assault: 60 tshirts, 30 sports bras, 62 flip flops, 14 yoga pants, 80 pairs of underwear.

JULY 2017 GIVE: Back-to-School Bash for The Family Shelter. Homeless children often struggle to be successful in school. In addition to the stress of not having a secured place to live, they often lack basic school supplies.

We partnered with The Family Shelter, an emergency housing facility for children and their families, to help them kick-off the new school year!

With the generosity of 23 people, we were able to donate the following school supplies to the kids at the Family Shelter: 5 pencil boxes, 22 pencil pouches, 18 pencil sharpeners, 356 pencils, 75 erasers, 230 cap erasers, 228 pens, 30 boxes of markers,12 boxes of color pencils, 50 highlighters, 66 boxes of crayons, 5 scissors, 4 bottles of glue, 180 glue sticks, 4,800 index cards, 4,900 sheets of lined paper, 45 notebooks, 24 folders, 24 post it packs, and12 hand sanitizers. That’s amazing!!!

In addition to collecting school supplies to stock their homework station, we hosted a BACK TO SCHOOL BASH with face painting, corn hole, a ball toss and other games for all to enjoy.

JUNE 2017 GIVE: Book Drive. School’s officially out for summer… but the learning lessons shouldn’t stop! Teach your kids how easy it is to give back!! This month, we collected over 600 gently-used children, teen and adult books that were donated to two children’s shelters as well as the literacy programs at our local homeless shelter.

MAY 2017 GIVE: Homeless Period Project. Periods suck. Periods when you can’t afford a tampon  and don’t have access to a clean bathroom or a place to shower? Unimaginable — but reality for some. Every month, homeless women everywhere struggle with menstruation just like other women but, unfortunately for them, proper hygiene essentials aren’t as easily obtainable.

Did you know that feminine menstrual hygiene products are the least donated items and these products cannot be purchased with food stamps? And, because of societies taboo outlook on periods, this issue is often overlooked when dealing with the homeless population.

We partnered with The Homeless Period Project this month to provide menstrual products, give hope  and restore dignity to homeless women in our community.

We collected over 3,500 hygiene products, filling 194 packets!! We even had celebrity packers helping us out – Miss Teen Lexington and Little Miss Saluda County!!

Some of the organizations The Homeless Period Project will provide with these period packs include: Salvation Army – Women’s Shelter, Shepherd’s Gate, Place of Hope, Red Cross, Safe Harbor, Julie Valentine Center, Samaritan House, World Relief, Schools, street ministries, etc.

MARCH 2017 GIVE: Baby Shower. When a baby is born full-term and healthy, it’s easy to know how to react and what to say. What if there are complications, and the newborn is born premature? Or an infant is admitted to the hospital due to an injury or illness?

This month, we partnered with two wonderful organizations to help spread cheer and goodwill to the littlest members of our community.

Marleigh’s Ministry: Brings love, encouragement, and hope to families who are struggling through the hardships of prematurity. One of many outreach efforts they offer include distributing care packages to parents of preemies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Happy Wheels: Visits local children’s hospitals every week with a cart loaded full of new toys and books, letting each child pick a favorite free gift. Each child receives one new toy each week for as long as they stay in the hospital.

Through generous donations, we collected enough items to fill 150 care packages for parents with premies in the NICU and deliver over 100 toys for children ages 0-3staying in our local hospital.

FEBRUARY 2017 GIVE: Soup for Seniors. Winter is a difficult time for our older neighbors. A bowl of hot soup on a cold day can go a long way in making sure no senior goes hungry.

Our goal was to provide at least 4 cans of soup, individual packages of peanut butter or cheese crackers, such as the Lance variety, and individual packages of snack bars, such as chewy granola or Nutrigrain fruit bars to each resident of two, low-income, independent senior housing facilities in Lexington, SC.

We exceeded this goal and delivered to three facilities, then had 130 soups left over to give to the Senior Resources emergency pantry.

The best part of this give is going door-to-door, sharing a smile and moment of joy while delivering the goodies. Absolutely wonderful experience for our children.

The second year of Ding Dong Divas was just as jam-packed full of goodness as our inaugural year. A few gives were established as needed repeats – ones that will become annual gives moving forward because the people we’ve met through these organizations left an indelible mark upon us and we want to  spend time with them every year. Here’s a glimpse of the good we did in 2016:

DECEMBER 2016 Give: Holiday Bingo at Finlay House. As a 188 unit, low-income, senior living complex in the heart of Columbia, Finlay House serves as large group of seniors in need of our kindness and compassion. We played bingo for the afternoon with generous prizes while enjoying Christmas cookies and refreshments .

OCTOBER 2016 Give: Bingo Night at Transitions. With 260 residential beds and 150 daily visitors, Transitions is the largest homeless shelter serving the Midlands. It’s hard to imagine almost 500 homeless people in one location. And it’s even more difficult to hear stories of why some of them are in their situation. Or how they feel about being homeless.

We were able to bring smiles to them last night. We had fun, shared laughs and, as one resident shared with me, helped them “forget about the stresses and feel normal for a few hours.”

We had great prizes such as toothpaste/toothbrushes, hats/mittens, sweaters, books, flashlights, duffle bags, handwarmers, waterbottles, candy, food and more. Every participant – whether they won or not – received a hygiene bag with bodywash, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, mints, and a handwritten prayer card. We also donated a trunk full of clothing to help fill their emergency closet. It was a great night!

SEPTEMBER 2016 Give: Stock the Pantry. Senior Resources coordinates programs and resources to help senior citizens in the Midland’s remain independent. They’re also the only provider of Meals on Wheels in Richland County.  We’ve partnered with them to collect 400 soups, crackers, juice boxes and granola bars. We also worked with Corpus Christi Catholic Church and St. Peter’s Catholic Church to include handwritten notes and drawings in each packet. These sweet messages added to the wonderful gift we were able to give.

We were honored to have WLTX cover this give, expanding our reach for sharing the message about senior food insecurity and the ability for our community to come together to help bridge the gap. (http://www.wltx.com/mb/news/local/kids-make-cards-for-seniors-in-the-midlands/324032791)

AUGUST 2016 Give: Helping Hands for Hannah House.  Hannah House is a 40-bed, transitional housing facility in Columbia that provides shelter for 14 single women and 8 families.  Since 1999, their mission has been to help women and their families to live a purpose-driven, self-sufficient life. We collected much needed household items from towels to bathroom towels, sheet sets to shower curtains for the residents. We also painted their basement which houses a laundry facility and clothing boutique that serves the community as well as the Hannah House residents. Such a small task made a huge difference to this lovely transitional home and put a smile on everyone’s face

JULY 2016 Give: Back-to-School Bash for The Family Shelter.  Homeless children often struggle to be successful in school. In addition to the stress of not having a home, they often lack basic school supplies. We threw a Back-to-School Bash for the residents at The Family Shelter. We collected schools supplies to stock a homework station and gently-used/new books to create a reading nook in the new activity center. Our goal was blown to another level! After sorting, counting and boxing it all up, we have enough to donate bags of supplies as well as boxes of books to THREE more children’s shelters (two in Lexington and one in Columbia). In addition, two ESL programs will each receive a tub of teacher manuals!! Our volunteers enjoyed playing games with the kids – and   the parents – as well as facepainting, fellowship and fun. The activity center was full of smiles and laughter.

MAY 2016 Give: Plant Seeds of Love. Samaritan’s Well is a transitional home in Lexington for   single mothers and their children with a goal to help them regain their independence as a family. We partnered with them to build two raised vegetable gardens and cheer up the landscaping around the home. We collected funds to purchase all the necessary materials. It was a great activity for the kids who participated, too. We transformed the front entry with flowers and shrubs, built two raised vegetable gardens and created some beautiful moments of cheer and goodwill! I’m beyond grateful for all the hard work!!! The results were remarkable!!

APRIL 2016 Give: Cleaning Supplies for Home Care Seniors. Senior Resources helps seniors remain in their homes as long as possible, in an effort to delay or prevent institutionalization. We partnered with them to provide SPRING CLEAN BUCKETS for 35 Home Care service recipients. Home Care seniors are truly homebound. They tend to be isolated and not able to leave their homes. Meals on Wheels provides them food on a regular basis, but simple household items are not provided as part of the meal delivery service and the cost to purchase them is often beyond their means. My favorite moment was spending time with a sweet gentleman who had just turned 98 and just lost his wife of 72 years on March 1. Heard how they met and fell in love. Beautiful.

MARCH 2016 Give: Game Night at The Family Shelter. We hosted a GAME NIGHT for the children and families residing at The Family Shelter. We collected snacks for the evening as well as games, puzzles and books to stock the Activity Center. Did we ALL have fun! The kids enjoyed the games – and so did the parents. Kids as well as moms participated in facepainting, cornhole, MEGA jenga,puzzles, fellowship and fun.

FEBRUARY 2015 Give: Soup for our Seniors. We gathered, sorted, bagged and delivered bags of goodies including soup, crackers and granola bars to 96 residents of two low-income senior facilities in Lexington, SC.

Our first year as Ding Dong Divas was packed with fun as we spread cheer and goodwill to those in need of kindness around the Midlands. Check out our awesome year!

Fall 2015 Give: Operation Exodus. Every year, Fort Jackson in Columbia, SC, cuts loose their bootcamp troops to go home for a two-week Christmas break. Since these soldiers often spend every dime to purchase their tickets to make it home for the holidays, we wanted to provide them goodie bags for their trip. During September, October and November, we collected: 6807 Granola Bars,  6339 Slim Jims, 6182 Packs of crackers, 3014 Packs of cookies, 338 Variety chips, snack packs, cheezits, 747 Chex mix, 82 Packs of sunflower seeds, 735 Packs of nuts, 24 raisins, 1980 Packs of gum, 2818 mini packs of M&Ms, candies, 546 regular packs of M&Ms, skittles, 12 starburst, 1 box of Raisinettes, 22 packs of fruit snacks, 20 fruit roll ups, 72 snack cakes, 488 12oz Gatorade, 205 single water flavors, 463 popcorn factory, 611 Lip balms, 518 Packs of Kleenex, 900 stamps of strength, 75 cases of water, 7692 notes of encouragement. Amazing doesn’t even describe the tremendous goal we achieved. Considering that many of us were collecting at a time when our state was devastated by the flood disaster. We rallied. We overcame. Friends and family from near and far believed in our cause and gave. Then, from 8:00pm on December 17 until 8:00am December 18, a crew of 30 Ding Dong Divas divided into three shifts to distribute the goodie bags as the soldiers were shipped off the base. What an amazing evening. The look of gratitude and a simple smile from a soldier is worth more than gold. How humbling to receive thanks from a soldier for a simple bag of treats, when their gift to us is so much more.

August 2015 Give: Socks + Underwear for Foster Care. We packaged 849 pairs of underwear and 762 pair of socks (infant, toddler and youth sizes) into bundles that  included a handwritten note of love and compassion. These packages were delivered to a local foster parent organization and several youth shelters in Columbia and Lexington, SC.

July 2015 Give: Finlay Home Farmers Market. Our biggest give yet. 180 low-income seniors received what they asked for – fresh fruits and vegetables. And we brought it by the truckload! We set up a Farmer’s Market for the residents at Finlay House to pick out fresh fruits and vegetables.

June 2015 Give: Blessing Bags for the Homeless. We packaged 262 bags with travel-size shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, mouthwash, body soap, sunscreen, body lotion and pack of Kleenex along with toothbrush, comb,pack of gum and a handwritten note of encouragement to the recipient. The Family Shelter, Transitions, Seed of Hope, and Oliver’s Gospel Mission all benefited from this tremendous give. We also collected the following full-size items for the abused women and children’s shelters: 10 shampoo, 24 deodorant, 11 shower caps, 12 mouthwash, 37 makeup removers, 36 toothpastes that were donated to Samaritan’s Well Women’s Shelter.

MAY 2015 Give: Soup for our Seniors. We gathered, sorted, bagged and delivered bags of goodies including soup, crackers and granola bars to 55 residents of a low-income senior facility in Irmo, SC.

FEBRUARY 2015 Give: Soup for our Seniors. We gathered, sorted, bagged and delivered bags of goodies including soup, crackers and granola bars to 38 residents of a low-income senior facility in Lexington, SC.