Knoxville News Sentinel Article About Nuestros Niños

Adria Amos wrote an article about Nuestros Niños for the June 13th edition of the Knoxville News Sentinel.  To read, just click on the link: Knoxville News Sentinel Article.

Spirited Art - Friday, May 11th

On Friday night, May 11th, several of us closed the week out by painting at Spirited Art in Bearden.  At first the idea of painting your own masterpiece can be a little intimidating if you aren't "artsy."  You hear a lot of "doubting" words at first; but as people relax with the process and begin to see their own artwork take shape, you start to hear laughter and see smiles all around.

During the evening we had goodies and wine to keep us going. :)  All together there were about 36 people in the class.  Though most of our whimsical trees were similar, you could definitely see the differences that we each added to our own masterpiece! 

At the end of the night, the owners of Spirited Art donated over $300 to Nuestros Niños.  And I believe that everyone went home happy with their artwork and wondering when the next time we could do it would be!

Hat Day at Amherst Elementary

After TCAPs were finished, the kids and teachers were winding down the school year with lots of fun activities.  One of these also benefited Nuestros Niños and the children of Guatemala!  A couple of times a year the kids are given the chance to wear a hat of their choice to school if they donate money to the charity of the day.  This time Nuestros Niños was chosen as the charity.

Just by donating change they collected - some allowance money or money earned from doing a special 

chore at home – they will make a meaningful impact in another child’s life.  All together the kids raised 

$536.64!

Spring 2012 Garage Sale

We held our Spring 2012 Garage Sale from May 3-5th, and it turned out to be our best garage sale to date!  We honestly couldn't do this without all of our volunteers (15 this year), or without all of our great donors!

It isn't all work for our group - we have a good time modeling some of the donated items and "betting" on what is going to go.  We have developed a loyal following, and get to see many of the same shoppers each year.

Each time we put out signs that say "HUGE Garage Sale" and everyone comments that it really is a "HUGE" sale...not just hype.

One more huge thank you to everyone that helps to make it possible!

Duck Duck Goose Consignment Sale

The Spring Duck Duck Goose Consignment Sale has just wrapped up.  This is a huge children's consignment sale that is held 2 times a year.  It is held in a 100,000 sq. ft. space, and it is estimated that over 18,000 shoppers came through the doors.  Many people pick up their items that don't sell, but there are others that donate their items to charities after the sale.

We are fortunate to be one of the 43 charities that received donations of shoes, blankets, clothes, and toys.  In exchange, we work several 4 hour shifts helping to sort clothes for the sale.  It is a great deal, with the biggest winner being the children in Guatemala that receive the great clothes and other items!

We have received donations from Duck Duck Goose for the past few years - and I can attest to the fact that the Guatemalan individuals that receive these clothes and shoes are very grateful.  I know of one family that received jackets from one of our shipments.  It was a cold evening in Guatemala (in the 40's) and the family was barefoot and without jackets.  They still had an hour walk home in the dark along mountain paths - so the jackets were a welcome gift.

We are extremely grateful to Christy, Courtney, and Heather for making these donations possible!

2012 Play It Forward Golf Tournament Update

The 2012 Play It Forward Golf Tournament was a success!  We had a very successful fundraising day and had 17 teams join us.  Everyone walked away with a door prize…and a few walked away with some great Silent Auction items which included a Brinkman Grill (donated by Home Depot), a 2 night cabin stay (donated by the Turbyville Family), Pat Summitt & Cuonzo Martin signed basketballs, UT Football Tickets on the 50 yard line (donated by the Daniel Family), and 2 Budweiser and Bud Light coolers (donated by Eagle Distributing).  The golfers were treated to a box lunch from McAlister’s Deli, a t-shirt, a goody bag, and drinks (donated by Food City & Coca-Cola).  After the golfing was over, there were chips and salsa donated by Salsarita’s.

Fox Chevrolet sponsored four Hole in One Contests, with the prime prize being a red Camaro if you could sink it on the first shot on Hole 16.  Alas, this year no one won the Camaro.  Triax Data sponsored the Longest Drive (won by Tom Clark) and the Closest to the Pin (won by Steve Strange) Contests. 

The winners of the golf tournament were Jonathan Brooks, Scott Neal, Tom Bourne, & Jimmy Gallyon.  Rather than wearing green jackets as done at the Masters, they each donned a brightly covered poncho for a picture.

Check out the slideshow of the day’s events below. 

We couldn’t have raised the money, nor had such a successful tournament without the following great sponsors and donors!

Major Sponsors

QSM

Fox Chevrolet

Triax Data

Bailey

Globus

Food City

Gold Hole Sponsors

Todd’s Lawn Care

M.G. Newell

Admix

Silver Hole Sponsors

Anderson Instrument Company (Jeff Tocio)

Knox Trailers, Inc.

The Grussing Family

Coverall of Eastern Tennessee

Papa John’s

Irish Times

The Sain Family

Bearden Benz Repair

Webster Motors

The Hernandez Family

Walker Stainless

Bryant Research

Door Prizes

Holston Hills Golf Shop

SPX

Regal Cinemas

Irish Times

Gondolier

Dead Horse Lake Golf Course

Applebees

Target

Dutch Girl Cleaners

McAlister’s Deli

Phoenix BIG Cinemas

Hi-Line

HGTV

Chick-Fil-A

Papa John’s

Fox Den Country Club

Fox Chevrolet

Goody Bag Items

Bailey

Chick-Fil-A

Salsarita’s

McScrooge’s

Hi-Line

MasterCraft

HGTV

Little Debbie

And a huge thank you to all of our golfers!

Birthday Blankets

The fun continues...all while doing something to help others.  Sharon and a bunch of friends take time to celebrate each person's birthday throughout the year.  Normally they go out to the birthday lady's favorite restaurant.  However this time Sharon wanted to do something different.

She invited all of her friends over to her house for lunch, and she asked each lady to donate the cost of their "normal" lunch to help fund fleece blankets for the children in Guatemala.  Not only did they enjoy each other's company while celebrating Sharon's birthday, but they also took time to make the fleece blankets!  In all, they completed 20 blankets!!

Please let us know if you might want to make blankets with a Girl Scout troop, church group, or for a birthday celebration.  We'll help you get started - it's easy!