Crawfordville Cares- Operation Santa 2016

HolaHolaHola Beautifuls!!

They say Charity begins at home, and if there’s a town that embodies that, it’s Babushka’s home town of Crawfordville .  It’s wonderful living in a place where people come together to help others, usually total strangers. The sense of community is strong here and BB hopes to share some of the amor, starting with the unbelievable Operation Santa.

“Operation Santa is a community effort sponsored by the Wakulla County Coalition for Youth (WCCY) who with its partners build support for the youth, individuals and families in Wakulla County. In the past six years, Operation Santa has helped thousands in need of a hands-up to experience the joy of the Christmas Season. 2016 is the seventh year of Operation Santa of Wakulla helping Wakulla residents in need of a hand-up. There is no qualifying; we expect only those that truly need help, to experience a joyful Christmas, will apply.

This effort could not be done without the help of volunteers, businesses, the adoption of families, donations of new and like-new items and cash donations.” 

BB not donate? JU SO FONII!!! Babushka likes to give Thanks that The Grands and The Trio have always received gifts during the holidays and that we have always been blessed with shelter and comida, so for every child/grandchild we give at least the same amount back. That was 9 regalitos for Operation Santa, and this year we went straight to Santa’s Workshop.

At 6'4" Sweetie is enjoying being Santa's biggest elf. 

Este año  there were 181 familias that signed up for holiday assistance. 81 of them were “adopted” by individuals, leaving 100 for Operation Santa to provide for. And that they definitely did. With help from the community, with toy drops around town, online monetary donations, 100 families will be having a better holiday. Pero it’s not only the families receiving the presents that are having a better holiday. Did you notice the volunteers (they call themselves elves) arriba? They came in different shifts, were from all demographics and ages, and the spirit of giving filled them all. Gracias to the “elves” for being part of Babushka’s home town. They fill the air with love and goodwill, raising the vibes all around, making Crawfordville a place that cares.

Hopefully BB will highlight other such giving groups and individuals, at least one per month.  Try to do the same Beautifuls.  If we all are on the lookout for givers, we will receive so much. To know there are those who care for our community helps us see the beauty there, and that in turn will spark more care and love from us. Imagínate if we all raised the vibes, how vibrant we’d all become.

Who will you highlight in your home town ?

Babushka Besos a todos.  Cuidensen.

P.S. If you'd like to know more about Operation Santa Wakulla,

to donate or maybe even start one in your hometown,

Feibu Wakulla Operation Santa

Website http://www.operationsantawakulla.org/

Quarters in Crawfordville Go A Long Way!! #Charity #SmallBiz #ShopSmall

HolaHolaHola Beautifuls!

Hoping everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with mucho to be grateful for. Babushka por her parte added my community of Crawfordville in her lista of blessings y bendiciones.  This isn’t the first time BB’s written about the generous souls here, but it’s been awhile and this event was special in sooo many niveles that it’s más que worthy of a post. Not only is it a novel idea, but tambien it’s the kinda twofer Babushka loves- shopping while giving back. Now you know that deserves a great big ESO!!I So what exactly was the novelty? A “Quarter Auction” for charity. Not sound like mucho verdad? Bueno Beautifuls, you’d be surprised how it adds up. A quick explanation.

“Guests purchase one ($2) or more ($1) bidding paddles when they arrive. They spend time visiting the vendor booths, networking, shopping for holiday gifts, enjoying snacks, registering for door prizes, and having fun. When the auction starts, vendors take turns introducing their businesses and showing their auction items up for bid. The vendor tells the audience how many quarters it takes to bid for each paddle held up, in the amount of 1 – 4 quarters. If they choose to bid on that item, guests and vendors drop their quarters in the bucket and hold up their numbered paddles. If the number drawn matches the number of an auction paddle being held up, that person wins that auction item. It is fast-paced, generous, and fun! All funds raised are shared between Education Enrichment Council scholarships and the charity chosen for each auction.” En Noviembre, the charity partner was Operation Santa, another wonderful local nonprofit that helps local families who need a little help celebrating the holidays.

And they even fed us!! Special shout out to yummy Mae's Southern Delights.
 Babushka's Paddle.  Lucky double number.

And the auction begins!!

It was a night of winning on so many levels. Do you know how much was raised Beautifuls?  Entre peseta por peseta, a quarter at a time, in a little under 2 hours over 2 thousand dollars were raised!!  Increible pero cierto. And it was only their segundo time having an auction!  Not love my little town??  JU SO FONII!!! A noche of community spirit, fun and good times for two great causes. 

Babushka's Win. A Bella set of  Lilla Rose hair accessories!
Gracias Jodi, BB will be back for some hair sticks. ; ) 

Por supuesto, but of course, it would have been imposible without the great volunteers and vendors. Gracias to Nancy Floyd Richardson for putting together this lista. 

Veronica Forns Wold - Effortless Travel
Cyndi Rasberry Dotson and Shaina Dotson - Rodan & Fields
Nancy Floyd Richardson - Thirty-One
Heather Houser Gray, Yese Reyes, and Melinda Lee Porterfield - Young Living Essential Oils
Kim McMillan and Suzanne Pope Leigh - Plunder
Lisa Latimer Scott - MiaBella Creations
Debbie L. Drum-Smith - LimeLight by Alcone
Nance Nadeau - Scentsy
Cyndi Dewey McKuhen - BeautiControl
Thadra Palmer Stanton - Pampered Chef
Tracy Spencer Britton - Damsel in Defense
Jodi Crone McIver - LuLaRoe
Casie Knight Arciaga - Premier Jewelry
Jodi Franklin - Lilla Rose
Lois Wise Abbott - Noonday Collection
Brandie Oscar - Tupperware
Lola Harrell Pouncey - Magnolia and Vine
Jessica Johnson - Southern Threads
Darlene Roberts - Omnitrition
Sara J. Marchessault - Joyful by Design
Trisha Lee Strickland and Jessica Balchuck Goldin - Fight Like a Fish for Augie
Toria Schmookler - Ornaments for Orphans and Fair Trade Chocolates
Rachel Ogle - Beach Body
Ann Spano Fulghum - A'doorn by Ann

Donations:
Libby McFalls Stewart - Photography Session
Emily Irvin Manley - Usborne Books and More
Angies Marine Supply
Tractor Supply Store
Shannon McDermott - The Garden Center by Gatortrax
Alix Kalfin - Wildtree

Magnuson Hotel

A wonderful time was had by todos. Who are the vendors/small business owners in your comunidad? No se about y'all, but these are the type of people worth helping,buying from. BB gives to those that give from el corazon. How about you?

Babushka Besos a todos.  Cuidensen.

TWAM makes a Conexion to Hispanic Heritage Month. HispanicFest2015 #HHM

 

HolaHolaHola Beautifuls!!!

Si, that's Babushka en la foto.  If you've been reading BB's posts you know how important my culture

is to me, and how much I enjoy acting, so when there's a chance to combine them, Babushka's there! Saturday 26, 2015 my beloved TWAM will be performing at the Hispanic Fest 2015. Beautifuls, this goes beyond a twofer, it's a THREEfer!! This festival not only celebrates the Hispanic culture and has the Theater With A Mission troupe performing, but the proceeds will be going to the nonprofit United for a Good Cause Inc. This nonprofit gives gifts to needy children of the area and makes their holidays brighter with a party celebrating the season and them.

So who says you can't help the future by going into the past?? You know Babushka believes that things happen for a reason, and that the S Sisters are always ready when we are. It was with great pleasure BB was able to introduce David Triana, editor of the bilingual newspaper Conexion  to founder/director of TWAM Ben Gunter. And even greater pleasure when David decided he wanted to bring TWAM to the festival. He saw the vision and the reason for TWAM and how by connecting us to our Spanish past and the glory that was the Spanish Golden Age, present generations and the future leaders of society, will be proud of their heritage and the contributions made to the world by them. Besides, it's great fun for a festival!

Cast of characters for Sept. 26 TWAM performance of "El Muerto".

Marching in to one of the mottos in the Hispanic Fest theme:  "Spain's Gift to the World!  Come see!" TWAM will perform the comedic, one act farce by Francisco Bernardo de Quiros "El Muerto" . Written in the 1600's it's the timeless tale of how Love always finds a way.  Pero here, in both English & Spanish is a better description of the play.

BUENISIMO verdad? And it's even better in person!!

Hope you can join us for this wonderful production and wonderful festival,
 pero si no, pueden donar to these two great non profits and do your part in helping create a better mañana.

United For A Good Cause Inc.
Theater With A Mission

Y con eso BB se va corriendo.

Sweetie and I will be leaving to the beautiful Emerald Coast  today and this was supposed to be just a short little post. 

 Que?? Ok si, JU SO FONII !!! 

You're correcto; this is neither short nor little. 

Talked a lot and am running late, Cubana al fin. 

Told 'ya BB was proud of her heritage.

; )

Babushka Besos a todos. Cuidensen.

#CarnavalMiami2015 - Charity Cha Cha Cha

#spon

HolaHolaHola My Beautifuls!!!

The craziness of Carnaval has started to pick up steam in Miami. Mira el schedule.

Wow and Woah. Quite a list verdad? 

That's a lotta action going on, and as BB mentioned in the last post, it's organized by a staff of 4 and countless volunteers of the Little Havana Kiwanis. So there's the charity Cha Cha Cha, a lot of bailando for a cause they believe in. ALL these events are organized by the Little Havana Kiwanis to benefit the underpriviledged of the community.  Si, these are all fun, but they're fundraisers too. 

Babushka's very honored and proud to be one of the Carnaval Miami VIP Bloggers. 

Si, very honored to help this great organization and their cause and hope you join us in some of the activities.  If you can't come in person, please help us spread the wonderful events they have by tweeting #CarnavalMiami2015 and if you see #CarnavalMiaVIP you know it's one of the bloggers chosen for the varied categories, so a RT would be mucho appreciated. In another post Babushka will detail all the other wonderful reps of Carnaval Miami. For now, know that BB's tema is Cultura/Culture. Quee? JU SO FONII!!! No, they're not saying BB's cultured, just that she knows about the Culture of Calle Ocho, Little Havana.

Por supuesto, a big part of that is food, so you KNOW Babushka's not missing this one!

"Emceed by nationally acclaimed personality Chef Pepin, the cooking contest is judged by catering managers and local television personalities instructed to select the winning recipes based on the originality, presentation and flavor of the dish.

The contest presents cash awards to top three choices within the categories of General Public, High School and Vocational Education students."

Hope to see you at the event or Tweety, 

where Babushka will be sharing the delicias the judges are tasting.  

#CarnavalMiami2015

#CarnavalMiaVIP

#CarnavalCooks

BB2U

Enough Talk the Talk- Let's all Walk the Walk!! #StopTheStigma

  RAISE $100 AND GET A SPECIAL NAMIWALKS TSHIRT- FREE!!

 The Easy, Peasy Way to Raise $100

• $10 - Your Personal Donation              $10
• $15 - From Spouse or Parent               $15
•  $10   - From a Work Colleague           $10
• $10 - From 2 Friends at Church           $20
• $5 - From 4 Neighbors                           $20
• $10 - From 2 Family Members              $20
• $5 - From Teacher or School Friends  $5

                                        TOTAL                        $100

7 POINTS

EXPLAINING WHY NAMIWALKS IS AN EVENT 

YOUR COMPANY SHOULD SUPPORT 

1. The Issue & Stigma. This Walk is for an issue – Mental Illness – that many think is the 

“last thing to come out of the closet.” The Fear of Stigma is so great and the Walks are 

giving people the opportunity to come together and make public discourse about mental 

illness and admission of mental illness okay. 

2. Inclusivity. The Walk is “inclusive.” We invite other mental health constituencies to 

join us at the Walk with materials about their programs. (Note: We are not sharing 

revenue. This is a NAMI fundraiser.) 

3. Validation and Good Will. The Walk and its participants are part of a movement much 

bigger than themselves. People will be walking in NAMIWalks in cities across the 

country. People are hungry for this validation. Business sponsors of the Walk will be 

in a very visible and positive position with great goodwill to be gained from the 

community. 

4. Benefit to Employers. NAMI programs are grassroots, volunteer driven programs that 

provide education and support to family members and individuals living with mental 

illness. These programs are not provided anywhere else in the mental health system 

and help employees without any cost to employers. Twenty to twenty-five percent of 

employees are touched by mental illness in some meaningful way and can benefit 

from NAMI programs without charge. 

5. Evaluation. NAMI affiliates evaluate the efficacy of their programs and strive to 

maximize measurable results. NAMI Greater Orlando will use our Walk funding to train 

additional teachers so we can expand our Family-to-Family, Basics and Peer-to-Peer 

programs in response to heavy public demand. 

6. Gratitude. We receive emails and phone calls every single day from people who say 

“Thank you so much for doing this!” and then they proceed to tell their stories – often 

for the first time. 

7. Competence and Commitment. We have a very committed and capable Walk 

Steering Committee. They will make sure the entire Walk effort is exemplary. 

Broward County Sponsor Brochure

Greater Orlando Sponsorship Brochure

Lake Sumter Sponsorship Brochure

Miami Sponsorship Brochure

Palm Beach County Sponsorship Brochure

HolaHolaHola My Beautifuls!!  Que?? You thought Babushka was just going to post the NAMI information and that's all??  JU SO FONII!!!  BB said enough talk the talk, never said no more talk! Cubana al fin...

Right now the NUNCA ALONE team has 2 registered walkers.  Sonia Guerra (aka as Babushka on Valium) and my dear childhood friend Howard Cohen- who happens to be a registered and licensed counselor.  Those S Sisters are slick verdad??  Continuing.

AUXILIO!! SOS!! HELP!!

Let's share this, Tweety,Feibu, Instagram, Pinterest, and even good old fashioned phone calls y emails!!  We CAN do this and help #StopTheStigma - if anyone can do this it is you My Beautifuls.  Please register for the team,donate,share- whatever your heart calls you to do.  And from BB's corazon and in the name of my daughter and myself.  1000x Gracias.

Babushka Besos a todos.  Cuidensen.

P.S. Babushka's plea is in gratitude for NAMI's help during my daughter's hospitalization. 

 The complete story can be found on the top of this post - click on #StopTheStigma for the campaign information.

P.P.S. For those not familiar w/Babushka's style, most of the colored words are links. 

 What can I say?  I find color makes the world (and my blog) purtier.

; )  

#SMCSFBlog