“I’ve been in tears all day knowing my children will get gifts for Christmas thanks to your organization.”
–Mom whose kids will be getting gifts through our Spirit of Christmas program
“Thank you to the people of Simple Needs GA for helping me furnish my first home with furniture and appliances. You took such a big load off my shoulders! I am so grateful for your help!”
–SNGA furniture client who just moved into a house built by Habitat for Humanity
NEXT DONATION DRIVE IS DEC. 15!
Greetings, all.
We’ve had such a rewarding and busy couple of months, with our open house, Santa visit/pics for clients’ children (see article below), a huge GAgives/Giving Tuesday event, ramping up for our Spirit of Christmas program and more. Did we say Christmas? See our article below on how you can sponsor a child!
Let’s keep the momentum going: Our next monthly Donation Drive is Sat., Dec. 15, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at our Marietta warehouse.
If you can’t make it on Dec. 15, we’ll have drives next month on Jan. 5 and Jan. 19. Mark your calendars!
In addition to winter outerwear for people of all ages and sizes, our clients need:
BRAND NEW: kitchen garbage cans, mops and brooms, boy’s socks for ages 5 and up, books for tweens, small “shopping” bags to put smaller items in for kids who are in pre-K or younger (older kids get backpacks), Amazon Fire 7 tablets (when you see them on sale).
NEW OR GENTLY USED: microwaves, DVD players, baking pans/cookie sheets, large serving bowls, hand towels, bath rugs, sheets (esp. full and twin), blankets and comforters (all sizes), air mattresses, mattress pads (all sizes esp queen), dish sets (no random needed), water pitchers, shower rings.
CURRENT FURNITURE NEEDS (NEW OR GENTLY USED): mattresses and box springs, kitchen tables and chairs, couches, dressers or chests of drawers, TV stands, nightstands, coffee tables, small desks and bookshelves.
If you would like to donate larger (essential) furniture, please email photos to brenda@simpleneedsga.org. If you can deliver, GREAT! If not, include address as well (pick up in Cobb County only).
One of our goals for our furniture clients is for them to not spend too many nights sleeping on the floor. We do not receive enough donations of mattresses and box springs, so we often need to purchase them.We welcome financial contributions toward the purchase of those.
Additional donor resources:
SNGA client Amazon Wish List
Our updated list of client needs
List of small household items SNGA clients are offered
SANTA DAY AT SNGA!
All of us remember going to the mall and having our pictures made with Santa as a kid. This year, we thought it would be great to give our clients’ children the same opportunity. On Dec. 8, local Santa Dean Rowan dropped by our warehouse to pose for pictures with client children of all ages. Everyone had an absolute blast, said SNGA Founder Brenda Rhodes. “Our Santa was amazing, the decorations were beautiful, and the client families really enjoyed themselves doing arts and crafts, eating some food and seeing Jolly St. Nick,” she said. “We definitely want to do this again next year and welcome those who would like to come by and experience this wonderful event!”
Special thanks to Scott Denton, our photographer, as well as all of the volunteers who made Santa day happen. Several of our regular volunteers helped out as well as some of Brenda’s Leadership Cobb C16 classmates. And a shout out to Lisa Majeski for the wonderful and creative decorations!
[PICTURED: SNGA board members Jen Sypeck (with Santa) and Alicia Putnam (elf ears) and Brenda (antlers)]
VOLUNTEERS AND DONORS NEEDED NOW FOR ‘SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS’
Our Spirit of Christmas program relies on referrals from school social workers and others to make the holidays brighter for children and families in need. We’re kicking into full gear now with a burst of activity that will last right up until Christmas Eve. That’s because we help families that, for any number of reasons, were unable to sign up for other programs earlier. We want them to experience the Spirit of Christmas just the same. In 2017, we supplied Christmas gifts to 158 Cobb County kids from 54 families, and these numbers will likely climb again this year.
Our goal is to provide children with three or four gifts worth $100 per child in total. Each child will also receive a hat, gloves and a scarf. Every family will receive at least one board game suited to the number of children/ages of the kids. And the parent(s) receive a $25 Walmart gift card.
Here’s this year’s SignUp Genius link for needed presents for clients!
You as the sponsor of the child or family can provide these additional items, or Simple Needs GA will. Or for a $100 donation, you can sponsor a child and we’ll do the shopping.
Click here for a rundown of how you and/or an organization that you’re a part of can help! Email Brenda@simpleneedsga.orgfor more info.
THANKS FOR SUPPORTING US ON GA GIVES/GIVING TUESDAY!
We were blown away on Nov 27 when 64! donors stepped up to support Simple Needs GA during the annual ‘GAgives on #GivingTuesday’ event. Our Facebook fundraiser brought in $7,415 (including $2,500 from the incredible parents of one of our board members) to support people in need in Cobb County. The fundraiser started by our board member Jen reached $460, we raised $495 on the GAgives website, and another $400 came in via PayPal on our website at SimpleNeedsGA.org. That’s a whopping $8,770 to provide our clients with birthday presents, new shoes, full-sized toiletries, cleaning kits and so much more! Thanks again for your amazing generosity!
KID POWER!
We love it when children get involved in SNGA. Recently our friend Becca’s daughters [PICTURED: Ella (left) and Savannah] made a large number of no-sew blankets for children in our My Birthday Matters program. So thoughtful! Thank you so much, girls! These blankets will definitely be greatly appreciated by the kids who will be receiving them!
THANKS TO MELANIE FOR A FANTASTIC OPEN HOUSE!
Founding SNGA board member Melanie Booker did a fantastic job organizing our highly successful open house this past Nov. 17. We can’t say thank-you enough to Melanie for her hard work on the food, decorations and logistics. A big shout out as well goes to all of the volunteers who helped us in so many ways. They whipped the warehouse into shape, gave tours that Saturday, and made our guests feel welcome.
By our count, we had record attendance with at least 75 guests stopping by, plus several clients (five adults and 13 children) who were there to talk about how we made their lives better. We made short work of the sandwiches and salads generously donated by Newk’s Eatery in Kennesaw, along with donuts, coffee and other goodies.
Special thanks to Krista Williams for the awesome design job she did on our new signs, which looked great hanging in different spots at the warehouse, and for the professional printing of the signs by our board member Mike Yalen.
We were also excited that two government officials from Powder Springs—City Councilmen Henry Lust and Patrick Bordelon (Mayor Pro Tem)—were kind enough to stop by the warehouse to learn more about what we do.
“I was very impressed with your group of volunteers and the kindness which they bring to their efforts,” Bordelon said. “It is important to continue to raise awareness of the needs of those members of our community who may have fallen on hard times and can use a little help getting back on their feet.”
Slated to serve as President of the Cobb Municipal Association in 2019, Bordelon even invited SNGA to speak at an upcoming meeting of the group, comprised of all the elected city officials in the county as well as the city managers and clerks. We’re greatly looking forward to it!
Thank you so much to these elected officials for taking an interest in our nonprofit!
HOLIDAY SHOPPING? DON’T FORGET ABOUT AMAZON SMILE!
No doubt about it—ecommerce is bringing about huge changes in the way people shop during the holidays. Fortunately, there’s a great way to support SNGA as you sit on your couch and knock out your Christmas shopping on your iPad. Just go to smile.amazon.com, sign up for the program and choose Simple Needs GA from the list. After that, AmazonSmile will donate to SNGA each time you make a purchase! Just remember to go to the smile.amazon.comportal before you do your shopping!
RECURRING DONATIONS – BE PART OF OUR SIMPLY CARING PROGRAM
If you regularly make donations to Simple Needs GA (or would like to!), we’d love it if you would consider making your donation automatically recur each month. Just go to SimpleNeedsGA.org, click one of the “donate” buttonsand then check “make this donation recurring (monthly).”
You can use your credit card or a PayPal account for these donations. However, if you plan to routinely donate online to SNGA, you might consider signing up for a PayPal Giving Fund account. PayPal Giving Fund charges no fees to enrolled charities, so all of your donations will go to SNGA!
Of course, you could also just mail a monthly check to:
Simple Needs GA
P.O. Box 670265
Marietta, GA 30066
THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF PEOPLE IN NEED!
Simple Needs GA 