“Dear Santa, I was good. I gave my brother a hug and I shared my candy with him. I cleaned my room and got all As and one B in school. I don’t say bad words. Please take your medicine so you’re not sick again this year because I tried my mostest best to be on the nice list even though Malik make fun of me I did not punch him.”
The above is just a small portion of a handwritten note from a 6-year-old boy (one of twins), followed by his very long wish list. The reason he asked Santa to take his medicine is because last year the two boys and their mom had to flee a bad situation just before Christmas and couldn’t buy them anything, so she told the boys that Santa was sick. They are going to have a much better Christmas this year!
TIS THE SEASON! A MESSAGE FROM OUR FOUNDER.
Although we are well into the Christmas season and our Spirit of Christmas program, we continue to help families and individuals with beds, furniture and household items; ensure kids get gifts for their (December) birthdays; provide needed supplies to those who are homeless; and do much more. Need does not take a vacation even during the holidays!
If you’d like to help with our Christmas program, please see our article below.
YES, VIRGINIA, WE ARE STILL TAKING DONATIONS FOR ALL OF OUR OTHER PROGRAMS!
In December, you can bring donations to us on Saturdays, Dec 17 or Dec 31, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at our Marietta warehouse. Email brenda@simpleneedsga.org for the address or with questions.
(Or, if you’d like, you can bring donations between Dec 18 and 23 since we’ll be at our space those days from 10am until 5pm working on our Christmas program.)
For a list of what we need for our programs, with the most needed items on top, please visit:
SNGA’S SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS IS GEARING UP!
Our Spirit of Christmas program gets bigger every year. We already have a wait list! That typically doesn’t happen until about December 20. (We need to get our current kids sponsored before we can add any more.)
A great “giving back” opportunity for families, civic organizations, churches and other groups, Spirit of Christmas relies on referrals from school social workers and others to make the holidays brighter for children and families in need. Once we get started, we don’t stop—right up until Christmas Eve.
In 2021, our volunteers and donors came together to give requested gifts to over 300 children in about 100 families, all of whom, in addition, received extras like board games and hats, gloves and scarves. Parents also received a $50 Walmart card.
You as the sponsor of the child or family can provide these additional items, or Simple Needs GA will. Or for a $115 donation, you can virtually sponsor a child and we’ll do the shopping.
Click here if you want to help specific kids either by shopping or virtually sponsoring. And click here if you’d like to volunteer the week prior to Christmas.
To receive all of the details regarding how you can help out with Christmas, email brenda@simpleneedsga.org.
JUST A FEW THANK-YOUS!
Shout out to systems analyst Louie McIlwain and the rest of the WellStar Enterprise Integration team for spending $500 on much-prized items for our clients, including multiple Kindle Fire tablets and cases along with notebooks and copies of Leigh Bardugo’s popular Shadow and Bone book series.
“This was a Giving Tuesday gift from Louie and the WellStar team, and these items will go to My Birthday Matters clients as well as participants in our Spirit of Christmas program,” Brenda said. “We’d also like to acknowledge Louie’s other important role—he’s married to Mac, one of our most dedicated volunteers. Thanks so much to you both!”
Indefatigable Cobb County philanthropist Kim Gresh, owner and President of SA White Oil Co., has been a huge supporter of Simple Needs GA over the years. On November 15, Kim and her entire team at SA White came through for our clients yet again by collecting a huge number of donations. (They also pay for all the gas in our truck—a critical contribution given the miles we log every week picking up and delivering furniture.)
“It was extremely rewarding to load the Simple Needs GA truck up with everything from baby socks to coloring books and know we were helping our neighbors who need it the most,” SA White said in a Facebook post.
Every November 15, the company celebrates the anniversary of founder Samuel Alfred (SA) White’s birthday by giving back. Fittingly, this year SA White day happened to correspond to National Philanthropy Day. “Supporting the community through local nonprofits and organizations is incredibly important to us, as it was instilled in the organization by SA White himself many years back,” SA White noted in that Facebook post. “So, celebrating both ‘holidays’ on the same day just made sense!”
ADDITIONAL WAYS TO HELP SNGA’S CLIENTS
HOLD A FACEBOOK BIRTHDAY FUNDRAISER
“I want to thank Simple Needs GA for all you did for my son and me. You helped us with beds so we didn’t have to sleep on the floor, as well as providing a wonderful birthday package for my son’s seventh birthday! That was so awesome of you guys. I appreciate it wholeheartedly. You’re amazing!”
Receiving notes like this is part of what keeps our donors and volunteers so motivated to give back to our community. A great way you can help support our programs is by holding a Facebook birthday or other fundraiser.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE THROUGH RECURRING DONATIONS
If you donate 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” buttons and then check “make this donation recurring (monthly).” You can use your credit card or a PayPal account for these donations. Another option: 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
DONATE VIA AMAZON SMILE!
Amazon Smile allows you to support SNGA even as you shop on your iPad or phone: 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! This can really add up over time. Just remember to go to the smile.amazon.com portal before you do your shopping!
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Click here for our Walmart registry.
Click here for our Amazon registry.
Click here for our furniture donation guidelines (email photos to brenda@simpleneedsga.org).
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF PEOPLE IN NEED IN COBB COUNTY!
Simple Needs GA 