A night of unveilings

Vino, pizzas & pickles…oh my.  Ember played host to our most recent Giving Circle meeting, and our good friend Svetlana kept the wine flowing all night with her heavy hand.  It was a night of unveilings....not only did we unveil some androgynous art, we also unveiled our new logo!  Big thanks to Amy Francis for putting together our “paper dolls” Giving Circle logo: 

Love it!  You can also check out the logo on our new facebook page and our new website (both coming very soon!)

Our pot of deniro is piling up, thanks to all your contributions (and to our trusty treasurer’s exceptional management of said contributions).  And thank you to everyone who brought something for Operation Hope.  These much-needed supplies will surely make some soldier very happy, even if they don’t include any nude photos, VHS tapes, or lighter fluid. 

Next meeting will be at Nancy Jordan’s house.  As a reminder, if you feel the need to bring something, just bring a bottle of wine; the host will provide any vittles (so you should also come with low expectations..). For our monthly outreach, we're collecting new childrens’ bathing suits for Sowing Seeds.  Also, our speakers next month will be there to bring awareness on the Marshfield Boys & Girls Club. 

And speaking of raising awareness, we know there are many, many organizations out there that could probably benefit from the activities of our group, yet for whatever reason remain relatively unknown to us. So, your homework for this month:  come to our next meeting with the name of one South Shore organization you think we could support, either monetarily, or just by bringing awareness of the organization to others. 

Ladies, we’re big time now.  A new logo.  A new facebook page.  A new website.  Can you stand us?  It’s a good thing Oprah quit when she did….

Salvador’s on Samoset

Apologies in advance for the late post, and the long post, but please take a minute to read.  There will be a quiz. April brought us another great get-together with the Giving Circle girls.  Big thanks to Deb Salvador for opening up her beautiful home for this month’s event! 

Kathy Spear came to speak to us about South Shore Women’s Resource Center, a Plymouth-based program designed to assist victims of domestic violence.  She provided an overview of the services they provide, as well as some scary statistics about domestic violence.  The SSWRC has several volunteer opportunities for anyone interested.  Kristin will email this information to the group as soon as she receives it from Kathy.

Deb spoke to us about her involvement with the Marshfield Council on Aging.  Who knew that in her spare time Deb was out carting around Marshfield Seniors (senior citizens, not MHS seniors…), driving them to doctor’s appointments, helping them pick out a few groceries, and just offering her friendship and companionship?  If you’re interested and have a little spare time in your day, check out their web site for volunteer opportunities, or call 781.834.5581.

Open Mic Night.  A few ladies spoke about random Giving Circle -related topics….

Recruit!  Janet reminded us to continue trying to recruit new members.  Keep telling people about this wonderful group, and don’t get discouraged if people don’t immediately ask where they can sign up.  It’s not for everyone, but it can’t hurt to keep talking about us and getting the word out; you never know who’s listening :)  And as Kristin mentioned in her email, the more members, the larger our donation, the more significant the impact!

Monthly refreshments…to avoid an overabundance of food and drink (or worse, an underabundance…), we decided on the following “rule” when our monthly event is being held at someone’s house:  everyone can bring along a bottle of wine, but the host will supply the food.  One exception to this rule: Liz can bring her chocolate balls whenever she wants.  Humidity or no humidity.

Thanks to everyone who brought something for the Pembroke Food Pantry!  Next month’s donation will be for OPERATION HOPE.  This is an organization run by a “sweet little old lady” Kristin met recently.  She sends ‘care packages’ to our soldiers serving overseas, and can always use donations!  So please bring a small item for donation to Operation Hope to our next meeting.  Basically, she can use everyday products for our soldiers to help them cope with living away from home in a hot/dry climate: chapstick, sunblock, deodorant, instant coffee, ramen noodles, ‘instant’ tuna packs, dried food, cereal, Doritos, crystal lite, band-aids, Tylenol, playing cards, notebooks, notecards, pens, and the coveted item of soldiers everywhere: lollipops.  On the “can not use” list – anything in a pressurized can, anything glass, home-baked goods, nude photos (got that, Nicole?), hardcover books, VHS tapes (that’s right…), lighters, matches, or lighter fluid.  Hey, you can never be too safe.

Next month's meeting: May 19^th at EMBER ~ see you all there!

Slainte!

Despite the lure of green beer, drunken mics, and Irish pubs everywhere, many of you were still able to attend this month’s Giving Circle meeting – and some even proudly wore their green! J 



"What do you think,
girls, is it me?!"

Lyn Evans Potpourri Designs was our gracious host, providing complimentary wine & snacks, and beautiful clothes for us to peruse. And we worked those dressing rooms all night, resulting in a few purchases, and $150 donation to the Giving Circle! Thank you Potpourri Designs, and thank you once again Janet Palmieri for setting this up.  The Debbies took home the Charlie Sheen Winning! awards, each winning a $50 Lyn Evans gift certificate! Congratulations Debbie Dyckman and Debbie Salvador J   

On a more serious note, Mark Porzio, president & founder of Friends of Julie, came and spoke to us.  Friends of Julie is a non-profit organization that strives to offer memory making experiences to families who are faced with the realities of a late stage cancer diagnosis. Not sure about the rest of you, but I felt a tear or two welling up when Mark introduced us to his daughter Cammie, and told us about not only the struggles they faced when their wife/mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, but also the wonderful memories they made with their remaining time together.  Check out the Friends of Julie site, or better yet, sign up to participate in their upcoming 5k.



Mark Porzio & Kathy O'Donnell, standing in front of one of the tops I was hoping to win $50 for...

Thanks to all for their donations to Carolina Hill Shelter – Kristin dropped off over 200 diapers, wipes, baby shampoos & lotions, and a nice assortment of onesies, pjs and blankets.

One more big thanks to Kristin Dewey for all the work and countless hours she’s been putting into all the paperwork that’s required for us to become a 501(c)(3) organization.

PLEASE NOTE the change in date and venue for our April meeting.  We'll be meeting on Thursday, April 28 at Debbie Salvador's home!  See you next month :)

February Meeting

While our first meeting occurred one of the many snowy nights we’ve seen this winter, our second took place on what seemed to be the first day of spring.  And what better way to celebrate than with great company, great food, and great wine, all for a great cause?  Once again we met at Kristin Dewey’s house – thank you Kristin (and thank you Frank! :) for your hospitality.  And thank you to all you ladies who brought the delicious vittles for us to nosh on…..it was difficult to tear myself away from that counter.

Another big thank you to everyone who brought an item for the Marshfield Food Pantry – over 50 items were donated and brought to the pantry last week!

Kristin spoke about the South Shore Women’s Resource Center (SSWRC), a nonprofit community-based agency that serves victims of domestic violence and their families in 16 communities on the South Shore. The agency also offers bereavement counseling to family and friends of people who have been murdered, killed in combat, were victims of terrorism, or are surviving victims of vehicular homicide, as well as services for children age three and older who have witnessed violence in the home, school, or other setting.  For 30 years the SSWRC has provided free and confidential services, including counseling, legal advocacy, community training and education, a 24-hour emergency Hotline, and emergency shelter placement.  Their site is still under construction, so please check back in a couple weeks.

When you get a moment, please take a look at the fabulous article Stephanie wrote for South Shore Women about our first Giving Circle meeting:  http://southshorewoman.com/issue/february-2011/article/kristins-kitchen. Nicely said, Stephanie!

If applicable, please check with your companies to see if they offer corporate matches.  We are in the process now of applying for a license under the Massachusetts Charitable organization and should have our “official” tax exempt status by the end of April.

REMINDER: The March meeting will be held at Lyn Evans – Potpourri Designs in Hanover.  Ten percent of all purchases we make that night will be donated back to our organization, and one lucky lady will win a $100 Lyn Evans gift certificate!  Lyn Evans will also be providing snacks and cocktails (side note: uh...does this include Kristin & Nicole’s CUPCAKES?!?!? ;).  Thank you to Janet for setting this up.

Looking forward, our April meeting will be held at ORTA in Pembroke!