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!