Help us find the right child in need of a NEW outdoor playset

Do you know that there is a group working to provide Christmas for poor and homeless children right here in the Edmonds School District? Holly House works with 15 schools in ESD, providing parents a chance to shop for free pajamas, socks, toys and other necessities.

This month, we have a new “Step Up” play set for 2 to 6 year olds, to give away. Do you know a child who could use a fun to play on, back yard play set?

To nominate a child or siblings you think needs a play set:
Please email pjkringle@comcast.net. (Limit submissions to 500 words.)

Include:

• The child’s/children’s first name/s only
• Their age/s
• Tell us why you think they should receive a new play set

Members of the Holly House team will select one recipient July 15, 2015, based on need, family situation, and/or other factors. Be sure to include your name and contact information so if your nominee is chosen we can reach you!

Interested in helping Holly House all year round? Visit our volunteer sign up page for more information.

The play set winner/s will be photographed and pictures will be used in Holly House materials*. Nominees must currently reside in the Edmonds School District.

We know that there are many children deserving of this gift and we will receive many submissions; please do your best to give a brief account of their story while still giving important details to help us understand their need.

Many children WANT a new play set, we are looking for kids who truly NEED one.

*The winner will require parent or guardian permission.

Congratulations Pam Martinez, KIRO's Hometown Hero June 2015

We are very pleased to announce that our Executive Director, Pam Martinez, was the recipient of the KIRO Radio 97.3FM Hometown Hero Award for June, 2015. Nominations are received from community members to recognize an exceptional citizen in the local community who has impacted and inspired others. We are so pleased for Pam to have received this recognition, it is well deserved! She puts 110% into everything she does for the kids supported by Holly House, often sacrificing her own needs.

Below is the story as shown on KIRO's Hometown Heroes Page:
"Pam Martinez of Lynnwood learned many children in her community were going to school without socks, coats and underwear, so she made it her mission to help those children. In 2006 she founded Holly House, a holiday gift program that provides children with gifts and necessities.

Pam dedicates her time fundraising and collecting donations to provide gifts for over 2,000 children in her school district.

Because of Pam's tenacity and care, KIRO Radio and your community credit union, WSECU are proud to honor Pam as a Hometown Hero and award her with $2,000 as a way to say thank you for all that you do."


Listen to the promotional segment that will be played on the radio announcing her as the June 2015 Hometown Hero!



Way to go Pam, we are so lucky to have you at the helm of Holly House.
~ Jen Winckler, Blog Manager

Holly House: May update

You may or may not know that our Director, Pam, is busy as a bee all year long making sure everything is ready for the event in December. Several dedicated volunteers work alongside her and help when needed, but there is always need for more!

Here are some updates of what's been going on behind the scenes at Holly House:

Lots of dolls to dress still! 

• The event location used the past 3 years is no longer available to us, so a new one has been secured. A team of volunteers is going to look at it on June 15th to ponder logistics and new challenges with a new location. 

• Our new website is close to launching (it will link up to this blog).

• We are close to submitting all of the paperwork for becoming an official 501(c)(3) and will no longer need a fiscal sponsor. 

• We are scheduling another Dress the Cabbage Patch Doll party soon- we are still looking for doll accessories (see link for details)! 

• 3 grants have been submitted, with more in the works. GRANT WRITERS are needed! 

New toys ready for new homes

• Partnered with Clothes For Kids to maximize the influence of both of our organizations - we both serve the same student population in the Edmonds School District. 

• Mountlake Terrace Senior Center donation bin is half full. Thank you! Donations accepted year round here and at Armadillo Storage. 

• Conducting Board Member interviews. If you would like to interview for the Board or think you know someone who would be a great board member, please contact us! 

• Fall Fundraiser determined - Save the date! Dine at Macaroni Grill Alderwood - September 23rd.  More details to come. 

• Accepted an invitation to have a booth at the Mountlake Terrace National Night Out, Tuesday August 4th, 6-9pm. (See calendar here for more information). We will also be holding a sock and underwear drive at this event.

Many things still need YOUR help! Please contact Pam if there is something that fits your skill set. 

Donations for teens needed

• Grant writers - we rely 100% on donations and grants to fund our work. The more grants we can apply for and receive, the more we can help our kids. 
• Teen gift collection - our teens often do not have enough items at our event. We are putting a focus on seeking donations for this age group (art sets, cosmetics, sports equipment, headphones, gift cards, etc). Some of you pledged to purchase a new item for our teens every month as a New Year's Resolution - how is that going?
• Fall Fundraiser - a steady income is required to keep Holly House functioning. How can we meet our financial needs? Ideas and volunteer involvement are both still needed for this big task.
• Board Members - we are actively seeking Board Members who can bring experience, dedication, financial backers and planning, and enthusiasm to our team. Will you join us? 
• Warehouse space is still desperately needed - does anyone have a contact to introduce us to?

That's the update from last month. Whew! What a lot to cram in to one month. 

Thank you for your continued support. Our network of supporters has doubled over the last year! 

Cabbage Patch dolls get a makeover

Everyone hard at work getting dolls dressed

Volunteers of all ages came to our "Dress 200 Cabbage Patch Dolls" work party last week, and it was a huge success. Although we didn't get all of the dolls refurbished, we made a huge dent in the project. It was a gorgeous sunny day so we pulled the tables outside the storage unit and went to work. It was so much fun. We had several youngsters helping as well. We can't wait to do it again!

If you have gently used Cabbage Patch Dolls and/or accessories that we can put in their little hands, let us know. We want every doll to come with accessories. Did you know that Preemie baby clothes fit the dolls perfectly? We could sure use more:
- clothes
- shoes
- socks
- plain preemie diapers
- pacifiers
- doll baby bottles
- small stuffed animals
- My Little pony sizes toys, etc.

Robin showing off some finished dolls

Several of our volunteers took some work home - dolls that needed some TLC (fixing hairdos, mending clothes, removing marker that previous owners used to draw on their faces, etc.). We had a few ladies from the Mountlake Terrace Senior Center join us, and one of them was overheard saying "Dressing dollies made me think of my childhood." Imagine the look on a child's face Christmas morning; opening a gift of a doll with accessories that has been meticulously groomed and styled just for them.

We have many volunteer opportunities, and this is one of them. If doing something like this is interesting to you, please contact us here on the blog (click the Contact button on the right)! You can also stay up to date on volunteer opportunities like this by checking the calendar on the Volunteer page.

First ever Fundraiser Gala was a huge success!

Guests having a ball raising their paddles

Well, we did it!! Our Gala Committee put in many hours of hard work to pull off an amazing event that helped us raise just over $13,000 for Holly House. If you were one of our guests, we are so grateful that you joined us. If you missed it this year, please plan for next year! We'd love to have you in on the fun.

Many of our supporters were unaware that kids go to school without socks and underwear, or sleep in cold rooms because heat is not a luxury they can afford. The pajamas, necessities, and coats are not just gifts during the holidays, they are basic needs that often go unmet. Holly House is more than just toys and gift giving - it's helping families provide things to their children than they so desperately wish they could, but just can't at the moment. Many of our clients become volunteers because they want to give back to the organization that helped them at a time when they needed it.

One of our clients sharing her
experience with Holly House

One of the highlights of the night was hearing from two of the mothers of families supported by Holly House. Their moving stories brought a feeling to the room that was both inspiring and humbling. The work that Holly House is able to do because of volunteers and donors is truly appreciated by our clients, and hearing it in person makes it very motivating to want to continue.

At the Gala (which was held at the Mountlake Terrace Senior Center) photos with Alice in Wonderland characters were taken, raffle tickets purchased, silent auction items were won, live auction items were fought over, and in the end, money was raised for Holly House to continue to support the 2,000 kids we serve in 15 Edmonds School District Schools. We also collected from guests quite a few bags of donations of toys, stuffed animals, and other items that they brought to contribute to the cause.

Hot, cold, and passed appetizers
plus desserts filled our plates

What a spread we had, thanks to the Red Dragon Casino! There was wine, dessert, and lots of laughter. Troy McVickers was our MC and auctioneer and encouraged everyone to participate; from the sounds in the room and the looks on people's faces, he really did a wonderful job.

Thanks to David Pan from MLTnews.com for writing an amazing piece for the online papers, and David Carlos for taking beautiful photographs. You can find the article here - please check it out and read more about the evening! Go to our Facebook page to find the photo album with all of the photos from the night. Feel free to share any you have taken as well!

Photo booth fun

PHOTO BOOTH: If you chose to partake in the photo booth at the event, you can find your photos here. Thank you Heidi Marletto for donating your photo booth.

Some of the live auction items

Thank you to our sponsors for the night: Red Dragon Casino, Thrivent Financial, System Solutions of WA, Pinnacle Electric, Electonic Business Machines, Golden Insurance, LLC, and Aramark. In addition, all of our auction items were donated by local businesses; without them, our Gala wouldn't have been the success it was. A huge thank you to the Holly House volunteers who gave tirelessly to plan, decorate, organize, and execute a magical evening; Karen Orstad, Lisa Alfie, Ingrid Adams, Cherry Smith, Janine Kirkpatrick, Ella Nakamura, Monty Reed, Aimee LePage, Jen Winckler, Leslie Smith, Milt Culver, Annie Nygaard, Briana Wirtz, Kim Gorney, Cindy Goodman, Alicia Carter, and the crew of High School students - we couldn't have done it without you all!!!

Gala Auction item preview

We are blessed to have many exciting items up for auction during our Gala on March 7th. Thank you to our generous donors for making these part of our event! Come experience a live auctioneer and get ready to have some fun. We will also be offering a silent auction for some of these items. PLUS, a raffle - where a ticket will earn you a chance to win some great items, and you don't need to be part of the bidding process.

All proceeds go to operational costs for Holly House 2015. Bring your checkbook for easy checkout! Don't have tickets yet? Purchase them here.

7 Night Stay in Lake Chelan: Privately owned 2 bedroom/2 bathroom ground floor condo. (Details and restrictions available at Gala) Value $2,100

Chihuly Glass and Garden Exhibit and lunch for 4. You and three friends will enjoy all this exhibition has to offer!  In the Exhibition Hall, Glasshouse and Garden, you’ll view a presentation of Chihuly’s significant series of work including the suspended Glasshouse Sculpture.  Stroll through the Garden day or night and enjoy the installations juxtaposed with the natural environment.  Enjoy the dishes in the Collection Cafe as you’re surrounded by Chihuly’s personal collections.  Two exhibition catalogs are yours to keep as mementos of this experience.  $250 value

Other live auction items include: 

• Lynnwood Police officer citizen ride along experience (6 hours)
• Pool party for up to 25 people at the Lynnwood Recreation Center $195 value
• Gift certificate for 4 to Edmonds Performing Arts center "Sing-a-long Grease". Friday April 24th 7:30pm. $60 value
• Handcrafted "Frozen" themed girl's bedroom set
• 2 American Girl 20” Dolls with outfits
• Mariner Moose and 2 opening day game tickets + more
• 2 different wine tasting experiences
• Instant wine cellar (12 bottles)
• Cooking class for 2 at Tom Douglas' Hot Stove Society Cooking School

Silent Auction

Our Silent auction will be teeming with activity as well. Here's a sampling of what will be available at the Gala for bidding: 

• 2 Miche Purses
• Pamper Me (female) basket
• Theater tickets (Driftwood Players)
• Melissa & Doug puzzle & toy basket
• Restaurant gift certificates
• Cake Pop Basket
• Coffee Basket
• Wine and Chocolate Basket
• ...and more!!

Please join us for this fun-filled night, and help support the 2,000 low-income children in the 15 Edmonds School District schools that we will be supporting this year during the holidays. Helps us make this an event to remember! 

Volunteer spotlight: Gala committee member, 13 year old Leslie Smith

Here at Holly House, we are always thankful for our volunteers, but occasionally one comes into our folds that truly is a treasure.

Meet Leslie Smith, a 13 year old high school student who is very interested in giving back to the community. She worked her heart out for 3 days at the Holly House Event in the pajama booth and is currently serving on the Gala Committee.

She says "I loved the feeling - I loved seeing the people get their stuff and how happy they were." For Leslie, it not only was a fun experience, but she really enjoyed seeing the looks on people's faces and to see who the gifts are going to and hear why they need them.

She's currently working with the Gala Committee because she had a desire to keep helping Holly House and has had lots of fun meeting every week. She's gone to local businesses asking for donations and sponsorships, and sold tickets to people at her dad's Windermere office. She's personally advocating that parents of her friends join us on March 7th, in addition to volunteering year round with Holly House. Her drive and enthusiasm are contagious and just what is needed in our community.

Leslie wants people to know how fun and rewarding it is to volunteer and pay it forward in your local community. It's also important to recognize how many people are in need of help. For her, Holly House is the perfect way to do that.

Leslie's mom, Cherry Smith, says that her daughter wants people to look outside of themselves and see how much need there is, compared to how many of us have so much. Sometimes the simplest gift is not giving gifts but giving time, reaching out and helping.

Leslie would encourage people to volunteer, to help kids like her who would go without if not for you and your generous spirit. People coming to Holly House so desperately in need for their kids and are so appreciative. Leslie has seen this first hand and has been a great outreach ambassador for Holly House.

“I think she is pretty awesome!” says mom, Cherry Smith. We couldn't agree more.

Thank you Leslie!!

Please join us for our March 7th Gala, and meet Leslie and many of our other great volunteers.