The set-up today for the Patterson Family went very well, thanks to the super help given by Paulette Rapp, Sue Forbes and Mary Morley.  Pat Lester had hoped to join us but was called in to work. She stopped by the Bin before we left with her usual great contributions.  Fresh groceries for the family, beautiful flowers from her garden, some great kitchen tools and books and toys for the children, including two little baskets which she had filled with some fun things for little Justin and Rianne.

I can't remember who donated this lovely quilt, pillow shams and bed skirt, but it really looked comfortable and welcoming in the Mom's room.

I loved the children's room. Rianne on the left and Justin on the right.  Cuddly, stuffed animals and the darling Cuties made by the Fourth Graders at Topanga Elementary School created a cozy welcome.  Pat Lester's baskets can be seen by the side of each bed and I'm sure the children will love what's inside.  Lots of books for them in the bedside table will hopefully help foster a love of reading.  

Here's the chest of drawers in the children's room.  The darling framed picture of the Lab was drawn by one of our volunteer's daughters and hopefully the children will be inspired by the art supplies, crayons, colored pencils, paper, etc. that we left for them and create their own beautiful pictures.

There were lots of clothes in the drawers for the children, plus a few cute dresses, a jacket and some jeans for Rianne.  Brand new games for them, 

including indoor bowling that 

Pat brought this morning.

 

 Paulette set up the  bathroom and it looked terrific.  Here she is putting her finishing touches in place.  I can't believe that I don't have any pictures other than this one of the bath because there was something really serene about the color palette. 

Below are a couple of shots of the kitchen.  

The fridge and the cabinets were filled with some wonderful food for the family.

 

 

I love these bright place mats and the beautiful flowers that Pat brought for the set-up.  The vase?  
A brightly painted coffee can!

And then a committee from the Salvation Army wanted to come up and see what a 'decorated' unit looks like.  Here's Paulette chatting with one of the ladies.

We weren't the only ones taking pictures!  Here's the new 

Director at the Westwood Transitional Village, Diane Good, 
laughing with me about

 the duelling camera action going on!

 Mary Morley is explaining just what it is that we do.

Notes and pictures were taken and we felt most satisfied that the 

Patterson family will love their new home.

Before we left, Lissette Maldonado brought up a couple of thank you notes 

from the Cotton Family and their daughter, Evyn. 

They read as follows:

Thank you very much for all of the things you left in the apartment for my family.  Your help in this difficult time in our lives was truly a blessing and it helped our transition move along a little smoother.  Our daughter, Evyn, was really excited to have her own room with accessories!  once we are thru the program, we hope to be able to bless someone as you have blessed us.  It meant so much to come in and be able to cook a meal for my family.

Thank you, The Cottons

And then another note from 14-year old Evyn.

Ladies at Westwood,

Thank you so much!  I Love my room and everything that is in it! 

I love the clothes, shoes, conferter [sic] and even the stuff that was on the dresser!  I greatly appreciate everything. Thank you for letting us stay here.

Evyn

As Mary Morley said after reading the notes, this makes me want to do more.
Knowing how greatly the small things we do are appreciated by these families
is all the encouragement we need.  

Keep up the good work, Ladies of the Canyon!

Our Last Two Set-Ups

Here are some photos of our last two set-ups at Westwood.  I'm sure you will all see some of your donations in these pictures, including fresh oranges and avocados (thank you April!), beautiful flowers (thanks Pat Lester!).  Everything went smoothly and instead of rambling on, I'll let the pictures tell the story.

This first group of photos shows a three-bedroomed unit that we readied for a mom and her five children.  The three girls shared a bedroom and the two boys were in another.  Thanks to all who helped. 

 Every little boy needs a cuddly carrot and squirrel, right!?

 I love this puppy and I hope little Jimmy loves it, too.

 Even the chest of drawers looked welcoming.  Love this artwork!

April worked hard to put the train set together for the little boys and found a perfect spot in 

the hallway outside their bedroom.

 The boys' bathroom

 The other bathroom.  Love that duck rug!  Never let it be said that we shy away from color!

 The teen girl's bed.

 More 'stuff' for the girls!

 A shot of the girls' bedroom.  The younger girls shared the bunk and the teen was in the single bed.

 The mom's room. It looks serene and welcoming. Fresh lounging pjs on the bed.

 A jewelry box, a watch set, some make-up for the mom

 The dining room table with fresh fruits ready for the family

 Lots of books, arts and craft supplies for this young family.

 Love the fresh flowers in the tall Trader Joe coffee can!

And the photos that follow are from the set-up last Thursday. Many thanks to 

Julie Rosendo and Linda Mann

A comfortable bedroom for the parents.

A perfect room for a teen girl.

Lots of color for the bathroom.

A vase of flowers and a welcome to your new home note on the table.

An electric tea kettle and a tea pot.

Mother's Day Card Fundraiser

This is just a little update to last week's posting showing you a couple more card choices (at the very end of this posting). Hopefully, if you haven't placed your order yet, you'll do so really soon.  While the response has been good, there are still a lot of TWC volunteers who haven't yet chosen cards.  You've still got time, but choices are becoming more limited.  I've added a couple more photos of Karen's...the fabulous picture of the barn with the wild poppies and Queen Anne's Lace in the foreground.  Also, the great close-up of the Wooly Blue Curls.  I love both of these shots.

I'll get down to the Post Office shortly with our tax returns but thinking of getting them stamped with today's date reminded Karen and me that it's been quite some time since I last posted and there has been plenty going on. Many apologies for the lack of bloggy postings.  


Mother's Day is fast approaching.  As you all know, this is our most important fundraising event of the year and it is key to us being able to successfully create a home for so many needy families.  If you have not yet placed your order, please do so by April 30th so we can get these cards sent out in a timely manner.  Thanks to Catherine Grasso for hosting the meeting where a good group gathered to assemble cards and ready them for sale.  Thanks for your early orders to:  Catherine Grasso, Deborah Kashinsky, Patty Colvig, Isabel Freeman, Geraldine Flaxman, Teresa Rosati-Royer and Becca Barkin.  What a great start to our fundraiser.  Thanks also to April Hinkle for creating an 'Event' on Facebook encouraging friends to purchase a card.  What a great idea and if you haven't 'friended' April yet, it's a good idea!  And don't forget, cards can be purchased in memory of your Mom or a favorite aunt or friend.  We're happy to give you a beautiful card without the vellum insert if you just want these cards for other occasional giving.

We have great informational sheets in case you need anything to share with your friends who may want to purchase cards.  We can also make this available on line so let Karen or me know if you want us to forward you anything or if you'd like some hard copies to give to friends.  Remember, you can pick the cards up from us anytime (email or call us: kfswood@gmail.com, #1929 and linilsley@gmail.com #3850) and mail and personalize them yourselves or, if you'd like for us to send them, we will need the information below.  

• Your name and how you would like the card to be signed (i.e., With love, In friendship, etc)
• The Name and Address of each recipient we should send the card to, including how you would like the person addressed within the card (Dear Mom, In Loving Memory of [you can send the In Memory cards to family members]
• A check for $25 for each card made payable to 'Community Partners fbo Topanga Women's Circle' and mailed to:  Topanga Women's Circle, 2670 Topanga Skyline Drive, Topanga, CA  90290.  You can place your orders with Karen or me and mail the check.
• You can also order a card from us, giving us all the pertinent info listed above and make your payment by credit card to Community Partners on our website (http://topangawomenscircle.org).  Let us know if you pay online for bookkeeping purposes. 

Here are some of your card choices.  We have many, many exquisite wildflower pictures which I don't have on my system but please specify if you would like a card with flowers.  Otherwise, here are some choices for you.

 

The vellum insert to these cards really finishes them off very nicely and the message inside is pretty special, too:  It reads as follows:  

 

A donation has been made in your honor to

(our logo goes here)

TWC is a group of volunteer women working on behalf of mothers and their children as they move out of homelessness and into transitional housing.  With loving compassion, TWC graces their new homes with the necessities to begin afresh.  Providing new and like-new items, an environment of comfort, warmth, and dignity welcomes these families as they finally have a place to call home.

http://topangawomenscircle.org/

(the above is written on the top half of the vellum and then the message below is where you would normally see a message in a greeting card)

 

On this day in particular, we pay homage to the

Mothers of the World

Happy Mother’s Day

I honor you with love,

                                                   And your signature goes in this space