The silver lining to a disaster is the power of community coming together to create positive change.  After kickstarting our OrindaCares: Helping Hands for Houston project just 5 weeks ago, we saw the force of good that can come out of a community-wide effort to help those in need.  Here’s just a small synopsis of our community efforts. 

As a Community… 

• we raised over $16000 in just a few short weeks to purchase almost 500 backpacks with school supplies for Houston. Parents, educators, administrators individually donated.  Our local high school organized a football game fundraiser to go toward our cause.  Kids organized bake sales; we held raffles at a local community events.  Businesses donated money or services such as dance classes or yoga classes to help our fundraising drive or our 2-day service event. Sydney Paige generously donated the remaining backpacks so we completed our goal of 1000 backpacks for Houston.  
• we made 1000 personalized friendship rocks.  Over 300 rocks were personalized through a high school art program. The remaining rocks were made during this past weekend’s backpack assembly event. The rocks, markers and organza bags were generously donated by an anonymous donor in our community.
• we made 1000 kindness cards to include in every backpack.  Several elementary school classrooms spent time making kindness cards for the hurricane victims. Book clubs made kindness cards, and we had a kindness card station during our backpack assembly event.
• we spoke to all elementary schools in the entire district about why we are giving back with love. The topic of natural disasters is tricky to explain to littles, but Mindful Littles spoke to all Orinda elementary students and spoke about compassion and resiliency.
• we came together with 200-300 volunteers in 2 days.  Together, big kids and little kids, entire Girl Scout troops, unpacked, set out, assembled 1000 backpacks to send to Houston.  Every backpack included school supplies, a personalized friendship rock and a kindness card. The events could not be possible without the close collaboration of several partners.
• we are just getting started!!  🙂