From all of us at Rusty Pickle, we'd like to wish everyone here in the U.S. a Happy Thanksgiving!
You continuously inspire us and we're always looking for ways to say THANK YOU! One of our favorite ways to give back is through donations to the community. The elves here at Rusty Pickle have been busy cleaning and reorganizing with the expansion of our warehouse over the last couple of weeks. We're excited about all of the changes we've made and for those that are yet to come! During our spring fall cleaning madness, we've come across loads of extra goodies that we'd love to donate. If you know of a school, YMCA, Boys & Girls club or other organization that benefits kids that would love to have some craft kits donated, please contact us! You can e-mail [email protected] for info.
Now, a little something we'd like to share, sent to us by our new friend Chris Brouwer! Chris's email warmed our hearts and reminds us of the power of kindness. Thanks for the sweet words, Chris!
From: Chris Brouwer
Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:50:31 -0600
To: Tasha Anderson
Subject: Re: relay for life
Are you kidding me!!!!???? So I get this call from the school secretary asking if I ordered a pallet, yes a pallet, of scrapbook supplies!!
I of course say, "What?"
She says, "It's from ?? Rusty Pickle??? or something like that (she doesn't know scrapbooking!!)
I say, "A pallet? I'll be right there. Come on kids. Have you ever been to the loading dock? Well, it's your lucky day! (my students don't speak English and I don't speak any of their languages but they are very used to me showing them things they have never seen before.)
When I arrive at the loading dock, the 2 female janitors are looking at this pallet like:
1. This is in our way, and
2. it looks kind of interesting!
They inform me that some of the boxes say "birthday" and here's one that says, "baby boy or girl". They are very intrigued and inform that they will bring it all to my classroom.
I say, "Yea, right!"
So I tear off the plastic wrap and open the first box. (fishing trip) The kids are not impressed. One boy says, "Oooo, it's dirty!" (He also does not scrapbook and does not appreciate the art of distressing! Poor guy! He'll learn -- after all he is in my class and we are scrapbooking this year!)
After opening a few boxes I decide I need a plan. The boxes were all moved to my room this morning (we didn't have students today for the holiday.) The janitors happily helped me sort the styles (each were rewarded with a few kits). I selected which ones I would use as door prizes at an upcoming scrapbook retreat and the 5th grade teachers were invited in to choose a kit for their class to make for either Christmas, Mother's Day, or Father's Day. As they dove in, the ideas started flowing -- what about the nursing home buddies? We could fill the jars with poems! What about the building volunteers? Thank you letters and packets of seeds could be presented at the spring luncheon in their honor! On and on they went with ideas. Soon 4th grade and then 3rd grade was invited to choose what they could use. In an hour all of the kits had been joyously carried to classrooms to await their assembly -- all for a variety of events.
What an honor for me to be able to be a small part of presenting each 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade teacher with enough kits for their classes to make a variety of gifts for parents, nursing home buddies, and volunteers in the building. Your generosity is unmatched and greatly appreciated. We promise to send you photos of the students with their projects as they are completed. Please share our thanks with everyone involved in making the donation possible.
Graciously,
Chris Brouwer 4th/5th Grade ESL Teacher