U2 Concert

Back in September, Colson and I went to a U2 concert. We had general admission seats, which meant we got great seats (20 ft. from Bono) but we also had to stand in line, and then stand at the concert (totaling about 7 hours of standing).

Another Day

I'm not going to write much because I really want to get home earlier for a change. J Today went okay. On a scale of 1 to 10 it was about a 6.5. One boy who was suspended last week for two days was the best kid in my class the entire day. I was really excited because I know he's a good kid. I just think he was maybe trying to show off to others a bit.

It was a bit frustrating during homework time today…I felt a bit unorganized and so many of the kids were struggling to pay attention, sit quietly, and work. Please pray that homework time tomorrow goes better. They're supposed to have 30 minutes of quiet work time and it's just not happening.

Thanks so much for your prayers. Considering I've had days that were a 1 or a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10, today was pretty good.

Sunday we go to the BEARS game with our kids! I'm really excited because this will give me the chance to hang out in a more fun environment with three of my kids.

Thursday

So praise the LORD! Thursday was the best day I've had in my class so far. For some reason, the kids were listening and behavior was not as much of an issue. I felt like I was able to actually have a little fun in my class, which was great. One of my kids even said, "This is how every day should be!" I'm glad that they got a glimpse of the fact that I'm not actually a crazy mean lady. :) Thanks so much for your prayers. Thursday was a huge encouragement, especially because now I know for sure that my kids are capable of doing well in my class.

More to come next week...please pray!

P.S. If my kids do well next week, I'm going to try to take some pictures in class so I can post those online. Also, October 4th, we're taking 20 kids to a Bears game. One of the Bears players donated 29 front row, end-zone season tickets to our organization. Pray that that is a great time with the kids!

My kids are like Scrabble tiles...

So here's a little analogy we came up with at work...

My kids are like Scrabble tiles. Right now, I feel like I'm looking at all the tiles and I can't do anything with them...so I just want to trade them all in and get new ones.

However, sometimes we actually can do something. We just need to rearrange the tiles to try to make it work...so I need to learn some new "vocabulary".

Sometimes, we're stuck with that Q or that Z. It's really frustrating because you end up holding those letters for the longest time, afraid you'll lose points. You just don't know what in the world you're supposed to do with the Q and the Z. But when you finally get that Q and the Z to fit in, you end up scoring a whole lot more points and maybe even winning the game with the Q and the Z.

I feel like I have a bunch of tiles and I just don't know how to make them work. I feel like I have a Q and a Z that I'm stuck with and I can't do anything with. Please pray that God teaches me how to make these "tiles" work. Pray that these two kids (Q and Z) will fit in and end up being very successful in this program.

I know it's a cheesy analogy, but it works. :)

And I do love my "tiles". I just can't figure out what to do with them.

EZine Newsletter

If you know anyone who would want to receive By The Hand's EZine Newletter (Email newletter) let me know. Immediate family and spouses, I've already signed you up for it. :) You can unsubsribe if you don't want to receive it. Because you love me and are related to me, you are stuck being on mailing lists for my job. :) Hehe. Sorry. :)

Fall Fundraising Drive

Dear Friends and Family,

Please join By The Hand and double the impact of your giving through our Fall Fundraising Drive. Any gifts made before December 31, 2009 will be matched dollar for dollar up to $500,000. Our goal is to raise $1 million in scholarship money so that our children can attend By The Hand Club this school year.

Even the children are getting involved in the Fall Fundraising Drive and are giving sacrificially through a coin drive. Terin, who is on the Yellow team in Austin, said “I like the jug because we raise money to do lots of fun things.” She’s right. Without the Fall Fundraising Coin Drive, we wouldn’t be able to do nearly the amount of fun things we are able to do with the kids.

Each By The Hand team has been given a goal to raise $2,000. That means we're asking our teams across all the sites to raise $50,000. It’s a big goal and can only be met when people like you come alongside our kids. Please consider sponsoring one of our teams at any of our four sites – Cabrini-Green, Altgeld-Gardens, Austin, or Englewood. With 726 children to serve this year, your support is greatly needed and appreciated.

By The Hand can only serve as many children as the generosity of others allows. That’s why I’m helping The Club raise scholarship money this year for its children to attend. It costs $5,700 for each child to attend By The Hand, but thanks to the generosity of a donor, money given between now and December 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $500,000. That means for every $2,850 given, a child can attend By The Hand for a full year.

Will you help us sponsor a team at By The Hand? Every gift, no matter how small or large, will make a difference. Just make your check payable to By The Hand and mail it to me at P.O. Box 10043, Chicago, IL 60610.

If it’s easier, you can give online by going to www.bythehand.org and click on giving. Please remember to put the team color and location that you want to give to in the notes section. If it doesn’t matter which team your gift goes to, please indicate it is for the Fall Fundraising Coin Drive. (My team is the Green Team at the Cabrini site).

Thank you for helping us touch lives and change worlds for eternity.

Sincerely,

Sarah Andersen-Green Team, Cabrini

P.S. For more information, you can contact Meg at 312-636-4904 or email her at meg.robinson@bythehand.org. You can also check out our website at bythehand.org.

By The Hand needs your help!

Today begins our fall fundraising drive! From now through the middle of December, all the sites will be aiming to raise $50,000. Each team has a huge jug in their classroom where kids, leaders, volunteers, etc. can put their coins. We also try to get churches, businesses, friends, and others involved in the process. Even though the goal is $50,000 for all four sites combined, our site (Cabrini) is aiming to raise $50,000 itself (the Austin site is setting the same goal). It is also a contest between teams, so whichever team at each site raises the most money, that team gets a prize. Sooooo, my team, the GREEN team, really really really wants to win! (I'm VERY competitive).

For those in the Chicago area, I can give you a coin jug thing to take to your places of work/houses. There is a note that explains what the money goes towards and how our fundraising drive works. For those who are not in the area, you are more than welcome to donate as well! We have emails, letters, fliers, etc. that explain everything. I will be posting this information and emailing it in the near future--I just don't have all the materials and details yet.

During this time, we also teach our kids about the importance of stewardship. Staff teach our kids the value of money according to the Bible and what it means to be a good steward of what God has given us.

Feel free to let me know if you want to get involved in creative ways--for example: You can say that you will donate $1 each day for every kid that does their homework on my team. You can do something like matching whatever the kids on my team are able to raise. You can say that for every day there are no suspensions, you will donate a certain amount of money (I have a lot of kids who get suspended, so this might be a huge incentive!) You can say that if the Green team raises more money than all the other sites, you will buy them a prize or put in even more money towards the fundraising. You get the point...I think it's really exciting that we're trying to get our kids involved. Since we're in a lower-income community, not all the kids have change to give, but all of them can help raise money by doing their homework, behaving, etc., so get creative!

Stay posted for more information on how to get involved!

Oh yeah, and if you're thinking a jug for coins is just too much of a hassle, feel free to simply use an envelope for checks instead. :) Hehe....

Go GREEN TEAM!