October meeting

Well girls it's been a few months since out last meeting...now with school back in full swing it is time to meet again! Stay tuned to what our charity of the month will be...

August's playgroup

We took a break durning the month of July and now we are back for August!! Back to school means lots of new school supplies and for many of Southern Colorado families this posses a big need. Stuff the Bus is collecting school supplies and will distribute them to famlies with a need.

Join us on August 7th at Ye old Castle Park located in Cordera at 10 am. We will meet and let the kids play and collect school supplies from the list below:

- Binder / 3 ring, 1" to 2", no fancy types

- Calculator / basic, inexpensive solar type

- Colored pencil set / basic colors

- Compass & protractor set

- Composition book (marbled cover)

- Crayons / 24 and 36 piece box

- Dictionary & thesaurus combination

- Folders / two pocket with no prongs

- Markers / narrow tip washable/classic colors

- Markers / broad tip washable/classic colors

- Pink eraser- Ruler / plastic 12"

- Scissors / small pointed

- Spiral notebooks / one subject

- Supply box (cigar box size)

- Watercolor sets / basic colors

- Wide ruled notebook paper

*No zip lock bags or tissues* No backpacks**

Cash donations are needed. Mail to Christmas Unlimited OBTS, 2204 E. Boulder St., Colorado Springs, CO 80909

Hope to see you there!

June's Pick

We will turn our efforts for the month of June to a local organization. The Children's Literacy Center builds a life of success for children through a foundation of literacy. The Children's Literacy Center has a treasure chest that holds rewards for children who have read 15min a day for a week. They are always in need of rewards to fill this treasure chest up. Some suggestions: bubbles, kids jewelry, chap stick, match box cars, jacks, rubber balls, book marks, jump ropes, etc. The treasure chest is for first through sixth graders. Be creative, have fun, and please- NO CANDY!! : )

We will once again try to meet at Ye Olde Castlewood Park, located in Cordera. If the weather is nasty we will meet at the Chaple Hills Mall in the play area. Please invite friends, neighbors or anyone you think would like to get involved. Have fun with your kids and remember this is about building a spirit of giving in their sweet little hearts!! Hope to see you June the 24th at 10 am. Note that I moved the day from Tuesday to Wednesday. If you have any questions please email me or facebook me. Hope to see you all there! : )

Children's vitamins

Once again with the rainy cold weather we had to move the play group inside. We were still able to collect a good number of children's vitamins for the children of Guatemala. My sister in law, heather, is delivering the vitamins as we speak. She said she'd be sure to take pictures of some of the kids, so I'll be sure to post those pics. Thanks to everyone for your donations and hopefully our group with grow and grow.

Charity/Cause for May

We will turn our focus on an international charity/cause for the month of May. My sister in law works for a child advocate agency called Vision Trust http://www.visiontrust.org/ . She will be flying to Guatemala in June and will be able to deliver our donations. We will be collecting children's vitamins for the orphans and impoverished children of Guatemala. For more info about Vision Trust check out their website.

With hope that the weather will be warmer this month we will try once again to meet at Ye Olde Castlewood Park, located in Cordera. We will be meeting on Tuesday May 26th from 10-12.

directions to park: Head east on Briargate Parkway past Powers Go right on Grand Cordera Parkway Go left on Happy Meadows Trail Continue past Lizard Rock Trail, the park will be on your right-hand side

Our first PWAP!

We are off and running!!! We had our first Playdate today and had a great turn out in spite of the crummy weather outside. We had about 11 moms and 22 children!! Wow!! Instead of meeting at the park we had to take the playgroup to Focus on the Family. The kids still seemed to have a great time! We were able to collect many items from the Ronald McDonald House wish list and also collected a total of $80. Thanks to everyone who came this month and for your generous donations. Hopefully you had a good time shopping with your kids. If you have any ideas for May's charity please let me know...the only stipulation is that it must benefit children. Thanks!

Our first charity!

Our first PWAP will be collecting item's for the Ronald McDonald House of Southern Colorado. They have a "wish list" of items they are in need of.

WISH LIST * = Most Needed
HOUSE SUPPLIES
*Individual (small) Boxes of Cereal (single serving size)
**Safeway / King Soopers Gift Certificate Cards
*Cookie Mixes Hair brushes
*Hair Spray *Shaving Cream (SAMPLE SIZE)
*non-electric & non-flame air fresheners *Pledge “Grab It” cloths
Cake Mixes Icing (in tubs)
OFFICE SUPPLIES
****POSTAGE STAMPS (27¢ 42¢) *Office Depot Gift Certificate Cards
****Seasonal colored paper 20# full reams
*Lowe’s or Home Depot Gift Certificate Cards
MISCELLANEOUS
*One night lodging (our cost) for a family at the Ronald McDonald House $40.00
*One week lodging (our cost) for a family at the Ronald McDonald House (7 nights @ 40.00 per night = $280.00)

*Pre-paid Phone Cards 30 minutes OR*Pre-paid Cell Phones
***Sam’s/Wal-Mart Gift Certificate Cards


· Telephone Cards * Individual Serving drink boxes
· Individual serving cereal boxes * Cookies
· Bagels * Muffins
· Fresh Fruits * Raisins; baby carrots; etc.
· Sandwiches (packaged) * Fruit cups; fruit snacks
· Canned or packaged meals (individual servings)
· Pot pies, pizzas, burritos, etc.—individual serving size
· Trail Mix in individual bags (Ziploc bags)

Please bring whatever you are led to bring. The Ronald McDonald House also has many volunteer needs and it is the perfect place for you and your kids to get involved at. They also have a meal program. You can contact Susan at susan.ronhouse@yahoo.com with any questions about how you can get involved. I'm so looking forward to seeing you all in April and making a difference for this great charity!

Why this group?

I really enjoy blog reading and was so excited and inspired when I came across a blog called "Playgroup With A Purpose"! My first thought was YES!! What an awesome idea! It's so simple and something we as moms all do. We go to playgroups we have play dates. Why not make a difference in the lives of others and our kids in the process?

The Colorado Springs chapter of PWAP will make every effort to help children's charities in this community and internationally. PWAP COS:

-is a non-denominational group - so any person of any religion can be
a part of it.

- is an a-political group - we do not collect for any politically based groups

-is for the children - we collect each month for charities that will benefit
children

I also want to inspire you and your children to volunteer in the community and will have ideas for you to get involved.