Packing #4 for the children of Australia - from the men at work

Not from the band but from my male work colleagues. They were the reason why I had to wait till today to send my parcel but look at what they came up with. I cant leave it behind -

To Vlad, Munich and Vincent, thank you so much. Thank you for helping keep the spirit of Christmas alive especially for the disadvantaged kiddies. It is much appreciated.

And here are the 2 parcels I posted late this afternoon for Wagga NSW. A photo-finish
sent off with the postoffice about to close and the Australia post van almost ready to leave with their collection of the day. Whew! I was practically running so the van can take along my 2 parcels as it takes at least 3 days for mails to arrive in Wagga and not possible for me to take to work to post at lunchtime tomorrow so the parcels had to go today. 

So my parcels left with the van with 50 soft toys (10 more), 30 dresses, 7-t-shirts,4 shirts, 7 pairs of shorts and about 18 pairs of boys undies all for children under 3. I did not send any undies for the girls as I could not find any girls undies for below 3. I practically opened all plastic bags with undies but I could not believe there was none. Since it was almost midnight (maybe I was not seeing the size numbers right) and I still needed to pack the boxes I decided to stop looking and not send any. Went to bed at 1am and had only about 5 hours of sleep as I wanted to go to work early so I can leave early to post the parcels. And I made it and all's well that ends well.

More details on the contents of the parcels (i.e. donors) to be published soon.

Packing #3 for the children of Australia

This is the third batch of soft toys for the children of Riverina/Murray playgroup donated by Agnes Kwong and her friend Candy bringing the total number of soft toys I have received to 40. I have another bag (final bag) which I will take home tomorrow and make sure the parcels are posted by tomorrow afternoon as I think it takes at least about 3 days for parcels to get delivered to Wagga.

Another 7 kiddies will have someone soft to hug anytime during the day. Thank you so much to Agnes and her friend Candy for these wonderful presents to the children of the Riverina/Murray playgroup. Thank you guys!

Packing #2 for the children of Australia

This is the second batch of soft toys for the children of the Riverina/Murray playgroup. These softies have been donated by several donors from work namely Candace Quach, Haesook Jo and Jenny Fegredo and from myself too. I have a few more to bring home on Monday as not everything could be accommodated on the bag that I had.

What a wonderful Christmas it would be for the 40 kiddies of the Riverina/Murray Group. To Candace, Jo and Jenny, thank you for your kindness and generosity. Thank you for the gifts. It is so much appreciated. Thank you.

Packing #1 for the children of Australia

Less than 24 hours after I made my statement that there will be no more dress distributions for the year, I am about to start packing for around 40 children under the age of 3 for the Riverina/Murray playgroup. I am always excited when what I do is for the children of this community. Took me almost 2 years of making contacts with different groups of people when I finally got a chance to make a difference with the kiddies of Wilcannia. Now am about to provide gifts to the kiddies of Riverina/Murray. So happy that I found someone who is such a great help. 

Here are some stuff that will be going to them in addition to some clothes and tomorrow I will be making my rounds at work to get some support from them. It is Christmas and we are into the season of giving. This will be my intro. :-)  I always like it when they respond with 'Yeah right Gigi'. Then the question of 'Will you do the shopping for us?' How can I say no. Lucky me I live about 8 minutes away from K-mart. :-)

Another 40 kiddies having a special Christmas thru the kindness and generosity of everyone. By the way, I bought these mini teddy bear softies at $2.00 each at K-mart using my flybuys points. I specifically went to K-mart to ask how many points I have collected and this is what I got after I converted them into dollars. Before I used to snub my flybuys. Whenever they asked me at the counter if I had a flybuys card I would say no even if I had one as I could not be bothered taking it out from my wallet but now I am the biggest fan. I used it all the time for charity. I activate every offer they send where you get more points when you shop on weekends even if I dont have plans to go shopping. Sometimes you get 500 points just for shopping on weekends at Coles. It benefits me because I do my shopping on weekends.
Thanks to flybuys, I get to give 10 mini teddybear softies to 10 kiddies in Riverina/Murray playgroup.

We can do it.....We can make this happen !!

Hello everyone !  It is finally here and I hope you will support Dress A Girl Australia in its mission to raise money to build a well and provide clean water for the people in Kalagi, Uganda. The fundraising page is now active and accepting donations. To access the page, please click on the image below -. Same image is also available on the right navigation pane.

All donations go directly to the Water-4-Kids program of the Water-4-kids International who is working in partnership with the Dress a Girl Well project of Dress A Girl around the World and all donations made using the fundraising page will be earmarked for Friends of Dress A Girl Australia. The goal is to raise the amount of $10,500 US (approximately $11,200 AUD at today's exchange rate). The village information on Kalagi Uganda is available on the fundraising page which you can share to all your family and friends who may want to give towards the well. Donors can leave a message with the amount of their donations or donate anonymously on the page. A receipt is issued for your donations. **

Please help spread the word around. Through everyone's kindness and generosity we will be able to give hope and make good health, safety and abundant life become a reality for the families of this village. What better time to help and make a difference and aim to reach the goal this Christmas season. Let us spread good cheer not only to our dear family and friends but share the holiday spirit we always have and enjoy with a village in need and celebrate Christmas in the most wonderful way possible...hope through clean water for the people of Kalagi, Uganda in the very near future.

Spread the word around! We can do it!  We can make this happen! 

Thank you in advance!

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** Highly recommend anyone making a donation to talk to their accountants for advise regarding donations you make and the receipt issued for the donations.
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Christmas Bags and Soft Toys

I have been sorting and packing for my Christmas Bags and I think I need more stuff to complete them. If there is anyone who would like to donate string bags or similar to library bags about the size of an A4 paper that I can use as Christmas bags (does not have to be fancy) and some small soft toys it will be much appreciated. Soft toys will have to be small enough to fit the bag as these items will be posted and not handcarried and need to fit as many items in the box. Will be accepting contributions until the end of November and as usual please post to the address below –

Dress A Girl Australia

P.O. Box 240
Casula Mall Casula
NSW 2170

Am actually doing more packing these days just to be ready if and when a parcel is needed then I don’t have to cram when something comes up.

To all those who will be donating to my Christmas bags,  thank you so much in advance. Your contributions are very much appreciated.

Last day of the 'More than a mile' with thongs charity drive

Today is the last day of the 'More than a mile' with thongs' Christmas charity drive for the children of Wilcannia NSW. The final number of thongs received is 104 which is 4 more than what I wanted to raise. I am not expecting more thongs so am closing the charity drive today so I can start packing them up, seal the box, add it in the queue and ready to be sent when its schedule to be sent comes up on the list in the next couple of weeks.

Heaps and heaps of heartfelt thanks to all who made this charity drive so much a success, for allowing these kids to hop, run, skip, walk and jump for more than a mile without feeling so much heat on the ground. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. Thank you everyone for your kindness and generosity.

More details of the charity drive from beginning to end can be found here.

More than a mile #15 - 15 pairs from Kaylee and Kate

Have not had the chance to continue on my acknowledging the past week so today am focusing on donation acknowledgements again and the first on the list is from a mother and daughter team of Kaylee and Kate Healy and happy to help with 15 pairs of thongs, their contribution to the 'More than a mile' with thongs charity drive for the children of Wilcannia. These pairs brings my total to 104.

To Kaylee and Kate, thank you so much for bringing 15 more happy faces to this great world of ours, 15 feet that will not be feeling any heat on the ground from hopping, walking, jumping and running around for more than a mile. Thank you so much.

Quilts #106 to #110 - From Vera, Shirley and the Robertstown Senior Citizens of Kapunda SA

Last parcel of quilts to acknowledge on my list are quilt numbers 106 to 110. Five more quilts from Vera Geffs, Shirley Bell and the Robertstown Senior Citizens of Kapunda SA. What can I say but hats off to you ladies for doing such a wonderful job of quilting to make a positive change to this friendly world of ours. 
Here are the 5 quilts from Vera, Shirley and the Robertstown Senior Citizens -

To Vera, Shirley and the Robertstown Senior Citizens, thank you so much. Thank you for the time, money and effort you all spend making these awesome quilts. Thank you for making these kiddies feel warmth, comfort and joy through your kindness and generosity. Much appreciated.  

Quilts #101 to #105 - 5 more quilts from Vera, Lorraine and Gaynor

Five more quilts ! Quilts #101 to #105 on my list from Vera Geffs, Lorraine Sandow and Gaynor Botcher of the Ladies of Kapunda Sewing Group/Craft and Hope Group of Kapunda S.A. These ladies reminds me of the book 'When Quilters Gather', how quilters gather to work and play and show their passion of who they are and what they do through their quilts. What very lucky children and grandmas they are who get to receive your works of art. Can't help comparing these ladies to this book. :-)

Here are the 5 quilts from Vera, Lorraine and Gaynor -

To Vera, Lorraine and Gaynor, through your passion, creative energy, kindness and generosity, you get to make this world a better place. Using your creative skills in making a difference in this world, making a positive change to make this world a better place is just amazing. Thank you so much!

Quilts #96 to #100 - From Vera, Shirley & Karen

Wow! This batch and quilt numbers 96 to 100 brings my total for the '100 days of Quilting' charity drive to 100 quilts. This is so unexpected and am awed with the kindness and generosity of everyone who made this charity drive so much a success. A 100 bodies to be kept warm and comforted by a 100 quilts received in 100 days of quilting and I believe there is more to come for this charity drive. Here are the quilts received from Vera Geffs, Shirley Bell and Karen Klienberg and 2 of these quilts will be allocated to 2 grandmas in Mbale Uganda -

To Vera, Shirley and Karen, thank you so much for your kindness and generosity. Thank you for helping keep the children of Romania and grandmas who takes care of the children in Mbale warm and feel comfort and joy.Thank you for making this world a better place. Much appreciated.

Quilts #90 to #95 - From the Ladies of Kapunda S.A.

On my list for quilts #90 to #95 came from Pat Hanson, Jannice Schutz, Shirley Bell and Kathy Pffiefer of Kapunda S.A. Here are the quilts from these amazing ladies and two of these quilts will be allocated to two grandmas in Mbale Uganda - I think these two will bring big smiles on grandma's faces.

To Pat, Jannice, Shirley and Kathy, thank you so much for your amazing work on these quilts. Thank you for the time and effort you all spend making these quilts. It is very much appreciated. Thank you.

Quilts #85 to #89 - From the Ladies of Craft & Hope Group SA

I could not find a list of names inside nor written outside the parcel but I know these quilts came from the Craft and Hope Group of Kapunda S.A. So for Quilts #85 to #89 on my list I will just put it as from the Ladies of Craft & Hope Group -

To the Ladies of the Craft & Hope Group, thank you so much. Thank you for helping make this world a better place with one quilt at a time. Much appreciated.

Quilts #79 to #84 - From the Ladies of Kapunda S.A.

Doing quilt acknowledgements this time from $79 to 84 are 6 quilts from Vera Geffs, Shirley Bell, Lorraine Sandow and Gaynor Botcher. All lady donors are either from the Ladies of Kapunda Sewing Group or the Craft & Hope Group of Kapunda S.A. Here are the 6 quilts -

Thank you to Vera, Shirley, Lorraine and Gaynor for the 6 wonderful quilts. Thank you for the time and effort you spent making these wonderful gifts for disadvantaged children around the world. It is much appreciated.

More than a mile #14 - 10 pairs from Margie

Was in a hurry to leave work so I could buy thongs for Margie Burke. I was thinking it is Thursday a lot of people might go shopping. Lucky me, although there wasnt much choice on colours, I was able to buy the sizes that I needed and that's for smaller kids. They had lots of them hanging in the slipper section today. Here's another 10 pairs from Margie Burke bringing my total to 89 as of today. 

WooHoo!!! Almost there! Thank you so much Margie. And what a great idea to save on postage. Thanks!

If you want to join the 'More than a mile' with thongs christmas charity drive for the children of Wilcannia, please feel free to do so. For more information, click here or send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

More than a mile #13 - 5 pairs from Candace

5 pairs of thongs was my 'thong' takeaway from work today from Candace Quach bringing my total to 79 thongs on Day 21 of 'More than a mile' with thongs for the children of Wilcannia. Here are the 5 pairs from Candace -

Thank you Candace for bringing 5 smiles to this world with your 5 pairs of thongs. It is very much appreciated. Thank you.

Come and help bring more smiles to this world through your kindness and generosity. Join and support Dress A Girl Australia's 'More than a mile' with thongs christmas charity drive for the children of Wilcannia NSW. For more details, please feel free to send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

More than a mile #12 - 10 pairs from Dress A Girl Australia

On my way home I decided to stop by Coles and noticed my wallet was kind of heavy. Earlier in the day I did notice my bag was also getting heavier (walk from the parking to the station is about 6 mins). Turned out my wallet was full of coins. When I got back to the car I looked into my wallet and a quick scan I thought I had more than 20 bucks in coins. So I decided to go to Kmart which was right next to Coles and see if there was any 'thong' sale going on so I can put my coins into good use. And this is what I got for some of my coins. 10 pairs of thongs for $20. 

Anything for the kids of Wilcannia NSW. These 10 pairs brings my total to 74 as of today.

100 Days of Quilting is over

Today is the last day of the '100 Days of Quilting' charity drive and as of today I have received 78 quilts and more to come in the next few weeks as donors start to mail them to Sydney. Twenty of these quilts have already been sent to Romania and more to follow. 

The result of this charity drive is more than I expected and I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all the donors who have supported this campaign. My heartfelt thank you as well to Margie Burke for the time and effort she donated in the Quilt-a-long with Margie. I hope everyone had fun and enjoyed the experience of learning how to make quilts especially to the newbies.

For those who still want to learn how to make a quilt, the quilt-a-long with Margie is still available for everyone to access. Just click on the 'Quilt-a-Long with Margie Burke' tab which you will find at the top of this page or click here.

To see images of the quilts received so far, please click here. This album will get updated whenever quilts are received.

Thank you so much.

Quilt #78 from Margie Burke

Quilt Number 78 is from Margie Burke, the gracious lady who donated her time and effort to head a 'Quilt-a-long with Margie Burke'.

To Margie, thank you so much for everything. Thank you for the time and effort you spent on the quilt-a-long. Am sure it was such a great learning experience for everyone. Thank you.

Quilt #77 from Sue-Ellen

In addition to the thongs was this piece of quilt from Sue-Ellen Cox for the children of Romania to keep them warm this winter bringing my total quilts received to 77.  A very impressive result for only 100 days of charity drive.

To Sue-Ellen, thank you so much for your unwavering support of Dress A Girl (Around the World) Australia. Your time and effort, kindness and generosity is very much appreciated. Thank you so much.