project680.org

You are invited!! Come to the Project 680 community finale BBQ on Wednesday May 11, 2011 from 5:00-7:00pm at Rancho Cordova City Hall at 2729 Prospect Park Drive Rancho Cordova CA 95670. Enjoy free chips, drinks and hot dogs for the first 100 attendees!!!

We’ll be counting underwear, having conversations and celebrating a successful underwear drive. Bring the whole family and some of your friends too. If anyone is available to help set up, manage some logistics or tear-down, feel free to let us know. Food for the first 100 only. If you have any donations of new underwear, please get them to us by tomorrow if possible.

You can RSVP on Facebook too if you wish. Call 916.595.3735 or email info@project680.org with any questions.

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We shared a few weeks back how a nine-year old named Anabelle decided to ask her family and friends for underwear for homeless kids in lieu of birthday gifts. Well, her birthday fiesta took place yesterday and we are so excited to announce that Anabelle and her friends/family collected a total of 262 pairs of underwear (35 packages). Isn’t that amazing??

Thank you so much to all who participated in this effort. Fantastic job to Anabelle and friends and family!! Thank you for your generosity and for going out of your way to bless local homeless students in the FCUSD. You’ve made a significant contribution to the underwear drive too!!

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Last night we purchased $832.00 worth of underwear thanks to the very generous donations of Folsom High School students, Mama Sues Soul Food Kitchen, Cory & Farah and one other anonymous donor. After the purchase we headed over to Creations Boutique – a new coffee house in Rancho Cordova. This was such a connective and fun mission. Thank you to all who came out. There were some additional undies purchased by City of Rancho Cordova employees (thanks Shannan), Haley and Lundquist Appraisal Company. This purchase will be combined with all other donations that come from the community over the next week. Remember that every pair of underwear helps. We’ll keep going strong until our finale BBQ on May 11 (City Hall in Rancho Cordova – 5-7pm – free hot dogs for the first 100 people). Watch a video below and see photos of last night’s undies raid from Andy Gee.

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Thank you to Celina for working to get kids at an elementary school in Gold River involved in the underwear drive. Celina had a flyer designed to cater toward Gold River kids and she’s doing a great job networking.

Thank you also to Emmy for getting others involved at Rancho Cordova Elementary School. We look forward to seeing how the Rancho Cordova Elementary Site Council will be involved.

Thank you so much Celina, Emmy and all who will partner together with you!!!

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This idea came from Lundquist Appraisal and we LOVE it. Who wants to sign up on the list?

What can it look like for local businesses and households to network together for the sake of homeless students? I wanted to share a vision with you and ask you to consider getting involved.

Project 680 is doing an underwear drive for homeless students, so I figured a group of us could team up to help this important effort by pitching in. If 17 local businesses or familes each donate 25 pairs of underwear and my company donates 100, we’ll hit 500 pairs with ease. This team-approach will help us maximize results and put a big dent in Project 680′s goal to collect nearly 3000 pairs of new underwear by May 11, 2011.

If you do join the team, you’ll get a link below, links on the Project 680 website and SacTube, recognition on the P680 Facebook page, kudos on Twitter (and some other stuff too). Of course, the best thing you’ll get is the knowledge you did something good.

The All-Star Project 680 Donor Team
1. Orange County Cellular
2. JanMac Appraisals (Janice McNally)
3. RosevilleandRocklin.com: Coldwell Banker Steve Ostrom & Team
4. CTP Business & Personal Development Coaching
5. Jenny Lundquist – Author
6. Market Small
7. Body Investment Studio
8. Soroptimist Organization in Rancho Cordova
9. Mitchell Middle School in Rancho Cordova PTSA
10. Vice-Mayor David Sander City of Rancho Cordova
11. TBA
12. TBA
13. TBA
14. TBA
15. TBA
16. TBA
17. Lundquist Appraisal Company

This is a great way to maximize results and do a little good together. Business isn’t just about making money, but about making a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Let me know if you’re interested in getting involved.

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We wanted to give a big thank you to two very special Girl Scout Daisy troops in Folsom. Between troops #619 and #1622, a total of 138 pairs of underwear were collected for the Project 680 Underwear Drive. We are so appreciative how these girls have taken on a project to look out for other kids in the FCUSD. Great work girls!! We are proud of you!!!

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What are you doing next Tuesday, April 19th between 5-9pm? Let’s eat some dinner together at Mama Sue’s Soul Food Kitchen in Rancho Cordova. Get some good grub and know that Mama Sue’s will be donating 25% of its dinner proceeds between 5-9pm to Project 680. Thank you to Aaron Redelsperger and youth from the Cordova Church of Christ who initiated this dinner.

You coming? Let’s get our grub on.

Mama Sue’s Soul Food
10113 Folsom Blvd
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

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The Folsom Cordova Unified School District Liaison for Homeless Services has informed Project 680 of a big need for new underwear for the homeless students in the FCUSD. Therefore, Project 680 will be holding a underwear drive from April 1 to May 11, 2011. We are asking for NEW (not used) underwear in all sizes and appropriate styles for boys and girls in grades K-12. Please see www.project680.org/underwear-2011 for an FAQ and details on how to get involved.

Together we can make a difference in the lives of homeless students in our community. Not only will new underwear meet a very relevant and practical need, but it will also speak volumes to students about how the community is looking out for them. Please consider getting involved. Thank you so much for your support.

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We are officially rolling out details for the Project 680 Underwear Drive. We’d love to partner together to collect 680 care-packages of underwear for homeless students (that adds up to about 3000 pairs of underwear). Please see www.project680.org/underwear-2011 for details about the drive. Here are opportunities for you to get involved. Let us know if anything resonates with you. Thank you so much!!!

Ways to Get Involved:

1) Pick an underwear goal with your family, household, the office, church or a group of friends. Pick a number of underwear that you’d like to collect with a group of people (maybe 5, 10, 25, 50 or 100) and then go for it. There are certainly some creative options for generating donations or even raising money too. We’d love to hear what you’re thinking, so let us know if you’d like. Kids often come up with really good ideas too.

2) We are looking for a dozen or so drop-off locations in the general area. These could be households, businesses, churches or organizations. Being a “drop-off” is a great opportunity to be available for the community and to network. Tell your contacts what you are doing so they can partner with you.

3) Come to our community finale BBQ on May 11, 2011 from 5:00-7:00pm at Rancho Cordova City Hall at 2729 Prospect Park Drive Rancho Cordova CA 95670. Drop off any underwear donations, meet some fellow Project 680 supporters, and enjoy a free hot dog BBQ for the first 100 attendees!!! 

4) Make a video to help tell people about the Project 680 Underwear Drive. Tell people what you’re doing, how to get involved, or put a creative idea into motion. Post the video on our Facebook page or email us about it.

5) We are looking for an underwear logo. Any graphic designers out there want to help us make a stellar logo to advertise this drive? We’d like to see a couple “Project 680 supporter” graphics too so locals can put them on blogs and websites.

6) We’ll need some logistical help on May 11, 2011 at our Finale BBQ such as people to BBQ, serve food, set-up, clean-up, count underwear, etc… Anyone have connections to get donated food for the finale BBQ? Or does someone want to seek out businesses to help make this happen? We’ll need 100 hot dogs, buns, condiments, chips and drinks. Or maybe a local business would like to sponsor the food?

7) Other ideas. We definitely welcome your creative ideas. How can we do this together? What’s in your heart? How you can use your talents, passions and abilities for the sake of the undies drive?

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Novo Nordisk, an international company with an office in Rancho Cordova, dropped by 238 pairs of underwear within the past two weeks. Our new grand total for the Project 680 Underwear Drive is now 3,198 pairs of underwear!!!! We don’t expect any more donations, so this is most likely the final number. Thank you Novo Nordisk and Lisa for your leadership in getting together collections.

So many of us these days are feeling the sting of the current economy, but we have managed to find a way to meet a practical need for students deemed homeless by providing new underwear for them. It has been remarkable to see households and organizations reach into their pockets to advocate for these students – even when many of us are struggling financially ourselves. That’s truly the good stuff in life on so many levels. Thank you everyone for your heart to care for local homeless students. Thank you for embracing this practical cause. Thank you for taking a stand for kids in Rancho Cordova and Folsom. 

May we continue to learn to become people who regularly and creatively discover practical ways to empower students to rise far above their circumstances.

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Thank you again to Butch & Bonnie for opening up their home last Friday for the counting & sorting of all the donated underwear. Let me tell you, Bonnie & Butch are masters of organization and they rigged a very efficient and smooth system for us. Thank you to all who came to count and to Rick too who stopped by on his way to dinner.

Here are a few pictures.

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After our sorting / counting party last night, we are thrilled to announce that together we have collected 2,533 pairs of new underwear for local homeless students. Actually, the Soroptimist Organization dropped off another 70 or so pairs last night after the gathering, so we are North of 2600 pairs now. Furthermore, we know of additional donations that will be coming in over the next two weeks. So in essence, our final number is not yet final.

Thank you everyone for your commitment to this cause and for throwing your time, heart and money into supporting local homeless students in such a practical way. It is touching to see our community come together, especially in an economy where we are watching our money very carefully and pinching every penny. Compassion is not dead.

There will be more details to share in coming weeks and there are definitely more people and groups to thank. It’s time for us to rest for a couple of days and then the passing out will begin early next week.

Way to go!!!!

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