Our kids have completed the 2014-2015 school year!!! They worked hard and conquered, and they did it with your help!  This was a collective effort here, friends! Kids, parents, teachers, families, enjoy your summer break! Enjoy lazy days, hot days at the pool, picnicking, eating watermelon and watching your kids run wild.  Explore new parks or visit your local libraries to catch a summer read. The summer is full of opportunities for adventure and memories! Start off by taking in all that you have accomplished, give yourselves a good pat on the back, know that you’ve done a GREAT job! Tell each other that…as many times as you can! Let’s encourage!

To our Angel’s Buddies supporters and volunteers! We definitely did this together!!! Thank you!!!

Hi friends! We are in the last 9 weeks of the 2014-2015 school year! We can hardly believe how fast this year has gone. For our last encouragement round, we are looking to send a book to our little buddies at our kick-off school. We thought this would be an easy task, but it has been hard to choose from many good books! Will you help us decide what book would delight our 5th grade friends? We have narrowed it down to these three:

What do you think? Please, cast your vote. We’ll keep you posted! And if you’d like to sponsor a child with a summer book, please! We will gladly take a donation for our friends!

Happy Thursday!!

Dear friends, I came upon this blog entry this morning: The First Question This Teacher Asks Her Kindergarteners Every Morning Is Heartbreaking and was immediately drawn to its message. Angel’s Buddies wants to help spread the message that many of the children in this country live in poverty. Perhaps we do not see it on a daily basis; perhaps it is not evident in our culture. But poverty exists and kids do lack: sometimes food, sometimes clean clothes, sometimes an encouraging word.

Please take some time to read it and, also, to visit the organization highlighted at the end of her entry: Donors Choose.org. We love this organization! Their work in helping our teachers around the nation is more than inspiring. Our teachers need us. But, our kids need us most! Let’s encourage our kids and help them find the fullness of their potential. Let them hear what an awesome job they are doing and yes, let them know that you see beyond the broken pieces that may be inhibiting their emotional and physical growth, confidence and energy. They are our future and they are great! Yes, every child is “full of greatness”.

Happy 2015 from Angel’s Buddies!!

To kick off the new year and to help you get started (early) on preparing a little something for your loved ones, we are offering another fundraiser. More cards…just because we love cards at Angel’s Buddies!

Our subject for the front cover is pictured above. Card is 5×7, white envelope included. Card may be used for any occasion, but we are offering it as a Valentine’s Day card. Great idea wouldn’t you agree?

Donation options:

1) Set of 5 cards for minimum donation of $20.

OR

2) Send a Valentine’s Day Gram for minimum donation of $5. We will mail one card on your behalf. Please include message to be included in the card, name and address of the recipient.

Send requests to info@angelsbuddies.com by February 6, 2015. Donations may be mailed to P.O. Box 161, Helotes, TX 78023 or made via our PayPal account here.

Please consider helping us. Our hope is that we may help you spread some love and encouragement this year.

Let’s encourage!

Just a few hours before Thanksgiving Day, I sit here, grateful. Yes, I’m thinking of you. On behalf of Angel’s Buddies, I am sending a warm-hearted smile to all, especially our supporters, friends, and family who have made our efforts a little lighter, who have lifted us up, simply, by knowing you! So yes, you are in our hearts and minds today. As the holiday season officially kicks off tomorrow, we know that your loved ones will be close to heart as well. May we add a few members to that loving circle you already hold near and dear?

Childhood poverty is close to our hearts. Twenty-two percent of America’s children live in poverty. We are encouraged that we live in a society that embraces reaching out to those in need. With that said, there are many organizations, charities, and efforts already at work. All we have to do is look for an opportunity to help. Will you think of those in need and embrace them during this time too? I’d like to highlight a few ways to do just that:

1. No Kid Hungry

This organization provides kids in need with access to nutritious food and teaches their family about how to cook healthy and affordable meals. They have  several programs and initiatives. Their Gifts that Give initiative might be one to keep in mind this holiday season or year round, especially since gift giving opportunities are never out of season.

2. Volunteer Match

If you are inclined to give of your time and talents and don’t know where or how to help, this organization is the way to start. Volunteer Match pairs up  volunteers with nonprofits that need help. How neat is that?!

3. Your own neighbors, your own neighborhood

Angel’s Buddies is committed to promoting community, building an awareness of the power of communities stepping in to help those in need. The reality of hunger may be one family’s struggle. A child diagnosed with a chronic, terminal illness may be another’s.  One because of the latter may be the case for another family.  These experiences are tough and sad.  The help and the hope that comes from a neighbor knocking on a family’s door to check on them is a beautiful tale to be told! Reach out.  Let’s encourage!!!

What a little note can do!

Sending a loud, cheerful shout-out to our supporters for sending encouragement to our kids at Hart Elementary School! Your postcards are arriving on schedule, just in time for report card distribution. Thanks a million! You’re encouragement is so greatly appreciated!

The school year is well on its way and children everywhere are starting to see the fruit of their labor- report cards are trickling in! It’s been a long time since we (at Angel’s Buddies) have personally received one, but we remember those days!

A child’s life is full of learning opportunities, growing, and discovery. If we add social issues into the mix, such as poverty, hunger, and/or illness, then we might be cautious in thinking that good grades are a child’s ultimate aim. But yes, in some children, a numerical grade might serve that purpose and turn into a steady drive to work hard for something that is within their control, serve as a reminder that they are on the right track. And sometimes, independent of what grades have been achieved, an unforeseen “Great job!”, “Awesome work!”, or “You go it!”, may serve as a life-changing phrase. Yes, one time might be enough for a child with great need. As our children continue on their journey, as they keep on their unique road of limitless personal potential, may we remember that each one of their steps is only a piece to their own lifetime puzzle. Sometimes it is good to remember that each child is unique and that the struggles they face may be deeper than what a report card tell.  Let’s encourage!

In the spirit of encouragement, we are venturing into a greeting card fundraiser project, the first for Angel’s Buddies. Photograph greeting cards are blank on the inside, perfect for any occasion, even more ideal for a “just because” message opportunity. We are offering a three card set for a minimum $15 donation. It is our hope that this project brings those we love and appreciate to mind and gives us an idea of how we can relay their importance to us, sometimes a written note is all that is needed. Let’s encourage!

If you’d like a set, e-mail us at info@angelsbuddies.com. Donations may be made directly on this website in the GIVE section or they may be sent to:

Angel’s Buddies

P.O. Box 161

Helotes, TX 78923