In walk four year-old Tobias and six year-old Galen, with dozens of brand new toys and books to donate. They told us a remarkable story, that their parents  had helped them celebrate their respective birthdays; Tobias with a swim party and Galen with a football party. They asked their friends to bring an unwrapped present for GiftsToGive to help local children who were not as fortunate and would not get a birthday present!

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Last Saturday morning we met a most remarkable girl, who did a most amazing thing!

We asked her Mom for details: “Caitlyn is a third grader at Pulaski Elementary School and she recently celebrated her 9th birthday. Caitlyn decided that she wanted to ask her friends to donate toys or clothing to GiftsToGive rather than receive gifts for herself. Through volunteering at Gifts to Give with her family, Caitlyn has realized the importance of giving to others”  

Caitlyn says: “There are so many needy children with no special toys. I am lucky to have more than I ever wanted. These children are very brave. I wish that these toys will give them a happy surprise on their birthday!

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Wareham Middle School, Student Philanthropists

By: Evelyn Chase, Grade 7

“Philanthropy is about promoting the welfare of others. That is exactly what the organization GiftsToGive is all about. I have been to GiftsToGive five times now and during every single group orientation tour they tell us “50,000”. Then one of us always asks the obvious question; 50,000 what?

It may be silly that I remember that number but I also remember what comes after it as well. 50,000 is the number of children living locally in poverty. This statement always gets to me. What this means is that one of your friends, that person you thought was odd on the bus, or even a complete stranger, could or is living in poverty. So hold on and let me explain a little bit more. The definition of poverty is the state of being extremely poor. And although I may be going a little bit off topic with this one, it is extremely important. Just because you may think you know everyone’s situation you really don’t and that is what GiftsToGive in my opinion promotes.

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On Saturday, we met brothers from Theta Delta Chi, at UMassDartmouth

Peter Coyne, Theta Delta Chi Brother and Education Major had this to say – “I wasn’t sure what to expect when my fraternity, Theta Delta Chi, would be helping at GiftsToGive. Obviously I assumed we would be packaging toys and other things for children in need, but what I didn’t expect was the eye opening experience it turned out to be. Going on a tour of GiftsToGive was the first thing my fraternity did when we got there. I never knew some little old factory could contain tens of thousands of various items that are shipped to kids in need every day from this facility.

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Nathan Turner is not your average young man. Nathan was acknowledged by President Obama for the President’s, Gold Volunteer Service Award.

Nathan has completed over 3,000 hours of volunteer community service. We’re so proud of Nathan. Nathan is a Junior at New Bedford High School and has been volunteering with us since he was in the 6th grade at the Roosevelt Middle School.

Jim Stevens, CEO and Founder of GiftsToGive said “ Nathan inspires us to do more and to be better. He is truly a bright and shining light and a most perfect example of giving and service. When we talk about young people making a difference, we talk about Nathan Turner!”

The New Bedford City Council honored Nathan on January 22 (See video below)

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We see thousands of students every year – sometimes we ask one of them to write a story of their experience. Sometimes one of their stories makes us stop what we are doing and listen – really listen.

Today we are listening to Gabriela; you should too!

 

 

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Students from Worcester Academy made a field trip to visit with us last week. Photos from their visit are here. We ordinarily would talk about the experience, but teacher David Baillie was kind enough to send us the following:

“Community. We’re about community.”

“This was the response of a student to a seemingly simple question: “What is Worcester Academy all about?” The question, posed by GiftsToGive founder Jim Stevens, hung over the fifty Worcester Academy students for several heartbeats before it was answered.

We had traveled that Saturday morning from Worcester to Acushnet to fulfill a community service obligation, a school-mandated requirement that is part of every student’s experience. The fifty boys, all upper classmen, were dorm mates; they boarded the bus that morning without complaint, napped or talked or joked around for the hour it took to get to Acushnet, and then assembled in the bare-bones repurposed warehouse that served as the factory’s base of operations.

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We met a most remarkable, twelve year-old on Saturday. Emma is a student at Kickemuit Middle School. For her CCD Project, she collected enough things for us to be able to help several dozen kids who don’t have the basic things they need. We asked her why? What this amazing twelve year-old told us, inspires us to do more and be better!

“My grandfather is a long time high school coach and every season he has had his sports teams spend time volunteering at the GiftsToGive facility. Over the years the teams have also conducted book, toy, clothing and new sock drives.

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When Nate invited friends to his birthday party, he asked them to bring gifts of new socks and underwear for boys and girls who didn’t have the things that they all had.

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From the Professionals at Child and Family Services Read More »

When we think about service, one of the first things we think about is our Fire Department. Men and women who put themselves in harm’s way Read More »

We could not be prouder than to be members of a tribe with these type of leaders! The world seems upside down. When we look for leadership Read More »