Drop off Day

Nearly 4 years ago John and I welcomed Danya into our lives, it was a tough start, but it was that tough start that inspired us to give back when ever we can. On our own we could never do very much. Some days just making sure that the bills are paid and there is enough left over to buy groceries is a challenge, but God always seem to show up when life looks the roughest. Our first couple of Drop offs for Danya's gift were nothing special just a quick in and out to drop it off and maybe tell a little of our story. Those days are long gone, as we now have a very good relationship with the hospital. Infact when our contact in the NICU retired before one of our drop offs we met Auntie Robyn who is amazing. She is a part of the office that handles gifts to the hospital, but the gifts she usually handles are large corporate or estate donations. Ever since our first drop off with her she makes a special time in her day to come around with us and coordinate all the different areas of the hospital we now donate to.

 Danya is old enough now that she is actually quite a little helper when it comes to drop off. We always seem to forget that we don't have a wagon until a day or so before drop off. Once again this year our friends let us borrow their wagon. Our boxes were a bit big for it though and so I had to walk behind to hold them so they wouldn't fall off until we made the first drop off.

 Going in. Working with Robyn has one very nice perk. If you've ever tried to park anywhere in Hawaii and get a toddler out of a car seat you will truely know how nice this perk is. See we have been allowed to park in the physicians lot while we do the drop off. Doctors are always in a hurry and so that they don't slam doors into each other the spots are wider than the ones in the hospital parking ramp. It's a very nice perk complete with the attendant who held the door open for us.

See what I mean by the wagon isn't quite big enough. I think before next year we might have to invest in a wagon without seats or one with seats that hide so that there is better transport space.

Every year Danya greets the fish.

And she always remembers this vanity and tea service. She loves it and while Momma was busy talking to the patient care ladies Danya served tea for herself .  Our first drop off point was in the play room. This is a room where patients can come and check out toys or play if they are not on tons of machines.

This is the place where we drop off all of the party supplies. These 2 big boxes are the party supplies and small bedside gifts that we were able to bring by this year. 

Then it was off to give a special gift to a little girl just Danya's age. Every year I ask them to find a little girl just Danya's age and have her pick out something special for that little girl. This year it was a Fancy Nancy book and Dress that Momma made as well as a lunch tote and a princess balloon. I'm always worried that she will not want to give it to the girl, but she was awesome even telling the little girl her name and saying to her "please, feel better, okay?" And since drop off day was after her adenoids surgery everyone understood her.

After we met up with that little girl there was one place that Danya wanted to be sure and see and that was the babies. We went and took a quick look. There was only one baby, but Danya was so intrigued.

Then it was off to where Danya's gift began. The NICU, or neonatal intensive care unit. This year we brought a few different things for them as well. One thing we brought were little lunch totes filled with snacks and essentials for Dads or other family members who come with a transfered baby, like from one of the outerislands or even farther away in the pacific, and they get to the hospital in the middle of the night with nothing because they were not planing on being relocated to O'ahu with thier baby.

I made lots of these bags and the Mom's Club helped us fill them. Together we made a total of 20 bags! If you want to know what was in them Check out this post over on the Danya's Gift blog. IF you didn't get a chance to help out you can also always visit my etsy store and purchase a lunch tote for yourself and sponsor one for the Stranded parents as well, if you don't have keiki (kids) then you can always request a custom bag for yourself rather than one that is more kid friendly.

Then it was on to the really cute stuff. All the little outfits you guys sent are always a hit. I only had a few that I made this year. There was just so much sewing on my plate, but there were plenty of little hats both knit and sewn. Gammi even learned that you can knit on the airplane.

Danya decided to show just how big she had gotten. She tried and tried to get this little hat on.

Of course we got to meet a couple of nurses too. It was a busy morning int he NICU, which is not a very good thing, but because of that we didn't get to see some of the people we knew.

Three generations of women giving back. I learned about giving from my mom, she is extremely generous and at Christmas I remember going to the store and choosing something for a kid who didn't have any money and then putting it in the toys for tots box. I hope that some day Danya will look back at all of this and say it was the start of her learning how to give back.

Another Project

This one was born out of a project for our Mom's Club. We were planning to put together homeless bags to give to the homeless that we see along our way on the island, but what we discovered is that with HPD cracking down on camping illegally we weren't seeing many homeless.  So our March of Dimes NICU Support contact came up with an even more exciting prospect. We would donate the bags to the NICU to be given to families who are transfered to O'ahu with their newborn, but were unprepared to do so. Many families are brought to our NICU from the "outer" Hawaiian islands as well as American Somoa and other Pacific islands. Often times it's the dad who is airlifted with the baby and they were not planning on even staying at the local hospital all night and now here they are transfered to another island. So these little care packages will take care of some basic needs.

I've set up a way for you to help and still get something great. The little tote bags that are a part of the care package are just a brainstorm idea that I had. Those first few days in the NICU I carried a little bag with me to and from the NICU with things we wanted to have with. It was sturdy so it didn't tear if moved quickly, but also it could hold the mountain of paperwork that we recieved.

These little totes will also serve that purpose for the famillies. Please check out my etsy store for an easy way to sponsor a bag and get one for yourself.


http://www.etsy.com/shop/mommaloha

If you would rather not accumulate anymore stuff at your house each care package costs $15 to put together. Please consider using the donate button on the right side of the blog.

Think February!

Sometimes there are things that happen that you don't expect. In a couple of weeks Danya heads back to the hospital for an outpatient surgery. It's just something simple, but Gammi from Minnesota will be coming to visit. Gammi has been one of our failthful supporters since the begining, so not only will Gammi's visit help me to have some extra sewing time before drop off, but I would love for her to be a part of the drop off. That means that the drop off will happen some time in the week before Valentines day. 

Another thing that I didn't really expect last month was a donation from Walmart. I sent out letters to all the major retailers in Hawaii to try and get some community funds, for most they sent me letters that said there were just too many requests, but Walmart gave us a $50 donation. So once we know what we are in need of we'll be making a shopping trip to Walmart to pick up the rest.

Please see the list below for how you can help. We'd love to answer any questions you have as well. Feel free to contact Pastor Laura at danyasgift@gmail.com

The time is coming!

Once again we will be collecting many items to help out our local Children's hospital Kapi'olani. There are 3 ways you can help. I'm sending out lots of fancy new cards to try and make this the biggest collection yet.

First, we are in need of Preemie and Newborn clothing, both brand new and gently used. Sleepers especially, those with snap closures, are the best. If you love to sew there is also a pattern for a preemie sleep sack that takes all of about 10 minutes to sew but sewing on the snaps takes a little more time and we'd love to have you help make some of those as well.

Second, the Party boxes are in desperate shape. There is not much left in any of them so we can pretty much begin again. Themed party plates (unopened) an party favors, small toys that a child could play with in their bed, art projects or make-up samples or small sized items. Anything for a child aged 1 year through 18. It's a bit tricky for the older kids but I'm sure you are all creative enough to make it work.

Third, cash. If you want to give but you just don't know how or what to send please use the paypal donate button on this site to give a cash donation and we will use it to fill in any gaps as drop off day approaches.

Remember that any donations are tax deductable so if you want to squeeze a final gift into this calendar year please do. Danya's gift is something that really makes a difference in the lives of these famililes, and I want it to continue to grow and please tell others about what we do. It's been a wonderful adventure and I can't wait to see how we can bless the hospital this year.

Etsy Store

I now have an etsy store where I sell all the stuff I make. Sewing has always been my therapy and I love it, but when I ran out of purposes to sew I would get really out of sorts, so I decided to do all the fun sewing I love so much and make a little money for me and a little money for Danya's gift. It is my commitment to donate at least 5% of every sale to Danya's gift. Please stop by and see if you need anything that will also benefit the sick Keiki on O'ahu.

Cards, cards, and more cards!

Our contact and friend in the NICU asked us to make some cards for the nurses to use to mark milestones and become special keepsakes for the families. Like a card for the first feeding, or just growing and meeting those pound milestones. So we teamed up with MOMS club WPA to make lots of cards for them.

As of this moment we have made 139 cards! It's been a fun way to work and play together, plus we get to use up those extra baby scrapbook supplies we didn't need taking up space in our paper piles. We hope that some of the families recieving the cards will visit our site and perhaps choose to join one of our projects. We just love to be able to help and give back to the hospital, but mostly to the families who really need a little encouragement, as we well know.