Oh What a Night.... God had His hand on the outreach event.

Our last few posts have been preparing for the Christmas Outreach event. This outreach event was last night at West Ridge Church. Wow! We had over 1500 families show up in the blistery cold (estimates are 5000+ people).

Here is a snapshot of the event:
***The event started with an incredible Christmas pageant by the West Ridge Christmas Kids. This was a good old fashioned Christmas pageant with an angel choir of 130 kids. It was precious!!!!!!!!
***Toys for Tots handed out toys for Paulding County children. Toys For Tots was assisted by the ROTC. It was an amazing thing to see the kids in uniforms working so hard.
***CAYA handed out over 1500 food bags. They received an incredible blessing and were able to purchase a hen for each bag. Every family at this event received their dinner to cook on Christmas day. CAYA will tirelessly be delivering and handing out 700 more food bags over the next 2 days.
***Santa was in present with little elves. Santa's room was decorated in a manner which challenged Lenox Mall. The kids loved it. Santa and Mrs. Clause donated their time.
***FUN! We had to set up our outdoor carnival area inside due to the wind. We weren't able to use some of the inflatables or have the fire for marshmallows. We set up 3 of the moonwalks inside the worship center. We moved John Z (DJ) inside. He donated his time. We had popcorn, coffee, and cookies inside. We had face painting too. The GRINCH even came.
***We were able to raffle off about 10 nice bikes and scooters for kids. We were also able to raffle off 9 live Christmas trees, tree stands, lights and decorations.
***A Fresh Hope had a shopping store room. This room was filled with thousands of new items. The kids were escorted through the store by a teenager. The teenager helped the child select a gift for his/her parents and wrap the gift. It was neat to see teenagers helping the kids.

This event involved 5 churches (Church at the Ridge, Cedarcrest Church, West Ridge Church, Hope Church and Pumpkinvine Baptist). We had over 70 kids from Harrison High Beta Club. South Paulding FCA brought some volunteers. MUST Ministries had some volunteers. ROTC helped Toys For Tots. We had a Boy Scout Troop helping also... All with 1 purpose, 1 mission, 1 message.

It was a huge crowded mess. We saw many sad stories. It was a sign of how so many are hurting. These folks stood in line for 2 hours to go to the shopping store or to get a food bag. The night was a blessing for all those involved. We pray that someone was filled with HOPE from this outreach event.

God is at work!!!!!!

The Christmas Party is going to be amazing! It is such a reminder of faith to watch how this party has come together.

We have 5 churches working together as 1: Cedarcrest Church, West Ridge Church, Pumpkinvine Church, Church at the Ridge and Hope Church. All churches have collected food, toys and store items for the party. All churches are sending volunteers to the party.

Liberty Mutual in Norcross, GA collected a car load of supplies for the party. They provided gift cards to accompany the food boxes.

BJ's wholesale provided $100 in hot cocoa!!!!

O'Charley's in Hiram has been incredible. They are donating over 120 cases of bottled water as well as other items for the coffee.

Publix sold us 5000 cups for coffee/hot cocoa as wholesale price which saved us over $150.

Pam Duryea of Crystal Creations is donating over 100 pieces of fine crystal for the store. Alice Thornton donated a car load of purses, wallets, jewelry, etc. for the store.

Logan Weber, high schooler at Mt Paran, is going to be the Grinch at the party.

John Z is donating his DJ services.

West Ridge Clubhouse kids are putting on a wonderful Christmas Pageant!

Santa is making a special appearance.....

Please pray for this event.

Christmas Outreach update

Wow.. the Christmas Outreach party is coming together! We are expecting 1000 families with over 2000 children.

We are going to roast marshmallows, have moonwalks, face painting, a craft and even a DJ. A wonderful man, John Z, is donating his DJing services. How awesome! We will have a store where the kids can select a gift. Santa and Mrs. Clause are going to stop by as well as a 'grumpy green guest'. The Clubhouse Kids at West Ridge Church are putting on a wonderful Christmas pagent at 4:00 on 12/21 to kick off the party.

Tiki Tan is hosting a collection site. Liberty Mutual is also hosting a collection site. It is great to see Outreach reaching so many in so many different ways. Hope MEthodist, Church as the Ridge and Cedarcrest Church are all partnering with A Fresh Hope, CAYA, Toys For Tots and West Ridge to host this event. It is a community coming together to share Jesus' love. What a clear picture!

We are still collecting dontaions. This event will not be possible without the support of a lot of folks. Items we still need:
*** New Toys
*** Items for the Shopping Store. These can be new items you have around you house that would make a great gift for someone- all ages.
*** $20 gift cards for the Food Boxes. Our prayer is that we deliver 1 food box to each household to serve as their Christmas Dinner.
*** Items for the Food Boxes: 2 cans of green beans, 2 cans of corn, 2 cans of yams, 2 boxdes of stuffing, 2 boxes of Mac & Cheese, 1 jar of gravy and 1 jar of cranberry sauce.
*** Large Marshmallows, Coffee Creamers, Coffee sweetners
*** Bottled Water and other single serving drinks/snacks
*** Paper goods such as cups for coffe/Hot Cocoa, napkins

Consider Sponsoring a Food Box or Two as a Family. Maybe your small group or a group at work would want to put together a couple of food boxes. Food Box donations can be dropped off at West Ridge Church.

Please e-mail us if you have any questions or would like to make a donation:
waverly@afreshhope.com
404-201-0319

Christmas Outreach Event 12/21/08

West Ridge Church, Toys For Tots, CAYA, A Fresh Hope and several other area churches are partnering together for an incredible Outreach Event. The event will be 12/21/08 at West Ridge Church from 4:00 - 7:00. Registration will start at 2:00. The party will begin with a family fun Christmas show at 4:00.

Toys For Tots will distribute toys for Paulding residents that have pre-registered with Paulding Christmas. Cobb and Douglas Toys for Tots distribution will be on a different date. Anymore is welcome to the outreach event.

Santa and Mrs. Clause are coming to the event. CAYA will distribute food boxes to over 1000 families at this event. Canned goods and grocery gift cards are needed for these food boxes. We will have a shopping store where the children can select a gift to give someone else. They will experience the gift of giving. We will have an outdoor carnival area where the kids can make a snowman craft. Face Painting will be available. We will have moonwalks for the kids. The kids can roast marshmallows and have hot cocoa.

We are looking for the following donations: clear water bottles for the snowman craft, new items for the shopping store (such as bath beads, books, gloves, etc.), canned goods, gift cards, wrapping paper.

If you would like to volunteer for this event, please send us an e-mail at: waverly@afreshhope.com

Thank you and God Bless...

Raffle Results

We had the raffle drawing last night. Thank you to everyone who purchased raffle tickets. The proceeds to this raffle will help make the Christmas event a success.

$500 QT Gas Card: Bill Terhune
2 nights stay in Gatlingburg: Gina Lineberry
2 Atlanta Dream Tickets: Stephanie Chaapel
Busy Bees Bows Gift Certificate: N. Simons
Set of Outdoor landscape lights: Karen Davis
4 Auburn Football tickets: Karen Davis
Tiki Tan gift certificate: Gina Lineberry

Christmas Party 12-21-08!!!!

A Fresh Hope will be partnering with West Ridge Church, CAYA and Toys for Tot to host the Christmas Party for underprivileged children in Cobb, Paulding and Douglas Counties. The party will include a great show, food bags for the Christmas dinner, a visit with Santa, Toys and a party. We will have a store where the children can select a gift to give someone else. The children deserve the blessing of giving. This store will consist of new items from birth - adult. It can be bath beads, puzzles, gloves, etc. A lot of us have this sort of thing around your house that you will not use. These type of items are perfect for the store. We will roast marshmallows and have hot cocoa. We hope to even have a snow machine. We estimate we will serve 1000 families with over 1300 kids at this event.

What do we need?
* Prayer... Prayer that we are able to serve these families so they can have HOPE, see God's love through this outreach event
* Donations
* Toys- unwrapped
* Grocery gift cards
* Canned goods
* Items for a store
* Wrapping paper, gift bags, tissue, gift tags, tape

If you have any items you would like to donate, please send an e-mail to:
waverly@afreshhope.com

We are also selling raffle tickets right now and could use help selling the tickets. If you are willing to sell 15, 20 or 25 tickets, please let us know.

God Bless you,
Jennifer and Waverly

Back Packs are on sale at Target

Back Packs are as low as $3.74 at Target.

Heart of Website Donations

Please check out this website:
http://www.heartof.com

Heart of is a website that provides shopping at over 500 stores. If you make a purchase from one of the stores via Heart of website, you have the opportunity to select A Fresh Hope for a donation made by Heart of.

Examples: Travelocity, Weight Watchers, Office Depot, Office Max, Limited Too, Jos. A Banks, Foot Locker, Eddie Bauer, Best Buy, Books a Million, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Amazon.com

Please consider starting your shopping at Heartof.com.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Fresh Hope will be having a raffle starting in October.
The raffle will include:
$500 gas card
2 nights stay at 2 bedroom cabin in Gatlinburg, TN
$50 Tiki Beach certificate
$25 Girls Bows certificate

The tickets will be sold at $10.00 each. The proceeds form this raffle will be used for the Christmas Outreach Event.

The Outreach event is still in the planning stages but it involves providing Christmas Dinners for 1200 families, gifts for all the kids and a shopping store where the children can pick out a gift to give.

We are looking for groups that would be willing to sell raffle tickets? Do you have Beta Club group, Sunday School group, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, etc. that would take some tickets to sell? Even 5 per a person is great!

If you are willing to help sell tickets or would like to contribute towards the raffle, please call us.

Thank you and God Bless,
Waverly and Jennifer Gilcrease
404-201-0319

Here comes the Raffle....................

Hello Friends and Family,


A Fresh Hope is partnering with West Ridge Church for a Christmas Outreach event. More to come on the event but it will be amazing! We are beginning our fundraising for this event. We will be having a raffle on October 25th that will include a $500 gas card. The gas card was donated by the Duryea Journey Group. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! Tiki Beach has donated a $50 tanning gift certificate and Crystal Sizemore has donated a $25 gift cerficate for custom Hair bows. Alto Travel donated 2 nights in a 2 bedroom cabin in Gatlinburg, TN. We will be selling chances for $10/each. In an attempt to make the raffle even more appealing, we would love to offer additional items such as game tickets, event tickets, gift cards, gifts, services. Anything type of donation is wonderful!

I am sending this e-mail to see if you, your company, your friends’ company, etc. may have any items they would like to donate to our raffle. The donations are tax deductible. Does anyone have season tickets to football games after 10/20 that they are not going to us? Does anyone have a service business where they would be willing to donate some services?

Please forward this e-mail to any friends or family that you think would be interested in making a donation. If you would be willing to make a donation, please contact me ASAP. We would like to put together the list of raffle items by 9/20. ~THANK YOU~

Jennifer Gilcrease

waverly@afreshhhope.com

Fish Kid fo the Month

Fish Kid of the Month

Waverly Gilcrease of Acworth, GA

Waverly is a 10 yr old who has started a non-profit foundation called A Fresh Hope (www.afreshhope.com). She is collecting back packs, school supplies, toiletry items and possibly shoes for 500 children. Wavelry wants to provide a fresh start on the outside so hope begins on the inside. She has a true heart for sharing God's blessings. Waverly has collected and distributed more than 1000 back packs and supplies by her goal date! She is already working on donations for a Christmas event. She wants to have a coat/toy drive at Christmas to follow-thru with the same children.

Waverly says, "My first dream was that I wanted to change the world. I wanted to make the world a better place for someone. I wanted to build houses for homeless people. I then realized that kids can make a difference by starting small and then growing into something really big."

Back to School Drive 2009 .... Watch for Specials

Stores are starting to put school supplies and back packs on sale. We distributed over 1100 back packs this year and expect to distribute 1500-2000 back packs next year. If you are at a store and their supplies are really cheap, please consider buying them. I will store them at my house.

Wal-greens, Office Max and Office Depot always have $.01, $.25 and $.10 sales. Target and Wal-mart should put their supplies on sale in the few weeks.

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR SUPPORTING A FRESH HOPE.
Waverly

Back to School Drive

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone that helped make this Back to School Drive such a blessing to so many kids. Over 1050 back packs with schools supplies were delivered.

A special thanks to Ms. Swanson. She was able to give us very nice signs at the last minute:
Jane Swanson and Signs & More in Cartersville for the free signs for the event.
http://www.signsmoreinc.com/

We are now moving onto a Christmas outreach program. We want to bring the same kids that came to the Back to School Drive back to West Ridge for a Christmas party. We are in the beginning stages of planning. I would like to give each kid a coat and a toy. I would also like to give each family food for a Christmas dinner. We will go ahead and take any donations.

Please continue to support A Fresh Hope. It looks like we will definitely have the Back to School Drive next year with a goal of 1500.

1000.....1000.....1000.....1000....1000....

We had a busy day today. We delivered over 90 back packs today:
50 to Roberts Elementary in Dallas, GA
30 to Compton Elementary in Powder Springs, GA
12 to Pickett's Mill Elementary in Acworth, GA
and 3 to 3 different families

We are meeting a lady tomorrow night with a delivery of 15. She is from Mableton.
Everyone was really grateful for the back packs. My sister, Kendall, was a big help.

Here's a picture from Roberts:

Testimony from Saturday

From a friend......


How awesome it was to be a part of A Fresh Hope on Saturday! Wow! This ministry has truly been an inspiration to me. As you know, I loaded down my suv with backpacks thinking some of the students could use some at the school I work at...turns out God had plans for these backpacks somewhere else. I had intentions on delivering the elem. size backpacks to the trailer park my sister used to live in because there are mostly younger children there, but as my sister and I drove throught the park there were few children to be found and we were only able to give out 3. So we decided to hit other trailer parks in the area...that is when revival broke out!! Sorry! I just could not help myself. :) People were telling us that they had heard of the ministry but had no way of getting to the church...so I thought if they can't come to us we will go to them. There are amazing stories to tell but two still sticks out in my mind that I can't forget. As we entered the second trailer park, I saw a man working on his car and asked if he had children that could use a backpack and he said that he was living there with his sister and her husband but they have children that could definitely use backpacks. His sister and her husband came outside and she started telling me how she had heard Waverly on the radio and that she had went to Westridge that morning to get her younger children backpacks. She told me that she has a daughter in high school and that she needed a backpack so I gave her one. At that time the dad started to cry because he felt that he was letting his children down especially their teenage daughter because he knew that she would not be able to experience high school like most other teenagers would. He said his daughter would not be able to experience the prom or pictures because financially they could not afford those things. I have never done this before but I gave them my cell # and told them to please call me if their daughter ever needed anything and I would make sure that she went to the prom and that she would have pictures. I don't think there was a dry eye among us. This story is my inspiration and confirmation that I want to start an "off spring" ministry from A Fresh Hope targeting our teenagers in the community...the second story begans as I pulled in the driveway of one of the last trailers to visit and there was a little boy playing in the yard and I asked if his mom was home and he said yes but she is sick. He ran to get his sister who was sitting with his brother on the porch. I got out of my car and asked if she and her brothers could use a backpack for school and she said yes but they did not have any money. I told her that was ok because we brought the backpacks to her for free. She could not believe they were free! As I went to get the backpacks out of my car the smallest boy stood and saw that I only had green backpacks left for elem. He looked at me and said I'm not going to school this year but I am next year and I LOVE green it's my favorite color! I told him that I had a green backpack just for him. As he took the backpack he asked if it had something in it and I told him yes and explained to him what kind of school supplies were in it. He gave me the biggest smile and said "I'm so happy I've never got a backpack before and I'm so happy!" He grabbed me around my legs and gave me a big hug so I bent down and gave him a hug back and he said ma'am thank you I've never been so happy. And as God would have it, I had only one middle school backpack left and I gave it to his sister. She kept saying God bless you ma'am over and over. As she was walking away, I yelled God bless you and she turned and yelled back "He just did!" I sat in my car, overwhelmed, and watched them run inside. The little boy kept turning around and waving with a big smile on his face. I just kept thinking...wow! This is what A Fresh Hope is all about. I know these are lengthy stories but they are "God stories" that I will never forget and I'm so glad he allowed me to be a small part of it.

All or none! For Him!

SB

Back to School Drive 2008

The Back to School Drive was today. WOW!!!! It was amazing. It was a carnival for the kids. We had bouncies, sno-cones, popcorn, snacks.
Final numbers from today....
749 distributed today or in the last couple of days
168 were taken by volunteers to distribute to Cobb, Paulding, Douglas and Polk county schools this week.
WOW.. 917 total!!!

We have 125 to distribute this week.

We received so much support for this drive. We had volunteers helping us every step of the way. We had a friend donate signs, we had coupons donated, Food was donated, Department of Children and Family came to help with programs, we were blessed with donations galore.... There are so many people to thank.

We are going to have a Christmas Program. We are in the beginning stages of planning but it will be big. Please continue to support A Fresh Hope. We want to invite the same kids back at Christmas plus reach out to more.


Here are some photos:

Me and a proud recipient:


A guest on the moonwalk:

TOMORROW...

Well, tomorrow is the big day. Please pray that we are able to provide a back pack for all the kids that come to the Back to School Drive. We hope the kids find new HOPE tomorrow.

Thank you to all the volunteers that helped set up tonight. It was exciting to see all the back packs stacked up and the bouncies outside.

I will post photos this weekend.

God Bless You,
Waverly

BACK PACKS GALORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As of 6:30 am this morning, our back pack count was a little over 900. We have a little over 800 to hand out tomorrow. 100 have already been disbursed.

Then, something pretty amazing happened 15 minutes later. I was on the Bert Show this morning. They were awesome! It was so fun to be on the radio! A lady from Paulding County is donating 100 back packs. This is so amazing! It will push us over 1000! Mr. Bert even said he would give us a donation which will help stuff the new back packs.

This is all truly amazing! Every one's blessings will bless 1000 kids tomorrow.

THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU,
Waverly

700.....700.....700.....700.....700.....700.....

As of last night.. here is the current back pack count:

624 back packs are ready for Back to School, Inc. on 8-9-08

72 have been delivered to Dallas Housing Authority- Lou Carmichael
6 have been delivered to Steele Cares Boys Home
13 have been delivered to Crossview Church in Rockmart

That brings the total number to: 715!!!

We have approximately 100 more ready to stuff with more donations arriving.

AWESOME!

Strong folks with truck needed

We are in desparate need for help this Friday, 8-8-08. We need someone to go to Noonday Baptist Association on Friday and pick up sno-cone machines, popcorn machines and a bouncey.

We also need someone to pick up the sno-cone machine, popcorn machine and bouncey on Saturday after the Back to School event and take them back to Noonday Baptist Association on Monday.

These are heavy and will require a truck.
Please contact me ASAP if you can help. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
404-201-0319
waverly@afreshhope.com

God Bless You,
Waverly

Storage needed...

We have 100 more back packs ready for storage. If you are interested in storing the back packs at your home then delivering them to West Ridge Church on Friday, 8-8-08, please e-mail me: waverly@afreshhope.com
Thank you~

In Memory of Ms. Carey Resnick

Mrs. Resnick volunteered in Children's ministry at my church, West Ridge. She worked with the Highway 92 production. I have danced in the Highway 92 production a few times and met Mrs. Resnick at practices and performances. I knew she was a great woman. She passed away last month suddenly. After her death, I began to know more and more about her. Please read her Caring Bridge pages where you can see the incredible messages written to the Resnick family.

http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/viewHome.do

We have received a donation to A Fresh Hope from the Burnt Hickory Mens Bible Group in Mrs. Resnick's memory. We also received a donation from the Duryea Journey Group in Mrs. Resnick's memory. Both groups expressed said that Mrs. Resnick was devoted to serving Christ and helping children. We received a contribution from Mrs. Resnick's husband in Mrs. Resnick's memory. Children will be blessed by the donations given in Mrs. Resnick's memory.

Mrs. Resnick will be missed. Thank you Mrs. Resnick for setting an example for others to follow.

Thank you Ms. Lou Carmichael

Ms. Lou Carmichael has picked up over 70 back packs to distribute them at the Dallas Housing Authority. Thank you Ms. Carmichael.

600.....600.....600.....600.....600.....600....

We have passed the 600 mark. Yea... We have 400 more to go by August 9th. Help us reach our goal. Right now, we are in need of more back packs.

Lou Carmichael came and picked up 50 back packs on Thursday. She took them to the Dallas Housing Authority for the Community Makeover. THANK YOU MS. CARMICHAEL!!!!!

See www.engageatlanta.com for a video of the Community Makeover.

Steele Cares Boys Home

We went to Steele Cares Boys Home yesterday and took 6 loaded back packs and other books/school supplies. They are a boys home in Dallas with such a heart for kids. They are developing a boys home that will have 6 boys ages 12 and up. They are in the process of creating a computer lab for the boys. They are in need of clothing, any type of food, toiletries, and most importantly funding.

Please visit their website: www.steelecareshome1867.org

Here is a photo of Ms. Bobbi, Waverly and 2 of the children at the home.

Thanks Monroes, Gretchen and Becky and the Dennehy's

This week was an exiting week. We had 3 different groups come and pick up 100 completely filled back packs.
Here is a photo of Ms. Gretchen and Ms. Becky with 100 back packs loaded in the back of their truck. Ms. Gretchen is my supervising manager. She has been a huge supporter. Ms. Becky has written a very nice letter about the Back to School Drive.


Mrs. Monroe and Kelly Monroe came to get a 100 too. Here is a photo of Kelly with the back packs. Thank you also for sponsoring some back packs.


My neighbor, Ms. Donna, came to get 100 back packs. She has also been a huge help in stuffing back packs.

500.... 500.....500....500....500....

Hooray.. We have 500 back packs fully loaded and ready to go to storage. We are 1/2 way to our goal. Keep the donations coming.. We will make 1000 by August 8th!
THANK YOU~

Thank you Bounce U

Bounce U in Kennesaw has donated free admission coupons for the goodie bags. THANK YOU~

Please be sure to show your support for Bounce U.
www.bounceu.com

1634 Cobb International Blvd.

Kennesaw, GA 30152

Phone: (770) 919-2226

Email: kennesaw.ga@bounceu.com

In Memory of Carey Resnick

We have received donations from the Burnt Hickory Lakes Men's Bible study and the Duryea Journey Group in Ms. Carey's honor. Ms. Carey passed away on 6/28. She was a wonderful woman that contributed so much of her love to others.

WANTED - BACK PACKS

A lot of people have asked us what we are in need of. Right now.. we are mostly in need of back packs. We can use new back packs from Kindergarten - High School. Thank you

Warehouse of Hope

Please check out the website for the Warehouse of Hope in Paulding County. I went to the Warehouse of Hope today and worked in the Warehouse. They are always looking for volunteers. They have a 12 for 12 program where you can donate $12.00 a month for 12 months. The Warehouse of Hope currently supports over 500 families with clothing and food each week. www.warehouseofhope.org

Waverly

Thank you Little Debbie and Mr. Kevin Beaudoin

Thank you to Mr. Kevin Beaudoin and Little Debbie. They are donating a bunch of Oatmeal Creme Pies for the Back to School, Inc. Drive. Yum..
Thank you Mr. Kevin and God Bless you,
Waverly

Thank you friends

We stuffed back packs today.. We now have over 350 complete ready with about 150 more that need to be stuffed once we get more supplies.

Thank you to Grayson, Ms. Cyndi, Ms. Donna, Annie, Caroline, Kendall, and Asher for helping me stuff back packs today!!!!
Waverly

Thank you Nielsen Family

Mr. Mark Nielsen has picked up 100 back packs. He is keeping them at his house until the Back to School Event. This is a big help because we have room to pack more. Here is a photo of me and Mr. Nielsen with 100 back packs loaded into his car.

Thank you Mr. Nielsen. God Bless, Waverly


Mr. Nielsen came by today and picked up 100 more back packs!!! Hooray!!! Thank you Mr. Nielsen.

We have 100 more ready to go if anyone is interested in storing back packs.

Storage needed

We have 100 more back packs ready for storage. If you are willing to pick up the back packs, store them until 8-8, then deliver them to church on 8-8-08, please let us know.
Thank you
Waverly

Calling all Trucks!

We are looking for volunteers to transport and store back packs..
We need people that are wiling to store 150-200 stored back packs. We would need them to be picked up from our house and stored until August 8th.

The event is August 9th so we will need the back packs delivered to West Ridge on Friday night, August 8th. If this looks like something you can do, please let me know.
Thank you,
Waverly

West Ridge Church

Pastor Paul at West Ridge Church introduced A Fresh Hope and the Back to School Drive to West Ridge this morning during the church services. The support I received from the people at West Ridge was amazing, in fact, it was unbelievable. I was nervous about going on stage in front of 2000 people but Pastor Paul was by my side. I could also feel God's presence in the church.

My grandparents went to church today to see my interview. West Ridge had video taped an interview of me talking about A Fresh Hope. I was a little nervous about seeing myself on the big screens and it felt a little weird.

Thank you Ms. Gretchen, Mr. Chip, Ms. Cyndi and Haley for helping me at the tables.

After church, my friend Olivia came over and we stuffed over 20 back packs. Olivia also came to my church today to see my interview. Thank you Olivia!

It was a great day!
God bless you,
Waverly

School Supplies list for back packs

There are 2 different groups of school supplies for the back packs, High School/Middle School and Elementary School.

High School/Middle School:
3 two pocket folders
1 3 ring binder
2 spiral notebooks
12 #2 pencils
12 blue pens
12 black pens
2 Sharpies
2 packages of notebook paper
1 package of reinforcement labels
1 package of markers
1 package of colored pencils
1 package of 3x5 index cards
2 highlighters




Elementary:
1 Supply Box
2 spiral notebooks (wide rule)
2 packages of notebook paper (wide rule)
12 #2 pencils
1 package markers
1 package of 16 or 24 crayons
2 erasers
2 glue sticks
scissors
2 two pocket folders

We will also collect miscellaneous items not listed above to provide directly to local schools.

Thanks Friends...

On 6-24-08, several of my great friends came over and helped stuffed back packs. (Chelsea, Megan, McKenna, and Sarah). Guess what.. Mrs. Kennedy, a friend and former teacher, also helped. We got a lot done that day. Thank you!
Waverly

Bargain Station-- Thank you!

Mr. Tytus McBride is a wonderful man that has made it possible for the back pack drive to work out. He owns a store called Bargain Station. He has sold us back packs and schools supplies at an incredible price. Not only that.. he is also spreading the word and collecting donations. Mr. McBride delivered 400 back packs and supplies on Friday. You should see our basement.

Mr. McBride is also an AUBURN TIGER- War Eagle Tytus.

Awesome Friends!

Jr. League of Cobb County

The Jr. League of Cobb- Marietta has awarded A Fresh Hope a monetary grant of $1000 for the 2008-2009 League year. A Fresh Hope is the inaugural recipient of the Janet J. Street Scholarship. The Janet J. Street Scholarship is an award to recognize and reward one young woman in the Cobb Marietta community for her exceptional service to the community in making a difference in the lives of others. Waverly met with Ms. Tracy Rathbone for breakfast and then at the dinner. Ms. Rathbone was such a blessing as she had a wealth of experience in this type of organization and validated Waverly's dream.

Waverly attended the Jr. League Cobb-Marietta annual meeting and met Ms. Janet J. Street. Ms. Street is the founder of Girls, Inc. among many many other wonderful charities. She is an awe-inspiring woman and it was a pleasure to meet her.



Thank you Jr. League of Cobb-Marietta!

Jumpits!! Leap for Joy...

Jumpits has donated a huge box of coupons for each bag passed out at the Back to School Event. They are also sponsoring back packs. HOORAY!
http://www.jumpits.com/MainPages/HomePage.asp

Calling all friends...

Stuffing party.......

We have 400 back packs and supplies coming next week. I am inviting any and all friends that want to help stuff to come over and let's stuff. My mom will order pizza for lunch. The stuffing party will be from 9:30 - 2:30 on Tuesday June 24th. Please feel free to come for a little while or the whole time.
Please let me know if you can attend so we know how many to plan for.
Thank you!!!
Waverly

Goodies....

We are busy packing...
Friends came over Friday night to help sort back packs. We almost finished stuffing 115 back packs. The next shipment of 400 comes in next week. We will provide the opportunity to sponsor a back pack for $25.00 at SURGE Family night on 6-27-08 and then again at church on 6-29-08.

God is putting this all together~

Wow... Things are coming together...

We met with the folks from West Ridge Church yesterday. The Back to School event is going to be great. We want to reach 1000 kids with new back packs and school supplies. I want this to be fun for the kids. I want them to know they are special.

Things have started to come together so unexpectedly.
For instance:
We need a lot of back packs. I mean a lot! I was worried on how we would afford the back packs. A friend from church, Ms. Gretchen Haight, called out of the blue on Friday. Her friend, Tytus McBride sold us 115 back packs for $2.50 each. These are nice backpacks.

Mr. McBride has worked out a great deal for this event. We will be able to purchase a new back pack and all the new school supplies for the back pack. We also hope to include new socks and undies. This cost is $25.00. You can sponsor a back pack by sending $25.00 to A Fresh Hope, 1597 Grandwood Trail, Acworth, GA 30101. You are welcome to write a note of encouragement that will be placed in the back pack you sponsor. You can also pay via Paypal at jeffrey.gilcrease@paypal.com.


I have set up an office in the basement and started filling back packs. I went shopping a couple of times this week. I have an inventory of incoming and outgoing started.

Back to School Drive

A Fresh Hope is now working on collecting 1000 backpacks loaded with school supplies ,new underwear and socks. We will be distributing them to children (grades Kindergarten through 12th grade) at a Back to schoo drive on August 9 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event will be held in conjunction with West Ridge Church at the church. This is a very aggressive project but is needed in the Cobb and Paulding communities.

***** We still need a lot of school supplies, back packs, new packages of underwear, new packages of socks, and money. *****

BUSINESS PEOPLE: We would to put together a bag of goodies including coupons to local areas. If your organization is interested in supplying these coupons, please e-mail me. The more the better...

Thank you,
Waverly

ABOUT ME

About Me…..
My name is Waverly Gilcrease. I am 10 years old and live in Georgia. It bothers me that kids are homeless, or without clothes or food, that we seem to forget about these kids. My dream is that I want to change the world. I want to make the world a better place for someone. I realized that kids can make a difference by starting small and then growing into something really big. It is my dream to help someone in a way that could change his/her life forever. I want to give someone HOPE.

You could help kids by just donating a little to someone who could use it. It may seem hard to make a change in people's lives but really it's a breeze if you focus on what really counts. A lot of people giving a little equals something so much more.

A Fresh Hope was started to give kids hope, a little at a time. We will provide back packs, school supplies, clothes, and toiletries to children.

God's Grace Gives….