Easter Buddies 2001

Happy Easter!		from the Easter Buddies
	(Jean B, Tina B, Tina G, Sheri L, Laurie M, Cindy W)

Remembering what God had said in Genesis of Abrahm, that he had blessed him, so that he could be a blessing, several ladies came together who knew that they had been blessed and with the desire to be a blessing. It started with just an idea, a kind of 'off the cuff' comment. It turned into a project that touch so very many! Perhaps the ones most profoundly touched were the Easter Buddies themselves!
	The basic idea was to come together as a group, to put together some Easter Baskets and deliver them to children who might be having a tough Easter. A few e-mails were exchanged and it was decided that Children's Medical Center would be the recipient of the gifts. Children's Medical Center is located in Dayton, Ohio, approximately an hours drive away from the Easter Buddies. CMC is the closest, specifically designed for children, hospital in our area.
Shopping was done by all during the month of March, leading up to the actual assembly day of Saturday, March 31st, 2001. It was a beautiful early spring day when the Easter Buddies and several of their children gathered to package up these baskets. Some were made for each of the following age groups: 0 to 1, under 3, pre-school to early grade school, middle school, jr. high to high school. Care was given to make some baskets in each category without food, for those children who had dietary restrictions. Staples in these baskets were activity items -- things that would give the children something to do or play with during their time in the hospital.
	It was a very emotional thing to put these baskets together. It was as if you could see a little 3 year old girl proudly putting the little bracelets and rings on, wanting to wear all of them at once. Or like you could see the 5 year old little boy playing with the pull string skateboard guy, asking his parents if he could have a skateboard in 'real' life! Or even see the new mommy and daddy saying their prayers that they would see their tiny newborn grow to the point to use the Pooh teether, as they twirled it round and round in their hands just to have the feel of it!
When the day was through we had 81 baskets to bring to Children's. This meant 81 children, the families represented by the 81 children, and the staff caring for 81 children would be touched by this act.
	The actual delivery was made to Children's by two of the Easter Buddies on Friday, April 6th, 2001. The staff at Children's dispersed the baskets on Easter Morning, 2001.
It is with much gratitude to Jean Bender, Tina Gelhaus, Sheri Linn, Laurie Muhlenkamp and Cindy Wenning (my fellow Easter Buddies), that I share this story. They have shown what true friendship is, and truly demonstrated that it is more blessed to give than to receive! ... You are awesome, ladies!

One final note, the inspiration for this act came from a heart-felt desire to touch a close friend of the Easter Buddies ... as a matter of fact we consider her one of the Easter Buddies! Her name is Cindy L! And next year, Cindy, we're praying you will be with us on 'assembly day'.

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