Acts of Service

Ms. Allison loves to give back to her community. She organizes donation drives in the Fall and Spring. Additionally, she leads a Holiday Giving Program that supports students and families with clothing and small gifts for the Holiday season.

What is Holiday Giving? (used to be Holiday Adoptions?) Holiday Giving is a chance for classrooms and community members to adopt a holiday for those who need some extra love during the holiday season. Together multiple schools work together to provide clothing and gifts to children. Holiday Giving coordinates to support families from Parker, Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch and also helping to support families around Colorado without a home.

If you are interested in helping one of Ms. Allison's drives please contact her at allison.armour@dcsdk12.org

You can also search this directory for other nonprofit organizations to give to: Douglas County Gives

Current Happenings

Previous Acts of Service:

2023:

December 2023:

Hello Holiday Elves

Before we leave for our Holiday break, I want to share some joy. 2023, Holiday Giving is officially over! As of Saturday 12/16/23, all gifts for 115 families have been delivered!

But do you know all the hundreds of hands that are involved in making this happen? Schools from all over the District come together in this amazing act of service. 65 families from all over DCSD in addition to 51 families experiencing homelessness from Colorado Prep Academy make up the families that received support this year. And at the root of Holiday Giving are the students; classrooms, clubs and activities from the following schools that volunteer their time to get gifts, wrap, sort and label every item we share. These schools include Castle View High School, Cherokee Trail Elementary, Mammoth Heights Elementary, Mountain Vista High School, Pine Lane Elementary, Prairie Crossing Elementary, Ponderosa High School, Renaissance Expeditionary Magnet School, Renaissance Secondary School, Rock Canyon High School, Saddle Ranch Elementary and more. Also community businesses stepped up to have their students volunteer in this work; Incline Gymnastics Training Center and Music Together participated.

I would like to share some of the stories with you;

We helped a family living in their truck. Mom said the gifts would be the only gifts they received this year. They showed the teachers the truck they had been living in and shared joy that they were finally in temporary housing. They were so happy to see the big bag of gifts filled with clothes in their sizes and gifts they had only wished for.

A mom and dad with 4 kids shared with me that her young twins have been in and out of the hospital for years; many times spending days to weeks trying to be well. It’s been trying as a family, especially with the bills piling up, but finally mom was able to go back to work as the twins have finally made it to full-day schooling. What the family didn’t account for is that with the extra income disqualified them from the financial support they received to help supplement their family, so mom picked up more hours at work. These gifts were a blessing; not only providing clothes and gifts; but allowing mom and dad the time to be with the family.

A family experiencing homelessness broke down in tears when gifts were delivered. Her older son just passed away, the memorial was last week. She said we saved Christmas as she has zero energy to shop and no funds left anyway. She was so grateful.

A young pregnant mom was on our list, with her twins set to be due at the end of February needing some help this year. As gifts were collected and wrapped; elves reached out to set up a time to get gifts to her; she was so thankful as her twins came early at 26 weeks. They were in the NICU. Because mom has work, her time and resources are significantly limited with her other children and now hospital visits; she was so incredibly thankful not only for the clothing and gifts; but also for the diapers, wipes and gift cards that can be used for the babies when they finally come home.

Towards the end of our efforts; I got the name of a family that possibly needed some help. She is a mother of 4. When I reached out there was a pause. She said she finally admitted to herself that her family needed help and the night before we reached out she shared in her Bible study her struggles and asked for prayers; then we reached out. She was so grateful and humbled and said this act of kindness took a “burden off and brought such light where it was just dark. Merry Christmas to you all”.

None of the families supported have to “qualify” or provide specific documentation of need. They come to us via their building mental health and administrators who know that they need extra love and support this year. All gifts are wrapped and labeled in such a way that families get to decide how gifts are presented to their kids. All gifts are put into thick black contractor bags to allow for discretion. All that is hoped is that these families have a moment of joy and love with their families. This collaborative, grass-roots effort reminds us all that we are a community; we are Crew.

To all the students either current or past that continue this effort forward, all the teachers that took on a family (or more) to support with your students, the community members (helping a family, or an item, or gave time wrapping gifts), the mental health and admin teams who are connected to their community to help identify those needing some extra love this season, and the countless donations of gift cards and money - which really end up being that extra support that ties this all together we are agents of change!

It is an honor to be part of this act of service with these amazing humans. I hope this break treats you well and you get joy in knowing how impactful it is to be Crew. Happy Holidays!

Warmly,

Allison Armour

Head Elf

2022:

December 2022:

A call to help Refugees was answered:

Hello, generous elves!

Thank you so much for responding to the call for support when we found out last minute that we have many refugee families in our DCSD family that need some extra TLC this holiday season.

We ended up supporting families from the following schools:

Coyote Creek Elementary

Clear Sky Elementary

South Ridge Elementary

Castle Rock Elementary

Douglas County High School

Castle View High School

Highlands Ranch High School

Because of the generosity of so many, we raised over $3,200 in less than a few days, and we were able to support some families at Eaglecrest High School in Cherry Creek School District as well.

This group, on its own, raised nearly $1,200 in monies and gift cards. So THANK YOU! I helped deliver all gift cards to schools yesterday, and the counselors with whom I have spoken are over the moon that we can help these families.

Each family is receiving $100 for the family, and each kid in the family is receiving a $25 gift card as well. These are for families who escaped Ukraine, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico with little to nothing in their possession except for what they could carry on their backs.

Thank you for all you did to make this a true season of giving to those who need the most help.

Merry Christmas!

Monica and Allison

December 2022 Holiday Adoption Wrap Up Letter:

Happy New Year!

I have some exciting news to celebrate with all of you. Holiday Adoptions for the 2022 season was a huge success! Holiday Adoptions is a collaborative, grass-roots effort of schools swapping resources in order to help their families get clothing and gifts for their kids. It is an act of service that reminds us all that we are a community; we are crew.

This year, Renaissance Elementary Magnet School, Renaissance Secondary School, Castle View High School, Prairie Crossing Elementary, Cherokee Trail Elementary, Pine Lane Elementary, Mammoth Heights Elementary, Saddle Ranch Elementary, Colorado Preparatory Academy and many other community members and local businesses came together to help 127 families!

What I know to be true, is at least 67 of our families were experiencing homelessness or impactful living situations. These families spent their holidays sleeping in their cars, in shelters, bunking with family or friends or in transitional housing.

One mom I spoke to told me her and her 5 kids were in a hotel, which they were thankful for during our cold weather. I asked how we could help more than just clothing... she paused, then asked, “you know what I really need? I need a blanket so I can put my baby down while we are in the hotel.” Yes, we got more than just a blanket.

Some of the students we supported were living on their own, without the help of family, finishing school and working. We were able to give them clothing, and gift cards. One student, 16 years old, was so excited for our support. She shared that this would be the first Christmas she has ever had gifts.

One day, over Thanksgiving break, I received a phone call from a colleague. She knew that our deadline to take new families had passed, but she was working with a single mom of a 5 year old who was just diagnosed with MS. This mom was currently in the hospital. Life was definitely not what she expected. We were able to help with clothing, toys, and some soft comforting items for mom as well.

One of the moms was in tears before I was even able to get her information so we could help; just recently she needed emergency heart surgery. She had no known heart problems before. She was unable to work the hours required by her job, because she was in the hospital, so now she didn’t know how she would provide her kids with gifts. We were able to take this small piece of stress off her plate.

This number of families was a complete accident! 127?! I cannot believe that number! I cannot even begin to describe how all of this came together, and yet I know none of it could have happened without all the helpers. The most important helpers being the hundreds of students who participated. There were 13 classrooms from Prairie Crossing Elementary, 14 Crews from Renaissance Elementary Magnet School, 21 Advisory Crews from Renaissance Secondary School (the entire school) and 2 classrooms from Saddle Ranch Elementary. Additionally, Castle View High School Poms and Incline Gymnastics Training Center had all their athletes support this effort.

These kids are changing the world, we are so proud.

So because so many people wanted to help I kept reaching out to schools and families, until finally there were no more days left to help anymore. The last family came on 12/17 and was done 12/18.

I thank all of you; the students either current or past that continue this effort forward, all the teachers that took on a family (or more) to support with your students, the community members (helping a family, or an item, or gave time wrapping gifts), the mental health and admin teams who are connected to their community to help identify those needing some extra love this season, and the countless donations of gift cards and money - which really end up being that extra support that ties this all together and finally; my own family and all they live with to make this happen.

I hope you all had a restful break. I hope you all had a moment of pure love and joy that brought you peace. Happy New Year!

Warmly,

Allison Armour

Head Elf

2021:

December 2021:

Wrap-up:

Saturday 12/18 the last holiday adoption gifts were dropped off to an unhoused family staying in temporary housing. Two days later, there was a text from a Castle Rock community member about a 19 year old who has been raising her siblings since she was 16. This young lady works more than 2 jobs, but we all know how hard it is to raise kids and so a couple hundred in gift cards were dropped off as a surprise bonus. I got a thankful text later for our support and the young lady surprised her siblings with some hot chocolate mix to enjoy; the only thing they had asked for this Holiday.

Holiday Adoptions is really a collaborative, grass-roots effort of schools swapping resources in order to help their families. This year, it took the collaboration of Renaissance Elementary Magnet School, Renaissance Secondary School, Douglas County High School, Castle View High School, Prairie Crossing Elementary, Cherokee Trail Elementary, Pine Lane Elementary, Mammoth Heights Elementary, Fox Creek Elementary, Colorado Preparatory Academy and other community members to help 96 families!

Yep you read that right, 96 families! Most of these families received clothing and gifts for the students as well as gift cards for food. None of this could have happened without the dozens of classrooms and community members that supported families. For 2 months every spare moment was spent on this endeavor. Huge shout out to Sarah Freeman, a community volunteer, who spent weeks in my home wrapping, sorting, organizing and shopping! Even during a global pandemic, people can come together to help one another.

To end, I would like to share just a bit of how your love was spread this season:

The families that we helped from The Colorado Preparatory Academy, an online school, are homeless and/or live in significantly impacted housing; we provide gifts to them, as they are able to use grants for the student clothing. Well as it happens, our last week of adoptions, I am asked if we have any extra gift cards for some last minute kiddos. Of course I say yes! One unhoused teen, living with his grandparents, asked for a gift card to take his family to the movies. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a donated movie gift card, and I was worried that I had finally met a year where I ran out of donations; however, a last minute ask on social media was the final push for this family! A Visa gift card was donated to not only cover the movies for his family, but also enough for some dinner and treats.

Those sent to me come by either the school building mental health or the building admin, so I know these families need some love. A family of an educator was sent my way. I never pry into why their year is hard, or what is happening. I was so happy that we were able to provide gifts and clothing to their kiddos. When they picked up from me, I was asked what details I knew about their story. I told them “I don’t know much.” They then told me that their child was in the hospital with cancer. Their holidays were going to be spent fragmented with parents taking shifts between hospital and home and gifts were not their focus. This educator told me that what we gave them was their whole Christmas. I told this person that I know these gifts won’t take away their pain, but I do hope that it will offer some peace and a reminder that they are not alone.

A story of a single parent, just moved here from the South and trying to get their feet under them, was only able to find a job working for about $14/hour. We were able to get her kiddos gifts and some gift cards, and also coats, jackets, snow pants, boots, to be ready for winter!

Another story of a Castle Rock teen, living with her two older brothers. They lost their mom a few years ago and then a couple weeks before break, they lost their dad. This 17 year old still has another year of high school left and her brothers are trying everything they can to keep their family together and to get their youngest graduated. Due to generous donations, we were able to get them gift cards to Walmart so that they could buy gifts for one another and get some clothing.

A family living in Parker with two kids just lost their dad. Mom was able to give me clothing sizes and some small gift ideas but I could sense something more. I asked if there was something that I was missing? Something that she really wished she could give her kiddos but it might be too pricey. She told me that dad had told the kids he would take them to the Selfie museum but that was left unfulfilled when he died. Thankfully we were able to get them tickets to go. I can’t imagine their pain, and I know it’s not the same and I know we were able to give them a moment to just be and honor their dad together.

There are so many more stories...but I want to honor these families and their information, they are families we work with, we see daily, we may pass in our communities. They are dealing with death, loss, and trauma (like many of us). So, I want to leave you with this - we are all doing the best we can - and I’m truly grateful and humbled to be part of something so special. Because of you, all of you, and your connections, patience, emails, texts, donations, and help, this is what we did this year.

I hope you all had a restful break. I hope you all had a moment of pure love and joy that brought you peace. Happy New Year!

Warmly,

Allison

2020:

December 2020 Holiday Adoption Wrap Up Letter:

Monday 12/21 the last holiday adoption gifts were given. Now the dust has settled and I would like to share the joy, because, without all of you, this wouldn’t have been possible.

This year I frequently said that we had “fewer families” and this was because we didn’t support any families from Pine Lane. This year, Pine Lane had partnerships to help support their 50 families in need. 4 years ago, Holiday Adoptions helped 90 families, and last year we had 81 families. However, I was wrong...we had so many more families that needed help and 25 of them came within the last week in dire need. Total we helped 75 families! If we had helped Pine Lane, it would have been the most of any year.

75 families! This is amazing! Most of these families received clothing, gifts, and gift cards for food. The last-minute families received gift cards to Walmart where they could get both gifts and food. Due to COVID, all items came through my home. We also couldn’t go to other schools and have the teacher/classroom partnership we had previously. We had to be creative. And it all happened very quickly. This year, we helped families from Mammoth Heights, Cherokee Trail, Prairie Crossing, Fox Creek, Castle View, Sage Canyon, Douglas County High, Renaissance, Renaissance Secondary, The Colorado Preparatory Academy, and other parts of Douglas County where I didn’t identify schools. All this happened with dozens of helpers and shoppers and hundreds of donations. My right-hand elf this year was Kelly Huffman (parent in Castle Rock) who spent the equivalent of a full-time job for a month at my home (while I worked and did this after) making sure that Holiday Adoptions continued - even in a global pandemic.

I would like to share some Holiday warmth with you:

The families that we helped from The Colorado Preparatory Academy, an online school, are homeless and/or live in significantly impacted housing (with a couple families impacted by our big state fires). The biggest story that stood out to me was the Friday and Saturday that their 22 families were dropped off, I told Julie (Castin - lives in Castle Rock) that I had enough donations to help more families. She told me of a 17-year-old girl, living in her car, that needed some clothes. This 17-year-old came from significant trauma and had to flee her home. She then went to live with her grandma but with COVID was unable to stay. We were able to get her the warmest sleeping bag possible, clothes, socks, underwear, shoes, a backpack, and a duffle. So many people were concerned for her, that the school is able to help her find transitional housing.

Another story comes from a once homeless family from Gunnison with trauma and a kiddo with significant needs that was able to find a place to call their own. Mom has 3 young children and it took me weeks to finally get her on the phone. The family had one car and one phone. Dad worked at night and mom was not able to work, due to the needs of her children. In addition to clothes, we were able to get her kiddos winter coats and boots, and diapers. I met her at night, in her garage because “the kids still believe in the magic of Christmas” where she cried and offered hugs. (I may have given her the biggest hug).

I frequently get tagged on fb but I can’t always reply. I do all of this after work hours and by then the notifications are overwhelming. However, I saw this one, a grandma in Parker who used to be a restaurant manager who lost her job and was raising her grandson. I reached out to her, which took a couple of times due to our schedules. She was day 15 in her COVID battle. Then she was gone, I was ghosted - and it took over a week to make contact. She had been hospitalized. She was away from her grandson. When she was released I was able to drop gifts off. I didn’t know all her hardships - and I didn’t ask. But she immediately reached out in tears. She lost her job due to COVID and her daughter, the mother of her 5-year-old grandson died this year. She said she didn’t have the words to thank us all for what we provided. I told her I was sorry for her pain and that my only wish was that our gifts provided her a moment of peace and love with her family. She has a rough road, I wish it was different, and I’m humbled our paths crossed.

One of our partners is Douglas County Partners and we took 4 families from there. One family included a foster mom and 4 teen girls. Another family was recently evicted. The third family was a single dad (mom left) with 4 kiddos, including his significant needs kiddo. The last one was a family overcoming addiction and making new starts. All of these families received clothing and small gift items, as well as family board games and/or movies and gift cards for food.

Due to the news of the above girl in her car, I had an outpouring of donations and I was able to take 3 additional families from DCHS and I made a new friend, the ESL teacher, Carmen. Also, the owner from Gold Miners in Ecclesia reached out - and wanted to help, which led to a serendipitous day of helping. See I didn’t think I needed the money anymore, it was just before 12/18 and honestly, I wanted to be done, but I was convinced (by some persistent elves) to take the money since I always have last-minute needs. So on 12/18 @ 1pm (yep - sorry - I missed our staff virtual party), Carmen and I drove around Castle Rock making deliveries. As we drove, she told me of a family that she wished she told us about. Mom had to go back to Mexico and dad was worried about COVID. The teen daughter said things were hard because she had so much on her plate. I pulled into Walmart - and got them a gift card and away we went. As we pulled up, she said she knew the family was so grateful, you see a couple of years ago the family lost their toddler. He choked on a hotdog, the teen saw it all. They had some funds for some food, and I hope, some hope to get through these hard times.

My last family was a dad in Castle Rock, he had recently suffered a heart attack and the teen daughter worked to pay the bills. I had made contact with the school counselor and was told that dad was very hard to reach. Luck would have it, I made contact. His only request was that he had help to complete his disability paperwork. Through my conversation with him I was also able to get him and his daughter clothes...and resources to help with paperwork. However, after items were obtained, I couldn’t find the family. They weren’t returning my calls or texts. The school said the family is homeless and they don’t know how to contact him. The last text I had from dad was that he didn’t feel right taking the gifts and to find someone else.

I was so discouraged. This was my last family, I asked the school mental health for help. Somehow, in some way, the dad texted me 12/21and asked if he could still have the gifts. Of course! And so he showed up, and we chatted, we talked about his daughter, my daughter, how we feel like “rocks” with technology and what a weird year it has been. I wished him well and he went home, with his gifts.

There are so many more stories...but this email is already so long. So I can’t tell you about the 5 last-minute families that came in 12/19 and we were able to get gift cards. I can’t tell you about the school staff members dealing with illnesses. The family that received tuition assistance, and the mom who had help with her car payment. The countless grandparents raising their grandchildren. I don’t have time to share about the parents of kiddos with significant needs who need tagless clothing and sensory sensitive toys. But I want to leave you with this - we are all doing the best we can - and I’m truly grateful and humbled to be part of something so special. Because of you, all of you, and your connections, patience, emails, texts, donations, and help, this is what we did this year.

I hope you all have a restful break. I hope you all find a moment of pure love and joy that brings you peace. Happy Holidays.

Warmly,

Allison

2019:

December 2019 Holiday Adoption Wrap Up Letter:

Hello Holiday Crew,

As we head into our last week before break I wanted to share with you some of the most amazing things that have happened with Holiday Adoptions.

Holiday Adoptions is a homegrown effort of people helping people. We partner with families in our communities that need extra help during the Holiday season and provide clothing and gifts for them. Most of these families come from our very own Douglas County community, some of them from Fox Creek, and the rest are homeless or in transitional housing.

Each family adopted received at least clothing, toys, and gifts for every child. Each family also received at least $50 in gift cards for groceries. Gifts were wrapped and once all items were collected families were contacted for pick up or delivery.

This is the 8th year Fox Creek has embraced this act of service. This year your support and generosity helped support 82 families during this Holiday season! 82 families!!! All families are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support and love. Many times, tears and hugs were shared.

Here are some of the highlights that all of our combined efforts supported (please keep these stories to ourselves):

~A child with autism, living in transitional housing was asking for a conductors baton and was hoping to learn to play the violin. We found him a used violin, and a music store to fix it up.

~A family with multiple teenagers at home only wished for a used computer so that the children could do their homework at home. We found them a brand new computer that will allow all children to get their work done at home and ease the stress at home.

~Some of these families have parents battling cancer or other significant illnesses that drain their resources and impact their kids. These families also received gift cards for restaurants and/or movies and family games to help enjoy a night out to relax and be together.

~5 of our families were of staff members within our district, one of them is fighting ASL, one is raising his grandchildren, one if the parent of an SSN kiddo on her own, and two are starting their lives over with their children. We provided gifts with family in mind; games, movies, restaurants, blankets, self-care items along with gift cards for food and shopping.

~A family who lost their son was able to get the funds to bury him and put him to rest (we raised 2K to pay the remaining balance at the funeral home, $500 for food gift card, and we found a Christmas Tree).

When gifts were picked up from Fox Creek on the 6th, I thought we were at about 70 families. As it turned out, I had colleagues, community members, and families that just now got back to me asking for any help we could provide. We can't say "no." Not when every year, no matter what, it works out. And so...we ended with 82 families.

It is my hope that all our families we helped can share in a moment this season where their stressors aren't forefront, have some food in their homes, smile and love their children with some peace in their hearts, and know that they are part of something larger...Crew. Thank you all for showing with your words and actions show what it means to be Crew! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

2018:

]2018 Holiday Adoption Wrap Up Letter

Wow - what a ride. This year we helped to provide Christmas for 77 families. This email will be long - just so I can share some of the stories of those who were impacted. If you just want the quick and dirty version - THANK YOU! Some Crews adopted families, some staff adopted families, some community members adopted families. All crew helped in some way, either by helping with the adoption process, or the gift collection process, or the flexibility with my schedule, or even just helping me take up space all over the place. No matter the role, I'm thankful for all of you, so now enjoy your break.

This is my 13th year, the 5th for Renaissance. We mainly provide Holiday support to those families from Pine Lane Elementary, Prairie Crossing Elementary, Fox Creek Elementary, and the Renaissance community. Families are nominated for possibly needing support through building staff. Then every families is contacted by myself and 3 other elves.

This year, Pine Lane decided they were going to do something different to support their families and about 20-30 families that we normally support, would not need it from us this year. Then I got a text from an old colleague that asked that I reach out to this Pikes Peak Online School . I called the contact she gave me and found out that they had about 20-30 families that are homeless, living in shelters, or are facing significant financial burdens. She asked if we were able to help - and I said yes. We ended up supporting 22 families all up and down the front range.

It's always amazing how things work out - and every year this Holiday Adoption program always seems to work out!

Thank you to all who helped, look at the amazing work we did!

Warmly,

Allison

November/December 2018:

Holiday Adoptions are underway! Allison collaborates with 6-7 other schools in the district, we identify families that are in need for the Holiday Season and we adopt them out. What this looks like, is these families are adopted by partnering classrooms. Each child in the family will get new clothes and gifts.

Right now we are at 70 families. Most of these families have been adopted by classrooms; however the need for gift cards is tremendous. If you are willing, please donate gift cards to Target, Walmart or King Soopers. It is needed so that we can provide each of these families with food for the Holidays.

If you would like to know where you can drop off gift cards, make sure they are labeled with the dollar amount and identified for "The Holiday Adoptions."

August 2018:

Allison is partnering with The Family Tree and Douglas County Women's Crisis Center to collect new undergarments for women. Items can be dropped off at the school or at her house. Please contact Allison if you have further questions: 719-232-7803

March 24th, 2018:

Allison and other Douglas County community members are collecting feminine hygiene products for local Denver Metro organizations that serve in-need/homeless women and teens. If you would like to contribute, please contact Allison at a.armour@gmail.com

2017

2017 Holiday Adoption Wrap Up Letter:

To date close to 600 families have been supported with this program!!!!

REMS partners with Pine Lane Elementary, Prairie Crossing Elementary, Douglas County Bridge Programs, Fox Creek Elementary, and Renaissance Secondary. This year we are supporting approximatly 60 families. Each family was able to get clothings, toys, and at least $50 for groceries.

Some stories below:

Grandma and Grandpa are raising their two teen granddaughters. Both sets of grandparents have health issues, and Grandma took the bulk of the parenting tasks. This past November, Grandma passed away. Grandpa is not caring for his girls. This program was able to help with new shirts, pants, undergarmets, socks, shoes and toys. For Grandpa we were able to surprise him with favorite history books and gift cards to resturants to enjoy with his girls.

Mom and Dad have worked hard to save up and move into Douglas County to be near good schools and in a good community. This past fall they finally did it, they purchased a home here in Castle Rock. Then dad lost his job. The family has their home, but they have been forced to sell their home belongings to make it month to month. This program provided this family with clothes and new toys as well as some surprise small gifts for mom and dad that include lotions and movie gift cards as well as gift card for groceries.

Ms. Kim's and Ms. SamAntha's crews partnered together to adopt 3 families. Students in these crews developed plans to earn money on their own to purchase items for these children. These students then walked over to Walmart, picked out the needed items and then brought everything back to REMS where they had to wrap each gift carefully. The students had enough funds left over that each family also received $50 in food gift cards.

A family was brought to Ms. Allison's awareness when a new family to Castle Rock bought a home. Mom has scoliosis and a fused lumbar. The family has 3 elementary aged children and mom stayed at home to care for them. Dad was very active and would run regularily, until he started to experience fairly significant back pain. Dad underwent surgery to relieve backpain. However, the surgery didn't go as planned and Dad woke up paralized from the chest down. He regained some feeling in his chest, but his independence was gone. They have a wheelchair that is specialy formed to his body and they have a lift in their house to get him up and down the stairs but depended on his wife almost completely. Mom's pain is excrutiating as well as dad's, so the children spend most of their time at their neighbors. The goal was set to get this family a second wheelchair. However, the cost of this chair is in the thousands. Multiple REMS families heard of this story and started to contribute. One REMS mom, went home to tell her children. The children then decided that they wanted to help, and on their own accord, they donated their allowance and savings. Parent's told the children that they would match their contribution, but had no idea the plans their children had. So when the children brought their money to mom and dad, and added their match, they contributed $964! It was important to these children that this family's children didn't witness their parent's pain. With their contributions the family now has the $3300 dollars needed to buy this second chair. This chair not only allows some of the physical pain mom and dad have everyday, allows the children to enjoy their parents more (since they aren't in as much pain), but allows dad some independence to go about the house.

These are just some of the ways we are CREW.

~Allison

October 2017:

New Women's Underwear going to The Family Tree. Allison is collecting underwear through Friday, October 13th.

August/September 2017: Feminine Hygiene Products and Diapers/Wipes

This drive will begin mid-August and end mid-September. Items can be dropped off with Allison Armour.

July/August 2017: Christmas in July Gift Card Collection

- Ms. Allison is collecting gift cards for groceries and to fill void that the 2016 Holiday Adoption Program left.
  - With almost 100 families adopted this past Holiday season, all gift cards were used. This means that there are none left to help families coming into the school year that sometimes fall into crisis.
  - Grocery gift cards in any denomination are welcome to King Soopers, Safeway, Walmart or Target.
  - Gift cards can be dropped off at Renaissance ELOB at the front desk with a note stating that they go to Ms. Allison. Gift cards can also be given directly to Ms. Allison in person.

2016:

2016 Holiday Adoption Wrap Up Letter:

Hello all you holiday elves,

As we head out for our holiday break, we want to send some good cheer your way. This season Clear Sky Elementary, Fox Creek Elementary, Mammoth Heights Elementary, Parker Bridge Program, Pine Lane Elementary, Prairie Crossing Elementary, and Renaissance ELOB Elementary joined forces to support families from our community that need support this holiday season. This effort begins in September and ends when the very last package is delivered before Christmas. For the most part, every child in a given family, received new clothes and new toys. Some families also received snow gear.

This year we were able to help 91 families! That is at least 398 individuals (which at least 273 of those were kids). Most of these families came from the schools we partnered with, but some of them came from the greater Douglas County area. Over 50 classrooms throughout the partnering schools, worked together to adopt some of these families, creating a project of kindness and compassion. Gift cards were also collected to use towards food, clothing or fun items like movie tickets and restaurants. The response was overwhelming and allowed us to provide EVERY family with at least $50 for food.

This project is near and dear to us and our schools and we are personally thankful to have our supportive staffs and generous communities that allow this very important work to continue each year. Please know that these families are grateful and we feel it is such an honor that they allow us to help them in such a profound way.

Again, thank you for all you have done! We did it!

Happy Holidays!

Love,

Kathleen Campbell - Pine Lane and Mammoth School Social Worker

Allison Armour - REMS and Bridge School Social Worker

(AKA - Santa's personal elves)