The Big Finale - part 2
Saturday morning bright and early my husband and I woke up (about 5 am) because we knew that my friend, Ewa, and her husband were coming over at 6 AM (!) to help get this project finished up in time to make our 9 am deadline! That’s friendship! :) I appreciate it so much!
My husband and I ate breakfast.
Sure enough…at 6 am, they drove up to the gate and came on in.
Now…to get on with what happened.
But I can’t easily associate a long code with anything, so in 8 pt. I put F1, F2, F3, etc. beside each number so we could easily identify which code goes on the boxes. We did it in groups, but still…it would be easy to get them mixed up.
I then printed out labels for the first three families - as each family that we supported had a code from the organization - and we were to put their code on each of their boxes. It was far easier to print out multiple codes in big print than write it on each box. I did that.
The back end of the minivan was starting out with stuff in in before the men started loading up on Sat. morning as soon as it was light enough. They had to work around the furniture since it needed to go on the first trip.
The back end of the van already had a lot in it because we had 2 wardrobes and a desk. Thankfully all three of these things were slated for the 9 am time, which meant we didn’t unload them - but left them in the vehicle from Thursday when we bought them until Saturday morning. We have a pickup that we used to run around on Friday.
Mike and Robert (the husband of Ewa) then had to work around those pieces of furniture - partially dismantled.
Here’s how the day went -
We finished up what we needed for 9 am and headed out to Debe Wielkie (Great Oaks) to take our packages. Our friends also drove along and their filled their car up to the brim with packages!! So we had a small-ish car, a mini van, and a crew-cab-with-covered-back pickup truck FULL.
FIRST Drop off point - Debe Wielkie fire station— about 18 minutes from our house - east of Warsaw.
I led the way with the Galaxy mini van
(The reason I went first was our minivan started having problems on Thursday and wouldn’t “go” correctly - with the pedal to the floor only 30 mph for a while was its max - then finally something clicks and it decides to go. - This left us with an uncertain situation with this vehicle - but I prayed that it would get through the day and take us back and forth to the places we needed to go - and we could get it looked at after Sunday. We made it back and forth all day without it running correctly - but its pretty scary as it is dying on us as if not getting fuel when you first start it.)
and then my husband, and then our friends in their car. We got to the fire station which was the delivery point, about 10 minutes early, but we didn’t need to worry - there were plenty of people there.
When I went in and started talking they said, “O Pani Becky is here”. One of my handlers came running and introduced herself to me. We had to sign in—tell how many packages for the family we had, the approximate value of them and sign it. We also got a sort of certificate of appreciation. They are big on that kind of thing.
I filled this one out with www.quitledtwins.com clients on it.
They tried to give me one of these certificates for each “gift” but I told them that this wasn’t necessary!
We were also given a small gift that some children made - I chose out what I wanted from among a variety of small gifts.
Here we (you all) supplied gifts for three families -
The first one - FAM 6
a family where there is a working father - a carpenter, and 2 children - a 12 year old boy and a 5 year old girl and the mom is expecting a third child. The first child, boy, has Kawasaki disease and the daughter anemia. The mom doesn’t work outside the home and the dad simply doesn’t earn enough to keep them above deep poverty level. It could be part of it is related to the two children’s health issues - and this year - the pandemic.
We got these things:
—the boy a bed and mattress,
—a small-ish wardrobe and a desk for the boy so he can have a place to study.
—a ton of coal so they can have a warm house this winter.
—a laptop - so a second child can do school - can’t both use one phone
—a nice set of Tefal of pots and pans and 2 frying pans as the mom’s current ones were in very bad shape. The little things included
—a wallet for the mom,
—a thermos for the dad and a
—power bank for the 12 year old boy.
—They asked for child cosmetics for the 5 year old, but I figured that could be sad for her, so I got her a nice set of Paw Patrol and a Barbie type (Natalia) doll that shows the mom as pregnant with a sister.
—I also picked up some little set of “Frozen” shampoo and soap.
—some clothes for the 12 year old.
Because it seemed like the 12 year old boy got so much - that’s why I went ahead and splurged on the nice toys for the girl. I also gave the boy a soccer ball as well - don’t want him sitting in front of a laptop all the time! The boy also got new tennis shoes - a special type - more canvas tan typical - they were requested, along with the clothes.
This is what you got family 5! The bigger boxes usually hold smaller presents that are prettily wrapped.
The dad was given a cordless drill and some cosmetics. The mom cosmetics and a piece of jewelry.
The children were both given new duvets and duvet covers. I don’t remember if I gave each of them quilts, however. Everyone got a set of towels and a blanket.
The next family - FAM 5
Their situation was dramatic in that the dad lost his sight this last year where he hit his head and became blind as a result of that accident. His wife, who had worked (as had he) then became his full time caregiver as they’ve been going to many places to see if there is any help for him/treatments. It’s been a rather rough year for them. Due to the fact that until the time of this accident they had both been working, and making it on their own, this has been quite difficult for them, especially - as they hadn’t known such poverty before. They are living off their savings which is almost gone. The caregiver told me they needed food! There are two young boys - 6 and 3.
This is what you got them -
-food - about 9 boxes of it with a variety of shelf stable items meaning macaroni, flour, sugar, rice, canned vegies, and fruit, oil, jam, and other food items. I did find some drier kielbasa type stuff, which doesn’t need to be refrigerated, some canned tuna and some cheese in a block that is vacuum packed and lasts a long time without being refrigerated.
-a microwave
-cleaning supplies - this family asked for them specifically
You got them twice as many of these supplements as they asked for. They said they were “very expensive” - which amounted to about $50/month for the two combined. All of this medicine was $100 - it was probably 12 boxes of tablets - new supplements. it didn’t seem that expensive to me for how much we got. Perspective is everything.
-a ton of coal so they can have a warm house this winter
-some special supplements they asked for - by name. It’s supposed to be good for the dad in helping him to recover from the accident.
-a laptop for the 6 year old boy for school especially
Frame It! became their gift - I had asked the Lord to help me find someone who would like this. I had originally intended to have it go to the Ukraine to one of Mike’s students, but who knows when the restrictions will lift and he can travel there again? I decided instead to give it to this lady and her husband.
-a set of towels for each person in the family and a new set of bedding - duvet covers - for the couple and one each for the two little boys - Spiderman and Avenger
-2 quilts I made - charity quilts for the boys and a gift quilt from me for the couple (not a charity quilt - I gave them this one - the one I called Frame it!)
-their special gifts were a pair of earrings for the mom, a set of hair clippers for the dad (?? - this is what they asked for), and a Titanic COBI (think LEGO) set for the 6 year old and other COBI block sets - smaller for the younger boy and a little tractor set. Then I went out at the minute and bought them a Hot Wheels set and 6 cars so they can have something to PLAY with should they want to play instead of build - esp. the 3 year old. I suspect the COBI sets are too complicated for the average 3 year old. That’s why I got the Hot Wheels.
For FAM 4 we got a lot of things.
This family included a hard-working mom, 54, who had developed a brain tumor and then had a stroke - obviously she had to stop working at that point. In the household are her 5 (almost all) grown children - ages 32, 30, 29, 19 and 17. The younger two are in school. The household is being supported by the 32 year old man and the 29 year old sister along with the mom’s money for being sick - the 30 year old lady is watching out for the mom and fixing the house, etc.
This is what YOU got them
In its place in the new home! The handler sent me this photo.
- a wardrobe. Up until now they had to ALL share the same one - so there wasn’t room. Six people for one closet - not enough space. The wardrobe you gave them will help.
-a stationary bike for the mom to do her rehabilitation exercises on so they don’t have to go anywhere - saves time, wear and tear on the body, and in these days, it’s hard to go anywhere for rehab.
- two tons of coal so their house will be warm this winter.
-food
After delivery and put together!!
-tennis shoes for each of them - I bought them name brands (Addidas, Nike, Skechers) on sale - well, Skechers not on sale, sadly - so hopefully will last a long time.
--a backpack for the two younger ones who are still in school,
-a food processor
-a pasta maker - they don’t buy premade pasta - they make their own!
-various clothes for the members of the families as indicated need - from sweat pants to coats.
a duvet, duvet cover set, a new pillow, a set of towels and a charity quilt for each one. The mom likes green - so I included a green duvet set, a charity quilt that had a lot of green on it, etc.
-for personal gifts - a big puzzle for the 32 year old - 3000 pieces, a big pot and a new frying pan (plus a set of DOVE) for the mom, a cordless drill for the 30 y/o lady (!), a chopping ax AND a splitting ax for the 29 y/o lady (!), a cool looking soccer ball for the 17 y/o guy and some cosmetics for the 19 year old young lady who also got a couple of things she didn’t ask for in the clothes department. The personal gifts were things they asked for, by the way - the handler prodded people to give them/us ideas so as to know what they would like!
Everything for the three families didn’t fit in our three vehicles so my husband and Robert came back to get the bed for FAM 6.
Ewa and I stayed longer to chat and take photos. After sticking around for a while, we ended up leaving the fire station there and coming on back.
The men took the bed back to Debe Wielkie.
Ewa is posing here with the pile of gifts for FAM 4. I didn’t crop it down on purpose - this way you could see what’s going on around us with the piles of packages and why everything needed a tag. Everything!
We went back to work on the remaining presents.
Then once the men came back from taking the bed, they loaded up the gifts for the 2:30 pm run to a place called Sulejowek, which was FAM 1.
After all was loaded in for that - Ewa and Robert left - thankfully by this time, all was ready for the afternoon runs! Robert and Ewa had helped put in the washing machine and stove into the back end of the pickup - which we would use for the 4 pm run.
Sulejowek fire station
SECOND drop-off point - Sulejowek fire station - about 20 min. from our house on the east side of Warsaw.
We drove the Galaxy minivan to Sulejowek (leaving about 2 pm) - and were there a few minutes before our appointed time - which was 2:30 pm. There were tons of volunteers there which descended on our car and took packages and brought them into the building where we then took more photos and chatted a bit. Their meeting point was the local fire station.
These were the presents for FAM 1. Family 1 came into hard times this last year when their 11 y/o daughter came down with Type 1 diabetes and the father lost his job due to the pandemic and so did the mom. There are 4 other children - for a total of 5. Add to all of this the mix of having to learn to deal with this disease in a prepubescent girl - and life became wild. They had always lived very modestly on what they earned before - so they had no debt. But they also did not have some things that a lot of Americans would consider a necessity (like enough chairs so everyone could eat together!)
This is what you gave them -
—2 tablets and a desktop computer (all were second -hand in good condition). Up until this time, they didn’t have any computers in their house. Along with that, we gave them an extra extension cord and a monitor.
—8 dining room chairs from Ikea that they were going to have to assemble.
—the Miao miao 2 sensor which will help the girl who has diabetes regulate the blood sugar.
—a lot of food
—the offer to pay for a truck driver course for the dad so he can get a more stable and better paying job. Before that becomes a reality, he will have to have a psychological and physical exam and pass both. At that point, our “handler” will help us with the enrolling part - we will cover his costs (just over $1500 - I have saved out this amount for this action).
—games - a classic Monopoly game, Taboo, a Jenga type game, UNO, and a second hand “Farmer” game picked up at a local freecycle group.
—various cosmetics for them personally and cleaning supplies for the house
—a few items of clothing for the young people. I’m a little afraid (understatement!) to buy clothes for teens since they tend to be picky! I did buy a coat for the 11 y/o girl and the 9 y/o boy. The 1 year old boy got some footed sleepers.
—shoes for the 9 y/o boy and gift certificates for the 3 girls (ages 15, 14 and 11) so they can pick out their own. I want them to like them and FIT.
—for personal gifts we gave the girls some Addidas perfume, and the 1 year old boy a Playmobil tractor. The 9 y/o boy was given “Need for Speed” computer game. The mom got a few things including a piece of costume jewelry, a black sweater, and DOVE cosmetics. The dad was given cosmetics and a glue gun - which was really just for the household. The boy also got a toy from Star Wars that almost all boys like - it’s long and skinny and shoots out lasers, supposedly (doesn’t really). I gave the 11 year old a nice set of coloring pencils and an adult coloring book as well.
—I gave the kids each a quilt in the 60”x80” size—pulling ones for the youngest three from my stash of charity quilts appropriate for each of them - owls, Spiderman and ducks - and for the older two girls, I finished the sports quilt and the tan/green camo quilt for the girls who love sports and the army. I gave mom and dad a large quilt I made from 2” squares - not really a charity quilt, but one I was willing to give to a special couple.
Oh…while writing this blog post I got a phone call from the mom - in FAM 1. I had given my number to them and told them to call - would love to have contact! They thanked me profusely for the gifts!!!
After talking with the volunteers at the drop off point for a bit, we left and drove home where Mike put boxes that I handed him into the van, which had just become empty and into the truck for the remaining two families.
Then we headed to the third delivery point.
Third Drop off point - Otwock - an elementary school gymnasium - about 12 minutes from our house.
My handlers made a beeline for me once they saw me. The lady in the red shirt and the man in the red mask - handlers for the two families we had in Otwock.
Once we arrived here, they had my husband pull into the parking area where they just unloaded the things from the truck and the minivan that were for FAM 3 - a single man - into their delivery truck because it was complicated.
Here we gave gifts to FAM 3
Family 3 consisted of a single man in his 60s who has struggled with a brain tumor. Hopefully he is on the recovering side of it, however. He used to drink heavily until 16 years ago when he gave it up. He lives alone but very hospitable. He asked for a lot of things to do with serving guests. I loaded him up on tea and snacks.
Here’s what YOU got him:
—a new gas stove/range
—washing machine - up til now has been washing his clothes by hand
—a new bed/mattress - his bed had a big dip in the center where it was worn out
—a ton of coal which will keep him warm this winter
—a table lamp
Here’s what a ton (literally!) of coal looks like!
—a light fixture with three bulbs
—a duvet and duvet cover
—a quilt and a blanket
—food items
—personal cosmetics and cleaning supplies he requested
The totally cool thing about this man’s present is that the local Facebook Noble Packages page featured it on their page. It’s here. You can see more pictures and use Google translate to read about it. My husband’s black pickup is next to the truck things are being loaded into in one of the photos. They just unloaded right from the pickup into the delivery truck.
While they were outside loading up the special truck, I was inside the school gymnasium talking with people, filling out the form that tells how many packages, and how much it was worth, etc. Generally, just being friendly and nice to the workers and volunteers. Being political, I guess. :)
But sadly because we were busy talking and taking photos that they wanted, I forgot to get a photo of the family 2’s presents.
They brought the packages for FAM 2 inside.
FAM 2 - consists of a 25 year old grandson and his 75 year old grandma. They both live on her retirement which isn’t really enough. Hopefully the grandson will soon get a job. He just finished college. We offered to pay for a special course that would help him become a certified English translator, but the young man seemed reluctant. (Maybe his English isn’t quite good enough?? I don’t know - so far we’ve not met him!)
You all got for this family -
—a 40” tv for the grandma - to date she’s had a 30 year old tv - old style. We (Mike and I decided on 40” because it’s nice and big and gives you a whole new view on things!)
—2 tons of coal to keep them warm this winter
—flatware - Gerlich brand - good ones like Oneida - medium price for a good quality - I bought extra small tea spoons and small forks for dessert - set of 6 of each of those to go with it as they go through a lot of small spoons since they drink so much hot tea here.
—a set of dishes similar to Corelle (I bought Arcopal.)
—a new toaster (I figured if they didn’t have a set of flatware, they needed this.)
—a set of knives (I figured if they didn’t have a set of flatware, they needed this.)
—We also got both of these people a few articles of new clothes. They gave their needs and sizes. I mostly just ordered them from a nice site I’ve found with good quality clothes for the money.
—a special pair of boots for someone with bunions for the grandma
—pair of Skechers tennis shoes for the young man.
—a set of guitar strings for the young man (they gave me a specific name and size) and a night light and sweets for a diabetic for the grandma. We bought a motion sensor night light.
—food
—a Lenovo laptop for the young man as his other one was ancient.
—a duvet and duvet cover and new pillow for each, a quilt for each and soft blanket for each.
And that’s about it. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some things but I think this helps you get the gist of what all we packed up and gave.
And there you are! I hope now you have a better idea of what all happened last Saturday and where you money went!
Together we collected about $15,000. I have spent almost all but $150 of it! Whatever wasn’t mentioned here specifically was spent on food, cleaning supplies and cosmetics to round out the presents!
Thank you again for all your help in this endeavor! It’s been great. I hope these have helped you understand what was happening and what you gave to and for!
If you have questions about anything I didn’t cover here, please ask in the comments section and I’ll either answer or edit this post to answer questions that need to be dealt with.
Oh…I did include with each family’s gifts a gift bag with a note about who we are and where the money came from (you all) and why we are in Poland.
Have a great day wherever you are reading this! Stay safe!
Be sure to check out what my sis has for you in the store here!
Here’s one of the beauties we have!
