Years ago now, we used to have a Christmas outreach that involved getting our supporters to give me money and I would buy presents for area needy children. I went around to schools and children’s homes, collected names and lists and we prepared presents and a presentation/program. It was amazing. It was a very busy time of my life. I was also younger then.

Also our children were home. I had a “for sure” group of core children to help with the program.

As they left, one by one, it began to be harder to do the program, AND I saw that at least in our area, the poor were beginning to be “less poor”, if you can understand. They were getting picky. And the parents were getting to be a pain - so that during the presentation, sometimes the mothers would be so rude so as to talk nonstop during them. Finally I decided to stop the activity. (I would also get very sick just after the whole thing was over. Every year. Very sick!)

Coinciding with our outreach’s cessation, children’s homes in Poland were liquidated in lieu of smaller, “family” children’s homes AND even more important to me - the Polish people started a home grown outreach to the needy called “Noble Packages” - in Polish it sounds better - Szlachetna Paczka”. Noble Packages actually sounds a bit funny. Not so in Polish.

There are volunteers/social workers who have gone to various homes and interviewed people and found out their needs. If they meet a certain criteria, they are included in a list that goes on the website of families that are in need. No one has last names, but we do know first names and areas where they live.

The idea is that individuals or groups choose a family to sponsor.

The social workers have done the hard work of getting their three biggest needs - and they are counting on the person/people who are sponsoring this family to get those. They also include sizes and a few other fun things that someone might wish.

These packages amount to quite a bit of money - these aren’t my modest $15 gifts that my friends used to sponsor. No, these are often $500+ gifts - for example, coal for the winter, a new refrigerator or washing machine or hot water heater.

But that’s kind of neat, isn’t it? These are Polish people helping Polish people. I think it is 100% wonderful!

Let me show you the kinds of needs that we are talking about by letting you see a family that is taken off the website. I screen shot all of these and used Google translate for you so that you could read it. Sometimes the google translate doesn’t do it perfectly, but I think for the most part you can get the gist.

When you first go to the website, you see the page that looks like this. I’ve screen shot it for you already translated into English using the right click button on my mouse where it says “translate to English”.

Our area is the Masovian district, so that is what I chose to look at. Then yesterday I was looking again, and I saw a new family pop up in the Warsaw area - which is not too far from where we are. It is good to choose someone in your area as you have to deliver the packages or “things” to the area where they say. If that is a long distance, then either you have to recruit someone to deliver or plan on a road trip.

Anyway, here’s this family - they have 5 children - 3 girls and 2 boys - girl nr. 3 (Jadwiga) came down with juvenile diabetes right when the fifth child was born - about a year ago now. Then, as you know, in Feb/March the pandemic hit Europe and many people lost their jobs.

I don’t know if you caught this, but this particular family has 5 children - and the youngest two school aged children are using their mom’s cell phone for the internet for their on line schooling. This is crazy!!

I decided that this family - a family who has been hit by the hardships of having a child with diabetes at the same time as a new baby - was one I wanted to sponsor!

This particular family was “ok” financially up until last year. They were making it on their own. At this point in their lives, they need a boost.

Their 3 biggest needs are

• dining room chairs for the whole family so they can sit together and eat at the same time,

• a special blood sugar monitor for the 11 year old with type 1 diabetes and

• staple food.

This page sort of summarizes the situation in Poland -

The word “Bied” is “Poverty”.

This type of poverty is not the same as most of the US calls poor. Think W VA mountains “poor” - not “Section 8, free cell phones, food stamps, free lunches, child care subsidy, and welfare” poor. We are talking sometimes “no running water, no hot water, no washing machine, no working stove, no heat”. And you can assume most of these people don’t have cars—if they have transport - it’s a bicycle.

And all this poverty is not because they are using meth or cocaine or don’t want to work.

Sometimes it’s just that they are sick, had an accident, or live where there is no work, or have a very sick child and have to take care of him/her - esp. single parents.

What do you think?

Would anyone help me and make this a group project from the Quilted Twins?

If you would be willing to help, just click on the donate button. The money will go to Quilted Twins and my sis will get me ALL of it here in Poland where I will spend it on this family.

I am trying to raise $3000 -

• $1000 - for the dining room chairs ($200-300), blood sugar monitor ($200) for the child, and $500 worth of food

• $1000 - computer equipment for the kids’ schooling - 2 laptops and a tablet (or possibly a desktop/tablet - will find out from the volunteer if they have room for a desktop computer - each of the younger children need something as children have classes at the same time!)

• $1000 - so I can buy boots and a winter coat and bedding for each person (which at $200 each is technically $1400 but I’ll try to see if I can get all that with that.)

I’d also like to get a “fun gift” for each person - or a table/board game for the family - they are pricey. I’d absolutely LOVE to be able to pay for a truck driving course for the husband. Around here, the courier/package delivery companies can’t hire fast enough - but you have to have a special certificate to get such a job. That certificate requires training which you have to pay for. The course is around $750.

I know it’s a lot.

I also know a lot of you have Polish roots and would love to do something tangible to help a family with specific needs to better their lives.

Would you help? if so, click here and you can. Any amount is appreciated and I will try to “squeeze” each groszy to get the best deals with the best quality I can possibly get! (Groszy are the smallest coins we have in Polish money.)

Thank you!

So far we have $8550 of the $7700 goal - or 100+%!

Rachael is asking to do a second family - (as the Quilted Twins) - so I’m adding another $3000 as the goal.

($4700 for the first family since I found out trucking school is about $1700 and not $750 and $3000 for the second one). If we continue to have a lot of people donate, we will add people as we can handle financially and compare it with their needs so that we can help in a meaningful way.

——

We have now taken on a second family - a grandmother with her grandson (the son’s mom is deceased). They mostly need coal (heating), things for their house including a set of dishes and clothing, and food. The grandson would like to take a specialized course to become an official translator of English. We’ll see. I’ve got to check more into that to see if it is something we can do.

——

Edited to add - we have now taken on a third “family”- a single man who has no washing machine (he washes his clothes by hand, and his stove is broken - he has cancer and can’t work - and needs bedding (and food). I think we can do that, don’t you?

Thank you so much everyone!

I really appreciate anything you can do. I have only a few days to try to get this money raised as I need to do the shopping next week. We have to take the final boxes of presents to the distribution place on Saturday the 12th or Sunday, the 13th where the volunteers will get them to the family.

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 interesting panels we have!