Day #11 Toilet Paper Drive Part 2

This Thursday morning greeted us with some much appreciated cool weather and our final trip to the dentist for fillings. Now all boys have lovely teeth and we don't need to go back to the dentist until our fall cleanings. With the dentist out of the way, it was time to complete our toilet paper drive by dropping off the donations. The boys were all very excited about this culmination of our little drive. I think they did a wonderful job with the help of many family and friends. THANKS TO ALL WHO DONATED! :)

We were greeted by Carol who took us over to the large floor scale so the boys could see how much their donations weighed. We hauled it over in 3 of our large laundry baskets. The grand total came to 112 rolls of toilet paper that weighed 33 lbs (including the baskets) Carol was very sweet and explained to the boys what a blessing their service was to many families. She told them that each family that came there for help was given one bag, with two rolls of toilet paper in it; and that was all the toilet paper they would have for a few weeks. Once the paper was weighed, she let all the boys get on the scale individually and then altogether.

Grand total of all Olson boys!

Yep, that is 276 lbs of pure awesome boys I have been blessed with. It was sure a neat experience to host this drive and help the boys complete some community service hours for their Citizenship in the Community Merit Badges. Carol reminded us before we left that they are always in need of toilet paper; if we'd like to make it a summer tradition. She also told E to keep them in mind when he chooses his Eagle Scout project. Before leaving we loaded all the bags of toilet paper into a shopping cart so Carol could take them over to the "store" part of the facility. She said they were totally out for the day, and that each person stopping by today would receive toilet paper that the boys helped to collect.

It was a good day. I think the boys all had a fun time, more importantly I hope they learned that even they can help make a difference in the world. I reminded them that although we often pray for blessings we'd like to have, we should never forget how blessed we are to have the many wonderful things we have; especially such a simple necessity...like toilet paper.

If you'd like to get involved, here is the link I found this particular opportunity on:
http://communityactionprovo.org/
Just click on the "Volunteering" button and it will lead you to a variety of ideas, needs, and suggestions of how to get involved. We hope you are all having a great Thursday!

Day #4 Be Thoughtful Thursday

While seeking out this summer's theme days I wanted to make sure I could find a way to incorporate getting outside of our little selves and doing some good in the world. I was delighted to see a Pinterest pin suggesting to have Thursday's theme center on being thoughtful. With a growing number of scouts in our home, I wanted to find things that would help them earn merit badges; while still including the younger members of our crew. This is not always a simple task. As I was calling local non-profit organizations looking for ways the boys could volunteer and earn hours for their Citizenship in the Community, I became more discouraged as place after place informed me they were just too young. I knew we could always just write a note to someone or drop off a treat to one of the sweet widows we love; but I was looking for something we had not done in the past. I was pleasantly surprised to discover a huge need for toilet paper at the local food bank. The woman at Community Action Service and Food Bank in Provo told me the best way for the boys to get involved was to simply host a toilet paper drive. It was so simple it almost sounded to easy. As I talked it over with the boys and we began planning the drive, we were all humbled that such a simple commodity was in such great demand. We quickly became very excited about participating in this service, and planned for it to be our very first Be Thoughtful Thursday activity. After a few dozen fliers were handed out and a post was made on facebook to notify other family and friends, we set the donation deadline and set back to wait and see the response...

Step 1: Unwrap and Stack all the Rolls

Step 2: Place two rolls in each grocery bag

Step 3: Tie each bag with a double knot

My very handsome and happy Scouts, all done bagging...for today

Little Helper #1

Little Helper #2

The final donations will be gathered on Sunday from Church, then we'll finish bagging and take to the Food Bank next week. For today though, we are grateful that because of the generosity of family and friends, we were able to bag 66 rolls of toilet paper. That is 33 families who will benefit from this little drive of ours. Thanks to everyone who helped us out. Happy Be Thoughtful Thursday!