out of theboxwww.thechristmasboxhouse.org

NEWS FROM THE CHRISTMAS BOX INTERNATIONAL

Spring 2013

upcoming eventsCar Show Fundraiser

Saturday, May 253660 S. West Temple, SLC

Shrimpfest 2013Friday, June 14, 6 to 10 p.m.Marriott Hotel at City Creek

5 S. West Temple, SLC

Lifestart InitiativeWednesday & Thursday, June 19-20

Volunteers needed to createLifestart Boxes for foster youth

The Christmas Box International (CBI) came in 14th in amount raised of 361 other Utah nonprofits, ranging from nature preserves to education, who re-ceived funds during the the 24-hour “day of giving” hosted by The Commu-nity Foundation of Utah and held on Friday, March 22nd.

Raising $6,120 from 114 unique donors during the 24-hour “day of giv-ing,” we are happy to say the event was an enormous success in reaching new donors and bringing in funds to our operating budget. In total, combining donations received before, during and after Love Utah Give Utah, CBI raised $6,813. We competed in the Medium Nonprofits Category, taking fourth place in the number of unique donors for that bracket and far-outpacing many other nonprofits. We even were awarded a “Golden Ticket” donation match from The Community Foundation for $100, where a random donor was selected and the donation amount matched during the actual day.

A Board Matching Grant of $725

was reached well before lunchtime. CBI was one of the top participating non-profits for both “Donation Amount” and the “Number of Unique Donors.” CBI placed 13th in the number of unique donors, keeping our name on the Love Utah Give Utah website “Leader Boards” all day. This generated greater exposure and name recognition, and CBI was one of only 20 nonprofits to hit triple-digits of unique donors.

Overall, the “day of giving” raised $633,533 for 361 charities from 6,521 unique donors. And this is only the first year! During Live PC Give PC, the Park City-based “day of giving” launched in 2011, the community event managed to pull in more than $330,000. In 2012, that number nearly doubled to $596,000. If that pace can be matched for Love Utah Give Utah in 2014, the event would pull in over well over one million dollars. This year, Gov. Herbert’s office hoped to gauge a temperature for the success of Love Utah Give Utah, and he and fellow legislators will hopefully be more vocal in garnering participation for Utahns.

Our mission is inspired by the spirit and message of The Christmas Box, a book by Richard Paul Evans that emphasizes the beauty and importance of love for children. The Christmas Box International partners with local, national and international communities and groups to prevent child abuse and to improve the quality of life for children who have been abused or neglected.

Love Utah Give Utah a smashing success statewide

The Christmas Box International raises more than $6,000 and among top charities for “Day of Giving”

Every month, volunteers deco-rate our main Christmas Tree in the lobby of the Christmas Box Houses. March was all about Easter, but April is all about those spring showers.

Sometimes putting exactly what The Christmas Box International (CBI) does into words can be a challenge, with programs reaching toddlers and teens, accepting dollar donations and new toys alike. But we’re going to try. Between growing our outreach with children, planning annual fundraiser events, boosting staff numbers and working with more than 30 partners in Utah and across the globe, CBI had a successful year. Here is a look at what we have been up to:

Through our direct services, the programs supporting abused, neglected and abandoned children,

CBI was able to increase the number of children served. In 2012, CBI served more than 5,800 children across Utah and several international partners through our houses,

the Giving Tree Project and other initiatives, compared to roughly 5,500 in 2011.

• 1,248 children assisted through the Christmas Box Houses • 3,544 children assisted through other CBI programs • 1,008 children served through the Giving Tree Project during the holidays

The number of in-kind donations given to CBI totaled $477,388.13 in 2012. In-kind donations in the Salt

Lake Valley alone reached $233,090.36. In Ogden, that number hit $138,328.34, and in Utah Valley in-kind totaled $105,969.43, all of which served our children in addition to children served by another 31 charities and community partners.

Both the Lifestart Initiative and Giving Tree Project were a success. These two programs brought in hundreds of volunteer hours and

thousands of dollars of in-kind and fund donations which go directly to the children we serve. And 2012 was no exception. Giving Tree, an event providing Christmas presents to at-risk youth, reached more children than ever before. In every corner of Utah, more than 3,7000 children received gifts and resources valued at an estimated total of $210,515.01. The Lifestart Box move-in kit project sets up teens aging out of foster care with basic needs such as bedding, kitchen items, linens and even toilet paper. With 77

TOP 5 Accomplishments of 2012Your Guide to The Christmas Box International

The Christmas BoxInternational

The Christmas Box International partners with local and internationalcommunities and groups to prevent child abuse and to improve the

quality of life for children who have been abused or neglected.

every child deserves a childhood

The Christmas BoxInternational

every child deserves a childhood

Calling on Volunteers for the Salt Lake City

Christmas Box Club!The Christmas Box International is looking for new members for the volunteer club in the Salt Lake area. We need those 18 and older who are creative, passion-ate and want to help children in need.

For more information about our first meeting, call 801-747-2201 or email keeley@thechristmasboxhouse.org.

Utah Valley and Ogden Clubs Growing!Not from the Salt Lake area? You can still get involved with our clubs in Utah Valley and Ogden. All are seeking new members. To get involved in the:

• Ogden area, email christmasboxclub@yahoo.com.• Utah Valley South area, email bettyquinn15@yahoo.com.• Utah Valley North area, email laurieohansen@gmail.com.

Meet

us on4/17

See you at

The Christmas

Box House

(3660 S. West Temple)

@ 6:30 pm

12

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See “Top 5 Accomplishments” Page 3...

In six snowy kilometers The Village Run hit its goal: build a better image of youth in foster care and bring families together. It is a lot to accomplish in less than four miles, especially when the weather was taking a turn for the worst, but was the ignit-ing spark behind the The Village Run.

The event took place Sat-urday, March 23 in Orem, and more than 200 runners showed up in support to run in the cold, slush and snow. And a single morning, the race raised more than $4,500 in monetary and in-kind donations.

Serving thousands of chil-dren every year, Utah Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) partnered with The Christmas Box International, Addict II Athletes, Utah Foster Care Foundation and the Utah Foster Adoptive Families Asso-ciation to promote a run aimed at supporting older youth in fos-ter care.

“We have over 2,700 kids in

foster care in Utah,” said Terri Sawyer, a case worker for DCFS and creator of the event. “They need our support. If they don’t have that, they will not be suc-cessful adults.”

Since its inception, The Vil-lage Run serves as an opportu-nity for biological parents to be with their children and the fos-ter families.

“Many people believe that kids are in foster care,” she added, “because they have done something delinquent, that they have somehow gotten into trou-ble. I run into this daily.”

Judy Berrocal, an athlete with the nonprofit Addict II Athletes, lost her son following a camping accident where her car backed over the child. Turning to drugs to cope with her grief, Berrocal said she lost sight of her family, even her 8-year-old daughter. Though regaining custody from DCFS took a year, Berrocal was able to see her child and spend time with her through a strong relationship with her daughter’s

foster family.“I lost my daughter,” she said.

“Then, I started taking classes, working with peer parents and couple counseling … because of these services I got her back.”

Starting as a way for a child’s foster and biological families to spend time together, The Village Run quickly took on a life of its own, growing the number of participants and the amount of donations raised.

Proceeds will go to The

Christmas Box International’s Lifestart Initiative, which sup-ports teens aging out of foster care. Providing everything from kitchen items to bedding, Life-start Box move-in kits provide the basic needs for teens settling into their first apartment. Funds will also go to support activities for Transition to Adult Living (TAL) programs throughout the region, including retreats, train-ing and community activities.

Rather than receive presents for herself on her birth-day, Herriman Elementary School student Adrian Landrum just dropped off a box brimming with toys for the children here at the shelter. She collected the toys by asking her friends to bring a donation to her 10th Birthday Party. Happy Birthday Adrian!!!

volunteers providing 205 hours of service in July, CBI assembled 215 Lifestart Boxes.

In 2012, CBI introduced a new Christmas Box Room,

a space dedicated to making available donations ranging from diapers, clothing and school supplies to brand new Lego sets. The newest addition is located at the Division of Child and Family Services office in American Fork and was established with the help of the Utah Valley South and North Christmas Box Clubs. These local clubs are currently collecting clothing, hygiene products, blankets, school supplies and toys for children and teens.

Staff efforts to keep CBI strong are going strong, with $80,500 raised through 12

awarded grants, the creation of a development and a community outreach staff position to broaden our focus and an ongoing, effective audit and recordkeeping system. With new staff positions, CBI has been able to get more involved than ever with our community partners, as well as further outreach efforts to the local communities we serve, from more than 10 Eagle Scout projects in 2012, to supporting the first-ever The Village Run 5K. The Christmas Box International is working harder than ever to make every dollar, every donation, count.

Top 5 Accomplishments continued ...

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Snow? That can’t stop The Village Run II

CBI greatly appreciates XMISSION for hosting our website.

web cred

Children’s Clothing:

Spring/Summer Clothing, size 2t – 14/16Athletic Clothing, size 5 – 14/16Summer pajamas, size 2T – 14/16 Teen Clothing:

Spring/Summer Clothing, size Small – XXLAthletic Clothing, size Small – XXLLow-rise Underwear, size 5-7 wom-ensSkate Shoes, size 8-10.5 mensFlip Flops, mens sizes

Therapy:

Scentsy Buddies (for our Adopt-an-Animal Program)Lego SetsHacky SacksArt PadsLearn to Draw Books Personal:

Nair Hair Removal LotionMen’s and Women’s Electric RazorsSpray-on Sunscreen SPF 50Acne Face WashForehead Scanning Thermometer

WISH LISTS

Did you know CBI is now registered at Target and other stores? A list of items for the children’s needs and the Lifestart Project is at Target’s registry sta-tion—Target List: Christmas Box House. For a list of other stores and do-nation registries visit www.thechristmasboxhouse.org.

Find us online:CBI is on the web, so find us and follow us for more updates on who we are and who we serve.

facebook.com/thechristmasboxinter-national

@thechristmasbox

Watch us on youtube.com bysearching “The Christmas BoxInternational”

pinterest.com/christmasbox

SLC and Ogden Christmas Box Houses and the Utah Valley Christmas Box Rooms:

THE CHRISTMAS BOX INTERNATIONAL

3660 South West TempleSalt Lake City, Utah 84115

Phone 801-747-2201 Fax 801-747-2205

www.thechristmasboxhouse.org

Every child deserves a childhood.

Lisa McDonald, Executive Directorlisam@thechristmasboxhouse.org

Sherri Engar, Direct Services Directorsherri@thechristmasboxhouse.org

Douglas Smith, Internal Operations dsmith@thechristmasboxhouse.org

Gina Barker, Development Coordinatorgina@thechristmasboxhouse.org

Lori Parrish, Community Outreachlori@thechristmasboxhouse.org

Keeley Bierwolf, Community Outreachkeeley@thechristmasboxhouse.org

Christmas Box House ActivitiesThanks to generous donors, our kids were able to enjoy the following community activities:

An inside look at activites at The Salt Lake Christmas Box House:

Two long-time volunteers, Lane and Marilyn Summerhays, brought their personal horse to The Christmas Box House in April, allowing all of the children an opportunity to ride a horse -- and for the first time for many of them.

• Grizzlies Hockey game• Harlem Globetrotters• Monster Jam truck show• Disney on Ice• Utah Blaze football

game• Jamba Juice giftcards• Childrens Film Festival

• Century 16 movie passes

• We Are Pals equestrian assisted psychotherapy

• Ettiquette dinner with Herriman High School at The Garden Restuarant

*All items need to be new please