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June 30th, 2009 | Birthdays, Children, Donations, Giving
As we celebrate our nation’s birthday with picnics, fireworks, family and fun, it’s also a good time to remember the thousands of underprivileged children whose birthdays go unrecognized each year.
We rely on individuals, corporate and civic groups, schools, churches and business partners to help us fund and create birthday gift bags which are filled with toys and treats and distributed to homeless shelters and food shelves.
Your donation will provide a birthday gift bag, along with a lot of self-esteem and plenty of smiles for children in need on their special day. Donate now and have a wonderful 4th of July!
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June 18th, 2009 | Donations, Volunteers
Zachry Engineering employees found that filling birthday bags was a great way to end their workday.
Tony Griebie, Electrical Designer, who organized the group, said “It made me think of my four-year-old neice and what it would be like for her not to have an acknowledgement of her birthday. For every bag we put together, I hope it puts a smile on the face of the child who receives it. That smile is well worth the small amount of time it took us to put them together.”
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June 17th, 2009 | Kids, News, Press, Volunteers
An article now appearing in the Minneapolis Examiner is helping to spread the word about Cheerful Givers and how families or groups can get involved by filling birthday gift bags.
“Teaching some individuals to give and others to receive” is also an important part of what we’re doing.
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June 11th, 2009 | News, Press, Volunteers
Congratulations to James Kwee, one of our great volunteers, on the good press he is receiving as a result of being a volunteer award winner. USA Today.com, along with a number of other sites have published an interview with James
In addition to leading our pilot program in Chattanooga, James manages Cheerful Givers on Facebook and writes articles for our monthly e-newsletter. We are very proud and thankful for him!
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June 4th, 2009 | Donations

Not often do we get snow in Minnesota in June but sure was fun to receive it today! Steve Spangler Science donated 10 tubes of Insta-Snow, which is one of their favorite toys. Kids can amaze their friends by secretly placing a capful of Insta-Snow powder into a Styrofoam cup and then fill the tube with water. In an instant, they will see the snow expand to 100 times its original size. What’s amazing is that the fake snow is actually a variation of the superabsorbent powder found in the lining of baby diapers.
And equally nice was the note that came with this donation which said “Thank you so much for the opportunity to contribute to Cheerful Givers and to help you in your amazing mission…”
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June 3rd, 2009 | Volunteers
Vicki Kline-Flores, who has been a Cheerful Givers volunteer for the past five plus years, is a wonderful example of “leadership in service.”
“I was a single mom who at one point received a similar kind of assistance that Cheerful Givers supplies so I know how it feels to be a parent who might receive a gift bag” said Vicki.












