Claudia & Michael Cuddyer

228 less fortunate children will have Happy Birthdays thanks to the great support of the Minnesota Twins Wives and players who filled birthday bags following their winning game on July 18th. Special thanks to Claudia and Michael Cuddyer for helping to organize this fun event. 

Watch for some great autographed Minnesota Twins items to be auctioned off  during our Social Summer Online Fundraiser throughout August. 

The group also enjoyed wavers featuring right fielder Michael Cuddyer, which were provided by Animal Fair/Sports & Entertrainment.

Thanks to donations from local businesses and the school’s own fundraising, more than 30 students were able to make 50 birthday bags, the third year in a row the Skyline High School Key Club in Washington has contributed to our cause.

And not content with their successes, the Clubbers are planning on reaching out to their peers at Eastlake High School to stage a bigger event in the near future.

Read article about them in today’s Sammamish Reporter.

GreatNonprofits

In partnership with GuideStar, Kiva, the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, MADRE, Wider Opportunities for Women, Dress for Success, Women’s Media Center, Women’s News Network, and Women’s Philanthropy—Women’s Issues, this campaign is identifying the top-rated women’s nonprofits  

You can read what others have said about us and add your review  here.

Congressman John Kline honored Cheerful Givers at the bi-annual Star of the North award ceremony held on February 16 in Lakeville, Minnesota.  Kline  stated “It has come to my attention that Cheerful Givers has assisted our community by ensuring that families struggling with financial hardship have birthday presents for their children.”

 Cheerful Givers Founder, Robin Steele in accepting the award commented  ”It was a great honor for me to accept the “Star of the North” Congressional Recognition on behalf of all the Cheerful Givers volunteers who give their time and contributions to help less fortunate children. “

Each year the Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation continues to advance its mission of improving communities and impacting lives through meaningful philanthropic programs that support children, families, animals and the environment.  We are proud to be one of their “best friends.”

While their husbands were busy winning the baseball game, MN Twins wives were busy filling birthday bags with toys they purchased earlier in the day. Many thanks to this giving group!
Read more about this event.

“Teaching some individuals to give and others to receive” is also an important part of what we’re doing.

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!

The book follows an underprivileged group of kids whose lack of equipment doesn’t hamper their love of baseball. This wonderfully illustrated, hard-cover book, which makes a great gift for kids of all ages, can be purchased for $15.95 at www.agloveoftheirown.com, and if you select Cheerful Givers (code CHG 132), a portion of the proceeds will help us to provide toy-filled birthday gift bags for less fortunate kids.

Here’s what one Grandfather had to say about the book :

I am a 61 year old male who recently purchased your book.  I plan to give it as a gift to my son with the design that he will share it with our grandson to advance a message of what the game has to offer all of us: it’s history, structure, purpose, culture, significance, and more importantly what can be learned from it.

I began reading the book in the store where I purchased it and began to get somewhat emotional as it
“flashed” me back to my youth, and how I spent many a day playing with friends and rivals the game that has meant so much to me in my lifetime.  As a result, I have tried to communicate the game and it’s merits to my son over the years, and this book has in a strong way rekindled the significance of what I did, and enjoyed as a youth, and what I am encouraging my son to “pass on” to another generation.

This book, the short read that it is, has to be one of the most moving pieces of literature about the game, creatively crafted so that anyone who knows anything about the game can understand just a little better that it truly is a “kids game”, but also delivers a companion message that can be understood and practiced by everyone.

Congratulations on a great piece of work!

- Ken Bernabe