STM 2024 Year in Review

STM had an amazing year filled with lots of food rescue work, holiday drives, backpacks, books and simply engaging our community to help those in need in our community. Some of our achievements this year included receiving grants that allowed us to serve an additional 500 senior households as well as to purchase a refrigerated van (debuting in February 2025!). Please take a moment to look over our accomplishments together. We are grateful for everyone’s help and we are looking forward to continuing to serve our neighbors in 2025!

Santa Claus Virtual Visit!

Our thanks to Santa for visiting with the kids via Zoom! The kids were really excited and after listening to Santa read, “T’was the Night Before Christmas” they had lots of fun asking Santa questions. Here’s what we learned:

Do the reindeers like candy too?
No, they only like to eat vegetables.

Does Santa go back to work immediately?
No, he takes a vacation after Christmas.

How does Santa get around the whole world in one night?
Magic. Also time zones.

How does Santa get all that work done making toy?
He has lots of help from the elves! They start very early.

What time will Santa be here tomorrow night?
Depends on the traffic and the time zone, but always after the children are asleep.

Do the reindeer fly?
Yes, they are magic.

Do the elves get sick sometimes?
Yes, just like everyone else. It’s very cold in the North Pole.

How does the Elf on the Shelf or the Magic Christmas Bear get there?
Santa has lots of helpers for making the toys and checking his naughty and nice list.

Cats or dogs?
Friendly animals, depends on the individual cat or dog.

Does Santa ever have to do any waiting?
He waits all year for Christmas! He also sometimes needs to wait for the kids to go to bed.

Does Santa help the elves make presents?
Sometimes, but they’re very good workers too.

Do people ever see Santa?
Sometimes, but from very far away. He goes very fast.

Are there multiple Santas?
He has helpers to say hello to everyone and get children’s wishes. He also has lots of help checking his lists and making the toys.

Holiday Toy Drive, A Success!

Shout out to all the wonderful people who came together to make the holidays brighter for our children! We distributed over 2000 toys, serving the families and children we serve in Takoma Park, Silver Spring, and Rockville! Our thanks to our community, TPSS Co-op, Takoma Bev Co., Tabletop, Old Takoma Ace Hardware, The Takoma Park Seventh-day Adventist Church, Licking Creek Bend Farm, Yoga Heights, Takoma Montessori School, Orangetheory Fitness, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Wegmans, Helping Hands Army, The Senior Connection, The Studio Of Colour and Design By Margie Billian, Silver Spring Ace Hardware, Heather Foley, Strathmore Children’s Chorus, Sts Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church of Washington DC, Patrick Klees, STM Thomas Wooton HS, STM Quince Orchard HS, and our STM elves Chris, Mary, Lucy, Nina, Dudley, Ian Arthur, Charles, Howard, Tess, Stella, and Lana for making all of this possible!

Holiday Toy Drive

Friends please help us with our annual holiday toy drive. Toys for ages 6-11 (children 0-5 are covered!) and $10 gift cards to Target, Starbucks, and Amazon can be dropped off at the following locations: TPSS Co-op, Tabletop, Takoma Bev Co., Old Takoma Ace Hardware, Silver Spring Ace Hardware, Wegmans Germantown, Helping Hands Army, Senior Connection, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Takoma Montessori School, The Studio Of Colour and Design By Margie Billian, and our office at 14516 Bauer Drive, Rockville, MD 20853. Gifts can also be mailed to us at Small Things Matter, 14516 Bauer Drive, Rockville, MD 20853. All of your donations are tax deductible just drop us a line at thesmallthingsmatter@yahoo.com if you would like an acknowledgment letter for tax purposes. Thank you for your kind help!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our deepest thanks to everyone who contributed to a successful Thanksgiving Drive! Together we shared 2089 Thanksgiving Baskets (whole roaster chickens/whole turkeys, potatoes, carrots, onions, sweet potatoes, gai lan) with the families and individuals we serve. Thank you for making it a Happy Thanksgiving for all!

TPSS Coop Fundraiser for STM

Our deepest thanks to our friends at the TPSS Co-op who raised $1006 for us by donating $1 for every purchase made at their grand re-opening on Friday, November 8! We are grateful for this and for their constant support and encouragement. The Coop gives us a space to pack each week, receives our produce and nonperishable deliveries, and donates a pantry space for our goods. Thank you!

STM Gala

Thank you to all of our amazing friends and teammates, sponsors, and partners for coming out to celebrate at our gala this evening! Thank you for putting your whole heart into helping your neighbors in need!!! We are also grateful to Takoma Art Library/Sarah L. Voisin, Carol Zimmerman Ossi, and our amazing community for raising nearly $1200 for STM by raffling off the Kindness Quilt they made! Big thanks to our friends Delegate Lorig Charkoudian who presented us with a lovely citation, County Executive Marc Elrich for his wonderful remarks, and Mayor of Takoma Park Talisha Searcy, GOCI Director Christina Poy, and Commissioners Yang Yu, Chair and Isabelle Balakit for spending the evening with us!

Enter the Raffle and Win Our Community Kindness Quilt to Support Our Work in the Community

The Takoma Art Library, (Free Art Supplies for All at 907 Erie Ave.), together with the help of our wonderful community, has made a gorgeous quilt to support the 501(3)c nonprofit, Small Things Matter. Carol Ossi, Small Things Matter and Takoma Art Library beloved volunteer, assembled the strips, and used more donated fabric to back the quilt. The result is this wonderful community quilt and a testament to KINDNESS!

The suggested donation for each entry is $10. You are of course welcome to donate more! Each Donation gets you a chance to win the community quilt. Donations are accepted via Venmo at thesmallthingsmatter, PayPal at thesmallthingsmatter@yahoo.com or personal check made out to Small Things Matter, 14516 Bauer Drive, Rockville, MD via this form: Community Quilt FUNDRAISER for STM (google.com).

Fundraiser entry sales end at 8pm on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at the 2024 Small Things Matter annual Gala at the Takoma Park Seventh Day Adventist Keystone Room. You do not have to attend the event to win the quilt.

 If the winner is not present, the quilt can be delivered or mailed to you.

Thank you for supporting Small Things Matter! And please share this widely!

Our thanks to Sarah Voisin/The Takoma Art Library and Carol Ossi/Small Things Matter and Takoma Art Library beloved volunteer

Chicken and Turkey Sponsors Needed

Help us fill our Thanksgiving Baskets.

Every year STM puts together Thanksgiving baskets (a roaster chicken or turkey plus fresh produce – potatoes, carrots, onions, sweet potatoes) for the 2000 food insecure families we serve in Takoma Park and Silver Spring and 25 families in Rockville. We would love to have your help! Please consider donating either a roaster chicken ($10 donation) or a turkey ($20 donation) for a family in need to help make their Thanksgiving brighter. Please donate to us via Venmo @thesmallthingsmatter, Paypal thesmallthingsmatter@yahoo.com, or checks made out to Small Things Matter, 14516 Bauer Drive, Rockville, MD 20853 from now until Sunday, November 24 at noon.

STM is happy to provide letters of acknowledgement for tax purposes. Thank you for your kind support!