STM at Let’s Play America’s 10th Annual Play Day on August 8, 2018

STM had an amazing day on August 8, 2018 at Let’s Play America‘s 10th Annual Play Day at Takoma Park Middle School. There were tons of fun games, face painting, karate demos and participation, dress up, Simon Says with Congressman Jamie Raskin, Comics Jam with Dave Burbank, Marsha and the Positrons, snacks from TPSS Co-op, and more! Our sincere thanks to the wonderful Play Lady Pat Rumbaugh for the kind invite to share our mission with others, her wonderful volunteers (special shout out to Michelle), our friends the amazing Difference Makers, and to all the wonderful children and families that came by to say hi. We were thrilled to share over 100 books with all the enthusiastic readers and were grateful to the little artists who took the time to craft a bookmark with us! Take care and we hope to see you soon!

STM honored at the Frederick Keys BGE HOME Make a Difference Monday on September 3, 2018

STM was recognized on September 3, 2018 at the Frederick Keys BGE HOME Make a Difference Monday. Our generous sponsors gave us 25 complimentary tickets behind home plate, a marketing booth on the concourse where we shared our mission and invited children to color and donate bookmarks for our upcoming book event at Rolling Terrace ES, and a 20 second PA announcement before and during the game. Lana and Leela were also interviewed on the field by Andrew Klein and Lana was given the honor of throwing out the first pitch! It was an exciting end of the season game! The Keys were victorious against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans with a 2 to 1 win! Our thanks to BGE Home, The Frederick Keys, Kyle Huson (Broadcast, PR, & Community Assistant), and Andrew Klein (Assistant General Manager of Sales) for their kindness. What a wonderful Labor Day! Thank you!!!

Monsters, hats, and octopi for Shady Grove Adventist Hospital on August 28, 2018

Small Things Matter donated 100 monster stuffies, 11 knit baby hats and 18 crocheted octopi to the Pediatric Unit and NICU at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center on August 29, 2018. All items were made with new materials, acrylic yarn, and hypoallergenic poly-fil. The hats and octopi were made in collaboration with the amazing Difference Makers Teen Ambassadors! We will be collaborating on sewn fabric hearts next. If you are interested in crafting with us please drop us a line! Thanks!

STM serves up Lemonade and Hawaiian Shave Ice at the TP Farmers Market on August 26, 2018

STM had a great day out at the Takoma Park Farmers Market. Lots of friendly faces, fresh produce and flowers, music, and more. Our thanks to everyone who stopped by to learn about what we do and for purchasing our Hawaiian shave ice and lemonade! We are grateful for your support! Please mark your calendars and join us at KID Museum KIDfest in downtown Silver Spring on September 23 where we will be making monster stuffies to donate to children’s hospitals!

262 books donated to STM from Aimee Le on August 25, 2018

This weekend we received a huge donation of 262 brand new books from our friend and supporter Aimee Orberndorfer Le! Thank you so much for your wonderful and generous donation. We are nearing our biggest distribution of 1200+ books for Rolling Terrace Elementary School in September and this is definitely a big help! Thank you!!!

STM at The African Griot Book Fair for Children on August 19, 2018

STM was honored to be a part of The African Griot Book Fair for Children hosted by Gillette Dickens at Druid Hill Park in Baltimore on August 19, 2018. We had the pleasure of meeting many children’s books authors, eating wonderful foods, heard traditional African stories told by griot Baba-C, and listened to drumming. Lana read books to children and gave away books provided by our friends at Share Literacy HOOPOE BOOKS, Share Literacy, Books for Afghanistan, Books for Pakistan. We also vended lemonade and shave ice to raise funds for our literacy and crafting programs. It was a wonderful day!