Please mark your calendars for Kindness Day in honor of Tommy Raskin on Saturday January 28, 2023 at Piney Branch ES from 10am-1pm. There will be various kindness activities benefitting local charities that support people as well as animals for you and your children to participate in, collections at PBES on the day of the event, local businesses offering in-store kindness events, and a raffle benefitting the Tommy Raskin Memorial Fund for Humans and Animals https://tommyraskinfund.org. Monetary donations can also be made to the foundation directly. If you do make a contribution for Kindness Day 2023 and would like your name(s) include on the card/booklet we are putting together for the Raskin family please let me know. More details on all the activities and in-store businesses will be posted here soon.

SSL hours will be awarded for MS/HS participating in the event. Volunteers needed from 9:30am-1:30pm.

Activities at Piney Branch ES from 10-1pm
Packing non-perishable food items in bags
Make and take microgreens
Kindness rocks
Bookmarks for kids
Toiletry/hygiene products collection (full sizes only)
Positive message cards
Making weighted hula-hoops, teaching how to hula-hoop
Safe Space Signs
Affirming buttons
Safe Routes to School (SRTS)
Notes of Kindness and Mealtime Inspiration Kits
Winter Clothing
Puzzle books for seniors
Socks for the homeless
Make-N-Take pinecone bird feeders
Community kindness book
Coloring books for sick children
Make Dog Tug Toys
100 Fresh produce boxes
Friendship bracelets
Book collection (grades 3-5, 5th), snack donations, spring volunteers for upcoming school events, and thank you teacher notes
Positive message cards
Legos for underserved children

Items you can donate at the Kindness Day Event
used/new towels for animal shelters
non-perishable foods
Toiletry/hygiene products (full sizes only)
Winter Clothing
Puzzle books for seniors
Socks for the homeless
Coloring books for sick children
Small drawings for the community kindness book
Book collection (books for grades 3rd-5th esp needed)
Gently used Legos

Businesses In-Store Kindness Events
K&B Bridal and Tux – Words of affirmation and encouragement jar
Tabletop – Snack table
TPSS Coop – Treat table
Old Takoma Ace Hardware/Ace Hardware Silver Spring – Register roundup for Tommy’s Pantry
Olive Lounge – February 13 Dineout to benefit Tommy Raskin Fund for People & Animals

Our thanks to Belmont Elementary School’s Social Justice Alliance for inviting Lana to share our mission as part of their MLK celebration on Friday, January 13. Our thanks to Stefanie Pleasure and Pam Dorsey for organizing the event, to the PTA for sponsoring the event, and to the members of the Social Justice Alliance for running the packing rice/beans activity for our families in need. This inspirational evening was filled with many other wonderful activities: the Social Justice Alliance shared quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr.; Green Olney collected items for recycling and taught students how to make reusable bags and dog toys out of t-shirts; Girl Scout Troop 31058 hosted Valentine’s Day cards for seniors; and students put together a lovely “What is Your Dream for the World” inspirational wall filled with their hopes and dreams for the future.

STM’s holiday distributions are complete! Together gave out over 1000 toys and giftcards to Takoma Park families at Edinburgh House, MHP 610-614, Sligo View, Hancock Gardens, Blair Park, Parkview Towers, 7610 Maple, Cambridge, Winslow House, Colonnade on the Creek, Hampshire Tower, and Essex House Apartments; Silver Spring families at Langley Gardens and Colesville Tower Apartments; families in Takoma Park and Silver Spring at our community distribution at the TPSS Coop; and families in Rockville. We also shared Cups of Cheer with seniors at Hampshire Village, Hampshire Tower, Essex House, and Maple View Apartments!

Our thanks to all of our wonderful partners and friends who donated, collected, sorted, and wrapped toys, donated winter coats, made Cups of Cheer for our seniors, and made cookies/cookie kits: Wegmans Germantown, Baitur Rehman Mosque, Silver Spring, GFWC Maryland Federation Metropolitan Community Club of Montgomery County, Margie Billian/Colour & Design, Main Street Pearl, Kui Chan, Kehilat Pardes – The Rock Creek Synagogue, Tabletopdc, Blake HS Key Club, Kimberly Allen, Old Takoma Ace Hardware, Silver Spring Ace Hardware, AlexElda Dhadasih, @m Grace Episcopal Day School, Helping Hands Army, The Senior Connection, Dipali Tare, Takoma Park Presbyterian Church, Little Flower School, True Respite Brewing Company, Tilden Middle School, Girl Scout Troops 2463, 6037, 33009, 33154, and 34054, TPSS Co-op, The Takoma Park Seventh-day Adventist Church, and our community!!!

Our team received a Govenor’s Citation for our food work in the community. Our thanks to Christina Poy, GOCI Director for presenting the award, to Governor Larry Hogan for this kind recognition of our work, and to all of our wonderful partners and our community for their support!

Our thanks to the Project Linus, Montgomery County Family and Community Education, TPSS Co-op, Tabletopdc, Main Street Pearl, Silver Spring Ace Hardware, Old Takoma Ace Hardware, TPES, PBES, and our community for all the amazing winter coats and blankets for the families we serve.

Please join us in making the holidays brighter for the children we serve by donating a brand new toy for ages 0-12 or $10 gift cards for ages 13-17. We serve over 1000 food insecure families in Montgomery County and need a large quantity of gifts. Brand new, unwrapped toys can be dropped off at the many locations on our flyer from now until December 11.

We also have an Amazon wishlist here https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1OLZEAOQ0QT0J

Small monetary donations can also be made via Venmo thesmallthingsmatter, Paypal thesmallthingsmatter@yahoo.com, check made out to Small Things Matter, 14516 Bauer Drive, Rockville, MD 20853, or stop by and donate at Takoma Park’s Pajamarama event on Sunday, Dec 4 from 8am-11am

Our thanks to all of our wonderful partners who are collecting toys for us and to you for your kind donations. STM is happy to provide all donors with a letter of acknowledgment for their tax-deductible donations.

There is much for all of us to be thankful for. We are thankful for our community, our partners, and our team for working together to serve those in need. This year STM packed and distributed over 1000 Thanksgiving meals with the help of Imperfect Foods, Wegmans, Sudano’s, Montgomery County’s Food Security Task Force, Amerigroup, Takoma Academy, The Goddard School (Olney), Bethesda Metro Rotary Interactors for families at Hampshire Tower Apts, Essex House Apts, Maple View Apts, Park Ritchie Apts, Edinburgh House Apts, Parkview Apts, Cambridge & Winslow Apts, Langley Garden Apts, University Landing Apts, and families in Rockville. We are also grateful to Sts Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church of Washington DC for providing 225 Thanksgiving meals to our families at Twinbrook ES, Weller Road ES, and Eastern MS.

Our teen-led pantry distributions are back after taking a break this summer. They take place one Tuesday each month from 4:30-6pm (see our calendar for dates) behind the TPSS Coop building. Families chose from a variety of basic and/or culturally relevant foods including, eggs, masa, oil, and nonperishable foods provided by Montgomery County, as well as prepared foods and produce, diapers, feminine hygiene products and more! Our thanks to all of our wonderful teens and partners that make our work possible.