STM’s Kokua Foods Program distributed 10,819 lbs of fresh produce, dairy, bread, and grocery items to 300 families this February. We are happy to announce a new distribution location at Red Top Road/Sawa Kamara site manager. Special thanks to Councilmember Tom Hucker for coming out to our RTES distribution for a second time! Our deepest thanks to our members (Daniel, Sean, Lana, Jacob, Jacinto, Luis, Yeni, Gabriel, Seth Grimes, Stephen Whitney, Ken Allen, Jim Douglas, Sarah Stella, Luis Almar, Thomas Jacob, Wei Li, Leandra Nichola, Taylor Dibbert, Sawa Kamara, Aurelie Bush, Yajaira Garay, Josh and Yukiko Malkin, John Anderson), to our partners at Wegmans Germantown, Wegmans Woodmore, Imperfect Foods, TPSS Co-op, U-Haul Moving & Storage Takoma Park for donating the use of their truck, to The Nugent family for their weekly donation of a grocery bag of nonperishable foods, to our site managers Bryan Goehring & Difference Makers/TPMS, Doris Duarte /Hampshire Tower Apts and Helen Winder/WWES, to volunteers (Yacouba, Hadrian, Christopher, Alejandro, Everett, Adonis, Yeiny, Denia, Ashley, Joselyn, WWES Principal Daman Harris, Asst Principal Liz Collins, Dora Stephey, Abebe Kassaye, Jill Asato, Iris Atezana, Josefina, Chuck Huband, Pia Acol, Wendy Kent, Kevin Buchanan, Michelle Robinson, Kia Robinson), and to AmeriCorps The Choice Program at UMBC for their tireless dedication and hard work.
If you are interested in volunteering us please contact us! www.smallthingsmatter.org

Small Things Matter had a great time making Candy DNA with the students at East Silver Spring Elementary School’s STEM Night on February 19, 2020. Students learned about base pairing and then went on to use this to code a small stretch of DNA using licorice, marshmellows, and toothpicks. The students had fun twisting their creations into double helices before consuming them. 105 DNA helices were made! The night showcased many student projects and activities from a number of groups including Montgomery Blair High School Robotics Team 449, motor spinning art, and Koiner Farm. We can’t wait to come back next year!

Congratulations to Seth Grimes and Steve Whitney and all the other 2020 Azalea Awards winners!!! Seth and Steve won in the category of Neighborhood Volunteer for all their amazing work in the community! We are grateful for all of your hard work with Kokua Foods as well as all the many other projects you both are involved with. Our thanks to the Takoma Park Foundation for sponsoring this event and for the kind invite to attend today’s event.

Our thanks to the Fifth Graders at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School for partnering with us to make 187 handcrafted bookmarks on February 19, 2020. Your lovely bookmarks will be shared soon at our upcoming book distribution at Wheaton Woods ES and we will be using your monetary donation to purchase brand new books. Thank you friends for sharing your creativity and kindness with those in need. We were thrilled to work with you again and hope to see you again soon.

Our thanks to Montgomery County Councilmember Tom Hucker for presenting Small Things Matter with a citation on February 16, 2020 at our Kokua Foods Distribution at Rolling Terrace ES. So proud of our team! Everyone has been giving 110% to help those in need. 🙂

Our citation reads:
Montgomery County Council Awards This Citation to Small Things Matter
In Recognition of its Many Charitable Initiatives for the Less Fortunate
Small Things Matter — through its Kokua Foods, Books for Bedtime and Crafting for Charity projects — exemplifies the spirit of charitable giving
that makes our county a strong and caring community. Through partnerships with businesses, Kokua Foods provides food and household
goods to families struggling with food insecurity. Books for Bedtime
empowers children through literacy, while Crafting for Charity gives
children the opportunity to create gifts for their less-fortunate peers.
Tom Hucker
Council Vice President

Woohoo! Please welcome STM Brooklyn! Club members Victoria, Anna, Keanu, and Jack hosted a Valentine’s Day Kindness Event at PS102 Bay View School. Everyone in the entire school got to spin the prize wheel and received either a pencil, eraser, plush toy, t-shirt, or bracelet. Way to make your debut and spread some love this Valentine’s Day!

Our thanks to Silver Spring Cares for hosting their 2nd Annual Galentine’s Day event at the Astro Lab Brewing on February 13, 2020. Their event showcased a few of the local nonprofits and gave people a chance to help support them by making various things: Shepherd’s Table (decorating Valentine’s Day cookies), Silver Spring Village (making Valentine’s Day cards), Happy Little Art Studio LLC (painting kindness rocks), Charles Koiner Center for Urban Farming (making labels for plants), and Small Things Matter (creating bookmarks). We are very grateful to Silver Spring Cares/Heather Foley and Liz Brent for bringing us all together. It was a beautiful night!

STM had a wonderful time making little love bugs at the TPSS Co-op on Wednesday, February 12. It was great seeing all the creativity! Our thanks to our members Amaranth, Ocean, and Brigitte for leading the activity and to Leandra Nichola/Co-op for hosting us and providing yummy and healthy treats for everyone. Hope everyone has fun spreading a little love today. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Our thanks to the student group AGAPE, who crafted these lovely monster stuffies for our Crafting for Charity program. We love all the different personalities!!!

Our deepest thanks to Winston Churchill High School (Potomac, Maryland) Ambassadors and Marie Umali Gasaway, Assistant Principal for hosting a book drive for us during MLK Day. Thank you for getting your whole school involved in serving those in need!