Volunteer with Us!

On Tuesday, December 28^th, Stacey M Design, along with several friends, will volunteer at Feed My Starving Children, in Aurora, IL. It will be the 3^rd consecutive year that Stacey M Design and friends worked at the Aurora location of the Minnesota-based nonprofit.

Feed My Starving Children works tirelessly to provide food to children around the world. Volunteers hand-pack meals specifically formulated for malnourished children. The food packs are then shipped overseas and distributed to children.

I enjoy working with FMSC not only because of its mission. But I also enjoy it because children are encouraged to volunteer. As a mom it has always been important to me for my son to grow up understanding that not all people have the necessities of life that we enjoy and often take for granted. Volunteering at FMSC helps kids understand the role they can play in solving global problems. Before the food packing begins, staff of FMSC explains to the volunteers about its mission and present a video that shows the dire situation of malnourished children and the amazing transformation of the children once they receive food provided by FMSC.

Today I was particularly excited to hear this from my friend, Hazel, who volunteered last year along with her 6 year old son:

“Nikolas has to do an oral presentation this week on something they did for another person and how it made them feel. He is choosing to speak about the time he went to Feed My Starving Children and helped make food for those children in need. Looking forward to it again this holiday season!! Thanks for including us--apparently, it did have an impact!”

Overall the experience is moving and enriching. I invite those in the Aurora/Naperville area to join us on December 29^th. If you would like to volunteer with us, please let me know by posting a note on Facebook.

If you cannot join us on the 29^th, please check out FMSC’s website for volunteer opportunities across the country.

Small Acts of Kindness with Big Impact

With reports of celebrities like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie donating $1 million to aid Haiti it may seem as if small businesses and individuals with limited resources can do little to impact Haiti or others in dire need of help. However, there are many ways that almost anyone can help. There are many nonprofit organizations that depend on volunteers to give as little as 1 hour of time. Other organizations accept donations of canned food and clothes. In response to the earthquake in Haiti, we are seeing how organizations like Yele Haiti is working with cell phone providers to accept donations of just $5 through texting that will go to helping Haiti.

On December 29, 2009, a group of volunteers led by Stacey M Design volunteered at the Aurora, IL office of Feed My Starving Children. We helped pack food that would be sent to various countries in critical need of resources. The group of volunteers who worked the shift that we worked packed 68 boxes of food that will make 14,688 meals. This food will feed 40 children 1 meal a day for a year. Haiti is one of the countries that receives food from Feed My Starving Children.

I found this experience both educational and rewarding in many different ways. I was reminded of the suffering many children experience both in this country and around the world. I got to see so many people of different ages, races and backgrounds work together toward a common goal. I was reminded that while all of us do not have the power associated with celebrity, big business, politics and money, we all do have the power to make a difference.

I look forward to working with Feed My Starving Children again. I also look forward to mobilizing my small ground of friends and family members to volunteer for other causes as much as we can.

Please post small ways to help that have big impact! Thanks!


Stacey Montgomery
Stacey M Design