Toys for Tots.....Western Massachusetts Location

Franklin County Toys For Tots Drop Off Location Website

Marine Toys for Tots Main Website

It's important to remember around the holidays, while we are picking out presents for our family, planning what to bring for the big dinner, making plans with relatives that live out of state that there are a lot of people out there that can't even get together with loved ones. 




No pile of cards to open from aunts, uncles, cousins and more stuffed with $20, $50, and $100's. No waking up to the living room so full of presents they have to open them from 6am to 1pm and take a break to try out the new 4 wheeler. Maybe just happy with finding the cookies and milk gone filled with the thought that Santa must've loved them because they got a jacket finally so they can play outside during recess. 




We all are finding ourselves in a tough spot sometimes but sometimes we should just sit and reflect on just how lucky we are; whether it's parents, siblings, grandparents or kids, spending holidays with family is the most important thing and there is ALWAYS someone out there suffering much more then we are....at least more then anyone who has access to a computer and internet so they can read this....

just my thinking at least....

The Jill E Harrington Hanzalik Memorial Fund

http://www.chaseyourdreamsnow.org/about-us/


The message seems simple...it's 3 words...3 words that a women named Jill Harrington truly exemplified through not only how she lived and the way she carried herself but in her actions as well. I wish all of you reading this could have met her because she is not someone you would forget. Her vibrant, happy and full of life attitude was infectious, you couldn't help it when someone like Jill was there.


I was lucky enough to grow up playing basketball with Jill's brothers Adam and Kevin which was how I knew her. I can't really explain how I felt the day I found out that Jill had been taken to the hospital and it was serious. Now just understand, as impactful as I say Jill was, on EVERYONE, this exemplifies my exactly what I am talking about....although I never hung out with her, we always spoke at team cookouts or playoffs games which she wouldn't miss for the world when her brothers were playing, yet the thought that something is happening to her was one of the saddest moments I have ever experienced. You could talk to 100 people from all walks of life around this community and 95 of them would know Jill and the other 5 have either heard of the name or know the family and NOT A SINGLE ONE, and I mean literally not 1 person would have 1 bad thing to say....not one bad story to tell about when she was a kid, not some mistake when she was a young adult and not an embarrassing story from her 20's....
THE LINK ABOVE IS TO THE JILL E HARRINGTON HANZALIK MEMORIAL FUND AND ON THE SITE IS MUCH MORE DETAILED INFORMATION.  IF YOU HAVE THE RESOURCES TO MAKE A DONATION, IT'S A MORE THEN WORTHY CAUSE. USUALLY THE THINGS I AM REVIEWING ARE THE TYPES OF PLACES YOU MAY GO VISTIT, OR ELECTRONICS/APPS YOU MAY USE OR BUY....WELL, THIS IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THEN THAT.  I WANT TO LET ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO READ THIS KNOW THAT IT IS A VERY RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY ORGANIZATION AND I WILL STAND BEHIND IT 110% SO PLEASE IF YOU CAN, MAKE A DONATION AND CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE, YOU'LL BE BETTER OFF FOR KNOWING A LITTLE MORE ABOUT A SPECIAL WOMEN NAMED JILL HARRINGTON. I KNOW I AM.


If you met Jill you were lucky and everyone that knew her should remember that, she still has a husband who isn't going to forget who she was and hopefully, through the work  Adam and many others have done with this memorial fund, not only will she not be forgotten....but the virtues and values that she stood for and demonstrated so proudly, can be shared with ppl from near and far....THAT'S HOW SHE WOULD WANT IT, I'M SURE RIGHT NOW SHE IS SMILING AT ALL OF THE MEMORIES AND TRADITIONS THAT ARE STILL BEING SHARED.

http://www.sendacallfromsanta.com/

I first noticed this being mentioned in a few posts in my google + stream but didn't pay much attention. I ended up reading an article about it on TheNextWeb.com http://tnw.to/1CK7a . I ended up reading the first part of it and then just clicking on the link so I could send one to my girlfriend because I wanted to play a little joke. The really neat part is that you get to type in what phone number to call it from(i.e. you enter whatever number you want to show up on the persons caller id)That's the fun part, then you answer all these little questions and they create the call using the details you choose in your answers....at the end you can choose to place the call or send a video instead to an email.(The video was a feature that google added later, very creative I think.)


I really like the idea of this and applaud google for their creation. The only thing that I didn't like but probably was a preemptive move by google for people making prank calls to strangers is the restriction of calls beyond a certain time. I believe it was 8pm central. I know that I was unable to do it as of 9pm in the Eastern Time Zone. I think it's a good idea to limit calling hours because obviously it's def going to be abused by some kids i'd assume, or put a limit per day on calls per IP address to 2 or 3 maybe. No one needs to be sending anymore then that, even if they had 5 kids they'd be able to do 3 first day and 2 next.


Overall, great idea and I think it's been well received throughout, at least I haven't heard of anyone complaining. And if it turns out that there is a large number of complaints due to prank calls google posting warning that they will be turning over the names of fraudulent users.

Small World Pre-school+ Child

Small World Preschool & Child 

52 Sugarloaf Street, South Deerfield, MA 01373-1144

(413) 665-4501 ‎smallworldsouthdeerfield.com

Google Earth map link

Fantastic preschool! All of the staff is so helpful and they are all amazing with the kids. When a friend of ours went to visit to look into sending their daughter they staying for an hour watching different groups and didn't even go home to talk first, wrote a check to hold their spot that moment. Seems to really be a caring place from the kids, teachers, owner and parents. They have different events like a hike one sunday with a picnic for all the fathers and the kids to spend time together, and the teachers volunteer their time. How great is that? You don't see that very often. Overall just a 5 star place and I'd recommend absolutely sending your children if you live within a reasonable distance. One parent drives almost a half hour just to bring her child because she's so happy there.