Delivery Complete!

Today I delivered 16 boxes to the post office from our donations this week! We also had a couple of generous checks come in that have helped us with our shipping costs which I am grateful for as well. Thank you so much! Here are some photo's of us packing, labeling and getting ready to head to the post office! At this point, the post office here in Santa Clara knows me well and I actually schedule a time to bring in the boxes!

Boxes waiting to be taped & labeled!

Over 1300 Pens in this box alone!
More pens, highlighters ...

Boxes were piling up in our living room!

Oh My Goodness ....

We received FOUR boxes of supplies from Sanford / Newell Rubbermaid today. We were all so excited to open the boxes, take inventory and pictures! I just spoke to Don Presnell who coordinated all of this effort within his organization and gave him a BIG THANK YOU!! Here is a list of what was sent:

3 Pencil Sharpeners

2343 Pens (All kinds and colors)

504 Pencils

246 Pencil Erasers

20 Dry Erase Markers

47 Wet Erase Markers

217 Sharpie Markers

12 Permanent Markers

234 Hi-Liters

180 Metallic Colored Pencils

576 Colored Pencils

Our hearts are so full tonight for the generosity of Sanford / Newell Rubbermaid. Here are some photo's of what we received. All of this inventory will be packaged up tomorrow, custom forms will be filled out and it will all ship out on Friday afternoon. I'll be sure to post pictures of the packaging and delivery to post office. The other great news is that we now have a target date for delivery which is February 19th!

Our First Corporate Donation

I'm thrilled to announce that our first corporate donation from Sanford, a division of Newell Rubbermaid, is on its way! Our friend Don Presnell, contacted his company to see if they would be able to help us with this service project and after just a few weeks, supplies are on their way. I'm so excited to be a part of this service project and I sincerely appreciate the willingness of others to be so generous. Watch for pictures as I will post them as soon as I receive their generous donation!

Anytime Fitness Collection

I have a collections box down at Anytime Fitness, the gym that I frequent on most days, here in Santa Clara, UT. The gym put the word out in their monthly newsletter and the donations are starting to come in! Paper, notebooks, pens and glue are piling in! I plan to leave the box there until the end of the month. I'm sure we'll have at least two more boxes of stuff to send from our friends at the gym! Thank you to Rodger and Steve (the owners) for your help with this project! If you are looking for a gym that can help you out in your city or across the country as you travel, check out Anytime Fitness! The clubs are excellent!
Anytime Fitness

1100 Canyon View Dr.

Santa Clara, UT 84765

Phone: 435.673.9962

Shoes Are Distributed

One of Mark's co-workers and his family along with many, many donations were able to get shoes sent over for the children. Before Christmas of 2009, the shoes were donated to the young girls and just a week ago the boys received their shoes. The effort that it takes to coordinate this donation once even in Afghanistan is amazing. The Afghan National Police along with the men and women in our military all help to make this event come to life. Here are several pictures of the shoes coming "in to town" along with several of the kids receiving their shoes. What a tremendous effort! It brings tears to my eyes to think of the smiles these kids had on their faces!

Shoes Coming in to town.

Crowd waiting for shoes.

Additional Donations this Week

We had additional supplies come in later this week after we made our run to the post office on Thursday. These supplies were donated by a woman I met at the post office who saw me asking for so many boxes. She was so kind to tell me that she had envelopes and file folders along with a few other things that she would like to donate. Another donation came in from a local mom who had bought school supplies for a back to school party this past fall. The party ended up not happening and she thought this project would be a great donation for the supplies. I also received a generous check from a resident in Hurricane, Utah.

THANK YOU!

Hanging File Folders 32
Expandable File 1
10 x 13 Mail Envelopes 300
#10 Envelopes 89
Childrens Book 1
Handitak 1
Single Subject Notebooks 13
Stickers 2000
Tracing Strips 14
Writing Tablets 9 (900 Sheets of paper)
Pens 108
Glue Sticks / Bottles 13
Erasers 40
Crayons 240
Helmet Liners 11

Off to the Post Office

Today I was able to get all the custom forms filled out, boxes taped and labeled and delivered to the post office. I'm so excited to be sending 11 of these boxes to Afghanistan! Jill (our blog designer) stopped by today and dropped off supplies to send in our next shipment. Thanks to Jill & her family for their support and donations!

Karl Tippets (my dad) helping me to label and make sure all the

boxes were good to go!

Donations This Week

This has been a fun week for receiving donations and getting to know more people here in the local community. So many people want to help and are eager to assist with the project. Here is a list of the donations that we received thus far this week that are currently getting boxed up. I hope to get all of this to the post office tomorrow.

Small Memo Notebooks - 20
Aquafresh Toothpaste .8 oz - 120
Toothbrushes - 125
Crayons - 2636
Colored Pencils - 12
Chalk - 44 pcs
Pencils - 289
Rulers - 19
Filler Paper - 6160
Pencil Sharpeners - 16
Pencil Erasers - 173
Pens - 109
Scissors - 4
Paper Clips - 800
Glue Sticks - 4
Lg Tubes of Toothpaste - 42
Dental Floss - 3
Notebooks - 67
Water Color Paints - 5
Helmet Liners - 11

Thank you so much! Again, this will be off to the post office tomorrow!

Children in Afghanistan

Here are some of the photo's that Mark brought home with him on his first R&R trip at Christmas time. The kids love the military men & women. If it were up to me, I would gather them all up and bring them home!

Out on Patrol

Out on Patrol - Mark is on the right.

Sheik Mati Boys School
Patrol
Bibi Kahla School
Bibi Kahla
Sheik Mati


Sheik Mati

Shajoy

Mark on Patrol

Santa Clara Elementary School

Santa Clara Elementary School - Mr. Bradbury's 4th Grade Class along with the 5th Grade class collected school supplies for the kids during their final week of school before the Christmas holiday break. The kids did a terrific job along with their teachers and administration.

While I was sorting the supplies that the kids had collected, I had the thought to contact the local newspaper, The Spectrum, to see if they were interested in the story and project. The next day I heard from Tiffany, the reporter who did the story which was published on Saturday, January 9th. (See below) The kids also hand wrote letters to the kids in Afghanistan with the hopes that they will receive letters in return.

The kids and teachers collected the following supplies:

800 Sheets of Loose Leaf Paper
38 Notebooks
1536 Crayons
16 Pcs of Chalk
84 Colored Pencils
4 Scissors
292 Pencils
34 Pens
73 Erasers
30 Dry Erase Markers
2 Dry Board Erasers
23 Glue Sticks
4 Rulers
30 Markers
7 Folders
296 Construction Paper Sheets

Great job to everyone at the Santa Clara Elementary School!

School Supplies for Afghanistan

Greetings from FOB Smart in Southeast Afghanistan!

My husband, Mark Bridges, is currently working on the Forward Operating Base SMART in Southeast Afghanistan as a Civil Engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers. He has been there since August of 2009 and will continue to work out of this base until September 2010. His work assignments include designing and overseeing the implementation of schools, roads, water systems, and prisons, among various other projects.

While Mark is far from home and away from his family, he has developed a love for the local children close to his base, FOB SMART which is located just outside the city of Qalat. Mark is required to go on site visits to inspect the work of the local contractors. While on patrol, he is escorted my military men and women who have all grown fond of the local children. The children beg Mark and the others for pens, chocolate and any other candy they are willing to give up.

As Mark has recounted the stories about the children, I decided to join in the efforts of trying to serve the children of Afghanistan who are really the innocent victims of the war. Mark has been working on two specific schools near the city of Qalat - one for boys and one for girls.

I have been gathering school supplies to send directly to Mark which in turn get directly given to the local schools for the children. While each school has over 150 children, supplies are limited, always needed and of course appreciated. To date the following supplies have been sent:

710 Pencils

2600 Sheets of Paper

64 Pencil Sharpeners

6 Large Notebooks (1200 Sheets of Paper)

513 Pencil Top Erasers

50 Single Subject Notebooks (2800 Sheets)

19 Rulers

81 Pocket Folders

180 Pens

1824 Crayons

348 Colored Pencils

30 Colored Markers

36 pcs Chalk

4 pairs Children Scissors

30 Dry Erase Markers

2 Dry Board Erasers

23 Glue Sticks

296 Sheets of Construction Paper

All donations whether they be school supplies or cash will go directly to the children. The US Postal system has made it possible to send 20 lbs of supplies for only $12.50 which is incredibly cheap. It takes approximately 3 weeks for the supplies to arrive on base where Mark is located. I will be happy to send the supplies for any group who collects the donations.

If you have any questions about this service project, please feel free to contact me at Stephanie.bridges100@gmail.com

or

Stephanie T. Bridges

3144 Swiss Drive

Santa Clara, UT 84765

Home: 435.673.2907

Both Mark and I appreciate your willingness to help others who are in need and we feel honored to be helping children around the world who have so little but are desperately trying to improve themselves through education.

The Spectrum

Family helps Afghan children

BY TIFFANY DE MASTERS • TDEMASTERS@THESPECTRUM.COM • JANUARY 9, 2010

ST. GEORGE - When people think of Afghanistan many think of war and terror. Mark and Stephanie Bridges think of the children.

After being unemployed for several months, Mark Bridges landed a job as a civil engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers. He's been stationed in Southeast Afghanistan since August 2009.

Mark Bridges' job is to build roads, schools, wells and whatever else he's asked to build. He wrote it's noteworthy that aside from asking for chocolate, most children on the street will ask for pens, pencils and paper.

"When I first arrived here, a co-worker showed me how he was providing children with shoes, often at his own expense," Mark Bridges wrote in an e-mail. "My co-worker's example coupled with my belief that education and sustainability in Afghanistan begins with the younger generations are what caused me to act in their behalf."

He added he thinks the youngest generations of Afghan people need help cultivating a desire to learn and a desire to fulfill their potential.

"If achieved, in general this will change their entire country and its condition," Mark Bridges wrote.

Stephanie Bridges, currently living in Santa Clara, is helping her husband collect basic school supplies.

She added when her husband would go into the schools, he told her the children have nothing.

"The kids just need the basic things," Stephanie Bridges said. "This is one way we could support the children."

Through tears, she added it's an honor to serve the children.

"It just brings tears to your eyes because they're (children) so excited about getting crayons," Stephanie Bridges said.

Over the Christmas holiday Stephanie Bridges mailed out nine boxes. The supplies are rotated between a girl's school, boy's school and the Afghan National Police.

Mark Bridges is contracted to work in Afghanistan until September 2010. The plan is to continue sending supplies until then.

Mark Bridges said at this point he's still collecting supplies and hasn't distributed anything yet.

"However I have seen how a gift like shoes or simple crayons and paper can brighten childrens' eyes," Mark Bridges wrote in an e-mail.

He added being in Afghanistan, and seeing the children in the conditions they have to live in has opened his eyes to how some other people in the world live.

"I'll never be able to look at the world in the same way again," Mark Bridges said.

Stephanie Bridges said this is such a simple thing, to give $50, $60, $1,000 in comparison to what the people of Afghanistan have.

"It's been a great project," she said. "I love it. It makes you feel like you're contributing to the children directly."

To help Mark and Stephanie Bridges in their effort to serve the children in Afghanistan contact Stephanie Bridges at 673-2907 or by e-mail at stephanie.bridges100@gmail.com.