#GiveFundsGiveTime: GIVING TUESDAY IS HERE

December 1st, 2020 is probably one of the strangest, loveliest, and most necessary Giving Tuesdays since its inception in 2012. The world is wracked by a pandemic. Unemployment has been at an all time high. An unmatched 12 named storms, including a record-tying six hurricanes, have made landfall in the United States this year alone.

We are quarantine-fatigued, decision-fatigued, anxiety-fatigued. Traditions are changed, family visits are reliant on internet connections.

It is in the midst of this unique adversity that we find our most profound strength, our brightest hope, our purest joy.

We have stood together, protecting one another with masks and distance. We have created new traditions out of whole cloth that will withstand the test of time. We have rallied around our small businesses, our schools, our communities to provide whatever support we can, even though it never seems like enough.

THAT is what our Giving Tuesday #GiveFundsGiveTime campaign has been all about.

We raised over $4,000.00 for our programs (and still have $3,000 of matching funds available!) and had such an incredible time doing it. If you are reading this on #GivingTuesday, you can still donate to our cause with double the impact HERE.

We had so much fun during the sleepover. Our kiddos left their best stuffed friends in care of Mr. Josh, Ms. Janette, Ms. Liz, and Ms. LJ, your CIRCLE TIME crew! We spent the evening dancing, singing, doing art, eating popcorn, and sending pictures/videos of the whole thing to the students while they were safe at home! APART DOES NOT MEAN ALONE, Friends and Families!

If you didn’t see the ridiculous good time that was our STUPENDOUS STUFFY SLEEPOVER, you are missing out… BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO MISS OUT NEXT TIME! We will be doing more of these.

You can download a copy of the one-of-a-kind stuffy sleepover coloring book where we featured each of the animals present (along with your circle time friends!)

Check out the fantastical highlights of our Stuffy Sleepover HERE.

This event was a perfect representation of the #GiveTime part of our campaign, what we consider to be the KEY and MOST VITAL part. We wanted to give our kids something to look forward to in uncertain times, to give them a new tradition that they can share with their friends no matter what is going on in the world outside. Each of us gave a little bit. Scrawl Books gave us ideas and goodies for our bags. Pal Dentistry gave us toothbrushes for our stuffys and instructions on how to keep our teeth healthy! We would also love to thank our local author Wayne Truax and family members Mary and Richard Badley for the wonderful addition of Mouse, The Man, and the MGB to our evening (and our goodiebags!)
Last, but not least, Our wonderful families gave us faith, time, money, and their happiness made our giving feel like receiving something warm and full of love.

We have written a lot in the last few weeks on how to Give Time to the people around you that matter, and we will continue to do so. This was just the jump start to our Giving Muscle Fitness Program! We want you to keep at it. Keep giving those five minutes a day. Give yourself five minutes because you are worth it. Give attention to your family for five minutes because you’ll suddenly find that it’s your favorite part of the day. Keep giving it until suddenly it’s seven minutes. Then ten. You will inspire others to do the same, and your reach will expand far beyond your wildest dreams.

We have dug deep into our hearts and not been found wanting. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for making #GivingTuesday2020 so incredible.

Love and Regards,

Ms. LJ

#GiveTime: Five Minutes to Yourself

HEY YOU. YES YOU. I AM ABSOLUTELY TALKING TO YOU.

To the parent who has to work from home with their kiddos. The parent who has to work from home but send their kids to school. The parent who gave up their job to stay home with their young kids. The parent who is essential and is trying to serve their community AND protect their family.

To the parent who is still trying to make life fun and creative and messy with the addition of mask etiquette and a sudden dearth of safe activity.

To the teacher or family member or neighbor or ETC who feels like there is no good answer to an overwhelming number of questions, no good solution to a sea of problems.

YOU CANNOT GIVE TO OTHERS IF YOU HAVE NOTHING FOR YOURSELF.

Say it with me, and say it loud for your friend who thinks it doesn’t apply to them either.

You cannot give to others if you have nothing for yourself.

When everyone is so exhausted, it is hard not to teeter on the edge of burnout, especially when there is real danger and strife. It may feel like you CANNOT save any energy and time for yourself.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. EVERYTHING CAN WAIT FIVE MINUTES.

• Read five minutes of a book you’ve wanted to read

• Catch up on news (please avoid “doom scrolling” on your five minutes, though…)

• Teach yourself something (if you study something for five minutes every day, that time adds up quickly)

• There are a TON of five minute fitness videos. Create a 30-day challenge for yourself where each exercise takes 3-5 minutes a day at most. The results are SHOCKING.

• Take a walk around the block

• Meditate or do a Deep Breathing Exercise

• Practice your instrument of choice (have it set up in a corner of your house so you don’t have to pull it out)

• Write in your journal

• Pull some weeds in your garden

• Play with your dog/cat/gerbil/snake

• Color in a coloring book

It’s hard not to picture the “destination” of things that are important to you. Education, fitness, hobbies, peace of mind, it all seems so daunting when you see how far away you seem from your goal and just how many people that need pieces of you.
Every marathon starts with a step. Every book starts with a word. You deserve time to go on your personal journey and to ENJOY your destination.

And when you are feeling driven and fulfilled, more at peace? You have so much more to give to those loved ones that need you. The time you give them will be full of quality and joy because you will be too.

You deserve to have your bucket filled too.

Love and Regards,
Ms. LJ

Thanksgiving Box Drive: BIG THANK YOU!!

Common Ground Family and Friends,

I am, as always, sincerely humbled by the giving hearts of our community. We had promised Cornerstones 6 lovingly decorated boxes, one for each classroom, and we ended up with 10 fully stocked Thanksgiving meals. That’s ten families that will get to celebrate with a proper meal on one of the most difficult holiday seasons in recent memory.

This was an elegant example of what our #GiveFundsGiveTime campaign is all about. Together, each of you giving a little time and money, we managed to pull of something magical.

And you know what? Our kids see that.

I had a student come up and ask us what else we needed. He was so excited to be a part of this with his family, and he wanted to know if there was anything missing from any of the boxes. He and his parents then went out, together, gathered the remaining items, and brought them in.
This was something they did as a family, something that this child genuinely enjoyed, and he could see, first hand, what a difference his items made.
He’s always had a good heart, but practice makes perfect. We are helping our kiddos work those giving muscles so that when they’re adults, they’ll be SUPER heroes.

After they were all packed and ready to go, I went over to our buddies at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church! They had gathered a whopping 54 BOXES!! SOME OF THEM GLUTEN-FREE!! I WAS ECSTATIC to be working with them!
With all of their helpful volunteers, we loaded up the Common Ground Bus and drove all 64 boxes over to the drop off station. I have to tell you, I love driving that bus, but loading would have been quite a big chore had everyone not been ready to give a little. They have been at this Thanksgiving Box drive thing for many years, so it has been really amazing working with the and learning all about how to make this an effective Giving campaign.

All together, working as a unit, most of the volunteers maybe spent 5-10 minutes of their day pulling this off. Many hands make light work. DO NOT EVER DOUBT what your five minutes of giving a day can do, especially with a community like Common Ground Childcare.

Warmest Thanks and Love,

Ms. LJ

#GiveTime: Community and Causes

Hi there! LJ Donnell here with some incredible (and quick!) ideas to #GiveTime to your community! This is a part of our #GiveFundsGiveTime Campaign for #GivingTuesday, so if you need more ideas, visit THIS PAGE. We also ask that if you have any excellent ideas of your own that aren’t listed here, PLEASE share them in the comments!! A community is always better when we work together.

• So far, our suggestions are:

  • 5 minutes a night knitting/crocheting/making blankets for Project Linus

  • Do click throughs on charity sites

  • Sign petitions

  • Call your local representative and talk to the about an issue

  • Draw inspirational chalk messages around your neighborhood

  • Draw loving chalk messages and pictures on the sidewalk of your local hospital so patience can see them out the window

  • Write post cards to senior citizens and other high-risk populations who are stuck in quarantine and away from their families. Example Here

  • Share/Amplify social media messages for local businesses, charities, and local activist groups. — I know this doesn’t sound like much… but it really means the world to people trying to get their messages out there. It takes you very little time, and you could make a big difference to their business or cause.  Even something as small as sharing a “Missing Pet” post from your local neighborhood’s facebook could make a world of difference for a family.

  • Volunteer as your Cal de sac’s glass recycling person — okay, this one may be a 15/20 minute task once a week. Have your neighbors put their used glass products in bags and place them on their doorsteps, then you take them to the nearest glass recycling bins. You could also set up a round-robin sort of thing, and it’s as easy as making a post on your neighborhood’s facebook or NextDoor page.

  • Pick up trash on your walk — You may be getting fresh air. You may be on a little run! You may be taking your kids out of the house to get rid of some of their energy. Either way, just have gloves in your pockets and a grocery bag so you can pick up trash you see on the walk. You’d be surprised how little effort it takes, and what a big difference it makes. Wildlife in the area is getting snared in disposable masks on the ground. It’s pretty awful. Every little bit you do, even if it’s just five minutes while you’re already walking outside, could save a precious life.

#GiveFundsGiveTime is all about giving what you can when you can, and not overtaxing. All good deeds make waves, no matter how small. Let’s make this holiday season as full of hope, magic, and love as we possibly can.

See you out there!

Ms. LJ

Your Time + Saving You Money = $20 Donation

When we talk about the Common Ground Community feeling like a family, we’re not joking! Once a part of Common Ground, always a part of Common Ground!

Jacob Ayubi is about as connected to Common Ground as someone can get! His mother, Miss Najiba, was a teacher at our center for over 35 years and all four of his kids (he and his wife, Meghan, have a son and triplet daughters!) have attended as well! So when Jacob found out that his company, State Farm, had a charitable giving initiative, he reached out to make sure Common Ground was on their list for the following giving cycle in 2021.

Jacob didn’t stop there though! For our Giving Tuesday campaign, “Give Funds, Give Time”, Jacob has offered to give Common Ground $20 for every person who gets an insurance quote from him. So the gift of a few minutes of your time could save you money, give back to our center, and it’s pretty easy too!

1. First: Fill out the form at the bottom of this post

2. Second: Visit Jacob’s Site here: https://jacobsf.com

And that’s it! Jacob will take care of making the donation to Common Ground. Easy as PIE! And just like pie, a lot of small pieces add up to make an even greater whole!

#GiveTime: Five Minutes to Give to your Kids

Our children are the future. They’re our hearts living outside. They can also be a point of stress and guilt when we are feeling stressed and empty from isolation. You want to be the parent who never eye-twitches at glitter spills, who always has a good bake coming out of the oven, who is never too tired to play “doggies” for the fiftieth time. We are not our best every day.

But we can spare five minutes every day. Need a little guidance? Here are some great ideas for an activity you can do in five minutes! If there is an Asterisk* by the activity, you can scroll down to the bottom of the blog to receive further guidance and elaboration.

FIVE MINUTE KID ACTIVITIES WITH LITTLE TO NO MESS:

• Dance Party

• Red light/green light

•  Trivia*

•  Simple Conversation — Ask them questions

• Track Moon Phases Nightly on a sheet as a Family

• Build Obstacle Courses*

• Read a Book

• Write a story!*

• Hide and Seek

• Floor is Lava*

• Singing Songs

• Build a Fort

• Run around the block

• A game of tickles

• Tag

• Words of Affirmation*

• “What I’m thankful for” discussion

• “What we did today” round table

• Jump contest, Wall sit contest, Jumping jack contest*

Have you seen the common denominator among these suggestions? They all involve undivided attention. While parents are spending a record amount of time with and around their kids these days, the quality of these interactions is down. We are constantly distracted, constantly on call.

EVERYTHING can wait five minutes. No, really. Barring very, VERY extenuating circumstances, everything can wait five minutes. We tell our kids to wait five minutes all the time, we can definitely tell our phones to sit on the charger and wait five minutes. TV too. Those five minutes a day are going to mean the world to your kiddo, and I guarantee they’ll be your favorite part of the day too.

There are dozens more ideas! Maybe hundreds. Please share other five minute activities you have tried out with your kids!

1. Trivia: Don’t feel tied down to educational stuff with this one (although gamification is definitely a way to make learning fun.) You can make the trivia about family members, animals, even talking about their favorite tv show or book can help exercise their brains and show you know and interact with what they care about. You’d be surprised at what they know (and what you don’t!). Extra benefit of trivia? You can play ANYWHERE. We always play in the car to make the ride go faster.

2. Obstacle Courses and Floor is Lava — You’re probably thinking of what I initially imagined… walls of legos to jump over, suspended hula hoops, tree swings, something on fire…
   Okay maybe not that last one, but I always thought that obstacle courses had to be an incredible feat of construction and purchase… certainly something that would take ages to set up. REALLY all you need is a clean floor and tape. Yell to your kids that it’s time for an obstacle course, and if they want one, the toys have to be off the floor. Once they’ve cleaned for you, lay out some lines and shapes on the floor, maybe a few on the walls, and let their imaginations do the rest! They can army crawl, jump, skip, or spin from one point to another. Somersaulting, spinning, and hand stands work that inner ear strength, so add a few of those. If you don’t mind incorporating furniture, you can make them crawl under chairs or hop over ottomans. One of the best things to do in obstacle courses is declare certain parts of the course “lava.” We love to use pillows as “lava boats” and the kids have to scoot across the floor on them. Easy peasy. If you don’t mind leaving the tape, this fun can last for a week and you don’t even have to set it up over and over. Set the five minute timer and give them a prize for completing on time.

3. Write a story — This is fun, because they can start the project without you. They can draw the pictures and you can work on the words with them, or you can draw them together, any level of independence works! My only note in here is to let them write whatever whacky story they like, encourage that imagination muscle which often has to work in so many strict parameters.

4. Words of Affirmation — This one is amazing in its simplicity, and it can take any form you like. The way we do it at home is: “Do I love you when you’re mad? Do I love you when you’re sad? Do I love you when your listening ears are off? Do I love you when you’re happy? And sick? And when your messy or clean or quiet or loud?” It’s always yes. Eventually they start doing it too. Repeating these things, especially when you’re frustrated and overwhelmed, can be so rewarding and uplifting.

5. Physical Feat Contests — Kids are living a more sedentary lifestyle than ever. Doing fun physical feats with their family makes fitness a bright spot in their every day lives.

Stay Tuned for more Ideas!! and PLEASE post more of your own!

Love Love Love!

Miss LJ

Year-Round Giving can be as Simple as a Smile

I love the convenience of Amazon. In a perfect world, I would shop small. I would take my time to make sure I was always shopping with a company who was concerned with sustainability, like a certified B Corp. But life isn’t perfect. I need things to be easy, fast, and at my fingertips, and that’s why I love that Amazon has their AmazonSmile program!

AmazonSmile is probably one of the easiest ways to give there is, and it just takes about a minute to select your charity (Common Ground, of course) and then it takes a few seconds to remember to shop at smile.amazon.com instead of just Amazon. (Lucky for us, from your browser, Amazon will remind you to shop at the AmazonSmile site!

But what about your Amazon app on your phone?

You can Smile there too, but it does take a few extra steps, that you have to repeat twice a year. But since we are all working on flexing our giving muscles, it just requires setting a reminder in your phone for your renewal date.

Ready for your #GiveFundsGiveTime task for today?

1. Set “The Child Care Center of The Common Ground Foundation” Tax ID: 54-0913856 as your charity on AmazonSmile - you can see how to do that here

2. Bookmark smile.amazon.com so that you make sure that all of your purchases count! Or better yet, you can always click through to Amazon from our site, because as an affiliate, we also earn commission through links on our site, like in this post!

3. Turn on ‘Smile’ in your mobile app. Here are the instructions for that!

4. Set a reminder in your calendar for the renewal date, so that you don’t forget to renew your Smile!

See, that was SO EASY!

Just remember, small gifts, like the time you took to make sure you’re set up with Amazon Smile, can add up to BIG FUNDS when Amazon donates 0.5% of all of our purchases back to Common Ground!

Want to double your impact? Ask your friends if they are set up on AmazonSmile and send them this post to make sure that they give with their purchases too - even if it’s not to Common Ground!

#GiveFundsGiveTime

Love,

Miss Liz

#GiveFundsGiveTime: The Stuffy Sleepover!

As our big #GivingTuesday #GiveFundsGiveTime Fundraiser,

Common Ground Childcare Presents:

DRUMROLL PLEASE!!


OUR STUPENDOUS STUFFY SLEEPOVER!

Our favorite local bookstore Scrawl Books runs a stuffed animal sleepover for kiddos around Reston, and we fell in love with the idea, so we are trying it out for ourselves.
Covid-19 makes it impossible for kids to hang out with their friends en-mass, which means the tried-and-true Sleepovers and Lock-Ins are out for the foreseeable future. So let your kiddos best fluffy friends hang out together for them!

On Tuesday, November 24th, the stuffies will come into Common Ground for a night of fun! We will sing songs with the famous Mr. Josh! We will give the stuffies a swim lesson courtesy of Goldfish Swim School. We will dance and play games with Ms. LJ! At bedtime we will make sure all our furry friends brush their teeth, snuggle down, and get a bedtime story. We will read with The Magnificent Wayne Truax, local author of Mouse, the Man and the MGB. The best part? Your kiddos will get to see all of this in action, and laugh along with us from the safety of their homes.

The next morning, the Stuffies will pack up, get their amazing goodie bags (including their OWN copy of Mouse, the Man, and the MGB!), board the Common Ground bus, and will be delivered to their kiddos safe and sound and full of adventures.

Sign Up Right Here!

$30.00 Donation to our Campaign gets you a ticket for the stuffy sleepover! It includes the goodie-bags, the fun, the live-videos, and more surprises!

Then you can drop your stuffed animal off on Monday or Tuesday at the center (we will email you with the details when you register!) and it will be delivered home via the Common Ground Bus!

The money raised will go towards necessary educational initiatives at Common Ground Childcare.

In the spirit of #GiveFundsGiveTime, give your kids a chance to be together, especially while apart.

Miss LJ

#GiveFundsGiveTime Campaign Begins!

Let’s face it folks…

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS EXHAUSTING.

Having time, energy, and money could sometimes be hard at the end of a normal work/school week.

We are running a marathon of enduring loss and fear. Our reserves are stretched, our patience thin. We can sometimes feel paralyzed by indecision and terrible fatigue, unsure of how to maintain JOY in our own households when the world looks so different.

Giving Tuesday is on Tuesday, December 1st this year, and if you’re like us, you feel tapped out.

Our children cannot see their friends, we cannot see our family, a lot of us have had our salaries cut or jobs furloughed. What can one person give when so many buckets are empty?

“GIVING” is a muscle too. It can be overworked and injured. We can see all of the NEED in the world, all the work that needs to be done, and the distance between here and there can seem daunting.

You don’t start working a muscle by running a marathon or lifting 500 lbs. You start by walking a mile. And then another. You lift that 5lb weight until you can lift 10lbs, 15lbs, and so forth.

And so, my friends, I come to my point.

This year, for Giving Tuesday, Common Ground Childcare is running our #GiveTimeGiveFunds campaign.

We are asking for a pledge time OR funds OR both, and we are asking you to give slowly, with care, and with self-forgiveness if it feels too small. No act of kindness is too small.

GIVE FUNDS
This one is easy - we will have plenty of opportunities for you to give money to Common Ground!

Our MAJOR EVENT of the #GiveFundsGiveTime campaign is THE STUFFY SLEEPOVER!! It is a fundraiser we set up to give back to the community, especially those kiddos who are missing their friends and holiday fun.

GIVE TIME

Our most precious commodity, the one we are most adamant to protect, and the one we are often the least efficient with.
NO JUDGEMENTS HERE! During the COVID-19 pandemic I have personally felt like there is endless need, and I still end up doom scrolling on my phone for an unacceptable amount of time each day.

Even in normal circumstances is exceptionally hard to manage something as subjective and intangible as Time, especially when so many important things (and people) seem to have pressing need

Common Ground’s BIG ASK this run-up to Giving Tuesday? Build up those Giving-Time muscles.

We want you to pledge what you think you can do each day for just two weeks!

We are pledging 5 minutes a day until December 1st, and we are only asking for you to do the same.

Do you think you can do more than that? GREAT! Pledge it! We want to see what our community is capable of, because we know it is incredible!

What can you do in five minutes? CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM for ideas every single day!

You would be amazed at what you could do in five minutes for:

• Children

• Family

• Neighborhood

• Environment

• Coworkers

• Community

• Yourself

• Causes

We will be talking about one of these each day until December 1st! Please share your ideas, your struggles, your triumphs! In this time of social distancing, seeing your pictures and stories makes us all feel united.

Use our #GiveFundsGiveTime hashtag so we can see the impact of everyone doing “just” five minutes a day.

On December 1st we will look back and see what incredible things we can do in two weeks. Just like you, I know it will be humbling, wholesome, significant.

Get out there and #GIVE!

— Ms. LJ

Giving Tuesday is December 1st

Give Funds. Give Time.

Sometimes we only have one. Sometimes we have both, but only a little. In a world wracked by a pandemic, sometimes it feels like we only have enough money and time to stand still.

Giving is a muscle we have to work.

The more we all give, the better we become at it, and the better we feel when do.
Most importantly? That kindness gets paid forward. Suddenly other people around us in our community have the bandwidth to grow and prosper. They, in turn, give to someone else, and so on.

#GivingTuesday is December 1st this year, and here at Common Ground we’ve started early.
We are looking for community partners to help us with our mission, please contact us if you are interested in participating in our Giving Tuesday Drive.

We hope to gather funds for our Teaching Scholarship Fund so that we can give our educators an opportunity to grow. With that boost, our dedicated teachers can give time to further their own education. This will lead to them providing more quality time to their students to help them thrive in a loving environment. Imagine all of the ripples that would come from each student.

This is not just a fundraiser.

We also hope to inspire you, the members of our wonderful community, to give. We will be posting several giving initiatives in the coming weeks:

- Giving time to your children with no phones, no tvs, no distractions
- Giving money or food to your local Food Bank to make sure no family goes hungry, especially on Thanksgiving, a day of gratitude.
- Giving time to your neighborhood environment by picking up litter.
- Giving money and business to your favorite local business that has been struggling under the COVID-19 pandemic
- Giving time to draw loving, heartfelt chalk pictures and messages around your community so people know that, on the darkest days, they are not alone.

Watch on Facebook to see how we are giving in our community through the next couple of weeks. We encourage you to be a part of it, as well as our BIG GIVING TUESDAY EVENT which promises to be heartwarming, fun, and just the right amount of silly.