Slow Down and Enjoy Your Family

Hello Families!

    Boy, it has been a very long time since we've communicated via this medium.  Uplifting Arms, Inc. has still been active and present in our local communities.  We hold true to our mission to educate, expose, equip, and empower all members of the family unit.

     As you all well know, our nation is experiencing a time like no other.  Many families have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 virus.  Nationwide school closures have left parents in a position of having to be more hands-on with their children's academics.  While we definitely encourage parental involvement, many parents may feel a bit overwhelmed during this time.  Maybe, as families, we need to take some time to slow down and enjoy our relationships.  With that said, below are some practical tips to help families relax and enjoy the extra time that they have together.

• Try and take some time to be fully present with your kids.  Commit to putting down all phones and computers, and tablets for a set amount of time.  Play a game or do something that they actually enjoy.
• Be in tune with how your kids are feeling.  Allow them to express their emotions and know that you are there to listen to their concerns.  
• To lighten the mood, play some music and just dance!  Get the whole family involved.  Be silly, keep the mood light and most importantly, have fun!  Allow each family member to take turns choosing the next song.  
• One of our favorites is to curl up with a good book!  As a family, sit back and read together!  If you want to switch it up a bit, visit https://www.storylineonline.net/library/.  This site has great books that are read by various people through video format.  Remember research supports kids reading for at least 20 minutes daily to improve their vocabulary and reading skills.

Back to school supply drive

Can you believe how fast the summer is flying by?  Well it is true, very soon kids all over town will be making their way back into the classroom.  Let's make sure they have what they need to be successful.  Uplifting Arms, Inc. is hosting our first school supply drive.  All donations will benefit the Title One Middle and High School, Acclaim Academy.  The following items are needed: notebook paper, pens, pencils, and 3 ring binders.  Please contact us at upliftingarms@hotmail.com if you are interested in supporting this worthy cause! Thank you!

Will You Help?

A major part of our mission is to expose youth and their families to things outside of their neighborhoods and allow them to have experiences that they would otherwise not get to have in their day to day lives.  We have the opportunity to help a local Jacksonville 5th grader attend a trip with the Safety Patrols to Washington D.C. at the end of next month.  The young boy has never been out of the city of Jacksonville.  He is a well-behaved student, but his family cannot afford all of the expenses involved with the trip.  Teachers at his school have pitched in and starting donating towards the cost of the trip, but he will still need some spending money.  If you would like to help this cause, please click the "Donate" button and give a contribution.   Every dollar counts!  Thank you! 

We have set a goal to contribute $50.00.  That just 10 people each donating $5.00.  Can we count on you?

Book Drive and Easter Egg Hunt Updates...

We are off to a great start this year and we will keep pushing forward!

 



1.  Read Across America Day Book Drive

A HUGE thank you to Brenda Gooch and Marion Brandon for their generous donation to Uplifting Arms, Inc. We were able to donate all of these books to S.A. Hull Elementary (a local Jacksonville Title One Elementary school).  In all we donated about 40 books!

2. Our 2nd Annual Easter Egg Hunt 

We had a blast this year again!

Thank you to everyone who came out to the event.  Once again the kids each received baskets that they were able to fill as they searched the playground for their candy-filled eggs.  They also enjoyed coloring and decorating their eggs!  A special thank you to Greenpointe Homes and KB Homes for providing all of the candy, food, drinks, and desserts and to the Midkiff family for doing the grilling!  We hope you all had fun and we will see you all at next year's event! 

 

What is more empowering than being able to read?

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!!!

 

Our 2nd Annual Read Across America Day Event

 

 

 

 

 

As we push forward to fulfill our mission of empowering each member of the family unit, Uplifting Arms, Inc. is going to donate books to the Title 1 School, S.A. Hull Elementary.  We are doing this in conjunction with celebrating Read Across America Day.  We would like to thank the Principal, Ms. Lott, for graciously accepting our donation.   

March 2nd is Dr. Seuss's actual birthday.  He would be turning 109 years old if he were alive today.  We all know and love his work.  "The Cat in the Hat," "The Lorax," and my all time favorite, "Green Eggs and Ham," are just a few of the many books that has given us such joy over the years.  So I ask you, on March 1st, which is when Read Across America Day will be celebrated this year, what will you do to celebrate reading?  You do not have to organize a big event, just grab a book and spark the love of reading in someone around you!   
 

If you are interested in supporting our organization and this event, feel free to contact us at upliftingarms@hotmail.com.  Happy Reading!

 

 

 

 

4th of July Fundraiser

It is that time of the year again when Uplifting Arms, Inc. is in full fundraising mode. We have partnered with TNT fireworks for our summer fundraising event.

We will be located in the white tent in the parking lot outside of the Garden section of the Rivercity Walmart (near the airport) from Thursday, June 28th-July 4th from 10:00 am- 10:00 pm, daily.

Thank you in advance for supporting our nonprofit by purchasing all of your fireworks needs from our organization. A portion of all proceeds will benefit Uplifting Arms, Inc. We have all that you will need to have a memorable 4th of July celebration...no matter how big or small. 

We have many buy one get one free items and items for the entire family!
 
Thank you in advance for your support!

Hello Uplifting Arms Supporters!

        It has been a long time, so let's recap some of the things we have done since our last post:

1- The Toy Drive was a HUGE success!  Hopefully we will be able to make this an annual event.    Everyone made the evening better than what we could have imagined.  In all, we were able to help about 34 families and their children. 

Prior to the event, each participant filled out a wish-list of items needed or desired and they received a personalized invitation through the mail.  The event was a huge success due to the staff and volunteers who pulled together to make this memorable for our DBI families by donating their time, financial resources and presents.  We even had special appearances from Santa and his official elf.  The guests enjoyed refreshments that included dipping cake pops and pretzels in a chocolate fountain and drinking warm hot chocolate with marshmallows.  The families spent the evening making ornaments, coloring holiday pictures, getting their faces painted, and listening to holiday music.  Each child received a minimum of three gifts and had the chance to take a picture with Santa.  “Thank you very much for doing this,” was a comment made by Mrs. Gordon, a parent of one of our participants, as she expressed her gratitude to one of the event coordinators. 

2- Read Across America Day Celebration.  A huge thank you to Langs Little Lambs and Volunteers from Drop Back In Academy for helping make this event memorable! 
 

March 2nd 2012 marked the annual celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday, which has officially become known as Read Across America Day.  The students at Potter's House Drop Back In Academy volunteered with Uplifting Arms, Inc. to read to the Preschool children at Lang's Little Lambs Preschool.  The students worked diligently, in advance, to create props that went along with their stories to make their reading experiences interactive and exciting.  They read stories such as "There's a Monster at the End of This Book," "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (with a little twist at the end), "If You're Happy and You Know it," "Dr. Seuss' ABC Book," and “Pooh and Friends 123s.” "This was so much fun," exclaimed Aanisia Devine, one of the volunteers.  All of the children, whose ages ranged between 2 and 4 years old, received a prop that they used during the reading of the story and they were even allowed to take the prop home to show their families.

3- Easter Egg Hunt:  Uplifting Arms hosted an Easter Egg Hunt for families and friends of the Cedar Bay Community.  We had volunteers who made baskets for each child, donated candy and stuffed and hid the eggs throughout the playground.  A special thanks to Green Pointe Homes for donating sandwiches, chips, and drinks.  We hope that this too will become an annual event for Uplifting Arms, Inc.