Ten for Teens Giving Project update: Give a gift card to a local teen in foster care!

Ten for Teens Giving Project Update

It’s about time for a Ten for Teens Giving Project update!

What is Ten for Teens?

One thing that caseworkers consistently report is that teens are the most neglected groups when it comes to community holiday giving. Ten for Teens is a project that aims to give every teen in foster care in the Portland Metro area a $10 gift card this Christmas season.

There are approximately 1230 teens in the Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Marion, and Clark County foster care system. Our desire is to make sure every single teen receives not only a gift, but a message of hope and love.

In order to meet this goal, we need your help. We have currently received 149 365 gift cards, which means we still need 1081 865. All it takes to help meet this goal is $10, a notecard or greeting card, and a stamp.

To make this even easier, we have medium-sized minions who are making Christmas cards to go accompany donated gift cards without a message.

If buying and writing out the card is too much, just send the gift card. These kids are having a blast making them for you!

We have extended the deadline to send out the gift cards to better accommodate all of your busy Christmas schedules. Please get your card(s) in the mail no later than Friday, December 13, 2013. This will give us enough time to organize and distribute the cards to the 10 Portland Metro area DHS offices and then for caseworkers to personally hand them out to the teens on their caseload.

Ready to give? Here’s what to do:

Purchase one or more $10 gift cards. Here are some suggested establishments:

• McDonald’s
• Subway
• Starbucks
• Dutch Bros.
• Fred Meyer
• Target
• Walmart
• Amazon
• iTunes
• Old Navy
• Burgerville
• Regal Cinemas
• Century Theaters
• Game Stop
• Coldstone Creamery

Or anywhere else you think a teen might enjoy. The  gift cards will be hand-picked for individuals by their case workers, so your choice doesn’t have to be entirely generic. You are welcome to get creative.

Please keep in mind that most teens in foster care don’t have extra spending money, so don’t get a card from, say, Nordstrom or Pottery Barn. It probably won’t be very useful. Also understand that transportation is difficult for some, so if you select a small business (which is awesome), make sure it’s centrally located so a teen in that area can easily get there.

You are welcome to have the gift cards mailed directly to Frugal Living NW if you are purchasing them online to save time and postage. I will assume that any gift cards that come to my business’s mailbox are for this project and not an anonymous gift to me :). Please make sure you are sending an actual plastic gift card and not an emailed printable form with a barcode. A piece of paper is lame. Plastic is cool.

Write a personal message (optional).

The purpose of this message is to let your teen know that there is a real person or family behind the gift card. Let your teen know he is loved and special. Let her know your family is thinking of her this Christmas. It’s probably best to do this in a note or greeting card (a Christmas card would be perfect). Feel free to have your kids or grandkids draw a picture to go along with your card. No religious messages, such as “God loves you” or “God has a plan for your life,” or “We’re praying for you,” etc. please. It’s fine to use greetings that include “Christmas.”

Stick the gift card inside the greeting card/note and put it in an unsealed, unmarked envelope. If you seal it, we will have to open it and make your envelope look all trashy, so just don’t seal it.

This step is optional. You are welcome to send gift cards without messages.

Mail your gift card(s) and message(s) by December 13, 2013.

Now put your envelope in a larger one and mail it off! We (Frugal Living NW) will collect the gift cards and deliver them to the folks at Embrace Oregon, who will then distribute them to the case workers at the ten DHS offices in the Portland Metro area. Please mail your gifts to:

Frugal Living NW
2870 NE Hogan Rd, Ste E
PMB 133
Gresham, OR 97030

If you live in Marion or Clark counties and would like your gift to go specifically to a teen in your area, please write “Marion” or “Clark” on a sticky note and attach it to the envelope. We will make sure your gift(s) go to your requested county’s DHS office. Unmarked gifts will go to a teen in Multnomah, Clackamas, or Washington county.

If you a purchasing a large number of gift cards (preferably more than 10) and would like a receipt for tax purposes, please include a self-addressed, stamp envelope in your package and we will provide one to the name on the envelope.

Please DO NOT hand deliver or mail your gifts directly to a DHS office. We (Frugal Living NW and Embrace Oregon) have a system set up to distribute these gifts in a way that doesn’t create extra work and confusion for the staff.

If you own a small business, are in a position in a larger business to make donation decisions, or an individual who would like to make a large donation to this project, please contact me at frugallivingonline@gmail.com so we can get you a tax receipt for your gift.

Get more info on the Ten for Teens giving project here.

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