“Don’t Cry…I’m Here” Receives A Very Generous Donation from the Edina, Minnesota Target Store
NEWS!!! Yesterday we received a very generous donation in the form of a gift card from our Edina, MN Target store to be used to purchase dolls and doll related items for our Doll Gift Tote Bags. Target has really gotten on-board with our charity and we have been supported by several of their stores in our area. A HUGE Thank You to Target!!
“Don’t Cry…I’m Here” makes a special delivery of a Doll Gift Tote Bag to Arrive Ministries for a little Afghan Girl
I would like to share with you some photos of today’s delivery of Doll Gift Tote Bags to Arrive Ministries. Arrive Ministries is such a positive and welcoming feeling resettlement organization. We delivered 1 Middle Eastern/Muslim doll that will be going to a little Afghan girl that arrived in the United States about 2 weeks ago.
So we have 1 more Doll Gift Tote Bag delivered….and will be with her new mommy shortly.
“Don’t Cry…I’m Here” will begin work with the Lutheran Social Services Refugee Resettlement office in St. Cloud, Minnesota
I just want to let you all know that we will now be working with the Lutheran Social Services Refugee Resettlement office in St. Cloud, Minnesota. We were connected with a St. Cloud Immigration Attorney’s office through little Anfa (the little Kenya girl with our doll in the KSTP News story about a month or so ago). This attorney and her legal assistant contacted me and would like to help us in any way that we need to help “Welcome” these little refugee children to St. Cloud. St. Cloud has a large refugee population and there has been a huge struggle of acceptance of the refugees in their city. And that struggle has even been covered on our Minneapolis/St. Paul news stations. We need to “WELCOME” these little children and let their families know that there ARE people in this country that “Welcome” them with open arms.
So, I am working out details with them. This may create an up-tick in our needs…so let’s do our best to keep busy and get our Doll Gift Tote Bags and Boys Bears and Buddy Dolls to these little children as they arrive in the United States.
Sorry for the lengthy post…..just needed to get this word out.
“Don’t Cry…I’m Here” receives Support from the OTSEGO, MN Target Store
NEWS!!! Today we received a very generous donation in the form of a gift card from our Otsego, MN Target store to be used to purchase dolls and doll related items for our Doll Gift Tote Bags. Target has really gotten on-board with our charity and we have been supported by several of their stores in our area. A HUGE Thank You to Target!!
Target Store in Crystal, MN supports “Don’t Cry…I’m Here” with a Gift Card
A HUGE thank you to the Crystal, Minnesota Target store for supporting our charity. They sent us a gift card that we can use to purchase items we need to complete our Doll Gift Tote Bags.
Target has been very supportive of our charity. This is the second Target store in the Minneapolis/St Paul area that has donated to “Don’t Cry…I’m Here”.
Arrive Ministries in Minneapolis receive 5 Doll Gift Tote Bags from “Don’t Cry…I’m Here” to “Welcome” Refugee Children
I would like to share with you some photos of today’s delivery of Doll Gift Tote Bags to Arrive Ministries. This is a very, very beautiful charity that works with the refugee families which begins by meeting the families at the airport….through helping them adapt to this country by providing a volunteer host family that helps them through their first months in the United States. They try to find them a place to live before they arrive in the States…but said sometimes that is difficult because they don’t get much notice of when they will arrive so sometimes employees of Arrive Ministries or volunteer families welcome them into their homes until housing is established.
So we have 5 more Doll Gift Tote Bags (4 girls and 1 boy) delivered….and will be with their new mommy’s or daddy shortly. One of the resettlement workers said they have a family of 5 arriving from Afghanistan tomorrow night and they have a little girl. So….one of the dolls will go out to this girl after they get a chance to rest after a very exhausting and stressful journey to the United States.
Thank you to everyone that is helping to make this work a reality. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to realize this charity IS INDEED doing what we are hoping to do.
Somali boy doll in in Traditional Somali male clothing.
African girl doll in Traditional African clothing.
African Muslim girl doll in Traditional Hijab and clothing.
Karen doll in Traditional Karen clothing.
Middle Eastern Muslim doll in Traditional Muslim Hijab and clothing.
Our Mission at Don’t Cry…I’m Here is all About Smiles….and Smiles We See
Here is a special treat for you! These 3 beautiful little girls received a “Don’t Cry…I’m Here” Doll Gift Tote Bags. Leah from Lutheran Social Service-Refugee Services sent me this photo this morning and I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I was to see these 3 girls with such HUGE smiles on their faces holding their dolls. How wonderful it must feel for the girls to have a doll that looks like they do and that wears clothing that matches their culture. It validates their culture and allows them to be proud of their culture. So….here is another success story. Let’s keep all of this great work going. Thanks everyone!!
Permission was given by Leah at Lutheran Social Service and the parents of the girls to share this photo with our group. Thanks so much Leah.
Don’t Cry…I’m Here delivered Doll Gift Tote Bags to The Center for Victims of Torture Healing Center in St. Paul, MN
Here are a few photos from 10-10-17 of our delivery of Doll Gift Tote Bags to The Center for Victims of Torture — the Yellow House. It is a beautiful house down a quiet street…perfect place for finding comfort and support after a very difficult journey to the United States. It is called the CVT Healing Center. It’s atmosphere felt like a Healing Center…..calm and quiet….with kind and caring people.
Target Store on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis donates a Gift Card to Don’t Cry…I’m Here
NEWS!!! Today we received a very generous donation in the form of a gift card from our Minneapolis, MN Nicollet Mall Target store to be used to purchase dolls and doll related items for our Doll Gift Tote Bags. This is part of Targets way of supporting local charities. I just HAD to take a picture of this gift card from this wonderful company donation. Hey everyone….we are going to make this project as big as we can….and reach as many little girls as we can!! Let’s work hard and make this happen!! A HUGE Thank You to Target!!
Little Anfa reunites with family after refugee camp and receives a Don’t Cry…I’m Here Doll Gift Tote Bag
Little Anfa was not allowed to come to the United States when her family came a few years ago because she was an infant and was not able to speak for herself to the immigration people. So her parents had to make a difficult decision and she was left in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya with her grandparents until things could be straightened out. 3 years later she is finally reunited with her parents in Minneapolis, MN and Farrah Fazal from KSTP tells the story on one of our major news stations in Minneapolis.
Gail Harvey from Don’t Cry…I’m Here said, “I was just watching our local Minneapolis KSTP news broadcast tonight and they had a report on a newly arrived little refugee girl from Kenya that caught my attention. As I watched the story I was frantically writing down information to contact KSTP to get one of our Doll Gift Tote Bags to this little girl. All of a sudden….I saw her and she was holding one of our dolls. The link below shows Anfa holding her doll and hugging it tightly. Click on the link below to watch this story and at 5 minutes 46 seconds little Anfa is holding one of our dolls. I have confirmed that this is one of the dolls that Don’t Cry…I’m Here gave to Lutheran Social Service–Refugee Services. Anfa received her doll when she arrived to her new home.
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