Mission Moms of Lantana, founded last October by Kathryn Flores, is committed more than ever to ensuring that struggling families in our community are not forgotten.
On Saturday, April 20, Lantana held their annual Community Garage Sale. Sparked by the idea of a Mission Moms first grader, Grayson Bird, the group collected an abundance of clothes, toys, books, household items, furniture, beds and bikes to sell at the event.
With growing number of specific families that need our help, Grayson’s vision came from discussions around how to raise money so Mission Moms can help even more families with children attending our schools.
He said, “Mommy, how ‘bout we sell some of the stuff we don’t need at the garage sale and give the money to Mission Moms?” To a mother’s delight, Brandi Bird, Mission Moms Vice President, began the brainstorming with the Mission Moms board and the idea took flight.
Grayson, a classmate and buddy to Evan Flores, along with many of their friends came to the event to lend a helping hand to all the Mommy’s. It was fun and very productive.
Additionally, first grader Ava Channing Houser came up with the idea to have a lemonade stand at the garage sale run by kids of Mission Moms.
The blessings are two-fold– (1) The vision of Mission Moms has always been to ‘teach our children to serve within their community and act upon the kindness in their hearts’. It’s working! The kids are coming up with ways, on their own, to help others. (2) We raised money! In fact, the lemonade stand and sale exceeded our expectations and nearly doubled our goals!
The event started with donations arriving all day Friday. What an undertaking it was to sort, tag and organize so much loot! Thanks to the planning and preparation at the home of Mission Moms board member, Bobbi Byrne, we officially completed the setup by 11pm on Friday.
To our surprise, the first enthusiastic customers arrived Saturday morning at 5am! The stream of shoppers continued steadily until 2pm as Mission Moms high-fived then collapsed after a very successful mission! The day was truly wonderfully exhausting!
Mission Moms credits dozens of families who donated items to the sale. In addition, the E.P. Rayzor Student Council collected items to be sold and donated them to the cause. Kids helping kids. A dream every parent is starting to see become reality in each of their homes!
Clearly this program is not just about donating, but about teaching children the importance of giving, being thankful for all they have, and creating more responsible and aware adults. The children giving the gifts of time and items, and those receiving, enjoyed bright smiles, and certainly created an unforgettable experience for our children.
Started just a few months ago when a simple need by a local student was brought to her attention, Flores quickly realized the greater concerns plaguing many in her community.
A mom of two boys, we recognize the many blessings bestowed upon our family, and also recognize the responsibility of those who are able to give and provide for people facing hardship. So many people have echoed our vision and stepped up to help!
Recently, we had the privilege of working with RockPointe Church. The church sent members into the community on April 28 to provide a variety of assistance as needed. Their Hands Across the Community initiative reached out to Mission Moms after hearing of specific needs of one of our families.
Thanks to their desire to help, one of our families will have a home equipped for the needs of their very ill baby girl. The offers to help come in steadily. It continues to amaze us with how proactive our community has been. While there will be initiatives to raise money and items for our missions, the awareness surrounding our vision has spread throughout bountiful blessings within our community!
In the coming weeks, we are focused on the next two missions: Summer Co-Op and Blessings of the Backpacks.
The Summer Co-Op is a combined mission with Hunters Helping Hands and Kids Kupboard Ministries outreach programs, also in Lantana, which will provide food and books to families at our schools throughout the summer. The idea is to keep our children fed with both knowledge and food while on summer break. Every one of us has fond memories of our summer break and the goal is to keep Mission Moms forefront in the minds of our children while continuing to help others.
Blessings of the Backpacks is something Flores has done with her own children for years. Getting groups of children together the Sunday before school starts and making a craft to attach to their backpacks, say a prayer for the teachers and children, and have brownies and ice cream “Sundays”. Taking this idea a step further, we will be providing backpacks to the children of all the Lantana schools and also E.P. Rayzor’s sister school, Borman Elementary in Denton. Every child needs to feel ‘normal’ and to have a backpack for school.
We are teaming up at E.P. Rayzor with the PTA which has always provided school supplies to the children. Now, each child will start the year on the same page…backpacks and supplies! We hope other schools will consider similar initiatives.
Mission Moms is thrilled to bring our growing community together to help others! Already a sought-after neighborhood to live in, Mission Moms is quickly giving Lantana a respected dot on the map!
I am excited to tackle even more to help our families! We are utilizing the social media skills, personal and professional relationships, and the willingness of caring businesses and individuals, but mostly the giving hearts of our community to make a greater impact this year. There are many unmet needs within the elementary and middle schools, and Mission Moms is committed to meeting these needs.
Whatever ahead, Mission Moms promises that the needs of our community’s children will not be overlooked!
Visit Mission Moms’ website for more information.
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