God is good!!! I have mentioned my brother David in previous blogs, he is the one who has been trying to help me get an address in which I could ship the shorts. He had several options, however, at the time, they were taking only meds and he suggested that I wait to ship. I told him that I was glad to wait, I could box then up and store them until I got an opportunity to ship. Almost immediately, and I mean within the hour, I received an e-mail from one of my High School friends, Terri Cobb. She told me about an organization that she had heard about through the school in which she teaches, BIC. BIC has been collecting stuffed animals to give to the children as well, so they were also looking for a shipping source. So, Yesterday, Terri, Regina Welch, another friend from Leachville, and I delivered 765 pairs of shorts and a truckload of stuffed animals to the Churches of Christ International Relief Ministry Warehouse in Judsonia, AR. They were delighted to get the stuffed animals and the shorts. They were particularly delighted to see that the shorts were new, pressed and counted. They have a lot of used clothing donated and they will not ship out any until they go through and check each piece for wear, lost buttons, stains, etc. Then they count each item so they know exactly how many items are shipped. On the 18 of this month, next week, they will send all of their Haiti designated items to another warehouse where they will then be loaded onto a 40 foot long shipping crate, put on a ship and then be shipped to Haiti. The thing I most appreciated about the organization is that they are greatly accountable. They will receive a notice when the shipment arrives in the other port, when it is put on the ship and when it arrives in Haiti, and then when the items arrive at the Children's Home in Haiti which will be the final destination of the items we took. They took time to show us their facility and explained what they were doing all around the world. It was amazing. Last year that warehouse alone shipped out 35 forty foot crates to different destinations worldwide. They will be making two or three more shipments to Haiti this year and said they would be glad to ship the shorts for me. Also, did I mention that the shipping is free to me. It was truly an exciting day. I would like to thank Cindy Calhoun that also made shorts. She dropped them off last week and I was able to take those shorts as well. One last note, I have been buying elastic from Hancock fabric and have been paying full price, so I spoke with the local store manager, Ms. Anita, and asked if it could be discounted considering what I was doing with the elastic and she said she could not make that decision and that she would check with the district manager. Well, he was sick and in the hospital when she checked. When I went in the next week the elastic was an item chosen to be reduced to half price, so I ordered 300 yards. Then the following week Ms Anita called me and said, "I thought you would want to know that the elastic is on 1/2 price again, thought you might like to order more." I thanked her and ordered another 300 yards. That 600 yards should make about 1000-1200 pairs, then, I will order more. The photos are shorts bagged and ready for shipment and a particularly cute pair of shorts with turtles and frogs. Thanks for your support and phone calls and e-mails.
