Gabriel's Gift Donates 62 Bags!

Project Sweet Peas is happy to announce that Gabriel's Gift, led by Corin (Gabriel's mother) and co-led by Jeanne (Corin's mother-in-law), donated another round of gift bags this past weekend!

On Sunday, June 27th, Corin, Nate (Corin's husband), and Jeanne drove up to Mass General Hospital in Massachusetts where they delivered 62 gift bags to the NICU. Mass General Hospital is the hospital where Corin's son, Gabe, spent 53 days out of the 55 days of his short, sweet life.


Carolyn Pelley, one of Gabe's respiratory therapists who stayed in contact with the family over the past few years, met Corin, Nate, and Jeanne to accept the 62 gift bags which included 42 Basic NICU bags (21 girl/21 boy), 16 Angel Bags (8 girl/8 boy), and 4 Item bags filled with over 40 toiletry kits for parents who stay overnight in the hospital family rooms. The delivery went great, and the hospital is very thankful for the donation.


This was the first of two deliveries Gabriel's Gift will make this summer putting to use the items funded by the Pepsi Refresh Project grant along with items donated by many others to complete the gift bags.

Project Sweet Peas and Gabriel's Gift would like to give a special thanks to:

• Carolyn Pelley and Danielle Doucette for accepting the gift bags on behalf of MGH and putting them to use
• Lea from Angel Wings Boutique (http://angelwingsmemorialboutique.blogspot.com/) for donating handmade angel wings for the angel bags
• Pepsi for the Pepsi Refresh Grant
• Everyone else who has donated to Gabriel's Gifts, or voted for Project Sweet Peas in the Pepsi contest

You can also read about this delivery on the Project Sweet Peas Pepsi Refresh Blog.
For more information on Gabriel and Gabriel's Gift please visit the project page on the Project Sweet Peas page.

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Help Us Celebrate Our One Year Anniversary!

This July marks the one year anniversary of Project Sweet Peas!

A project that was started by a few parents looking to give back has, in one year, blossomed into an unbelievable success as it has grown to include 15 local projects donating a total of 578 bags to hospitals located across the U.S. and in Canada. Thank you to the founders, local project leaders, hospitals, and everyone who has supported us!

To celebrate Project Sweet Peas' one year anniversary, we have decided to help the crisis in the Gulf.
Throughout the month of July, we are collecting special edition Dawn dish soap bottles. The special edition bottles have animals on them and $1.00 will be donated to wildlife groups like the Marine Mammal Center and the International Bird Rescue Research Center; their goal is $500,000. We will donate the bottles to an organization working on cleaning up Gulf Sweet Peas in Louisiana.

Wondering why we are doing this? 1% of Dawn soap is used in one tub of water. A SINGLE ANIMAL can use up to 30 tubs of water. Larger animals, like a pelican can use to to 300 gallons of water! That requires a lot of soap and love. It is no different than a nurse taking time to ensure the health of our babies in the intensive care units.

If you would like to help, please send the bottles to:

Project "Gulf" Sweet Peas
717 Simpson Way
Covington, LA, 70435

Collection ends July 31, 2010

Look for this label:

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Hailey's Hope Donates 1st Set of Gift Bags

In April 2010, Hailey’s Hope became a local project of Project Sweet Peas and was started in memory of my daughter, Hailey, who was born with Trisomy 18 on December 1, 2009 and passed away on January 6, 2010.

The initial goal for the first round of gift bag donations from Hailey’s Hope was to donate 20 basic NICU gift bags to The Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama (the hospital where Hailey stayed for 8 days). In April we began sharing the purpose of Hailey’s Hope with Project Sweet Peas and requesting donations through word of mouth, our blog, emails and letters to family and friends, and Facebook.

By June 1, 2010, over 34 individuals, families, and groups had donated to Hailey’s Hope. Over $2000 was given and some of the items donated included over 50 preemie outfits (from the readers of the blog We Are THAT Family), 40 books (from the author Holley Gerth), 10 stuffed animals (from Dayspring), and many, many more beautiful items from family and friends. The support Hailey’s Hope received was a huge blessing and with all of the generous donations, we were able to almost double our initial goal.

On Friday, June 11, 2010, my husband and I drove to The Children’s Hospital to deliver the gift bags from Hailey’s Hope. We were so grateful to be able to drop off and donate 36 basic NICU gift bags in memory of the 36 days Hailey lived. Hailey blessed our lives, and we are thankful to have this opportunity with Project Sweet Peas to bless other families who have the shared, difficult experience of having a baby in a NICU by bringing them a source of comfort and hope.



As we unloaded the bags from the car into the lobby of the hospital, the women working there told me how happy and thankful they were for our donation. One woman commented that she could tell how much love went into each bag, and another said that so many babies are going to be so blessed to be receiving such wonderful things. And we hope that those receiving the bags feel and think the same.

Thank you to everyone for their amazing support! We can’t wait to start fundraising for our next set of donations! For more information on Hailey and Hailey’s Hope you can visit our page on the Project Sweet Peas website, my blog, or Hailey’s Hope’s Facebook page.

Blessings,
Kristin, Hailey’s Mom and Project Leader of Hailey’s Hope

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A Little Bit of “Faith” in Drake's Doodlebugs: Dr. Seuss Book Drive

Hello everyone,

My name is Christy Michel and I am the project leader for Drake's Doodlebugs, a Project Sweet Peas. I joined Project Sweet Peas and started Drakes Doodlebugs to help make a difference in someone’s life. I know how hard it is to have your child in the NICU. The things you treasure are the things that you can do for your baby while you are there with them. I remember reading to Drake at night and what a great feeling it was. I cherish those memories as well as the books I read to him.

I am holding a Dr. Seuss book drive in memory of Drake's best Angel friend, Faith Grace Miles. She was an inspiration to many. You can check out Faith's story at http://faithgracecdh.blogspot.com/ . Faith’s mom, Amy Miles, is one of my dearest friends. She read Dr. Seuss books to Faith each night, and I would like to honor Faith's memory by providing others with the chance to do the same. I will be delivering close to 100 Project Sweet Peas' Drake's Doodlebugs bags. I would love to include Dr. Seuss books in them in memory of Faith.

Please help me add a little “FAITH” in Drakes Doodlebugs! You can help by donating any gently used or new Dr. Seuss books to:

Drakes Doodlebugs
C/O Christy Michel
717 Simpson Way
Covington, LA. 70435

By Christy Michel

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