Yowza Elves Gone Wild: Holiday Goodies, 2009

SNAPSHOT:  Yowza Elves Gone Wild…

for the support staff at the Salvation Army Emergency Shelter

(downtown Buffalo, NY)

It has been a while since I last sat down at the computer to write…but such is life!  This past month and a half has been a veritable blur of life activities, but little windows of time for catching up on my blogging are finally opening up.

Ironically, though, as these blocks of time for writing are occurring, the warm weather and blue skies over Western New York have returned on a regular basis.  Needless to say, I find myself wanting to be outside enjoying the lure of spring rather than inside sitting in front of the computer. 

To honor this lure of being outside and enjoying this fabulous spring weather, I will use a series of SNAPSHOT BLOGS rather than longer pieces to record some life snippets.

I began my volunteer connection with the Salvation Army Emergency Shelter late last year, and that partnership has brought a great sense of personal joy and fulfillment.  Most of the work I am doing for the shelter involves room makeovers (from painting to re-designing to re-decorating to whatever the need that I can handlew).  However, it dawned on me that some "Yowza Elves" work I began back in Austin, TX. could continue right here in the Buffalo region.  With that thought in mind, I was excited to invite some of my WNY “Elf-Spirited” friends to help honor the shelter’s support staff--a staff of beautiful women and men who are the heart and soul of this agency and who work tirelessly to keep things running smoothly and successfully! 

So, at Christmas time (’09) I sent out the call to a handful of gal-pals to “come & play & give a bit of themselves”...they didn’t hesitate to answer the call with a collective YES!   Yes ma’am…this small circle of elves with good hearts gathered at my home and we iced cookies, decorated brownies, filled hot chocolate bags, collected books for reading...and more.  

There was Elf Beth.  

                                                                      And Elves Trisha & Pat.  

    

And Elves Anne & Judy.  

   

                                             And even our honorary elf…

                                my precious cat of 16 years, Galaia!

Our first Yowza Elves “gift” of giving was to surprise the shelter’s support staff—all 17 of them—with individual plates and bags of holiday goodies in thanks for all they do to help others. 

  

One of the key ideas behind being a Yowza Elf is to remain in the wings, so to speak, as unnoticed and invisible as possible.  You know, kind of like the tooth fairy!   

How fun that we were basically able to pull off the surprise…which filled us with the joy of knowing that we, a small circle of Yowza Elves, could put smiles on the faces and feelings of importance in the hearts of the staff!