Maintenance Monday?!?...Not hardly!

For those of you who are veteran readers of highlowaha you know that often Mondays are used to clear up some “maintenance” type activities. This week however, our blog is doing anything but maintaining…no, in fact we are getting a complete overhaul. New paint job, new rims, fancy new seat covers, and a great smelling air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror. Our hope is that we have several new passengers on board as well. But not everything is changing and thus this week will serve as an orientation to our newest members while highlighting some of highlowaha’s greatest traditions and rolling out some exciting new ones. Each day will be used to introduce a concept that is integral to the highlowaha community and many days we will open a new link on our website as well.

Today we talk about the Spirit of 218. Several months ago Claudia came clean with those of us in the highlowaha community about the fact that she had been touting 2/18 as the blog’s initial post when in fact it wasn’t until 2/19. Faced with the conundrum of being Troop 218 with no real connection to the number she put the dilemma out to the community to take a good “whack”. That day the concept of the “Spirit of 218” was born. The “Spirit of 218” became our community’s code for embracing each day as the opportunity to make the most out of life, share our creativity with others and return a sense of wonder into the world. Over the course of the last year we have seen the “Spirit of 218” play out in our service to the community, our Random Acts of Kindness, and our fundraising efforts.

Today I have the honor of rolling out what will become our blog’s cornerstone fundraising and service initiative…”The Gift of 218”.

As a child growing up I was the 6^th of 7 children being raised by a single mother. You might imagine that feeding, clothing and providing a home for 7 children stretched the budget rather thin. As a result many “luxuries” in life were things we didn’t get to experience. Other members of our church family and local charities helped my Mom when it came to Christmas, clothes, winter jackets, and food on the table…the basics were provided and we couldn’t ask for much more. What I’ve realized though, as I’ve grown up is that I don’t remember the new pair of shoes or the box of cereal that was delivered, nor who delivered it. What I do remember is the church music minister who gave us a set of his tickets for the Cincinnati Opera on dress rehearsal night so we didn’t have to dress up. What I do remember is the friend of the family who took me to the Bengals Cheerleading Camp. What I do remember is getting our first family portrait taken at a professional photographer thanks to the generosity of someone dropping their free portrait coupon in our mailbox.

So when Claudia came to me with the concept for a cornerstone service initiative for highlowaha this is where my thoughts went. After toying with the idea of giving something tangible to families (a dinner table was one concept discussed) I threw out the idea of giving families the gift of an experience, a memory. Giving them the “Gift of 218”.

So beginning today the highlowaha community commits to raising funds to give nominated families the gift of an experience…any experience. Whether it is sending a child to camp, buying a zoo membership, affording the opportunity to take music lessons or any other experience you can craft, highlowaha is on board to help make it happen. In a few days we’ll begin taking nominations for families to whom you’d like to give the “Gift of 218” but beginning today we are asking you to help us start down the path towards raising the funds necessary to create these experiences.

Today I ask that each of you commit to our newest initiative and make a donation to the “Gift of 218”. Visit the “Gift of 218” page today and make a donation by check, cash or paypal in any form of 218 ($21.80, $2.18, $218, 2+1+8=$11, 2 x 1x 8= $16…you get the picture) and you’ll earn a patch for your patchwork denim but more importantly you’ll have helped to give the gift of an experience to a family and I promise you…that will be unforgettable.

Announcements

• Email Subscription: Don’t forget that you can now email subscribe to the blog. Check out the new feature on the sidebar of the blog to the right. There is a spot that says: Subscribe via email. Enter your email address. Feedburner will then send you an email to confirm you want to receive the emails. Click the link in your email and you will begin receiving Highlowaha updates in your email box every day! Our goal is to have a total of 25 community members subscribed by Sunday evening. Go subscribe now! You're guaranteed to never miss a new post again!

• Patchwork Fashion Show: For those of you with a piece of patchwork denim already in your possession and adorned with some great patchwork, we will have a Highlowaha Patchwork Fashion Show on Thursday, February 26. To participate in this event, take a photo of your patchwork denim and email it to highlowaha218@gmail.com by 5 pm on Wednesday, February 25. For those of you with patches in your possession but not yet adorned to a piece of denim... there is no time like the present! All those participating in this event will earn a "2nd year" patch marking your participation in the second year of this great community!
• Cookbook Recipes: Don’t forget that Tera has agreed to organize the first Highlowaha Cookbook. Whether it is your Olympic or Super Bowl entry, your People’s Choice Awards Party appetizer or just your favorite recipe, dig out all those winning recipes and pass them along to Tera - either by snail mail or by email. In an effort to roll it out in time for Mother’s Day the deadline to submit is March 18^th.
• Krysten's Sweet 16: Many of you may remember that Maureen used our input from a "Free for all Friday" many months ago as she planned her daughter's sweet 16 party. Below are the pictures from the big night!

Signing off until Tomorrow...