21 Ideas To Give Back This Season

Want to do something special this season? Many are considering how to give back to the community.  Often they consider donating to a worthy cause. Here are 21 gift giving ideas that keep giving back.

Neighborhood Outreach Dinners for the Homeless
Big Brother Big Sister Mentoring
Online Fund Raising
Health Awareness Seminars
Farmers Market Outings with Seniors
Group Canning
Bake Sales For Fund Raising
Winter Wonderland Outings
Winter Fest Activities
Fall Fest Activities
Autumn Crafts
Fall Festivals
Charitable Organizing
Government Aid for Education
Scholastic Achievement Awards
Bible Travel Tours and Creation Sight Seeing
Crafts For Gift Giving
Group Bible Study by Skype
Door to Door Bible Ministry
Motivational Speaking
Bible Drama Movie Events

Check the items you've considered, share it with someone you know has experience participating or planning such an event.  Take action! Get the ball rolling and discover a 2000 year old truth. "There is more happiness in giving then in receiving."

My Gift to you. Brenda and I are active in Group Bible Study, Door to Door Bible Study, Motivational Public Speaking, Fall and Winter Fest Activities, Online Fund Raising, Crafts for Gift Giving, Bible Travel Tours and Creation Sight Seeing, Bible Drama Movie Events.  If you would like to support our work feel free to send us a modest donation.

Early Family Reunion Planning Strategy

They say the best laid plans do not always work out. Why? Experts say timing can be a contributor to a plans success or failure. Often because these plans require several hands on deck, getting full support is often the key to getting any idea off the ground, up and running.

So you talked to your family over dinner this past November and presented your ideas for the next family reunion. They liked what they heard and you've heard nothing more from them about it sense. Not to worry. That's typical. Likely they're both preoccupied with the everyday task of survival or they're just waiting to hear what your next move will be.

So what is the next move? Now would be the time to have a handy family reunion planning guide to lay out the course.  Why an event guide? These guides often are written based on an experienced reunion planners tried and proven event planning strategy.  A strategy that will get everyone inspired and motivated to pitch in and get the reunion event planning wheels turning full speed ahead. That said, enter Fimark's Family Reunion Planner Social web app. This app presents a step by step method of planning your reunion event and via it's ebook feature it outlines how to get all in the family involved.

Best of all you don't have to download it and install it to your device or PC. Just go to the URL and sign-in. Next follow the steps one by one and you'll have your reunion plans up and running in no time.

Spring Reunion Planning Reminders

Community Gardens in Baltimore - Photographer Mark Askew

Here's a shout out to all you family reunion planners on the west coast as well as those in the southern states and Canada. Take time to take it all in. Grab your kids and kiss them. Hold your wife and thank her. Call your mother and tell her how much you appreciate her sacrifices. Take the family out to dinner this week and stop to smell the flowers or watch a sweet sunset while playing your favorite tunes. You'll be surprised to know that children remember the little things most when they get older.

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

It was a beautiful weekend here on the east coast. The sun, simply brilliant. Brenda and I went to a beautiful community garden not far from our home. There were just about as many people there as the tulips. And the rich colorful tulips this year were amazingly breathtaking. For a fun tulip garden show just go to my Pinterest page called Tulip Love. The first six photos uploaded were taken by me at the community garden.

Community Gardens Baltimore - Photographer Mark Askew

It was a special month of event planning for us. The events succeeded in touching many hearts not to mention our own. First there was the Bible Drama for kids completed just in time for the memorial season. Total viewers 60 so far. Then there was the showing of a fond farewell video we made for a couple we've grown to love. An audience of 42. Lot's of tears and laughter. I think we laughed most at the fact that we were crying. No embarrassment, no regrets, just good memories.

Spring has certainly sprung for family reunion planning and this is the perfect time to catch up on those action items on your 'to do list'. So what's the best way to go about doing that?

Communication Essentials

Communication is essential to planning, organizing and managing any successful event. That said, consult your family reunion planning app, Fimark's Family Reunion Planner Social, for details and reminders and follow up with those assigned to various departments using the social apps contact icon strip located at the top of the reunion planning app. The icon strip includes access to Facebook Chat, Skype and Google Hangouts.  It's a good idea to have periodic group discussions, so arrange a followup conference with all department heads and determine if there is a need for supplies, solutions or additional support.

When conferencing make good use of the departmental worksheets the reunion planning app provides. Read the instructions and check off tasks completed.

Other Helpful Reminders

If additional funds are needed this would also be a good time to discuss holding a fund raiser. Remember the recommended personal family reunion website has several fundraising features so keep your family reunion website up and running until well after the event and beyond. Find recommended personal reunion websites on this blog page.

For more family reunion planning tips, tools and ideas consult Fimark's Family Reunion Planner Social app found on this page.

Family Reunion Planning Tips

I really am anxious to start planning the next event. I was hoping I could do something this month. If I had my way I would have an event program that looks something like this:

1.  Warm welcome with jazz tunes
2.  Dinner
3.  Puppet show as child sings.
4.  Guess Who Game
5.  Video Interviews
6.  Please and Thank You Song
7.  Kids Dance Segment
Closing thanks. Please drive home carefully and thank you for coming.


So how can you get your family reunion planning started this month?

1.  Choose A Theme
2.  Reunion Activity Ideas
3.  Consider Your Budget
4.  Send Survey Options
5.  Announce Event
6.  Delegate Assignments
7.  Raise Funds
8.  Pay Vendors
10. Enjoy Your Reunion

Need more help? Become a member of the Family Reunion Planners Group. We give support in the following areas.

Once you've purchased Fimark's Family Reunion Planning Social Web app you will then be an official member of The Family Reunion Planners Groups. As a Family Reunion Planners Group member you will have access to our support team via fimarkhome@gmail.com.

We are now accepting donations of $39. Your donation comes with support for free family reunion banner design, photo restoration services and keepsake booklet maker support all found in Fimark's Family Reunion Planner web app. A bonus gift for your donation.

The web app is an event planning interface with a feature that steps you thru the event planning process. In addition the app rolls over 10 event planning apps into one and provides three different event planning apps. One for those who like to use a spreadsheet and docs. The other for those who use Google Plus, Google Drive and Google Docs and another web app for Facebook users. The app also provides access to the Fimark Family Reunion Planner ebook in flipbook, pdf and doc format. What more could you want?

App Support Bug Fix
Family Reunion Planning Social Web app users who have had intermittent issues with blank white screens and misaligned Todo lists need to update the web app. To do this first save the url to the web app in your browser. Then clear history and any cookies associated with frpsocial in your browser. Next remove the app from your facebook page. After this is done go to the url you saved in your browser and login. Your app will then be updated. For more support contact us at fimarkhome@gmail.com.

Congratulations on your decision to get an early start planning your next family reunion. 

Making Family Night A Hit

1. Family Night - A Big Hit
2. Making It All Work
3. Surprise Surprise
4. Food Glorious Food

Family Night - A Big Hit
This is an exciting time of year for me and Brenda. We are planning our annual Family Night with family and friends of the family. We started this traditional gathering in order to celebrate family values, present good parenting ideas and connect closer with our youth while giving them an opportunity to reveal their hidden talents, interests and their more mature side. 

Since the very first annual Family Night it's been anxiously anticipated among families in several groups in our community. 

It's amazing what gathering purely for the sake of connecting can do to the spirit of a child. Often teens distance themselves due to misunderstanding what a busy schedule of hard-working parents can do to them. This often leads to unspoken heartache and disappointment, making the parents job even more difficult. But when family members come together to prepare for Family Night doing what they all love doing most wounds quickly heal.

Making It All Work
Four key factors to making this work for each family member are:

1. Get the youth involved in the planning, writing and organizing process. 
2. Make sure there are plenty of eats the young folk and parents like and allowing them to clown around while taking snack breaks each hour or so. 
3. Set up the show in dinner theater fashion. 
4. Have the participants serve meals and soft-drinks to the older ones so they can connect with them in a special way.

One of the biggest hits of a our semi-formal family night affair is the Talent Show. Every second is savored and parents are proud of whatever their children do. Another hit is a well prepared drama complete with dignified comedy, cuteness and bitter-sweet situations.

Surprise Surprise

This years event will feature a movie taken of lasts years Family Night drama with added footage and a slideshow segment of all our kids growing up from infancy. 
To add some snap and surprise there's sneak peak "guess who" footage of the parents when they were the same age as their children. 

The folks were thinking about getting warm and staying warm throughout the coming winter months. Coats, jackets hat's, caps, scarves and gloves are on the top of the list. Brenda's even started knitting again. 

I decided to feature an adventurous knitting class scene in the drama. How could I knitting class scene possibly be exciting and adventurous.? We pulled it off. 

Read about the history of knitting and weaving and you'll see for yourself what a fascinating journey this artistic way of life has taken from the days of old to our time. According to the reviews the knitting scene went off quite well and now folks are seriously considering having a weaving/knitting class of their own once or twice a month.

Read about the history of knitting and weaving and you'll see for yourself what a fascinating journey this artistic way of life has taken from the days of old to our time. According to the reviews the knitting scene went off quite well and now folks are seriously considering having a weaving/knitting class of their own once or twice a month.
Read about the history of knitting and weaving and you'll see for yourself what a fascinating journey this artistic way of life has taken from the days of old to our time. According to the reviews the knitting scene went off quite well and now folks are seriously considering having a weaving/knitting class of their own once or twice a month.


Food Glorious Food

What inspires good spirited merriment better than a good hot meal. Depending on the season and economy we either have a potluck meal presentation where all the invited guests bring a dish or we will have it catered. Frankly they seem to prefer the variety in potluck banquet style dinners. 

Fimark's new Family Reunion Planner Social application soon to be released will feature a Family Recipe Collector via a Pinterest app. You can share recipes, get recipe ideas and comment on them. 

Take a sneak peak at some of the recipes that will be featured at http://pinterest.com/fimarkhome/family-recipes/

Planning and Decorating
We get our planning and decorating ideas, music and supplies and gift ideas browsing online stores around this time to take advantage of Black Friday Week specials. 

Happy Family Reunion and Family Night Planning!

Mark and Brenda

The Family Reunion Book is now 40% off. Was $29, now only $16.99
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Family Reunion Supplies - Get up to 55% off during Black Friday Week
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Family Night Theme Music just 0.99
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