The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
Happy Holidays from Pockets Full of Sunshine!
Wow, what a fantastic year it has been here at PFS, we can hardly believe it is coming to a close so quickly! This year brought lots of growth for Pockets Full of Sunshine and the adults we serve.
Our Clay Shoot fundraiser grew, becoming our best attended and most profitable event to date. Our Surf Event grew, with even more volunteer help and over 200 attendees! Our programming grew, expanding to include Thursdays and Fridays. Our attendance at local events grew as we added the Wednesday Wexford Market to our repertoire. Our number of Rays grew as we met and included many special new friends throughout the year.
This past year, and all of our growth would not have been possible without the love and support of our local community. Thank you to the foundations who have generously supported us through grant funding; Long Cove, Wexford and First Presbyterian Church. Thank you to the companies and families who have generously done the same through private donations, most recently the Izant family, the Spangler family and Northern Industrial Manufacturing. Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers who were recognized with special holiday gifts made by our Rays. Thank you to everyone who supports us through event attendance and sponsorship and gives so freely of their time to help us keep things running smoothly like James L Van Grouw, LLC and Graphic Designer Hilary Kerr. Thank you to the local businesses who are embodying inclusivity and helping us realize our mission such as Branches Designs and Transportation Safety Apparel. Pockets Full of Sunshine could not be what it is without each of you and with your continued belief and support we look forward to even more growth in 2018!
On that note, we want to highlight our final community event of the year and the spirited new craft we showcased!
The Rays attended the Village of Wexford Holiday Market to kick off the holiday season and wind down the year at PFS. The Market included a gingerbread trail, pictures with Santa and of course our signature blue Pockets Full of Sunshine tent full of festive adults showcasing their wares.
During craft sessions the adults had turned our sunshines over to create "snowflake cards" rather than our signature recycled "sunshine cards" which were pretty adorable, but our best seller was their special seasonal project; Holiday Gnomes!
Inspired by the garden gnomes they created from the limbs downed by Hurricane Matthew last year, the Rays created a collection of Holiday themed gnomes. This years collection included Santas, Mrs. Claus's, Elves, Reindeer and Angels and boy were they a hit!
Aren't they cute? As with each of our gnomes, the Rays not only painted and embellished them, but also gave each gnome a name and bio to describe their unique personalities.
Much to the delight of the adults, these darlings sold out at the market! But don't fret if you wish you had snagged a few of your own, we plan to make these a yearly seasonal product! The adults are already dreaming up new designs for next year so be on the lookout!
Thank you again to all of our friends and supporters for a wonderful year. You are so very appreciated and your giving throughout the year is especially celebrated during the holidays as it is the "reason for the season". Happy Holidays to all, see you in 2018!