The Office of Good Deeds Invites You to Do a Very Good Deed

Yesterday I told y'all I was going to offer details for OGD's next big project. It was called to my attention that a family here in Austin could use some help transforming their backyard into a mini-playground and healing garden. These folks recently received word that their 2 year-old daughter has leukemia. The treatment compromises the girl's immune system and consequently both she and her 1 year-old sister had to stop attending daycare and can no longer take trips to the park which, until now, were frequent. 

My goal is to fulfill their wish to make their backyard into a new kind of park so the girls can still have lots of outdoor fun. Zach-- who many of you know owns YardFarm Austin and installed my raised bed food gardens-- has volunteered to oversee this project and is currently drawing up plans-- Yay Zach! The LIVESTRONG Foundation has offered volunteers for the install which will be happening later this month. And coworkers of the girl's mother are doing a fundraiser to help defray costs of the stuff we'll use to make the transformation.

Dare (L) and Zach (R) of YardFarm -- Zach is the Man with the Plan

To further help this project along, I'm listing a bunch of stuff we could really use to make this happen. I'm seeking brand new or very gently used things listed below. Once I find out what you all can donate and what we still need, I'll make some calls to local retailers to see if they can help. So even if you don't have anything listed below, if you've got connections with hardware stores, garden suppliers, etc and are willing to help me reach out, please let me know. Also I'd like to make a list of backup volunteers to help with the install-- not sure yet if we need more folks but I want to be prepared. 

As I mentioned yesterday, OGD most prefers to operate by offering goods and services rather than soliciting cash donations. However if  you want to kick in some dough that's cool. I sure appreciate any help and leads you can offer. And I ask that you all send some good happy healthy vibes to this family.

Below is the list of things I'm hoping to acquire and following the list are some images of what some of these things look like. If you have any of these items, or can put me in touch with someone willing to flat out donate or offer a discount, please email me at spike@spikeg.com or, if you want to send a financial donation, let me know and I'll tell you how to handle that. 

Thanks y'all,

Spike

THE LIST

• Wooden picnic table with attached benches PICNIC TABLE DONATED!
• Swing set or small climbing structure (remember the girls are very little so I'm thinking small) (small climbing structure donated!)
• Tire swing or baby swing
• Fencing
• Hummingbird feeders GOT ONE DONATED!
• Sandbox with a cover   GOT ONE DONATED!
• Sand SAND DONATED!
• A fan (I need to check with Zach on what kind of fan-- ceiling or floor)
• A little clubhouse
• Ground cover and plants (Zach can get wholesale prices on these but if you are connected to a nursery that might flat out donate please let me know)
• Screening & Lumber (Zach is going to build a little screened in area -- he's still working on design so I don't have specs for screening yet) (SCREENING DONATED!)
• Human volunteers (I might have enough folks signed up but would like a backup list. Build dates are June 25th and 26th-- we'll be working in shifts so even a two-hour time donation is great.) SEVERAL VOLUNTEERS ROUNDED UP, COULD USE SOME MORE!
• Art Easel  (received!)