The Christmas Party - 2010

After months of planning, making lists and checking them twice, our annual Christmas Party at the Blind Boone Community Center was a big, overflowing success - “overflowing” because the numbers in attendance seemed to double from just a year ago, and the endless rows of black plastic bags stuffed with the children’s gifts from The Crossing Church flowed down the Community Center’s long hallway. From the sounds coming from the jingle bell necklace-making station, various drawings for prizes, to the serenade of our African friends, there was no doubt that this party was a whole lot of fun for everyone who attended.

What began as a way to give the kids and their parents something to do while they waited to hear their name called to receive their gifts, is now a much-anticipated event for Granny’s House families.

Many of us sort through stacks of holiday invites, trying to decide which ones get a “yes” and which ones we have to decline, but for most of our families, this is the ONLY Christmas party invitation they receive during the holiday season...

For us, it’s another opportunity to say, “You are loved... you matter to us and to God!” (1 Thessalonians 2:7, 8)

The Secret Door...

For an entire week, Granny’s House kids “Ooooooed” and “Aaaaaaaaahed” over the gift-wrapped door of our back room. Only staff and volunteers were allowed to peek and see what was inside: THE GRANNY'S HOUSE CHRISTMAS STORE.

And we wish you could have heard the buzz created by these excited shoppers once they entered that “Secret Door” adorned with the big white bow:

"I can't choose...I want to get my mom exactly what she would like!" -Consolee

"Man... I should have worked more so I could have gotten some more stuff…" -Amareon

"My teacher is going to LOVE this book!" -Deborah

During November and December, kids did chores around Granny's House to earn those precious points to spend at our unique store. They could clean a bathroom, sweep the front walkway, mop the kitchen floor, help organize craft supplies etc... And sometimes the children do the chores not just because they want to get more "points," but to be a blessing: "The volunteers at Granny's House work really hard and when we work to earn points, it makes their job much easier." -10 year old Granny's House girl.

Now, when they hear the announcement, “Who wants to tidy up the homework room?” the kids scramble and debate over who’ll get to do it; and sometimes we ran out of projects because everybody is looking for a job to do!

Our goal for the Christmas store was the same as the goal we had for last summer’s KAA Store. In the minds of many of the children who come to Granny’s House, “Provision” = “Handout.” With our Christmas Store, we want to change that equation to “Provision” = “Hard Work.”

Like little Christmas elves, the staff and volunteers collected donations from a number of groups, organizations, and area churches who volunteered to help us stock our store with gifts for moms, dads, grandmas, and teacher etc., everything from fancy bath sets and tool kits, to boxed chocolates and fashion watches. We did what my grandmother called “Killing two birds with one stone:” provided gifts for the kids’ parents, all while giving them an invaluable life lesson in responsibility and the joy of giving. The kids are learning, first hand, that it really is “more blessed to give then to receive!”

Princess Academy Featured in Missourian!

Recently, a reporter from The Missourian stopped by Granny's House to find out more about our Princess Academy program! It was great hearing the girls tell stories about their experiences and their quotes were so precious! Read the article here!

A Grand Gathering of Granny’s House Moms, Grandmas, Aunties!!

This year’s Moms’ Banquet theme, “JOY! It’s the Best Makeup,” made for a catchy t-shirt logo AND an incredible message from our guest speaker, Remi Onayemi, a member of the KAA staff.


Remi encouraged Granny’s House moms, grandmas, aunties, and other special guests to let God’s Word and a relationship with Him, rather than peer pressure and media images, form the template for your self-esteem. After hearing her message, one excited mom said, “I wish she would have talked longer… her message helped me so much!”




This year's Moms Banquet was, again, held at the University of Missouri’s Black Culture Center and, whether feasting on the catered bar-b-que meal and the ice cream sundae bar, or listening to testimonies of God’s faithfulness, everyone experienced the goodness of God – 3D!

This fall at Granny’s House, we have had an incredible number of groups doing service projects for us! This has been such an great blessing for the 60-70 children attending Granny’s House every day! Many groups come in the afternoon and set up a craft or special project for the children while other groups have brought children to different places, like the Hearnes Center or to the Mizzou Rec Center for a fun fieldtrip! The children have absolutely loved these outings and the volunteers have been so much fun.

Greek 12:20 set up a great event with Mizzou Volleyball. We had fun activities before the game and then all sat together to watch the Mizzou women’s volleyball team beat Baylor.

The Diverse Student’s Association came the week before Halloween and did some great crafts with the children! The children had such a wonderful time and this group came up with some really creative craft ideas!

The following groups all came from the Trulaske College of Business at Mizzou:

--The first group gathered enough Halloween costumes for all of the children, and then some! The children had such a wonderful time picking out halloween costumes and we had so many children parents thank us for these great costumes!

--The second group decided to sell t-shirts on the Mizzou campus to raise money for Granny’s House. This was a fun and creative way for them to raise money for Granny’s House. The t-shirts are black with gold writing. They are only 7$! To order a t-shirt, please e-mail pam@grannyshouse.org

--Group number three took us to the Mizzou Rec Center! We had such a fun Saturday morning with this group! They arranged for Granny’s House children to use two basketball courts at the Mizzou Rec Center! They also provided snacks and drinks for the children. This was such a fun way to expose the children to the University and all it has to offer! They also raised money to contribute to the Granny’s House christmas store!

--The final group from the College of Business is organizing a outdoor toy and ball drive for us! This is such a great need at Granny’s House, since we go through outdoor toys so quickly. These students are exchanging payment for their services to the members of the faculty of the College of Business. These services range from organizing, babysitting, to cleaning. Their goal is to raise $500.00 and they are well on their way to that goal!

Eta Sigma Delta is a honors society from Hotel and Restaurant Management at Mizzou. This wonderful organization brought us an entire meal of food, along with creative turkey crafts for the children to make. They also brought Truman the Tiger with them! This was such an incredibly fun day for the kids.

A HUGE thank you to all of these groups! these have been such a great group of students, and everyone was such a pleasure to work with! THANK YOU!

--mary kate