Saturday, September 24, 2005

We're On Our Way!!

We had our garage sale fundraiser today and it was a wonderful success. Our total including the garage sale items, handmade jewelry by Lexi, baked goods and coin jar came to $195.10!

This was the first of several fundraisers we will be holding throughout the year to help raise funds for some of the individuals hoping to go to Moldova during the summer of 2006.

As you can see in this picture, we hung the Sweet Sleep banner and played our Sweet Sleep At Work DVD as well as gave out informational brochures to help acquaint our neighbors and customers with the mission of Sweet Sleep.

This is a picture of some of the handmade jewelry by Lexi. She has made necklaces, bracelets and key chains with SweetSleepYorg spelled out in the multi-colored beads, surrounded by a string to two toned blue beads.


Here are two of our young supporters (Lexi and Kati) manning our concessions and coin table.

Thank you to everyone who donated items, made baked goods, and came out in support of our sale.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Mission Trip 2006 Fundraiser

Come out for great bargains and help support some of those wanting to go to Moldova in 2006!

Date: 09/24/2005

Time: 8:00am to 5:00pm

Chapman’s Retreat Community-wide Garage Sale
Come enjoy the great end of season bargains, lemonade stands and baked goods for sale in Chapman’s Retreat. Be sure to stop by 2010 McCrory Place (just off of Chapman’s Retreat Drive) to support the Sweet Sleep Mission Trip!


Chapman’s Retreat is located off of Duplex Road just north of I-65 in Spring Hill, TN.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Sweet Sleep Mission Fundraiser

Dear Nashville Area Sweet Sleep Supporters,

If you love to shop at amazing savings and hate to fight the crowds of the Christmas rush will helping your favorite non-profit, have I got a deal for you!

Each year Hecht's Department Store holds a Holiday Benefit Sale that is invitation only to help area non-profits and this year Sweet Sleep is getting in on the action!

When: Saturday, November 5, 2005 - 6:00am - 10:00am

Cost: $5.00 per ticket ($4.00 of each ticket goes back to Sweet Sleep to help raise money for next summer's mission participants!)

Where: Hecht's Department store at Bellevue Center, Cool Springs Galleria, Hickory Hollow Mall, RiverGate Mall or The Mall at Green Hills.

This is an invitation only event and all invitation holders will be entitled to an additional 25% off of the existing 72-hour sale price that will be in effect that weekend.
ALSO, invitation holders will be allowed to select their purchases beginning Sunday, October 30th through Friday November 4th at Holiday Benefit Sale prices and then can pick up their purchases on or after Monday, November 7th. All you do is go to one of the participating Hecht's during the above mentioned week of October 30th with your invitation, select your items, place them on the Holiday Sale hold along with your credit card information and as soon as the special prices are entered into the Hecht's computer system on Friday, November 4th, your card will be charged and your items will be available for pickup on or after Monday, November 7th! What a great way to beat the sale rush, save big money and get your holiday shopping done early!!

South Carolina "Pillow Talk"


Thanks to the organizational wizardry of Sweet Sleep supporter Holly Lynch, several Greenville, SC businesses turned out in support of a fundraiser to benefit Sweet Sleep. Among the sponsors for this event were Re/Max Realty Professionals, SunTrust Mortgage, The Greenville News, Homes & Land Magazine, Jacqui Lanear Real Estate Attorney, Terry Laws Real Estate Attorney, The Real Estate Bank, PIP Printing and Advantage Home Warranty & Inspection.

The business-casual evening included a beautifully decorated and delicious buffet of finger foods, live music by the "Funk Puzzle Band" (including Holly sharing her singing talens on a few numbers) and a Silent Auction of items from numerous area businesses including "The Fabric Diva" who handmade 5 one of a kind pillows for auction as well as table decorations for the event.

The event raised approximately $3,000 for Sweet Sleep and the new Home Sweet Home project! Way to go South Carolina!!

Friday, September 02, 2005

Exciting News!!


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sweet Sleep
............

Press Release
.....
SWEET SLEEP BEGINS WORK ON “HOME SWEET HOME”
Launches $215,000 Fundraising Campaign for Transitional Housing Program in Moldova


NASHVILLE, Tenn. and CHISINAU, Moldova (September 1, 2005) -- Sweet Sleep today announced details on its transitional housing program for orphan boys in Moldova and its kickoff of a $215,000 fundraising campaign called Home Sweet Home.

Sweet Sleep’s Transitional Housing Program

Each spring, 80 to 90 students, half of whom are boys, ‘graduate’ from the Internat II orphanage in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. Boys graduating are typically 16 to 17 years in age and have completed the equivalent of the ninth grade when they are discharged and turned out on to the streets. Sweet Sleep has created a transitional housing program for these young men which will provide a safe, stable environment in order to allow participants to further pursue their education, learn job skills, obtain employment and develop core values that will enable them to become mentors to the young boys still in the orphanage.

When completed, the transitional house is expected to shelter approximately 10-12 boys a year. Sweet Sleep plans to hire a mature Christian couple from Moldova to serve as houseparents. The transitional house will also serve as a staging area for those boys employed by Sweet Sleep in its carpentry and bed- building programs for local orphanages.

"The statistics on these boys are horrendous as 10% are expected to commit suicide and 70% join the mafia or end up in prison as a result of desperate attempts to survive," noted Jen Gash, founder of Sweet Sleep. "Today marks the start of a new school year in Moldova and the last day that these boys are officially part of the orphanage. As we speak, they are on the streets looking for a place to stay tonight. The boys need not only a roof over their heads but a support safety net to model the appropriate behavior as well as nurture and mentor them in becoming men of strong character that are gainfully employed and contributing to society."

First Year Campaign Goal

The Home Sweet Home campaign has established a first year goal of raising $215,000 for the boys’ transitional housing program. This total is comprised of $40,000 for purchasing the existing house and surrounding two acres in Moldova; $120,000 for completeing construction; $30,000 for first year operational expenses; and $25,000 for first year programming expenses. At the official campaign launch earlier this week, Home Sweet Home announced that it has already raised the $40,000 needed to purchase the house. Sweet Sleep expects to close on the purchase of the property within the next couple of weeks and begin construction as soon as the necessary funds are raised.

Tripp Sullivan, Home Sweet Home campaign chair, added, “Without a permanent address, it is virtually impossible for these boys to obtain identity papers. That in turn makes them unemployable. In a culture that values family connections and considers orphans the lowest of all classes, these boys are caught in a vicious cycle that can’t be stopped on its own. We hope to solve this problem for them. We are already off to a strong start on the campaign and will be actively pursuing additional funds in the coming days and weeks to reach our goal. With a climate similar to that of Minnesota, winter in Moldova is just ahead of us. We don’t have a moment to lose.”

About Sweet Sleep

Sweet Sleep was founded in 2003 as a faith-based ministry to provide new beds to orphaned children in the third-world country of Moldova. To date, Sweet Sleep employs six discharged orphans who have helped to build over 350 beds. Sweet Sleep has been featured in several well-known publications, such as The Tennessean, Baptist & Reflector, The Texas Baptist Standard, and Today’s Child and Family magazine. Sweet Sleep is affiliated with CERI (Children’s Emergency Relief International), in San Antonio, Texas.

Website: http://www.sweetsleep.org

Sweet Sleep
Jennifer Gash
Executive Director/Founder
email: jengash@sweetsleep.org
phone: 615-481-4593

Home Sweet Home Campaign
Tripp Sullivan
Campaign Chairman
email: tripp.sullivan@cci-ir.com
phone: 615-481-4588
All rights reserved. Sweet Sleep 2003