October is giving back time for Nor Cal

Last year we started a new tradition for Nor Cal at the suggestion of our longtime member, Sue. Noting that we meet in one of the conference rooms of Sutter General Hospital in Sacramento, Sue had the great idea that we give back by making some Halloween gift bags for the children in the hospital's pediatric ward. We assembled boxes of crayons, pencils, stickers and coloring pages for 50 children. We also put a beanie baby in each bag, thanks to the generosity of Sue and her husband, Leo. Other members also donated small items for the gift bags. The feedback we received from the nurses told us that we were on to something big, so we are doing it again this year.

This is an inexpnsive thing chapters can do with a little advance planning. Crayons and pencils go on sale for next to nothing just before school starts each year. We paid 25 cents each for boxes of 24 crayons and pencils were about 5 cents each. Coloring pages can be done for the cost of photocopying, something that could be donated by a local business or a chapter member's employer. The rest is up to chapter members to donate.

By the way, we had a great time decorating and assembling the gift bags at our October meeting. Not only was it fun, we enjoyed visiting with one another as we worked.