We have 10 more days left for our Holiday Zone toy and gift collection! Please order using the Amazon link below and check the box for shipping directly to Durham Children's Initiative. All items need to arrive at DCI no later than December 9. You may also shop in person using the list below. Please leave your items in the bins in the Hemingway Hall lobby no later than December 11.  Thank you! 
www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2JAOOY3328FT5?ref_=wl_share

Birth – (0-2 y/o)
• Baby Toys and Supplies
• Pacifiers
• Socks
• Rattles
• Baby blankets and swaddles
Early Childhood (3-5 y/o)
• Preschool Puzzles
• Educational Games
• Large Building Block Sets
• Stuffed Animals
• Dress-Up/Pretend Play Clothes
• Balls/Sports equipment for little kids
• Pretend play sets (kitchen, etc.)
• Winter Gear—coats, gloves, scarves, hats, etc.
Elementary Age Students (6-11 y/o)
• Pokémon cards, stuffed animals, accessories
• LEGO Kits
• Arts and Craft Sets (Crayola kits, jewelry kits, etc.)
• Art Supplies
• Action Figures
• Card Games
• Sports equipment & balls (basketballs, footballs, jerseys, etc.)
• Winter Gear—coats, gloves, scarves, hats, etc.
Middle and High School (12-18 y/o)
• Headphones
• Ring Lights & Phone Accessories
• Small Electronic Devices
• Video Games
• Gift Cards (iTunes, Walmart, Target)
• Costume Jewelry
• Sports Equipment/Outdoor games
• Wallets/Small purses/Backpacks
• College and Professional Team Paraphernalia
• Lotions/Bath & Body Products
• Winter Gear—coats, gloves, scarves, hats, etc.

              Holiday Food Drive     
 
Monday, November 28 through Sunday, December 11, 2022
 
Suggested items--see flyer on Creekside Talk or Creekside Neighbors Facebook pages for desired items.  In addition:
ü  Hispanic foods, ramen noodles, family (not industrial) sizes, cases from Costco/BJs
ü  Non-perishable items only!
ü  Non-expired foods!
ü  Checks made out to Inter-Faith Food Shuttle
ü  Gift cards to Food Lion (only!)
ü  Begin a monthly gift at www.foodshuttle.org/cultivators
 
Drop Off locations
Hemingway Hall (bring a bag when you come for a meeting or activity!)
1335 Pulitzer
1105 Cadence
1103 Twain (entrance on side)
1034 Cuthbert
1028 Atticus
1206 Atticus
1020 Nickelby
907 Narrative
1012 Caldecott 

Note:  9am-6pm for boxes located on porches; they will be taken in at night
 
Questions?
Phase 1:  Kim Charron kcharron23@gmail.com, Patti Neptun dpneptun@hotmail.com
Phase 2:  Lee Wood leecranewood@gmail.com, Deborah Stein dstein911@gmail.com,
Beth Ferrara chocolatelady99@aol.com
Phase 3:  Esther Hardin ehardin104@yahoo.com, Mary Moles marymoles@msn.com
Phase 4:  Carolyn Feeley cfeeley49@icloud.com, AJ Pfander ajpfander1029@gmail.com
Phase 5:  Nancy Russell nancy.ellen.russell@gmail.com

We hosted our first build day with Habitat for Humanity. Our volunteers learned a lot and enjoyed the work. We now have a build day every month. See our SignUp Genius for details. Thanks to all our volunteers. You are bringing affordable housing to our community. 

We are sending out a gigantic thank you to everyone who volunteered and donated! We collected $1,680 in cash and over 6,000 individual back-to-school items for local students. This is our first year partnering with Durham Children's Initiative on this event. We are excited to broaden our community reach and DCI build pathways to equity. Our event was co-chaired this year by board members, Hope Smith and Sherry Wanner-Dolan. We had an extraordinary team of volunteers who served on our collection box, sorting and delivery teams. 

All Creekside residents are welcome to join us. Please visit ClubExpress to learn more. 

We received a lovely note from Julianne Reas, Gardens for Everyone Project Coordinator. How wonderful to see the tools that were purchased with funds we raised here in Creekside. The Gardens for Everyone project helps residents in the Triangle build raised-bed garden boxes. They provide support from seed to harvest. They have built over 110 boxes. This program enables families to have healthy food all year long. Thanks to everyone who donated. 

On May 24, seven Creekside Cares volunteers joined forces with four Fayetteville Street Elementary staff members to set up the school’s new outdoor education area. Thanks to the generosity of the Durham Public Schools Foundation, the school had received a $19,500 grant to purchase 18 steel picnic tables and 10 freestanding benches. After assembling one table and one bench, the staff realized that the remaining work was going to be more than they could manage. They reached out to Triangle Grace Church, which has had a long relationship with the school. Sue Bradley, a member of both Triangle Grace and Creekside Cares, offered to find Creekside volunteers to do the work. One email later, six men had stepped up to help. Work that would have taken the staff several days of hard labor was completed in three hours. Now, the students can enjoy having some of their classes outdoors in the shaded area alongside the school. ​

We are excited to share another opportunity to grow something special in our community. We have recently learned about a wonderful program through the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle (IFFS) called Gardens for Everyone (GFE). This dynamic program falls within their mission to feed, teach and grow. GFE is designed to provide fresh food to local homes and communities by building raised garden boxes on site and providing support from seed to harvest. Most boxes are 4' x 8' x 20', and are built by IFFS staff and volunteers.

Our Vice President, Paul Leifer was a volunteer at a recent build at the Whitted School in Durham. Though volunteer turnout was terrific and the energy level high, the tools available were old and malfunctioning. It was easy to identify a need and an opportunity to show #CreeksideCares!

Our goal is to raise about $1,000 to purchase items including new drills, shovels, shears, hammers, battery packs and pick axes. Creekside Cares will set up a table down at Hemingway Hall on Thursday, May 27 from 5-7 p.m. Come on down, there will be a food truck! Feel free to drop by and make a donation. We are accepting cash and checks made payable to Creekside Cares, Inc. No amount is too small.
​
Beginning May 28, we will be accepting donations in our secure donation box at 1038 Carraway Lane until June 4th. Thanks in advance for your support.

Creekside at Bethpage is full of caring residents and neighbors. Our community is beautiful on the inside and the out. We wanted to shine a spotlight on a dedicated group of  volunteers who are working to beautify and enhance our community. The garden and bulb planters are an off-shoot of the disbanded landscaping committee. With seed money from the HOA, the group planted bulbs at our front entrance including daffodils, hyacinths, and day lilies.

Members of the group include Terry Billie, Joanne Cella, Eileen Waszkiewicz, Andrew Pettigrew, Jan Jarrett, Kathleen Boyd, Maryann Smith, Karen Finnegan Meyers, Patricia Muldowney, Marie Serrine, Jennifer Srivastava, JoAnn Atwater, Amy Chambless, Rosana Hartley Lisa Leifer, Paul Leifer, Alice Bayne and Anita Mendat Cabacar. 

The group has plans to purchase and plant pollinators that will bloom through the summer. The group hopes the plantings will attract pollinators including butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. The group welcomes more volunteers. Watch for additional information on ClubExpress and on the Creekside Talk and Creekside Neighbors Facebook Groups that are open to Creekside residents.

Creekside is a very caring community and we couldn't let this kindness go unnoticed.