Loveland students give a singing thank you

A thank you note just isn't enough when the gift is a theater sound system for Bill Reed Middle School.Add an element of surprise and what you got Tuesday morning was a Broadway-style thank you with song and dance performed by 14 Loveland Integrated School of the Arts students.Doug Erion, board president of the Erion Foundation, suspected something was up when his granddaughter, Harper Erion, knocked on the door during the foundation's quarterly meeting. The eighth-grader, wearing her LISA shirt, should have been in school, Erion figured.

He didn't figure on the students singing "our unanimous attitude/ is one of lasting gratitude/ for what our friend has done for us today," giving him a four-minute show for the song, "Thank You Very Much.""It was absolutely superb," said Erion, a Loveland artist. "The kids put on a whole musical number."The Erion Foundation, which meets at Artworks Loveland, 310 N. Railroad Ave., donated $20,000 to the school to update the auditorium's theater sound system. The system will include a new soundboard, stage lighting, wireless microphones and other equipment.

"The equipment just is old," said Rachel Galambos, drama teacher at Bill Reed Middle School.The current system, in place since the 1990s, has feedback and sound and lighting issues, plus a limited number of microphones."The lighting is very minimal. There aren't very many options for change," Galambos said. "It just does a flood of light rather than anything that will change with color and movement."Galambos, who hasn't yet received the equipment, hopes to have it in place by the time of the school's spring musical in early May, "Seussical, The Musical Jr."

Thank you from 100 Neediest Cases

It's hard to convey in a short letter how much your donations and efforts mean to the thousands of people who receive assistance through 100 Neediest Cases. Because of you, 100 Neediest Cases is able to help people during a time that is often stressful and difficult.Our mailbox fills with hundreds of letters each year thanking United Way, 100 Neediest Cases and you for your generosity:

"Your gift was received with great appreciation. . . . It brought more joy to my holiday and helped to remind me and hopefully others of the gift of giving.Inexpensive and Creative Corporate Thank You Gifts. Thank you and United Way so much and continue to keep up the good work. Wishing all of you a happy and prosperous New Year."

Thanks to your support of 100 Neediest Cases this past year, 935 cases were adopted and more than $1.4 million was raised to help people in our community. With the efforts of our volunteers, every single penny you donated went to people who needed extra help during the holiday season.

Inexpensive and Creative Corporate Thank You Gifts

Finally, the third hurdle that HR practitioners out there face on a yearly basis is finding the best supplier for the desired corporate thank you gifts. The best supplier for most purchasers should be one who can offer the company the "best", meaning the most affordable, price for the items and the least lead time on actual delivery.

But thanks to the Internet, the third obstacle is now the least of a company's problems. Thanks to the World Wide Web too, creativity, meaning unique gift ideas, now becomes a "thing" of the past with suppliers now offering more choices, more novelty items, and because of technology, more computer gadgets. Thus, the only limit now is the budget pre-allocated for the purchase.

This should not pose a problem too as inexpensive and creative corporate thank you gifts abound in the Internet today with most providers now having a website or two displaying their wares complete with the price of the items, the number of orders necessary for a company to get a discount, the supplier's contact information, and some even have an inquiry section for those who want to inquire online. Information on the item such as its available colors, shapes, and sizes is also a click away in these sites so one need not conduct further research on the desired gift item.

Guys, Looking for the best Valentine's Gift or a BFF Happy?

Valentine's Day. What can you get that special person in your life that they don't already have? Candy, flowers, balloons, a card, dinner out, a movie, jewelry… so many choices. This close to everyone's New Year's Resolution to shed a few pounds means that chocolates and candy might not be the best idea right now. Why not give a gift that keeps on giving?

The gift that I have in mind is not only a nice idea for the guys to give to their special sweethearts; it's also a good idea for us girls to give to our BFFs to just say "thanks for being a friend." Okay already, so what is this gift that keeps on giving? It's a piece of jewelry that comes from a special website. I stumbled across it not too long ago almost by accident as I was "googling" something on line.

It's a simple, yet elegant bracelet. It can be worn all day for every occasion. This bracelet has a small, silver, metal plate with the inscription "Live Love Laugh" and a small dangling heart to the side. What better way to say "I love you" or "thank you for being a friend?"  The best part about getting this bracelet for someone is that with each purchase, a portion of the funds are used to give mammograms to women in need according to the Breast Cancer Site Store. This is a great Valentine's gift or a thank you gift that really does keep on giving.

Thank you for simple gifts

I wanted to write to thank fellow Missoula residents who generously gave of their time and means to help thousands of hurting kids this Christmas. Together we were able to pack more than 5,000 shoe boxes – filled with toys, school supplies and basic necessities – for Operation Christmas Child. Our packed shoe box gifts, joined by millions of others, are now on their way to needy children in 100 countries.

During the 2012 collection season, Operation Christmas Child reached a milestone – more than 100 million children have been impacted by the power of a simple gift since 1993.I would like to thank the volunteers at our local collection sites and all those who packed an Operation Christmas Child shoe box gift. For many of the children who receive these gifts, this shoe box will be the first gift they have ever received.

Although our local drop-off locations here in Missoula are closed, gifts are received year-round at Samaritan’s Purse by mailing them to 801 Bamboo Road, Boone, N.C. 28607.There are also year-round volunteer opportunities available to serve with Operation Christmas Child. Thank you again to everyone who participated in this project. A simple gift, packed with love, can communicate hope and transform the lives of children worldwide.

The Worst Retirement Gifts That You Can Offer

In most cases a company owner will offer very good retirement gifts because of the fact that he will talk with professionals. The owner goes to a company that knows a lot about how to offer a good gift and will hire third parties in order to take care of this situation. When referring to people that offer gifts as a tribute or just as a friendly acknowledgement, a lot of problems can appear. This is where the worst gifts can appear and you should be careful.

The worst of all gifts is a book that is re-gifted. This also happens when referring to anniversary gifts. So many people just re-gift items but a retirement is not a situation when you should do that. It is just as offering a cheap wine as a wedding gift. One of the tackiest of all the ideas that you might have is the re-gifted book. Make sure that you never offer such a gift, especially if there is an indicator that the gifted is re-gifted. You would be surprised how many people just leave such indicators without realizing it.

It is possible that you will want to offer piggy banks as retirement gifts. It might not seem logical but so many choose this as a friendly and gag-like gift. The truth is that this is a great choice for a kid but never after someone that is over 60. Throwing loose change in a piggy back will make people feel older than they truly are although you might think otherwise.

Kids Should Be Forced to Write Thank You Notes Whether They Like It or Not

Sometimes it takes me a lot longer than it should to get them sent out, but ever since I was a little kid, writing thank you notes after receiving gifts hasn't ever been an option -- it's been a must.I mean, if someone was kind enough to think of you and took the time to buy you a gift, the least you can do is thank them for it, right?But sadly, it seems like the practice of sending handwritten thank you notes seems to be dying out, especially among kids. (Think about it for a second. How many have you received from the countless birthday parties your children have attended?)

Yes, it can be hard to find the time to do it. And yes, it can be pretty repetitive and tedious, particularly if you've received a ton of gifts. But forcing kids to write thank you notes is something that every parent should do.Because kids who aren't taught to send thank you notes will grow into ungrateful adults who don't send thank you notes, and then they won't teach their kids to send thank you notes, and then we'll wind up with a society of people who don't give a rat's ass about showing appreciation to others. (And that will really stink.)

A few days ago, I finally got around to writing thank you cards for the gifts my son received for Christmas. (Yes, I know it's been almost a month, but things have been nuts around here.)As I was writing them, it suddenly dawned on me that he's almost 7 years old, and he's known how to read and write for quite some time, and in that moment I wondered why in the hell I was writing them for him when he's perfectly capable of doing it himself. (Old habits die hard, I guess.)