Box for the Philippines

Thanks to everyone who donated books for the Book Drive at school! These books were for a book mobile and school in the Philippines. My brother, Randy, lives in the Philippines and is involved in the Rotary Club there. These books are used in a program that the Rotary Club is involved in. After all the books were counted, 288 books were donated!!

This was sponsored by my Community Action Fabulous Friday class. We learned that one way to help others is to donate to some sort of drive. That way you don't necessarily have to buy something, but can give things you don't need or use any more. What a great lesson for children to learn!

I mailed the books yesterday. When mailing to the Philippines it is much more cost effective to get a special box called a balikbayan box to pack in, instead of mailing from the US Post Office. It is a huge box and you pay one price for shipping no matter what the weight is! We put so much in the box that we can't lift it, so we have to pack it at the store! A Filipino grocery store in Madison is where we have packed and mailed our box every year. We mail books to my brother, and we always mail it around this time of the year, because we include his Christmas gifts and other things that he asks for. It takes about 2 months for the box to get to him, so that is why we mail it early in the fall.

When I called the store last week to check on the hours, I found out that it was in the process of moving to a new location in Athens and was not open. The owner said she would meet me there, but when I called yesterday, she was busy cooking for her daughter's birthday party, and said I could just come to her house to pack and leave the box!

 

I invited my parents to go with me, since they had never packed one the these boxes. They were very good help! The owner of the store, Leny, was so nice and even brought us out a bowl of traditional Philippine food for us to try!! The dish was called pancit and it was very tasty - noodles, shrimp, and green beans! When I went into the house to pay for the shipment, she had me try a type of egg roll called lumpia shanghai with sweet and sour sauce! It was very yummy also! I told her she ought to open a restaurant, and she told me she loves to cook and has been to culinary school.
                                                        

Leny and my Mom

There were several other boxes in their garage waiting to be shipped. She said they should be picked up on Saturday. I will post pictures (that my brother sends) when they get to the Philippines! Thanks again for donating!