Enter For A Chance To Win & A Chance To Help Children In The Gambia At The Same Time!

Attention Pizazz It! shoppers - We have the perfect raffle opportunity for you all! We will be raffling off a whopping $100 gift card to our store over the next couple months! Today one of our staff members, Ashley, began a raffle in hopes of raising money for children in The Gambia. Raffle tickets will be sold at $1 for a single ticket or 6 tickets for $5! Proceeds from the raffle will go toward school supplies for children in The Gambia and depending on the amount raised, we hope to also sponsor a few children who cannot afford school fees so that they can have a chance to attend school for the year.

The Gambia is a country in West Africa that is especially close to Ashley’s heart as she knows many people from the country and visited for a month last year. While she was there she saw the reality of everyday life for many people in the country and came back bursting with ideas and ways to help! Since then she has been collecting children’s clothing and school supplies from friends and family, as well as purchasing many supplies herself to ship to the country to be distributed to schools and orphanages. In the last year, Ashley has devoted much of her own time and money to this effort and has helped many families in the country. This year, with your help she hopes to do even more! She is now working with two Peace Corps members in order to know the best ways to serve and has expanded her efforts. Money collected from this raffle will be put towards helping these children reach a brighter future than they would without our help. Ashley will be returning to The Gambia in early 2011 to meet up with the Peace Corps members and distribute everything collected. For more information on the everyday situation in The Gambia and to really get a feel for why it is important to help, please check out the Peace Corps members’ blogs that they are keeping while they are there helping in The Gambia. Visit http://ousmancham.blogspot.com or http://thegambiaorbust.blogspot.com

Really care and want to go above and beyond the raffle? We will also be collecting donations of gently used clothing, supplies and money here at the store. Please see the list below for items that are especially important in case you have anything you would like to give. Thank you and good luck in the raffle.

Important donation items:

*Clothes - Tshirts, jeans, shoes (anything from sneakers and flip flops to dress shoes and heels), sweat shirts, polo shirts, winter coats and hats/gloves (very hard to find items in the country), any other clothing items
*School Supplies - Paper, notebooks, pens/pencils, markers, crayons, scissors, glue, protractors, simple calculators, colored paper, Elmer’s wood glue, clear tape with pull & cut tool (Scotch style)
*Misc Items - any books or educational tools under a 3rd grade level, clear packing tape
*Money – All money collected will be put towards collection and shipping of items and with enough luck, a few students will receive sponsorship for a full year of schooling! We’re hoping to expand efforts later to keep renew the sponsorship of these students year after year so that they will be able to continue on!