#MY42

ABOUT #MY42

At its 2014-15 kick-off breakfast, Bright Futures Harrisonville launched its #My42 campaign. #My42 is a commitment to give “42” each month to Bright Futures Harrisonville. It can be 42 minutes, items, dollars, etc. It is based off the slogan “4 Our Children, 2 Ensure Bright Futures.” It’s also centered on this statistic from the 2000 Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey, “People who volunteer are 42% more likely to say they are very happy than those who don’t volunteer.” The campaign is on-going and we encourage everyone to give their #My42 each month.

We have shirts with the #My42 logo on the back. If you’d like to order a shirt, contact Jill Filer at 380-2727, ext. 1224. The shirts are $10/each.

In March 2016, Bright Futures Harrisonville received the Spotlight Award from Bright Futures USA for its #My42 campaign.

42 IDEAS TO HELP YOU GIVE 42

1.  Donate 42 minutes to help in Station 42 (sorting, laundering, folding clothes). Contact Jennifer Beavers –   jennifer.beavers@harrisonvilleschools.org or 380- 2727, ext. 2822 to schedule a time.
2.  Go to a school and have lunch with a student twice this month (lunch shifts are approx. 20 minutes)
3. Buy 42 pencils to donate to our school supply section at Station 42.
4. Drop off donations at 503 S. Lexington.
5. Give $42 to Bright Futures to help support our many programs. Make checks payable to Bright Futures & mail to 503 S. Lexington, Harrisonville, MO 64701. If designating to a specific program, please include the program in the memo line.
6. Join a building-level Bright Futures Council (meetings are once a month for about an hour).
7. Organize a group to help pack backpacks for the Food 4 Thought weekend backpack program. Contact Jill Filer – jill.filer@harrisonvilleschools.org or 380-2727, ext. 1224.
8. Visit a school 1-2 mornings to greet students as they come to school.
9. Volunteer to serve dinner at an HES Family event. Call 380-2727, ext. 1224.
10. Be an “adopted” grandparent for a Grandparents Day event at ECC. Call 380-2727, ext. 1224.
11. Read with a child during one of the monthly Breakfast with Books events at ECC and/or arrange for your business or group to cover one of the dates. Call 380-2727, ext. 1224.
12. Donate 42 pairs of underwear to the Station 42. Drop off donations at 503 S. Lexington.
13. Purchase 42 cans of soup, jello or pudding containers, rice krispie treats or fruit cups for the backpack program. Donations for this program can be dropped off at the Admin Office, 503 S. Lexington.
14. Spend 42 minutes cleaning off your bookshelves to donate children’s books for our summer reading program.
15. Donate 42 stocking hats or pairs of gloves for our Winter Apparel Drive.
16. Volunteer 42 minutes at an elementary school picture day to ensure our children look the best for their school pictures. Call 380-2727, ext. 1224.
17. When shopping, look for buy one, get one free or great sales and stock up on items that Bright Futures could use.
18. Clean out your child(ren)’s gently used sports gear (shoes, baseball gloves, balls, football pants, etc.) and donate it to our Youth Sports Equipment Closet. Sports gear donations can be dropped off at the Bright Futures Blue Barrel at the Harrisonville Community Center.
19. Get into your attic or basement and find that musical instrument to donate to the Katie Rios Instrument Closet
20. Spend 42 minutes shopping for gifts for a family through our Holiday Adopt-a-Family program.
21. Invite 42 friends to “like” our Bright Futures Facebook page – www.facebook.com/BrightFuturesHarrisonville and/or join our Bright Futures Harrisonville Engagement Network group on Facebook.
22.  Volunteer to help serve “treats” to McEowen students who meet their AR goal each month.
23. Donate 42 snack items to HES or McEowen to use in their snack pantry for students who can’t afford to bring daily snacks.
24. Volunteer at a school health fair.
25. Donate $42 to the Food 4 Thought Backpack program or the Just 4 Me summer food program to help provide weekend/summer food for those in need. Make checks payable to Bright Futures & mail to 503 S. Lexington, Harrisonville, MO 64701. Please put Food 4 Thought or Just 4 Me in the memo line.
26. Donate 42 toothbrushes, tubes of toothpaste, boxes of Kleenex, combs, hair brushes, shampoo, soap, etc. for our hygiene packs that we send home in our weekend backpacks once each quarter.
27. Volunteer 42 minutes to speak to classes about career opportunities. Contact Susan Lockard at Cass Career Center – susan.lockard@harrisonvilleschools.org.
28. Donate 42 pairs of socks to the Station 42. Drop off donations at 503 S. Lexington.
29. Encourage 42 friends to participate in one of our monthly Blue Barrel collections – send emails, texts, Facebook messages, etc. Bright Futures blue barrels are located at Commerce Bank, the Harrisonville Community Center, the Harrisonville United Methodist Church, Hawthorn Bank, the Cass County Public Library (Harrisonville Branch), the Harrisonville Schools district administrative office, Sherwood Community Bank, the Harrisonville Church of the Nazarene, Cornerstone Community Church, First Christian Church Harrisonville, MO, Community Bank of Harrisonville, Heartland Baptist Church, and all schools.
30. Write 42 cards of encouragement for school counselors to share with students throughout the year.
31. Spend 42 minutes using sidewalk chalk on the front sidewalk of a school building to welcome students, teachers and administrators to school.
32. Partner with other parents & community members and get 42 students to give back through a volunteer effort with a local charity or civic organization.
33. Share 42 articles, throughout the school year on the importance of volunteer work and/or providing education on children in poverty via your social media outlets.
34. Tell 42 people about being a Bright Futures community (share with those who may not live here to help expand the Bright Futures network). Additional information on becoming a Bright Futures community is available at www. brightfuturesusa.org.
35. Use #My42 on social media to share with others how you are supporting Bright Futures.
36. If you’re an employer, give your employees 42 minutes/month as time off to volunteer.
37. Spend 42 minutes this month praying for our teachers & students.
38. Provide two packages of birthday-type treats (24 per package) for children to share with classmates if they’re unable to bring treats from home.
39. Spend 42 minutes talking to a middle or high school student about your career field.
40. Spend 42 minutes talking to a high school student about applying to colleges and/or applying for financial aid.
41. Invite a high school student to job shadow you for 42 minutes.
42. Spend 42 minutes helping at the community garden.