2017 Big Blessed, Stocking Project

Hi loves! I'm using this page (last year's) and updating it for 2017. We have new friends to the page so....What is Big Blessed Hearts Stocking Project all about?! Let me introduce myself and my mission for this project: I am Dawn Knopp Hennlein, a child of the most high God, and the proud daughter of Charles and Doris Knopp! On October 14, 2006 (11 years ago), I lost my Mom due to cancer. In November of 2011 (6 years ago), I lost my Dad due to a massive heart attack, due to complications from cancer, 3 days before he was scheduled to have surgery. In 2012 when the holidays were approaching, I was feeling very orphaned, and overcome with grief. I decided I needed to DO something. I needed to do something to help others, and to make other people smile. I needed to do something to honor the life of 2 of the most loving and generous people who I was blessed to call my Mom & Dad! I had also witnessed my Mother In Law survive Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer (diagnosed in 2006). I had been to doc apps and chemo with the 3 of them, and it's not the most pleasant event. So I came up with the idea to stuff stockings with helpful, functional, and inspirational items and deliver them to people battling cancer...with the sole purpose of putting a smile on their face!! My Mom always told me "If you see someone without a smile, give them your's", and I always do what my mama told me to do . That first year, I bought 24 red stockings, and received donations from friends and family. I stuffed them myself and delivered them to the doc office. Being the creative person I am, I designed a logo for my project too. It's 2 overlapping hearts. One blue for my Dad, and one pink for my Mom. If you mix blue and pink, you get purple. (ha, I will forever be an Art Teacher ). Where they overlap, I created a purple cancer ribbon. Purple represents all cancers, and my parents were huge Ravens fans. So the next year, I tried to double the amount of people I reached, and my amazing cousin (who lost her Dad, my Uncle to cancer too), sewed special handmade purple stockings and put my logo on them! Now the past 4 years David Harding has made them for me, and Kim & Brian from Shiflett & Horn Sporting Goods in Dundalk has embroidered my heart logo on them!! Now here we are, year 6 of my special project honoring my Mom and Dad! So how can YOU help???? You can help by praying for us, spreading the word about our little project, by donating items, by donating funds (ALL funds are used toward stocking prep, items, and deliveries. We have delivered as far as Fla, Oklahoma, Texas, and states surrounding Md, and shipping is expensive lol) Donating funds is a huge way to help this project continue. I use all the funds each year, I do not carry any over. Also, you can help by giving me names and addresses of people who could use a stocking, volunteer to help stuff at our stuffing party, date tba ( at SpringHill Suites, thanks to another amazing cousin, Tammy Schwartztrauber-Parrott), or volunteer to deliver stockings (I deliver about 2 dozen to the office my parents went to in Rosedale for patients, then the rest go to names people have given me). I could tell you MANY stories about the smiles on peoples faces when they get a stocking, or seeing former stocking recipients becoming survivors and helping me the next year pay it forward, or knowing we brought joy to a few special people who went home to Jesus, or seeing people go above and beyond and doing more than I could ever ask or imagine, but instead, how about you come join the fun and see for yourself, and help make 2017 our best year yet??! Thank you for letting me share a small part of my story with you and a part of my heart! Thank you God for using me for your service, for using me to help shine a light where it's needed, and to bring a smile to hundreds of beautiful and blessed peeps over the years, and continuing to do so!! On October 14th I will officially kick this season off, and I have a special announcement about an awesome addition this year, plus I will reveal the number of stockings we will be making. I will also give important dates about donation deadlines and stuffing party !! Much love to you! !Blessings, Dawn Knopp Hennlein — feeling excited.