Joy Troupe Saves!

You already know that the Joy Troupe is FUN for you and your little ones.

What you may not realize is that being part of our community of families can help you fatten your savings account! Everyone wants a good nest egg in uncertain economic times. Check out all the ways our members are using our group to save, save, save! Got your own ways you're using our community to save money? Be sure to add them in our "comments" section.

We have a sitter exchange so our members can swap child care. You sit for her kids, she sits for yours, and you pocket the money you'd have spent on a sitter. Our Classifieds are free- no ebay fees! and you know everyone who sees them is a local parent or caregiver- no Nigerian Princes here! Our recipe swap group is a great place to find economical solutions for meal planning. (And share your own!) Our calendar is packed with FREE events and activities every day of the week. Not spending doesn't have to mean sitting at home! We have a pre-school coop, which is going to save some families over $8,000 apiece in 2009. Special Joy Troupe only discount offers from local businesses Swap Meet events: Swap stuff you don't need for stuff you do... leftovers donated to a local charity Find and share deals and tips on our "green and thrifty" forum Weight loss support group starting soon- much more fun than commercial plans, and SO much less expensive! Check our Community Events calendar for consignment and garage sales near you- don't buy new when used will do!

Holiday Service Projects

The Joy Troupe is so pleased to be sponsoring a local family for the holidays.

Giving anonymously to others is the best way to teach our kids that gifts are not just for getting, and nobody knows more than we do how happy a mom is to see her kids' happy faces around the holiday table, so we, as a caring community, have decided to help another family make that happen.

You can learn more about Our Daily Bread, the program that matched us with our family, by visiting their website.

So far our generous group has contributed cash toward a grocery gift card that will be delivered today and plans to get together during the month of December to wrap gifts for the family and assemble a food basket.

We are also participating in:

HOLIDAY CARDS FOR HEROES

The American Red Cross is spearheading the effort this year to get holiday cards to our wounded vets in military hospitals, like Bathesda, and Walter Reed, in Washington, D.C.

Address for All cards you send:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O.Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

Rules and Guidelines:
Deadline for sending.....cards postmarked by December 10, 2008
1. All cards must be signed.
2. Limit of 25 cards per person from sender.
3. Use generic salutations such as Dear Service Member. No cards to specific individuals.
4. Cards only....no long letters.
5. Do not include email or USPS addresses in cards. This is NOT a pen pal club.
6. No inserts of any kind, like photos or letters. NOT permitted.

These projects are STRICTLY the more the merrier. If you have a desire to adopt a family, I urge you to contact ODB and see if they have any families who have not been matched. If you are unable to acquire a family of your own, I hope you will consider a generous donation of food or money to UCM, an agency which serves the Route 1 corridor. People who volunteer for food pantries and related charities say this holiday season is going to be a tough one for a lot of people. Food distributions have seen unprecedented turnouts, and other emergency giving programs have people applying for help non-stop. Formula and baby food donations are particularly needed!