July is a great month for a picnic

Invite everyone to a picnic in the park. It's a great way to gather lots of friends. No need for reservations or large expenses. Ask everyone to pack their own picnic basket and a bright colored blanket. Form a circle around your friend's blanket and enjoy a leisurely meal together.

Celebrate Christmas in July!

Does your friend absolutely love Christmas? How about setting up a tree and have a decorating party, and invite everyone to bring a summertime gift - one that would never be given in December.

A Concert in the Park

If your nearby park has summer concerts, invite a group of friends - including your friend who is grieving, recovering, undergoing treatments - to go as a group. Your friend going through a special challenge will enjoy a diversion, and will be glad to be part of a group that is not focused on his/her special needs.

Summer Reading

Consider doing your own Summer Reading Program for your friend, or for your friend's children. Offer a weekly trip to the library. For children, this library excursion could happen on the day the library holds story hour. Encourage young children to draw pictures about the books they've read. Create an incentive program for school aged children - something like the purchase of a book to keep for every ten library books read.

Ice Cream Party!

An ice cream party is simple to plan, and it will be a great event for your friend. Invite guests and ask them to bring either 1/2 gallon of ice cream, a topping, paper bowls, plastic spoons, or bottled water. Set up card tables and cover them with bright colored tablecloths.

The party can last an hour or 3 hours .. depending on your friend's energy level. Use your best judgment regarding location -- it may be best to have the party at your friend's house, and it may be better to have it somewhere else. Just make sure it involves NO work on your friend's part!

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Take a Turn - If your friend is going through chemotherapy treatments, offer to drive him or her to give the primary caregiver some time to do other things.  Take along a basket with some snacks and magazines.  You might also take along some blank note cards and ask if you write some notes on your friend’s behalf.   Take along some treats for the staff at the oncology center, too.   This will bring a smile to the staff and your friend!

Remember the whole family! 

When pampering your friend, keep in mind that his or her family members are also going through the experience.  They need to be pampered, too!   Movie passes (that include concessions!) for the entire family will be great for a fun family outing.  If going out isn’t feasible, DVD rentals are good – you can pick-up and return the DVDs – and maybe a family member would enjoy going with you to make the selection.

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This month, and every month, please visit your local blood donation center and share the gift of life.

Yardwork Day: By this time of summer, your friend's yard may be in need of a little extra attention. Organize a group of friends to tather at your friend's house for weeding, edging, sweeping sidewalks.

Special delivery each Sunday:  collect notes and cards all week and bundle them with a pretty ribbon, then place the bundle in your friend’s mailbox each Sunday.  These don’t replace cards throughout the week – but instead they are a special delivery each week on the day the mailman doesn’t come.

Organize a housecleaning day – but this cannot be a complete surprise – you MUST let someone in your friend’s household be “in” on this one, because showing up unannounced could very possibly be an unwelcome invasion of privacy… and that is NOT what friends do!

Maybe the best surprise for your friend is to organize a collection to pay for a cleaning service.

When you mow your lawn, go next door and mow your neighbor’s, too.

What Friends Did –

I wanted to buy Sonja an angel.  I thought that this was going to be an easy task, but by the fifth store I still could not find the right angel.  I went home and thought of everything that I wanted the angel to represent---encouragement, friendship, laughter, fun, hope, love, and support.  I then realized I needed more than one angel.  I received an Oriental Trading magazine in the mail, and this was the answer to my dilemma.  I bought several angels and attached a saying, poem, joke, or story to each angel.  I came up with a clever way to hide the angels around Sonja's house.  She still does not know who I am---which I think adds to the fun. The Guarding Angel poem is the first poem an angel gave to Sonja; it expresses what I hope my troop of angels is achieving:

Guarding Angel

When times are hard, were feeling low,
We don't know where we want to go it's time we need to know.

An Angel to guide you on your way
An Angel to brighten your day

When you need an uplifting thought
A hand to hold or to hug a lot

An Angel to sit with you awhile
An Angel to make you smile

Our Angel knows our dented soul.
The friend comes from an unknown
source and soon we feel complete once more.

An Angel to encourage and guide
An Angel to stay by your side.

~ Ruth Warren