Vote for Us!

Go down to Monkey Nest and vote for Sammy's House to receive a certain percentage of their sales next month! Monkey Nest is a local coffee shop located at 5353 Burnet Rd. in Austin, and they have a "give back to the community" initiative where they select a nonprofit each month to receive a portion of their profits. This is a really easy way to help out Sammy's House!

How to vote: When you walk into the cafe from the main entrance (not the side entrance), there's a sign/advertisement straight ahead of you, in front of the counter where you pick up drinks. You'll see a little plastic box stuck to the front of the sign. Just write Sammy's House on a piece of paper and put it in that plastic box. Thanks!

Join Our Email List!

Are you interested in receiving occasional emails about the wonderful work going on at Sammy's House? 

Sign up for our email newsletter

We anticipate sending no more than 6 emails per year, and you can always unsubscribe later if you want to stop receiving the emails altogether. 

Sammy's House Family Stories

Are you the parent or caregiver of a child who attends Sammy's House? If so, we want to hear from you! We are continually in need of stories from the families we serve for several different reasons. Here's a couple of examples of how your story can help Sammy's House:

1. We sometimes use quotes from families in our grant proposals when we're requesting funding for our programs. These quotes are extremely valuable for showing funders how we affect the lives of real families -- demonstrating our mission in action.
2. Another place we use family stories is when we send updates and thank-yous to agencies that have given us funding. This is an excellent way to show them the impact we're having in our community thanks to their support.
3. Stories from families are also a great addition to the materials we hand out at fairs and events where we're raising awareness about Sammy's House. These events often result in funding for the organization, but are also a great way for us to connect with families in the area who could benefit from our services.

If you're hesitating to share your story because you feel like anything you have to say will be boring or unimportant, never fear! What may seem like old hat to you may be very interesting and insightful to a donor who has never interacted with a special needs child, or a foundation that isn't familiar with child care. Rest assured that your story matters, and it can have a real impact on helping Sammy's House, no matter what your child's needs are or how long you have been with Sammy's House.

If you would like to share your story with us, feel free to use the following questions as a starting point:

• What is your child's name?
• What is your child's date of birth?
• What year did your child start attending Sammy's House?
• Why did you choose Sammy's House over other daycare centers?
• What did you use for child care before you found out about Sammy's House (if applicable)?
• How has Sammy's House helped your child and/or your family?
• What are some of your child's unique needs and how does Sammy's House address them (if applicable)?
• What is one thing about Sammy's House that you appreciate the most or take the most comfort from?
• Is there anything else you would like someone to know if they were considering whether to make a donation to Sammy's House?

Once you've developed your story, you can email it to our Development Director at sammyshousedev@gmail.com. If you're concerned about privacy, we can make your story anonymous by changing your name and your child's name. Just let us know and we'll be happy to accommodate your situation. If you prefer to talk about your child in person or over the phone, just email sammyshousedev@gmail.com to set up a time to meet. 

Will You Be Our Friend?

One of the many challenges faced by a small nonprofit is finding cheap (or free!) ways to get the word out about what we do, engage our donors and supporters, and keep everyone informed about our mission and how it's addressing important needs in the community. Social media is a great tool for accomplishing all of these goals...but only if people connect with us!

As we go through the first week of the new year, please stop and spend a few minutes to connect with us online if you haven't already done so. We make a concerted effort not to have too much cross-posting between all the different websites, so rest assured that you won't be reading the same things over and over again.

Friending us on Facebook or following us on Twitter not only keeps you informed about what we're up to, but is also a fantastic way to spread the word about Sammy's House to others who may not have heard of us. That's why it's so important to share our Facebook posts with your friends or re-tweet our Twitter posts to your follower list. If we can reach just one additional person who didn't know about us before, that's one more person who is now a potential donor or supporter. 

Here's where you can find us: 

Facebook

Twitter

Also, don't forget about GoodSearch, which makes a donation every time you search online. We already have 29 supporters, and we'd like to see even more! Read our past posting about GoodSearch in this blog to get the details.

Happy New Year from Sammy's House

Now that a new year is upon us, it's beneficial to stop and reflect about goals and priorities for the coming year. If you're like many Central Texans, you are committed to making our community a better and more welcoming place for people of all abilities. It can be difficult to find the time to make informed decisions about charitable giving, and in a philanthropically minded city like Austin, there are always an abundance of worthy causes but limited dollars to go around. 

We hope that as you make plans for what's important to you in 2012, you spend a few moments considering what role you can play in supporting Sammy's House. If you made a donation in 2011, we are deeply grateful for your generosity. If you want to support Sammy's House but haven't been able to yet, please know that even volunteering a few hours of your time can make a real impact to our organization. Also remember that any donation, of any size, can represent meaningful support to the fragile children who rely on us. If you still aren't sure who we are or would like more information about us, contact our Development Director at sammyshousedev@gmail.com and we will be happy to help. We are providing a crucially needed service to children with special needs in Austin, and our staff members are committed to giving these children the tools they need to succeed.

This year, renew your commitment to giving back, and consider how you can personally help Sammy's House remain a special place for special children.

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