Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays to you and yours during this wonderful season.

Our blog will be updated shortly with information about our May 17th -18th, 2013 Charity Crop.

God bless!

The Ayala Family

Walk To Defeat ALS

On Saturday, we walked in the ALS Lehigh Valley walk. The kids all bundled up, had fun and kept pace with the others walking with their families. Go Team Ayala!

Walk Because You Can

Walk Because You Can
This Saturday October 13th, we will be walking and rolling (kids in wagon) at the ALS Lehigh Valley Walk at the Iron Pigs stadium in Allentown. We are so excited! New team shirts, thanks to our neighbors, who walk with us every year.

Its a fun and sad day, seeing so many participate in honor or memory of a loved one. I am truly honored to be able to participate in such a wonderful event with my family. I only wish we had started sooner.

We are on You Tube!!!

Check out all the fun we had this weekend, thanks to Pocono Pam for creating this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p15bFJmFhzo&list=UUAhOzty3P9yeurklMwW_JPA&feature=plcp

Thank You!!!

We had such a wonderful time this past weekend at the ALS Charity Crop. We would like to thank all of you who attended and supported us on our efforts in educating the public about ALS. This event has and is a family affair. Its not just our immediate family either, but all those friends and new friends who have stepped up and helped us in some manner, so we can have a fun and successful fundraiser. We hope you had a wonderful time and will join us again in May for our next event. Save the date of May 17-18th, 2013.


A special thank you to all those companies, vendors and people who helped by either spreading the word about us, donating gift cards, raffle items, food, their time prior, during and after the event.
A big mommy hug to you all!

• Dianne McNally at Fitness That Fits
• Joe McGlinchey Service, General Contractor and Siobhan McGlinchey
• Printworks & Co., Inc.
• Giant Grocery Stores
• Landis Supermarket
• BJ's Whole Sale
• Swaps Crops & Shops
• Friendly's
• Bravo's Pizza
• Pennridge Wellness Center
• The Yoga Tree
• Creative Expressions
• Scraptacular
• Memory Miser
• Donna Downey
• Joy Tracey of www.everydaycricut.com  
• Baker's Best
• Perkasie Florist
• Big Picture Classes
• Cabot Cheese
• Chick-Fil-A
• Jen Detwiler of Creative Memories
• Heidi Gehman of Longaberger
• Rosaria Stoops of Stampin Up
• Jodi Parks of 31 Bags
• Kristi Szabo of Pampered Chef
• Jodi Armstrong of Close to My Heart
• Amy and Erika of Scrapbooking Inn
• Jennifer and Bill Hartshorne of Sentsy
• Tim Garrison, Myofascial Release Specialist
• Hillery Woods Siatkowski, Massage Therapist
• Linda Scott of Printworks & Co., Inc
• Pocono Pam
• Kate Reighard of Premier Designs Jewelry

Thank you all for a  fun filled weekend! Without all of you it would not be the same. See you in May!!

Thank you,

The Ayala Family

Pack your bags!!!

Tomorrow is almost upon us and do you have everything you need for a fun filled scrapbook weekend? Make certain you have comfy clothing, extension cord, lots of adhesive, your projects and photos. But most of all make certain you are ready to have a fun time with fellow scrapbookers.

We are looking forward to seeing friends and meeting new ones. This event is all about family, so thank you for supporting our family event but most of all supporting those families who are living with ALS or are taking care of a family member with ALS.

Who Gets ALS? http://www.alsa.org/about-als/who-gets-als.html

How your donation is helping?
The money raised at our event will go to the ALS Association, Philadelphia Chapter. They take the money and provide services to those living with ALS. Whether its transportation for doctor visits, wheelchairs, nursing staff for home visits and much more.

For more information: http://www.alsphiladelphia.org/

Thank you again for supporting this event!!

The Ayala Family

This week!!!

Okay ladies, pack up all the adhesive and projects you have been meaning to work on. This Friday doors open at 4pm for the ALS Charity Crop. Look for me, I will be the one with the flower in her hair, so you can check in. I will direct you to your cropping spot.

We have a new vendor who will be joining in the fun this weekend. Heidi Gehman, Longaberger consultant, so if you have your Christmas list handy she may be able to give you some great ideas for gifts this year. Her email for more information is HeidiGehman@aol.com.

Also, we will have a table dedicated to a swap. This is where you may leave anything (stickers, papers, etc.) you no longer plan to use. Then another person at the crop maybe able to find a good use for the item. Any items remaining at the end of the weekend will be donated to a local daycare, UBCS.

I am so excited for this weekend, I hope I get enough rest before hand.

Watch this video - No White Flags!!

If you have a few minutes, you should really check out this video of a brave and courageous man who is making a difference while living with ALS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=k6pbtS0WIAE

Things are busy!!!

Hello! Okay so we are almost at the 2 week mark and things are hopping. So, if you know of anyone still interested please have them contact me. Friday there are plenty of spots remaining. Saturday we only have 8 spots available.

Thanks for spreading the word and I can not wait to give out all the great goodies we have for our door prizes and raffles.

Remember to keep an eye out starting today for your information email about what to bring to the crop!!!

 

Happy Friday!!!

Happy Friday!!! 

This just in from one of our vendors who will be at the Charity Crop both days!

• Jodi’s Personal Silent Auction – Tickets $1/each or 6 for $5.  All proceeds donated to the ALS Crop.

• 10% of all Cash & Carry Items and Orders donated to the ALS Crop.  Offer good through October! 

•  Cricut Cartridge Special:  $5 for every Cricut Cartridge purchased goes to the ALS Crop and Customer receives a FREE Stamp of the Month compliments of me.  (10% discount does not apply to this special.)

Jodi Armstrong

Close To My Heart Independent Consultant

300 Jefferson Street

South Abington Township, PA  18411

www.jodiarmstrong.ctmh.com

thearmstrongs@epix.net

570-587-2332

 

3 WEEKS AND COUNTING!!!

Hello Fellow Scrappers!
We are very excited for all the wonderful responses we have received for our charity event. We are working on all the wonderful raffle items that have been arriving from our most generous donors. 

Remember we have spots still open for both days so, please get your registration in. If you have a friend or family member register now and they note your name on their registration, you will get a surprise at the crop. If you attended last year's you know how I love to give out prizes.


We currently have the following vendors:

1. Creative Memories - Jen Detwiler
2. Stampin Up - Rosaria Stoops
3. Memory Making Mom - Christine Uporsky
4. 31 Bags - Kristen Anthony & Jodi Almo
5. Scentsy - Jen Hartshorne
6. Scrapbooking Inn - Erika Krauthauser and Amy Musser
7. Pampered Chef- Kristi Szabo
8. Close to My Heart - Jodi Armstrong
9. Two Massage Therapists

Hope to see you there!

Great news!!

We have great news!
Our wonderful venue organizers at Calvary Church, have reconfigured the room and we can have more spots for scrapbooking!

So, for those who we previously told we were sold out and no more spots for Saturday, correction we have spots now open for Saturday!!! Remember its a better deal to register for both days.

So spread the word, email Andrea at chata629@gmail.com to get your spot reserved. Download the registration form from our site.

Also, to support the ALS Association, Crafts for A Good Cause - Diane R. Burton, will donate to the ALS Association if you order a kit from her. Just mention in your order that you want your donation to go toward the ALS Association.

You can find her on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/momof2njs?ref=ts

Thank you for all your support and encouragement!

The Ayala Family

Good News! Please Vote!

Good News!

The ALS Association has been nominated to receive funding support from the Chase Community Giving Program. The organization getting the most votes will receive $250,000, and every organization getting votes will receive at least $10,000 – so your vote counts! Voting starts on September 6 at 12:00:01 am and ends on September 19th at 11:59:59 pm. Voting is easy and you can do it in two ways: (1) If you have a Chase online account, you can go to www.chasegiving.com and follow the voting directions and/or (2)if you have a Facebook account, you can visit www.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving and vote there. It’s that simple! Start today by notifying your friends and family to ‘like’ Chase Community Giving on Facebook. Together, our votes can help the Greater Philadelphia Chapter receive thousands of dollars to fight ALS, all with the click of a mouse. Thank you for your support!

The ALS Association Greater Philadelphia Chapter
321 Norristown Road - Suite 260
Ambler, PA 19002
information@alsphiladelphia.org

Registration!!!

Hi Scrappers! I have been asked if there are any spots remaining for our weekend and as of right now we are full on Saturday! There are spot still available on the Friday portion. There are a few attendees who have until this today to contact me to confirm their registrations. If I do not hear from you by the end of today, I will have to open up your spots to those who are on the waiting list for Saturday. Crazy, how Saturdays are so popular. Sorry to do this.

I guess, we will have to start looking into a larger venue for next year's.

Thanks for spreading the word and supporting our event!

Saturday Portion of Crop is Full!!!

Hello Fellow Scrappers!!!
Happy Monday to you all. I am so excited to announce that we have a full house on Saturday. There are still spots open for the Friday portion of the crop. For those people who have verbally confirmed but not yet sent in your registration, please contact me via email no later than tomorrow. Email: chata629@gmail.com

To be fair to those who have recently contacted me expressing interest in attending, those spots which have not been confirmed and paid will be opened up by this Friday August 24th. Sorry to do this, so please contact me so no one is missed.

Thank you once again for all of your support and efforts to spreading the word about this event. We are truly excited and in awe of how much support we have received.

Thanks,
  Andrea, Juan & Family

A Special Thanks...

Thanks to the great support of friends like Dr. Leah Garlan, of the Pennridge Wellness Center, in Perkasie and the Yoga Tree. Our raffle will have wonderful items and I can not wait to share what they are. 

A special thanks to Jill Bagley for helping us with Giant grocery stores, who is donating a gift card to our event to help with our yummy food for the event.

 Please spread the word that there are only 6 spots remaining for Saturday, so if you know of anyone who is considering to join in the fun, please have them contact me. Remember its a better deal to sign up for both days!

Looking forward to our Charity Crop in September!

7 Weeks and Counting....

"No matter where you are on your journey, that's exactly where you need to be. The next road is always ahead."  -Oprah

We have received such wonderfully positive responses from friends, family and strangers.

"How can we help?" Especially, from those who do not scrapbook, have stepped up and offered to assist us in some manner for our event. Thank you all! It touches my heart and reminds me that asking for help is okay. If you know me, I have always been the type of person who rarely asks for help. I grew up in a household of very independent people, so reaching out to others was not the norm. Now over the years and seeing first hand with my grandmother and most recently my mother in-law, what this illness does to the person who has the illness and those family members who are the care givers, it really takes a community of people to help. Whether its a friend helping with the grocery shopping or providing a break to the care giver.

My family and I, thank you all and do not be surprised if you receive an email or phone call from me asking for help. The more we can make this event successful, the more people living with ALS can have resources to have a better day.

Donations

Hi Everyone,
I hope today is a good day. I have been going through some photos of my family and came across one of my grandmother, Ramona Flores Castro, before ALS took its toll on her. She lit up a room and her laugh was contagious. It was a nice moment today to see her photo and how happy she was.

So, about the crop,we have approximately only 11 spots remaining for Saturday so if you are interested or know of someone who is, please encourage them to send in their registration. Also if you know of anyone or a company, who would be willing to make a donation (gift card or food) please let me know so I may get our letter out to them. Thank you all for spreading the word about our event. It will be here in 8 weeks. I can not wait!

Thanks and today is a good day!

When it rains it pours

A huge THANK YOU to the following people who have recently  donated to our raffle for the September charity crop!

Donna Downey, donnadowney.com, has donated her new Internationally Inspired online class. I am a huge fan of her artwork.

Marla from Memory Miser, www.memorymiser.com, has donated product for the raffle.

Thank you to both and please check out their wonderful sites which offer great inspiration and deals on various scrapbooking products.


Please note we have been receiving registrations and are now half way full, so if you are thinking about joining, download the registration form and send it in.


Looking forward to September!!

Good things keep rolling in

I do believe if you give out positive vibes then you will receive them back. I am happy to say we are being blessed and have received two gift certificates for our charity crop to raffle off in September.

Thanks to Kim Sheller from Creative Expression Scrapbooking Escapes, http://www.ceweekendescapes.com/. We will be raffling off a gift certificate that some lucky winner can use at one of her scrapbooking escapes. Thank you Kim!

Thanks to Elizabeth Bussler from Scraptacular, http://www.shopscraptacular.com/, who has donated a gift certificate as well for our charity crop raffle. Thank you Beth!

Please check out both sites they have fantastic products and events.

So, with these and the other exciting items, what are you waiting for to sign up. Download the registration form and send it in. Call those scrapbook friends and tell them its time to break out the adhesive and dust off the unfinished projects and have a fun weekend in September. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Raffle items

We have been reaching out to many in the scrapbook community for donations for raffle items and I am happy to say we have received one from Joy Tracey. She has a fantastic style and really creative ideas. Visit her blogs at www.obsessedwithscrapbooking.com and www.everydaycricut.com.

Thank you Joy for the generous donation of 2 cartridges for our raffle. 

We are receiving daily registrations from many fellow croppers, thank you all for spreading the word and joining us again. My family is working hard to make it another fun weekend. I have Juan (husband) updating our music for the weekend and kids working on fun table number centerpieces. I am thinking of changing the theme this time for Fall, so new decorations and menu ideas.

Counting down to September!!!

New Charity Crop Room Lay Out!!!

Very exciting news!!! Thanks to our venue hosts at Calvary Church, we now have a new room layout with rectangle tables so we can now have 56 croppers in our crop.

Very exciting!!! Spaces are filling up, so please send in your registration and note on the registration form who you would like to sit with. 

Happy Cropping!!!

Count down to Charity Crop!!

Hello All,
Please note we have been busy organizing this event and are happy to announce we have the following vendors who will be at the Charity Crop in September.

Creative Memories,
Scrapbookings Inn,
Stampin Up,
Memory Making Mom,
Close to My Heart,
31 Bags,
Scentsy,
Pampered Chef

We will be providing their contact information shortly so if there is anything you should need to order prior to the event, you will be able to reach out to them directly.

Registrations have been coming in so if you are thinking of joining us in September please go to our blog and download the registration form, mail your form and payment to Andrea Ayala. Address is on the form.

Getting very excited and updating our music and organizing the raffle table prizes. Thank you to all who have helped spread the word on our event.

The Ayala Family

In the News!

In the News, there will be lots of events in the community to raise funds and educate others about ALS. Eagles running back LeSean McCoy announced his celebrity softball game on June 23rd in Lancaster.

http://www.alsphiladelphia.org/page.aspx?pid=962

Show your support!!

Write a Letter

Start writing! Write to your state’s Congressional leaders and legislators and ask for their support of the MODDERN CURES ACT http://www.puttingpatientsfirst.net/moddern/.

“More than 133 million Americans – over 40% of the U.S. population – live with a long-term disease or disability. But for some people there are no treatments and there are no cures. Most treatments that do exist work only for 50 to 75 percent of the patients who currently use them. Only 1% of marketed drugs have a companion diagnostic test to determine which patients would benefit from a specific treatment.”

Request additional funding for the National ALS Registry as well! The registry is pertinent to understanding all aspects of ALS and what connects patients with ALS (PALS) across the country. This collection of patient data could be instrumental in solving the mystery of ALS and securing a cure.

Another important objective in the road to a cure is the ALS Research Program (ALSRP) at the Department of Defense. However, that funding is being threatened and the government is proposing to reduce that budget by millions of dollars.

Please write to save ALSRP!

ALS Association Events

Upcoming ALS Association events to check out!

5/12/2012 - Seaside Board…Walk to Defeat ALS® Hiering Avenue and the Boardwalk, Seaside Heights, NJ

5/19/2012 - Bloomsburg, Jorge’sWalk to Defeat ALS® Bloomsburg Town Park Bloomsburg, PA

5/23/2012 - Lakewood BlueClaws Celebrity Waiter Event First Energy Park Lakewood, NJ

6/2/2012 - Hershey Walk to Defeat ALS® Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Hershey, PA

6/16/2012 - ALS Express Bike Event Morey’s Piers Wildwood, NJ

7/26/2012 - Phillies Phestival Citizens Bank Park Philadelphia, PA

Hello sunshine!

With the weather being so inviting, I know many of us find it difficult to crop indoors. Neigh I say, I have been busy organizing our raffle items and creating cute goodies for our crop in September. I was inspired by friends who have been helping me spread the word about our crop. These goodies will be posted soon on the site.

Enjoy the Sunshine!!

Registration has started for September Crop!!!

Hooray!!! We have received our first 2 registrations for the charity crop, very exciting!!!

Thank you to all who are spreading the word. Looking forward to seeing you all again in the fall!

ALS Registration Form for September Crop

Just realized the registration form does not have an address to mail it to.

The registration form will be updated shortly.

New Motto - Not Impossible

Today we were watching the NCAA Big Ten Basketball Tournament and this amazing commercial caught our attention. It showed strives in technological methods to allow those individuals living with ALS still being able to communicate even when they no longer had the ability to speak. Check out the link below and be amazed by the Eye Writer!
 http://notimpossiblefoundation.org/

Spread the Word - No White Flags

On Friday March 2nd, my mother in-law Amalia would have celebrated her birthday. It was a bitter sweet day for the Ayalas. We are only 6 months or so until our charity crop in September. I watched the Superbowl and saw the story about Steve Gleason and Team Gleason. He is a great inspiration and I would like to share his story. Check out Team Gleason's site for more information about what strives they are making for people who are living with ALS. http://www.teamgleason.org/


Also, I will be sending out postcards to those past attendees with information about the September crop. Keep an eye out for them and remember you can register early for the crop. Last year we sold out of spots for Saturday.

No White Flags!

2012 Charity Crop has been Scheduled!!!

We have scheduled and booked the 2012 Charity Crop to Defeat ALS for Sept 28th and 29th at Calvary Church. My family and I have been working on this blog to provide information for those croppers about the event and updates. I have been working on our raffle items!!! We have lots of wonderful goodies thanks to friends and family making donations.

Lots to do and its only 8 months away!!

Charity Crop to Defeat ALS - October 2011

Thank you to all who attended the first ever Charity Crop to Defeat ALS on October 8th & 9th, 2011. My family and I had a wonderful time organizing this event and look forward to seeing you all again in the Fall 2012.

We had lots of wonderful vendors - Close to My Heart, Creative Memories, Siobhan's Sweets, StampIn Up, 31 Bags, Pampered Chef and Scrapbookings Inn. Thanks to them and others who donated items for our silent Auction, everyone was left with a wonderful prize that weekend.

Thanks to you our Team - Ramona's Angels, exceeded our goal of raising $1000.00 for the October 2011 ALS Lehigh Valley Walk. And thanks to all the wonderful support and encouragement from family and friends we will be making this an annual event.

So, keep an eye out for information about the next Charity Crop to Defeat ALS. Hope to see you there!