2018 Here we come...
Welcome to our FIRST EVER BLOG!
We are going to attempt to post regularly with updates, what we're presently
working on, what's coming up, and how YOU can plug into ALL these things!
2017 was a HUGE year for JMC growth! The JMC Leadership and MurpheyVol Teams laid some of the foundations for JMC to be able to grow to involve and serve more of our community- both as guests and MurpheyVols.
Here's a little of what you were a part of in 2017:
- Independent Tribune ads:
- JMC Webpage
- Social Media:
- Our First Newsletter
- Call Center
- HashTags [Note: Please go back and hashtag your pics and posts if you haven't done so. We would LOVE to be able to see and share the impact JMC is having!]
- #JMC1932
- #MurpheyVol
- #MyJMCStory
For the second year in JMC History, you rocked Volunteer T-shirts for the day of the main event. This may not seem like much, but it's a BIG DEAL for our guests (and for us) to be able to identify someone who can help them immediately. A guest reaching out to or calling for a green shirt MurpheyVol was seen over and over again!
For the third year in the HISTORY of Jimmy Murphey's Christmas (2013, 2016, 2017), you helped serve a hot pancake breakfast and sausage to our guests! Thanks to donations from Punchy's Diner and S&D Coffee & Tea, along with the hard labor from our LWC Kitchen Crew and the hospitality from our MurpheyVols in Murphey's Cafe, you successfully served over 400 people!!
For the FIRST year in JMC History, we had red and green JMC tote bags for the bags of groceries. What can we say? Our MurpheyVols spoke and we listened! Actually, we could hear the cries of your aching hands after a 5-hour shift of stapling and cut fingers after moving stapled bags. You can thank Amanda Buck and Courtney Dellinger for the tote idea... and if you don't know how big of a deal that is, just ask a MurpheyVol that was here circa 2015 or 2016!
What's a day celebrating Christmas without decorations, live Christmas trees, and music? Well, you took care of that, too! New to the Jimmy Murphey's Christmas tradition is our MurpheyVol decorating team. Our MurpheyVol decorating team made the generous facilities loaned to us by Living Water A Church of God Fellowship look like a mini-McAdenville! Live Christmas Trees, music, inflatables, seasonal decorations and more Christmas lights than we could count, set the mood as MERRY and BRIGHT.
As if all these things weren't enough, per Jimmy's request at the conclusion of our 2016 event, you took part in adding TOYS back to Jimmy Murphey's Christmas! Toys were last given in 2013. Though the JMC Leadership Team was concerned as to how toy distribution would go, it all turned out FAMOUSLY! Thanks to each of you and the generous donations we received, over 400 needy children received TOYS this year! Truly, this couldn't have been done without each of you!
Then you, our MurpheyVols, said, "Wait. We want the kids' gifts to be a secret. So, what are the kids doing while the parents shop?" And you created and facilitated the solution. Our FIRST EVER Murphey's Kids Craft Area was born. In the craft area, "Murphey's Kids" made some fun crafts and had our MurpheyVols there loving on them and having fun with them. Nothing says Christmas like fellowship and love! Well, a CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT and a GOODIE BAG with REINDEER FOOD says Christmas, too... and upon their departure, each Murphey Kid got to pick a handmade ornament from the Murphey's Kids Tree and pick out a goodie bag complete with candy, stamps, and Reindeer Food! No worries, the contents were cleared by Santa's staff!
There were a LOT of firsts in 2017. Adding to that list was our FIRST EVER thank you card to guests! Our MurpheyVols lovingly crafted a thank you card for each guest. Each guest received a card thanking them for affording us the opportunity to serve them and inviting them to share their story through our MyJMCStory initiative.
And how could we possibly leave out the catalyst for the whole event? The groceries... Upon our guests' departure, you helped escort them to their cars with bags full of groceries and a 5lb chicken to boot! In one day, you helped distribute groceries sufficient for 4000 people! As a part of that distribution, our MurpheyVol delivery team delivered to over 300 residences! That is so AMAZING!!!
But, more than anything we did on December 22, 2017, you loved! Every guest was treated like VIP. On this day, over 200 MurpheyVols made sure to tend to our guests' every need. You paid attention to them. You welcomed them, not just into the facility, but into your heart. You listened. You hugged. You paid attention. You laughed. You served. You LOVED. Greater than anything we may give materially, giving of ourselves is a choice. To generously give of your love to a stranger is a rare and beautiful thing. But you didn't just give on 12/22/17 to our guests, you gave this to one another EVERY DAY we worked! Thanks to you, our beautiful MurpheyVol Family, our guests received the TRUE EXPERIENCE of Jimmy Murphey's Christmas... and they got some toys and groceries, too! Thank you!
But, more than anything we did on December 22, 2017, you loved! Every guest was treated like VIP. On this day, over 200 MurpheyVols made sure to tend to our guests' every need. You paid attention to them. You welcomed them, not just into the facility, but into your heart. You listened. You hugged. You paid attention. You laughed. You served. You LOVED. Greater than anything we may give materially, giving of ourselves is a choice. To generously give of your love to a stranger is a rare and beautiful thing. But you didn't just give on 12/22/17 to our guests, you gave this to one another EVERY DAY we worked! Thanks to you, our beautiful MurpheyVol Family, our guests received the TRUE EXPERIENCE of Jimmy Murphey's Christmas... and they got some toys and groceries, too! Thank you!
Mark your calendars for JMC 2018: Saturday, December 22nd
You may mark your calendars for our MAIN EVENT being 12/22/18. MurpheyVol workdays will be Wednesday, December 19th - Friday, December 21st. Hours TBD as we get closer. We will for sure be working evenings, again, but may attempt to add some daytime hours, too. NO PROMISES, just speaking to intentions. One of the other things that we are going to HOPEFULLY get up and running for 2018 is an ONLINE VOLUNTEER SIGN UP! For those of you that are NOT internet/computer savvy, don't worry... we will have a traditional method of sign up for you as well. For now, just mark your calendars and we'll keep you posted.
WE WANT YOU and YOUR SPECIAL TALENT!!!
We want to put your unique "YOU-NESS" to use in 2018!
One of the things our JMC Leadership Team prides ourselves on is having what we do and how we do it be a reflection of our MurpheyVol Family and your unique gift sets, passions, talents, interests, and hobbies.
Here are just a few examples from 2017:
Here are just a few examples from 2017:
The boyfriend of a Cannon Pharmacy employee works on documentaries for a living. She knew the JMC Leadership Team was discussing recording Jimmy's story. She reached out to him and WA-LA, a new MurpheyVol was born! You guessed it, he is volunteering his services and expertise to record the JMC story and incorporating your 'MyJMCStory' stories. [We'll keep you posted on this.]
Another MurpheyVol, while working during one of our prep nights, came forward to express her love and hobby of creating a Christmas Village. So, in 2018, guess what we're adding to our decor, thanks to that lovely MurpheyVol? You guessed it, an AWESOME (and we've seen pictures) Christmas Village!!!
You wanna know where the live Christmas Trees came from in 2017? You guessed it, a MurpheyVol that thought to ask a Christmas Tree Vendor if they would donate. And now, every year, thanks to that MurpheyVol, we're going to have live Christmas Trees! And that's not all... that same MurpheyVol recruited a new MurpheyVol to build the Charlie Brown Christmas Treestands!
A MurpheyVol was appointed to take on coordination and purchasing of all the goodie bag items. That MurpheyVol recruited another MurpheyVol to help her. Well, their friend heard about the goodie bags and wanted to put Reindeer Food in each of the goodie bags. You guessed it, that brand new MurpheyVol (she didn't even know she was a MurpheyVol yet) purchased, prepared, and packaged ALL the reindeer food for our goodie bags! By the way, this trio is rocking goodie bag duty again this year!
You wanna know where the live Christmas Trees came from in 2017? You guessed it, a MurpheyVol that thought to ask a Christmas Tree Vendor if they would donate. And now, every year, thanks to that MurpheyVol, we're going to have live Christmas Trees! And that's not all... that same MurpheyVol recruited a new MurpheyVol to build the Charlie Brown Christmas Treestands!
A MurpheyVol was appointed to take on coordination and purchasing of all the goodie bag items. That MurpheyVol recruited another MurpheyVol to help her. Well, their friend heard about the goodie bags and wanted to put Reindeer Food in each of the goodie bags. You guessed it, that brand new MurpheyVol (she didn't even know she was a MurpheyVol yet) purchased, prepared, and packaged ALL the reindeer food for our goodie bags! By the way, this trio is rocking goodie bag duty again this year!
Did you see Paparazzi in 2017? No... that was a MurpheyVol that volunteered to be the one going around and around and around taking pictures. That was her nitch and love and she gave it. And man are we thankful she did!
Some of our MurpheyVols were volunteered for tasks and others were appointed! In 2017, two MurpheyVols were recruited to head up our volunteer registration area. They did such a great job that we asked them to be the welcoming face for our volunteers each year moving forward! Thankfully, they agreed.
Our MurpheyVol Christmas Tree decorating team is a good example of being appointed, too! When the Harrisburg 4th of July Pageant Court became MurpheyVols, we asked them to head up decorating our live trees. They were beautiful! Thankfully, they have also agreed to do this moving forward as well!
That US Foods refrigeration truck you see each year? You guessed it... a MurpheyVol that works at US Foods and stepped forward. Each year, he and arranges for the truck to be there for us to put the chickens in. That MurpheyVol has been committed to that since 2016 and we couldn't be more grateful!
In 2016, a MurpheyVol invited some coworkers to come help deliver on the day of the event. After a fulfilling day delivering, they realized they could offer their expertise to our delivery system. In 2017. one of those MurpheyVols single-handedly revamped how we do deliveries. Though our delivery system has always been an impressive operation, 2017 was even a step beyond that! Thankfully, she has agreed to that position moving forward.
These are just a few examples ranging from the seemingly small to the very large. These are examples of everything from professionals contributing very specialized skills and materials to a person happy to offer a welcoming smile. Your JMC Leadership Team wants to know... What interests you? What are your passions? What are you good at? Maybe something pertaining to your workplace can be an opportunity to plug in and make JMC better? Maybe it's someone you know? Maybe an organization you're a part of has something to offer? Maybe it's an idea you have and the passion to make it come alive? We don't know the answer to these things, but you do.
JMC is a representation of a community coming together and serving that same community in need. JMC is a collaboration of our gifts, talents, hobbies, professions, and more. If you're thinking of something you would like to be considered, please contact us with the subject line 'YOU-NESS' via email or leave a message via phone 704-975-0921. We look forward to putting YOUR unique YOU-NESS to use in 2018!
These are just a few examples ranging from the seemingly small to the very large. These are examples of everything from professionals contributing very specialized skills and materials to a person happy to offer a welcoming smile. Your JMC Leadership Team wants to know... What interests you? What are your passions? What are you good at? Maybe something pertaining to your workplace can be an opportunity to plug in and make JMC better? Maybe it's someone you know? Maybe an organization you're a part of has something to offer? Maybe it's an idea you have and the passion to make it come alive? We don't know the answer to these things, but you do.
JMC is a representation of a community coming together and serving that same community in need. JMC is a collaboration of our gifts, talents, hobbies, professions, and more. If you're thinking of something you would like to be considered, please contact us with the subject line 'YOU-NESS' via email or leave a message via phone 704-975-0921. We look forward to putting YOUR unique YOU-NESS to use in 2018!
Photos taken at JMC 2017 will be available soon.
Once available, we will provide a link. Stay tuned...
In the meantime, please be sure to post your pictures with the hashtags
#jmc1932
#MurpheyVol
#MyJMCStory
THANK YOU!
Do you know of a company/organization
that may be willing/able to donate to JMC?
Email us the link to their
application/contact person, please.
As you all know, we are an ALL VOLUNTEER staff... even our JMC Leadership Team. We could use some help digging up all the various corporate and private grants, donation applications, etc, that we could qualify for. We rely on donations to make this amazing 85-year tradition continue. We are anticipating needing 3 times as much as we did this year. That puts our donation need at more than $80,000! This doesn't have to be all financial donations. This can be product donations as well. We have already filled out donation applications for the major grocery stores. Please email jmcdonations@gmail.com with the link, contact person, or program you believe we may participate in.
We are looking forward to a WONDERFUL year of JMC prep for 2018!
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