Charleston Downtown News
April Chicktime was so fun! Thanks to all the volunteers who showed up to make it a great day for the girls at New Life. Our workshop Leader Lori Davis provided all the supplies and activities!
Thanks for all the hard work putting it together! We made bunny baskets, played games and decorated decoupage eggs. It was a beautiful day!
Thank you to our Rock Painting workshop leader Teresa and our Hygiene 101 workshop leader Maria( March workshop leader)! They were able to be with the girls at Cornerstones of Care- Ozanam Campus today after a year of being away! Two volunteers were allowed to be on campus to lead our monthly workshop in person and we were grateful they were willing and able!
Rock painting supplies and treats~
A perfect workshop back !
Hygiene kits delivered too!
We can’t wait to be back in person in May!
April Update:
Chicktime is FUN!
Our Workshop delivery was a success, and just in the knick of time before all the rain came down!
All the kids will have an amazing time! #HEBHelpingHere
April Update:
Happy Days for Chicktime Sacramento as we are finally back in person with our lovely charity partner
!
April Fun:
Thank you, Selina and Deaf Heartbeat for teaching sign language to the girls at Elks Aidmore. It was incredible and I know they loved it!
Thank you also to those who prepared food for their Easter lunch and donated the amazing Easter baskets for the girls.
They felt so loved today. It is amazing every time we go. The girls come in and they seem a little down, definitely not excited. By the time we leave they are so happy to have us be there and are so thankful for everything that we bring.
Since we have been able to be back in person, I am seeing the impact that we are making increase significantly.
It is such a blessing to be able to love on these girls and to be used by God to help make an impact in their lives.
We hope you will join us next month.
April Update:
April Update:
Another fun activity today with the teen girls at
! Thank you to Heather for hosting such a creative event… and thank you to our community donors for sending items to fill the Easter eggs and Easter baskets!
March Update:
March Update:
March Update:
March Update:
We finally got to see the girls again!! We had a great Poetry Jam and Spoken Word workshop! Thank you @Shaddái for hosting today!! Today they had an opportunity to tell their story. THIS is why we Chicktime. We want to communicate to each girl, “You are SEEN, You are HEARD, You are LOVED, You are NOT ALONE, You have PURPOSE.
We would love to have you serve with us and help these girls come to the truth that they are NOT FORGOTTEN! 
March Update:
March Update:
It’s been a year since Chicktime Springfield had to become a contactless workshop. We are hoping that we will be able to do in person activities again soon. However, we shall continue our best to serve our charity partner. 
March Update:
Our March workshop was a blast! This past Tuesday we got a chance to hang out with a couple of our friends at
.
March Update:
March Update:
Butterfly Mobile
Materials
- One bamboo wood ring
- 4-5 pieces of nylon string (2 feet)
- Fake butterflies, flowers, and insects that you can purchase at a craft store.
- Glue gun/ tape/ glue dots
Instructions
First Step
- Take the ring and tie the first nylon string to the ring in the middle of the string. This leaves a foot above the ring (to hang from the ceiling) and a foot below the ring (to add butterflies, insects, flowers, etc.)
- Continue tying the other 3-3 strings around the ring, spacing them evenly apart.
- Tie all of the top strings together so that the mobile can hang.
Final Step
- Begin to decorate your mobile.
- Start at the end of each string placing a butterfly or flower, working your way up the string placing decorations at various intervals.
- Place the decorations on the string using either a glue gun, glue dots, or tape.
Hint: You can bend the butterfly wings to give them extra dimension.
Here are the printable instructions: Butterfly Mobile Instructions
March Update:
It’s workshop day at our charity partner, Bokenkamp Children’s Shelter and the staff absolutely loved what we are having the girls do! Lucy said the girls are going to really love it.
Thank you to our workshop leader, Kristina Juarez for a fun project and HEB for all the snacks and drinks! #HEBHelpingHere
Materials
Borax (found in laundry section)
pipe cleaners in rainbow colors
water
twine
a pencil or stick that is longer than the glass/jar’s opening
cotton balls
glue
Tools
wide-mouth jar or a glass bowl
adult supervision
Instructions
- Using one pipe cleaner as the anchor, tie one end of the rainbow-colored pipe cleaners onto it.
- Bend them into a half-circle.
- Tie the other end of the pipe cleaners onto the anchor pipe cleaner. Cut the excess.
- Fill the bowl with water to around three-quarters full. Then using a measuring cup, measure the amount of water used.
- Boil the water in a pan under adult supervision.
- Carefully pour the boiling water into the bowl.
- Dissolve plenty of Borax into the hot water. For each cup of water, I used 3 tablespoons of Borax.
- Stir the water until all the powder has dissolved or the powder left at the bottom cannot dissolve further. This phenomenon is called saturation.
- Tie the rainbow you’ve made onto a twine. I tied it on the anchor pipe cleaner and hanged the rainbow upside down.
- Tie the other end of the twin onto a pencil or stick and submerge it into the Borax solution. Make sure the rainbow is fully submerged and not touching the side of the bowl.
- Put the bowl in an area where it won’t be disturbed for the next few hours.
- Crystals should start forming immediately and a layer of crystals will cover the pipe cleaner completely within 3 hours. Wait another hour or two if you want a thicker rainbow.
- When it’s grown to the desired size, take it out to dry.
- Glue cotton balls onto the bottom.
- Unlike growing crystals using sugar or salt, crystallization using Borax is relatively fast. Crystals can be seen forming as early as two hours after the glass is set aside.
Here are the Rainbow Crystal Project Instructions
March Update:
Thank you March workshop leader, Mari Alexander, for creating such a beautiful hand lettering workshop, for the teen girls who live at the Freeman and Ridgeway cottages at Boysville.
Extra thanks to Stacey Pratorius for donating this months snacks and drinks.
March Update:
What a blessing to be able to be physically present at Chicktime Canyon Lake this month. The girls were so happy to see more volunteers and to feel the love and fun we brought them. We had new volunteers and returning volunteers but our common goal was to bring the girls the love and companionship they so much deserve.
We made sand art butterflies,..
peanut butter and seed pinecone birdfeeders…..
and played bingo!!
Thank you Sandra for providing all the wonderful activities and thank you to everyone who was there to spread love and joy to the beautiful girls at New Life. We love them so much.
February Update:
One way to stay connected with the girls at Light House is a Zoom Call workshop.
This proved a little more difficult than we imagined as there is limited staff during the pandemic to help make this happen. We are okay with waiting for in person workshops to see the girls. We will go back to our original thinking….drop off workshops!
March Update:
March Update:
and tomato 
for all the hair accessories donated through a friend for the girls
March Update:
What a blessing to have Erica Sifuentes plan a self-care workshop for our teen moms.
Many times moms are so busy taking care of other things they forget to care for themselves. Erica provided Color Street nail kits in pretty bling boxes and also gave them some Ipsy bags.
And of course a snack is always the best way to finish off the day – Banana splits!!
Another way that we partner in our community is by partnering with other non-profits. We found these nonprofits via mutual friends and also by going to our county Chamber of Commerce and requesting a list of all nonprofits in the area. We went through the list and introduced ourselves and have made some pretty strong friendships. We have a group of nonprofits in the community that support each other by donating resources and volunteering whenever possible in order to offer what support we can. This past month Chicktime has received feminine and self-care products from other nonprofits to take to our charity partner. We have also partnered with a women’s home and an organization that rescues women from human trafficking. If the girls at our charity partner (or those who were formerly at our charity partner) have needs that Chicktime is unable to meet, we have other contacts who may be able to help.
In addition to the nonprofits with who we partner, we have also been partnering with my church. My church has sponsored the girls for Christmas, completed service projects to clean the grounds of our charity partner, and have continually asked how they can help us. The impact from all of this is incredible.
I think the most amazing thing though is the trust that has been built between us and our charity partner that has opened even more doors. We are in our 4th year at Chicktime Conyers and we have offered to host a Bible study since we first started serving. However, our charity partner was never really open to having us do that. Last week I received an email from our charity partner asking me if we were willing to host a church service every other week or did we know any pastors that would. I literally screamed with joy! Of course we’re willing! We’ve been willing! I reached out to pastors in the area who are now partnering with us to host church services for our girls.
What started out as three women wanting to make an impact in their community has become an entire community rallying around and supporting the work Chicktime is doing. It is overwhelming and I am so thankful for each and every partnership.
~ Heather
Materials
Printable Escape Room Packets
Scissors
Prizes/Treats for Completing Escape Room
Cardstock
Process
Print out the escape room master packet and game packet on card stock or copy paper.
Cardstock is more durable and can be laminated if you like, but printer paper will work too.
You could possibly set up the room at your charity partner and then leave or you can print and cut out the clues and give them to the staff at your charity partner. Give the staff at your charity partner the instructions and the answer key. They can set up the room if needed and help those who get stuck on certain puzzles.
As ladies finish the escape room, they can be given a prize or certificate rewarding them for their perseverance.
The files to the escape room are below.
Escape Room Master Guide with Answer Key
March Updates:
Thank you, Marcela, for leading today’s jewelry making event for the teens at
! The girls were so creative (as usual) and really enjoyed making bracelets. We were impressed with their skills and designs!
Also, thank you to
for the beautifully knitted bags and washcloths. The girls loved them! We also appreciate the huge donation of crafts and books for them to enjoy!
No Sew Fleece Pillow
Materials
2 yards of fleece divided into 1-yard pieces
16-inch pillow insert or stuffing for the pillow
Ruler
Fabric marker
Ballpoint pins
Fabric scissors
Process
Step 1 : Measure and cut the fabric
Place one yard of fleece on top of another yard. The patterned sides should be facing out on both top and bottom so that you can see them.
To determine the size to cut the fabrics take the dimensions of your pillow and add 4 inches to all four sides. That way your pillow will fit inside the case.
If you have pillow stuffing, determine the size that you want the pillow and add 4 inches to all four sides.
Pin in place if needed to keep the fabric from moving.
Step 2: Measure and cut 4-inch squares out of the four corners
Cut one inch wide strips, 4 inches long, around the edges
You can mark them to keep it more consistent
Step 3: Tie the knots and insert the pillow or stuffing.
Only tie knots on three sides. That way you will have an opening for your pillow stuffing or pillow to go in.
Once your pillow/stuffing is in go ahead and tie the final side.
Here is a video tutorial if needed.
February Update:
Chicktime Corpus Christi continues to Bless Bokenkamp Children’s Shelter. A huge thank you to our workshop leader, Elsa Menchaca MacDougall for a fun Mardi Gras mask decorating session.
We dropped off all the supplies and goodies for all the residents, all thanks to H-E-B. #hebhelpinghere. We can’t wait to see their finished masks and will post them when we get their pics. We are so happy to continue to bring smiles to all the kids too.
February Update:
SELF-CARE IS IMPORTANT Today our co-chapter leader Julia was able to mask up and drop off our February gift for our friends at
adulthood!
February Update:
Thankful and blessed that we all survived Snovid 2021. Now we can focus on our upcoming Chicktime workshop and spending some quality time with our beloved non-for-profit charity The Settlement Home.
With the drop off complete we are excited to get a little craft time in. Let’s see what magical creations we can come up with. I can’t wait to pop in and see everyone this Saturday! 
Manis and Bananis Workshop
Materials
Nail polish
Nail Polish Remover
Cotton Balls
Emery Boards
Clippers
Cuticle Trimmer
Bowls
Bananas
Ice Cream
Ice Cream Toppings
Whipped Cream
Spoons
Process
The girls will be able to paint their own nails or have another girl at your charity partner pain them. Polish remover will need to be used if the girls already have a paint color on their nails. They may also want to file /shape their nails and trim the cuticles. You may want to check with your charity partner to make sure items like clippers and cuticle trimmers are allowed.
After they remove their polish, shape and file their nails, and trim the cuticles, it is time to paint!
After the girls have completed their manicures, they can make their own banana splits!
They will grab a bowl, put a banana in the bottom (may need to be cut in half), add ice cream and their favorite toppings!
Voila! Manis and Bananis!
Below are printable instructions!
February Update:
February Update:
February Update:
February Update:
Chicktime Tulsa February workshop was canceled !! Lindsey House wanted to keep the residents and Chicktime volunteers off the roads and at home safe AND warm during the winter storm that came on the day of our planned workshop!! We will see you next month when old man winter says good bye!!
February Update:
We had a really great experience with the teens at
earlier this month. We created Valentine’s to share during a morale boosting exercise. It was really neat!
February Update:
We had such an awesome time doing some cool science experiments with our friends at the ABCH! #chicktimesaturdaysarethebest #funtimes
February Update:
Our February workshop was canceled due to the big Texas storm!! SJRC was without electricity and water and to this day is still dealing with campus issues stemming from the winter blast. Chicktime Bulverde is going to shift gears with workshops this month and next to help out our charity partner! Our February drop-off will be gallon size beverages since SJRC has been without water!
February 2021:
