"I used everything you gave me..."

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say "I used everything You gave me." – Erma Bombeck

Marsha Winters, co-founder of Project HELP in Terre Haute, uses that quote at the end of each email she sends. It is an accurate depiction of how Marsha lives her life. Take, for example, her 40th birthday. Marsha enthusiastically shares the story of how she embarked on completing 40 Random Acts of Kindness this way, “I originally saw a Blog on Pinterest of this woman, named Robyn Bomar, who did 38 Random Acts of Kindness for her 38th Birthday and I immediately KNEW that was what I wanted to do for the Big 4-0! Robyn is the President of Random Acts of Kindness website that features a lot of people who decided to do the same.” Marsha chose to perform one of those acts of kindness for the children at Ryves Preschool because, in her words, “I LOVE IT!” 

Marsha, along with Indiana State University student Katie Davis, read four books to the children at Ryves, including Walter the Farting Dog and Toot and Puddles. The children had a great time listening and interacting with the storylines.

Besides volunteering as guest reader, Marsha and other volunteers from Project HELP regularly stop by RyvesYouth Center to help fill bags with food which are given to children each Friday afternoon as part of our BackPack program. Volunteers from Project HELP also take time to clean and work on other projects around the youth center.

We are so blessed to have Marsha and all of the volunteers at Project HELP as they invest their time to ensure that Ryves continues to provide our children with a safe after-school haven and a place they consider a second home.