Support our partners, Touching Miami With Love, at their art show this Sunday. Read below for the Top 10 reasons to attend.

10. Spend a wonderful afternoon in the beauty of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
9. Enjoy yummy desserts in our huge Dessert Bar.
8. See art created live by several local artists and bid on it in our live auction hosted by Channel 7’s Diana Diaz.
7. Meet our “in-house” youth artists,hear about their inspirations and aspirations, and purchase their works of art!
6. Take home cute notecards, framed paintings, and creations by the children in our programs.
5. View original art in our Art that Feeds silent auction to help put food on the plates of Overtown’s youth.
4. Create your own unique piece of art with established artists in our Be Your Own Artist sessions.
3. Stroll through our extensive silent auction and place your bid.
2. Add a piece of beauty to your world in our Professional Art Gallery.
1. Know that every purchase you make at A Touch of Art goes to support the quality, life-changing programs of Touching Miami with Love!

View all the day’s events, silent auction items, live auction items and entertainment at the A Touch of Art event site.

Touching Miami with Love, a non-profit serving at risk children and youth in Overtown, will host A Touch of Art on Sunday, May 20th at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden from 3pm-7pm. This FREE family-friendly event will feature the creative works of our children and youth with youth on hand to share about their work.  We will host a silent and live auction as well as Be Your Own Artist sessions for children and adults with local established artists.  Debuting at the event is our collaborative project, Art that Feeds, where artists put art on a plate to help put food on the plates of Overtown youth through creating original works of art on acrylic plates featured in our silent auction.

Event volunteers are needed to support the important work of TML.  To find out more about how you can volunteer, visit HERE.  To find out the event details, please visit http://www.touchingmiamiwithlove.org/a-touch-of-art/ or email us at info@touchingmiamiwithlove.org

From all of us at Touching Miami with Love let me say THANK YOU for the wonderful work that went on Saturday. The picnic tables are great, the front garden looks beautiful, and the vegetable garden is wonderful! My husband, Jason, said you were a really great group—I am sorry that I wasn’t able to be there too.  Your work will bless MANY!

As UBC members ourselves, it’s so great to host our church for a great day of hands-on help!  For many of you this was your first opportunity to be at our ministry.  We’d love to have you continue to partner with us.  Here are just some of the ways you can continue to support the ministry of TML:

• Pray! We covet your prayers for TML, the children, youth, and families we serve, and for Jason and I as we raise our family in Overtown.
• Tell Others!  We are continually hosting “tours” of TML to spread the word about the great things God is doing in Overtown.  Considering bringing a group of friends, family, or co-workers for a tour!
• Volunteer! We are always looking for volunteers for our afterschool program, ToMorrow’s Leaders K-8 and our high school program, Today’s Leaders, 3 nights/week.
• Host a Party! We are currently for small groups to host our Christmas Parties for our children and youth; you can come join us as a host or provide supplies.
• Share the Christmas Joy! Get geared up for Christmas and join our planning team for The TML  Christmas Store.
• Support Us! We appreciate those who choose to bless our ministry financially either as one time donors or through monthly donations.
• Get Creative! Some of our best supporters never set foot in our building, but creatively leverage their resources to bless our ministry.  Does your employer offer grants? Do you have access to supplies/materials that could be used at TML? Do you know of community opportunities we should be aware of?  We appreciate folks keeping our ministry on their minds.

Thanks once again for taking the time to join us and lend your time, talents, and treasure to bless the ministry of Touching Miami with Love.

Angel Pittman

The Christmas list…all kids love to make them as the holidays approach yet, whatever the wish, mom and dad may not be able to afford it. And nothing hurts more than the inability to provide their own special memories for their children. That’s why we started a new tradition that’s built on dignity, not dependency. We call it “The Christmas Store” at Touching Miami with Love. Touching Miami with Love is a faith-based non-profit began 1994 and serves the community of Overtown through programs for children, youth and adults.

The Christmas Store program, founded in 1983 by an urban ministry in Atlanta, is simple in concept, yet extremely rewarding to both parents and children in need. New toys are donated and marked for sale at drastically reduced prices. Parents are invited to come and shop for their children choosing the toys they know their children will enjoy and take pride in being able to provide for their families. Parents have a pre-determined budget to spend of $10 per child and leave with an armful of presents rather than just one toy. Parents delight through choosing the toys they know their children will enjoy receiving and maintain dignity by purchasing it themselves rather than a handout. All proceeds from the sale of the toys, 100% with no administrative cut, go back into purchasing additional toys for the store. The program also provides a meaningful way for the more fortunate to donate children’s gifts during the Christmas season. The program has been replicated by urban centers across the country each putting their own parameters on the specifics.

Touching Miami with Love, the only site in Miami, has been hosting a Christmas Store since 2003. This year Touching Miami with Love through the generous donations of area churches, groups, and caring volunteers, we provided over 185 children with a fabulous Christmas with their families.

We asked parents to complete a survey this year and over 90% said they were “Very Satisfied” or “Satisfied” with The Christmas Store. Here’s a few of the nice things that were said why they rated the store so favorably:
• Because if I were to go to the store I would pay triple the price
• I am satisfied because of the politeness, cheery, and friendly the staff is
• The store had everything I wanted
• Extremely happy because in the times that were leading my kids are going to have their
Christmas.
• I thought this was such a great idea for the community. It helped people who couldn’t afford to go out and pay the full price for gifts, for gifts at a cheaper price.

In answer to the question, “What makes Touching Miami with Love’s Christmas Store different from other Christmas toy programs?” here is a sampling of some of the responses:
• The name (Touching Miami with Love) speaks for itself
• Because you have choice of picking what you want
• It’s not a toy giveaway like other Christmas toy programs

Thank you for your support of this important event for our community!

Through your generous giving to the Touching Miami with Love Christmas Store for 2009, 75 families (with 3 to 5 kids each) in Overtown will be blessed through the opportunity to purchase Christmas gifts for their family at reduced prices.

Here’s how you can help:
Bring an unwrapped toy or toys by Sunday, December 6th (click here for a list of suggestions) to UBC’s white mission bins (next to the main office). When dropping off donated toys, please attach receipt or make note of original price so that making the discount will be easy.

If you do not have time to buy toys, you can donate money to UBC and note on your check for “Touching Miami with Love” or you can take the toys directly to TML no later than December 9th.

The Toy Store will be opened to families on December 11th and 12th.

THANK YOU!