July Newsletter
To give aid and encouragement in promoting the education and welfare of children in the state of Georgia.
It’s an honor to serve as your Co-President, even amidst historically unorthodox times!

I’d like to share a sports quote (one of many you’ll be hearing this year) by Michael Jordan, the GOAT of basketball: “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” Obviously, our current wall is the coronavirus. As an organization, the Circle is choosing to not give up - we are determined to find a way to be impactful.

Actually, I feel surprisingly and cautiously optimistic about this year … we will all be traveling a lot less and hopefully wanting to stay close to home with people we know, trust and enjoy. Plus, during the shutdown, I realized how much I was looking forward to getting together with my Circle friends and our activities, and feel reinvigorated about our cause and what we do for the community.

Danielle and I are very excited about our theme for the year, “Make GIVING a Sport”! It lends itself to a fun calendar of events, and showcases that our giving, charitable efforts are parallel to athletes on a competitive, hard-working team.

Our goals are to have a blast, stay healthy, avoid controversy, raise a lot of money, and literally Make GIVING a Sport – let’s beat the odds and DO this.

With appreciation and affection,

Elaine LaMontagne
“The future is uncertain ... but this uncertainty is at the very heart of human creativity” - Nobel Laureate, Ilya Prigogin

Welcome to a new Circle year! Elaine and I are excited to be working together this year as your Co-Presidents! In Elaine you have a new President, one brimming with enthusiasm and eager to get this show on the road. Me? I’ve been down this road before, serving my second term as President of this group, so I have a little more caution as we enter a new Circle year with a virus still raging. A perfect pair, Yin and Yang.

I want to assure each of our members that while we have lots of plans for a very busy year, we are ever conscious of the implications of Covid-19. We will strive to put everyone’s health and well-being before anything else. We are getting creative with our calendar, meetings in open air rooms, socials outside. We hope to create an environment that you will feel safe participating in. If at any time during the year you have any concerns, please feel free to contact either of us. No judging from your mask wearing President!

I look forward to serving you!

Best,
Danielle Houret-Lam
Announcing the Circle Theme for the Year...
Do you play tennis, golf, bridge or euchre? Do you walk, run, do yoga or pilates? Watch football, baseball or basketball, whether professional, collegiate or little league? How about hard core shopping?

Likely, we all participate in some sort of sport. But as a member of the Circle for Children, you definitely take part in the sport of GIVING, whether through time, monetary or both. Your generous efforts of GIVING are good for your mind, body, soul, and most importantly, the children of Georgia.

Join us this year as a sports jock and make GIVING an official sport!
Upcoming Events
GOGA Goat Yoga
September 22, 2020
Atlantis Dream Farm
Milton, GA
Late Morning Class
(Rain Date Friday September 25)
Ladies Lunch and Shopping Day at The Mart
November 4, 2020
More Details Coming Soon!
VOLUNTEERISM
Devereux Update
On June 23, Elaine, Danielle, and I met with Gwen Skinner, Operational VP at Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, to discuss the events that the Circle members will be helping out with during the 2020-21 calendar year.

We’re excited about the activities planned with the students and staff, and the ways we hope to support and enhance their lives (some the same, plus a few new!). Watch for ways to help in upcoming communication and mark the events in your calendar if you’re able to join.

BJ Wooldridge
Photographed on the Devereux campus complete with masks are Gwen Skinner (left) and BJ Wooldridge, Charity Liaison (right).
Officers Installed (and Leadership Team Planning Behind the Scenes!)
As everyone knows, the last General Meeting of the year in May, when the new Officers are traditionally installed, was cancelled. Additionally, Elaine and Danielle had planned a gathering at Elaine’s house in April with the new Executive Committee and Chairwomen to get a head start on the year. And yes, that had to be cancelled! So, in mid-June, the leadership team decided to combine the Installation of Officers and the planning meeting with the new leadership (as opposed to the entire membership) in Elaine’s backyard. Gathering on the tennis court social-distance-style, and then posing on the putting green, they unveiled the “Make Giving a Sport” theme, and chairwomen were able to give reports on all the behind the scenes planning they have been doing. And sharing a little wine together was a throwback to festive times with more to come!

Former Circle President Chris Crawford beautifully conducted the installation with a “Through the Looking Glass” story line. Following are your new Circle for Children Officers:

  • Presidents – Elaine LaMontagne and Danielle Houret-Lam
  • President-Elect – Cindy Formica
  • Vice Presidents, Fundraising – Heather Rees and Charlene Rowe
  • Vice Presidents, Auction – Kristin Harbison and Krista O’Neal
  • Vice Presidents, Membership – Lynn Thompson and Pat Iaffaldano
  • Recording Secretary – Ginny Haddock
  • Corresponding Secretary – Tricia Leuallen
  • General Treasurer – Diane Miller
  • Project Treasurer – Cynthia Barr

And your 2020-21 Executive Committee and Chairwomen include:

  • Board of Directors Chairwoman – Rita Robb Furness
  • Charity Liaison – BJ Wooldridge
  • Scholarship – Belinda Vogel and Doris Van Wagenen
  • Socials – Mary Beth Wegener, Sandra Daniels and Susan Landers
  • Junior Socials – Brittany Thompson
  • General Meetings – Denise Pont and Nancy Van Gorp
  • Webmaster – Suzi Halliburton
  • Social Media – Nicole LaMontagne
  • Long Range Planning – Melinda Stuk
  • Newsletter – Kristin Harbison
  • Parliamentarian – Pam Jordan
  • Golf Tournament – Heather Tally and Kimberly Johnson
  • Photographers – Kimberly Johnson and Ginny Wolf
  • Auditors – Chris Crawford and Dottie Rachels

(Public Relations, Sponsorships and the Directory will be overseen by the Co-Presidents)
FUNDRAISING INITIATIVES
Golf Tournament
Save the Date for the Circle for Children's annual Golf Tournament! The event will be held at the Country Club of Roswell on Monday, October 26, 2020.

Annual Fundraising Event
COMING SOON! We are so excited about the Annual Fundraising Event we have planned. You will LOVE it. Details coming soon!

Are you interested in joining the Event or Auction Committee?

MEMBERSHIP UPDATES
Hello Circle Ladies,

As a new Circle year approaches, we would like to encourage all members to bring in ONE new member for this coming year. If everyone does that, we will double our membership. How great would that be?
With the climate of our world, who knows what’s ahead for us. With that said, increasing our membership is the KEY to our success and growth for The Circle. The presidents and executive board have planned a very productive and interesting year with social events, hands on help at Devereux and many other activities that show who we are and how we help the children of Georgia.
Membership applications will be available soon and again, we encourage you to bring in a new member. We are planning on a new member orientation in October. Our goal is to have all new members registered by September 15 th .

Summer is a great time to mingle with friends and talk about what the Circle does and what our mission is. Encourage friends with our flexible commitment and ability to help when time permits. The best way to show who we are is through example.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call, email or text us.
Your Membership Committee,
Lynn Thompson and Pat Iaffaldano
Do you like your photo in the directory? No? Well take a new one! Everyone looks great in the summer with sun kissed cheeks!

Send your photo anytime to Circle4children@gmail.com
July 2                  Katie Collins
July 2                  Claudia Turner
July 10                Mary Beall
July 13                Cynthia Dolezal
July 15                Cindy Formica
July 20                Julia Barwick
July 25                Kimberly Johnson
July 27                Heather Rees
July 28                Gail Godfrey
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Sign up TODAY for Amazon Smile
Hi Ladies,

Please take the time if you haven't already, to sign up for Amazon Smile and Kroger Community Rewards that are at the bottom of this newsletter. It will take only a few minutes and is a fast, simple way for us to raise money for our charities. It costs nothing and if we all do it, it can truly add up. Every time you go to Kroger or use Amazon (which I know we have all been doing A LOT LATELY), The Circle gets money back.

Thank you!!!

Cindy Formica
Finance Chair
What is Amazon Smile?
Amazon Smile is a simple and automatic way for you to support the Circle for Children every time you shop at no cost to you.  When you shop at smile.amazon.com you'll find the exact same low prices and vast selection as amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to the Circle. smile.amazon.com uses your current Amazon account.

How Do I Get Started?
Click the button below to get started or on your first visit to smile.amazon.com you will be asked to select a charity. Type in The Circle for Children. Click the "select" box next to it. Click "agree" to confirm you have been informed that you must go to smile.amazon.com every time you make a purchase in order for the Circle to receive the charitable donation from Amazon.
Kroger Community Rewards will donate a portion of your grocery purchase total to The Circle for Children.

Please sign up for a Kroger Card the next time you're grocery shopping and link it to The Circle for Children.

To link your Kroger card go to www.kroger.com and enter The Circle for Children number, 33533. You can also call Kroger at 1-800-562-4438 and they will sign you up over the phone.
The Circle for Children | circle4children.org