Serving those who serve us!

Please put Nov. 20 on your calendar!!!!! That will be our annual major bagging activity at Burley Junior High School from 5-8 pm. We need about 30 volunteers to man the stations….ready to go at 5:00!!! So please arrive a few minutes early so we can place you.

Donations will be accepted on site, however we would like as much as possible before hand so they can be separated and processed. Donation boxes are in place at DL Evans banks in Rupert and Burley, PMT offices in Rupert and Burley, and at The Book Plaza in Burley. If you are closer to Twin Falls, I have a daughter in Hansen who would be glad to make arrangements for pick-up. Contact me for her number.

If you do not live in the area, you can mail donations to us, but our last shipping date is Dec 10…and that is pushing it!! So the sooner the better to insure your donations will be used this year. If they arrive too late, they will be boxed up and saved for next year.

Project Rudolph
600 S. Wilson
Oakley, ID 83346

Our greatest need this year is for ornaments and candy!!! Flat and unbreakable ornaments 2″-5″ across. Please, no paper ornaments as they don’t maintain their shape in shipping, and their life span is relatively short. We are hoping for ornaments that will last for years to come for our service men and women. Write on each ornament “Project Rudolph” and the state from which it comes. (Project Rudolph – Indiana for example)

Once again we wish to express our sincere appreciation for all those who have contributed to Project Rudolph this year and in years previous. We can’t do this without YOU!!!!! You have blessed our lives immensely, let alone those thousands of men and women who have been the recipients of Project Rudolph bags……over 50,000 of them!!!!!!

Please ship all candy donations to:

Ray & Cheri Archibald
600 S Wilson
Oakley, Id 83346

Germany has all they need!

Wow, it is time already to once again send Project Rudolph bags for Christmas!! whew, that was a fast year!!

We are already getting phone calls from around the state AND the nation asking about Project Rudolph! We have a date set for our Bagging activity …NOV 20th…. from 5-8 at the Burley Jr High School. All items need to be donated by Nov 10 so we can process and organize them to be used at that activity.

We received a sizeable donation from Wal-Mart and with other donations that have come through we are down to only needing abt $500 more!!!

We are low on ornaments and so we are encouraging people to purchase or make ornaments for us to use. Guidelines can be found on our website – CLICK HERE.

I need some volunteers to help at the bagging activity. If you are able to come and donate some time to help out, please let me know!!

I am also needing some youth to run a candy drive for me. it would be great for a scout troop or youth group to do!!! Contact me and I’ll give you some details. Again, guidelines are here on the website.

Donations tubs are in place at DL Evans, PMT, and The Book Plaza.

Spread the word for us and let’s have a successful year. Our goal is 15,000 bags total. Last year Germany did more the WE did!!!!

Any questions…..just ask!!!

Thanks!!

Cheri Archibald

Click to see the video on Facebook!

Abrey Adams Photography is teaming up with Project Rudolph to provide an opportunity for you to serve during the holidays AND get a FREE Photo with Santa during our “Santa In The Studio” event!!

[Please watch the video for more details]
Abrey Adams Photography and Project Rudolph are asking you and your families to write a minimum of ONLY 15 Letters to a Service Member expressing your support and appreciation for their service. These letters along with thousands of others will be shipped overseas in decorated Christmas bags to bring some Holiday warmth to them while they are away from their families during the holidays.

[Letters have guidelines so PLEASE watch the video OR visit http://www.projectrudolph.org/letters.html]

Bring your 15 letters (or more) to the studio between November 25th to December 5th in a manilla envelope and leave them in the Project Rudolph Drop Box. Be sure to include the following information for the studio so we can mark you down for your FREE Photo:
Your Name, Telephone Number, & The Day you would like to come into the studio during our event. [The options are December 16th or 17th Between 5pm & 7pm both days]

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below (on Facebook) OR email her at abrey@abreyadamsphoto.com

“Serve THOSE Who Serve US!!!! Merry Christmas everyone!!!

We now have a definite date for our annual Bagging Assembly night at the Burley Junior High School. It will be Nov 16 from 5-8pm. Bring your youth group, scout troop, neighbors and anyone else to come spend some time putting together Christmas bags for our deployed service men and women.

Know anyone that needs service hours?????? This is a good time to get some time in!!!

Here is a list of our current numbers. Remember our goal is for 10,000 of each item from the states:

Decorated bags……… 9,712
Ornaments…………….3,952
Child letters ……………..587
Youth letters…………..2,123
Adult letters……………1,322
Candy canes…………13,500

Still have a ways to go!!!!

Thanks for all the donations that have come in so far!!

We start shipping right after Thanksgiving through the first week of December. Please send your donations in as soon as possible so we can get the processed and ready to bag!!!

Ray & Cheri Archibald
Project Rudolph
600 S Wilson
Oakley, Id 83346

Good Morning everyone!!!

I thought I’d let you know how Project Rudolph is coming along. We always worry at this point whether or not things are really going to happen, but we have learned that to our surprise, many people are working on Project Rudolph without our knowledge. It is not until packages arrive in the mail that we have any idea as to how wide spread Project Rudolph has become.

Just this month a small article was included on the inside back cover of Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts Magazine – Holiday 2011!!! YEAH!! A prospective Eagle Scout called from California with several well thought out questions as he wants to do this for his Eagle Scout Project. Several packages have been received from Minnesota where a woman headed up a project with an area school, scout group, and friends ….with a sizeable cash donation!!! Germany received several boxes from Rhode Island craft group full of wonderfully painted wooden ornaments.

Our monetary donations are way down this year and our concern as to whether or not we will be able to cover our expenses grows. Our Germany groups has the same problem. Does that speak to our economy or what!?!?!

These are our current numbers of item on hand, ready to go!!! Remember, our goal for the states is 10,000 of each item!!!

Decorated bags…………………9,694
Ornaments……………………….2,790
Child letters/cards………………..432
Youth letters/cards……………..1,599
Adult letters/cards………………..941
Candy canes…………………….3,500
Candy……………………………..???? (Haven’t counted but we need MUCH more!!!!)

As you can see, we don’t need any more bags. I know that a local school has over 1,000 more for us. We won’t turn any down they will just be stored until next year.

Realize that the difference between an youth letter and an adult letter is all about the content, not the age of the writer. A letter that is at least 4 lines long expressing sincere appreciation and well wishes is considered an adult letter , no matter what the age of the writer!! A one or two line inscription in a Christmas card is a youth letter. I encourage helpers to write another note on the opposite side of the card and can then put it in the “adult” tub. We feel that our service men and women deserve more than a short “Thank you for your service,. Merry Christmas.” I know that ALL of our writers mean well, and we truly DO appreciate their time and effort.

The ornaments we are getting in are fun to see. Beautifully scrolled wooden ornaments, small knitted mittens and snowflakes, beaded creations, and laminated paper ornaments have been arriving. Please remember to write on the back of each ornament “Project Rudolph – Idaho”, or whatever state it is coming from.

DO NOT WRITE A DATE ON ANYTHING!!!! It is a wonderful idea, and we did this our first two years, but then we started having leftovers and problems . We can not always change a date without messing up the item, so we found it best to have undated materials that can then be used at a later time.

We want to thank all of you for your support!!! We couldn’t do this without your help!!!
Please share our website and facebook pages with your friends and groups as you can see we are far from our goals!!!! Project Rudolph USA and Project Rudolph Germany are the Facebook pages.

Sincerely,
Ray and Cheri Archibald
600 S. Wilson
Oakley, ID 83346
208 862 3883
208 300 0197

YEAH!!!!

Our Project Rudolph yard sale was a HUGE success bringing in over $1,500.00 !!!!!!! Now to bring in about that much more!!!!! I have now shipped out 6 big boxes of items for our service men and women that have been waiting for the money to do it with!!!! It has also cleared up a lot of space in my 5th wheel trailer (Project Rudolph headquarters) so I can move now!!! It’ll soon fill up again as we receive items in the mail for Christmas.

I see boxes of Christmas cards in the Dollar stores now. I purchased 20 boxes of 20 cards each in hopes of getting them passed around for people to write in. If you have a break room at your place of business, place a box of cards on a table with a note so fellow employees can write a short note in a card during lunch their break!! (At least three sentences!!!) Guidelines can be found here on our website.

I also notice craft magazines are coming out now with several ideas for home made ornaments. Remember that PR ornaments should be between 1″- 5″ in diameter and pretty sturdy. We don’t want them breaking during the shipping process. Stay away from “foamies” as they frequently end up in a large unusable mass due to the glue melting. Cute…but not real workable for us. Write on each ornament, or on an attached tag, ‘Project Rudolph” and then the state from which it is coming from. (I have written on many of mine: Idaho loves you! Project Rudolph

LOTS of candy is needed for Project Rudolph bags. A small amount, perhaps 8 pieces, is placed in each bag. That adds up to quite a bit when we are talking of doing 15,000 bags!!!! Remember that candies need to be individually wrapped with NO Halloween logos on the wrapper. Holding a Candy Drive is a GREAT project for scout troops, youth groups, and school clubs. Ask me for details!!!

We are getting busy, busy!! Ray is driving truck in the harvest, and so the bulk of things fall on my shoulders at this time. I have been sending out mailers, printing out labels and other papers needed, and tagging ornaments, and adhering return address labels on letters and cards. Let me know if you would like to be of help and I will make a list and keep you posted!!!!

Thanks everyone for your help in previous years, and for your continued interest in Project Rudolph!!!

Sincerely,
Cheri Archibald
208-300-0066
208-862-3883
600 S. Wilson
Oakley, ID 83346

If you live in the Magic Valley area, please mark Sept 17th on your calendar. We will be holding a yard sale at the Lynch Oil parking lot on North Overland, South of Bonanza motors and across from Standard Plumbing!! We are accepting donated items to sell now and will be accepting Baked goods throughout the day on the 17th. Sale begins at 7:00 AM. Contact Ashley Hull or Cheri Archibald to drop off donations. Modern Woodmen will be matching up to $500.00!!! YEAH!!!!

We need your help in gathering donated items for the sale. If you have something laying around that is in good condition, but not used any more, think about donating it for this cause!!!

Spread the word and let’s have a great event!!!

Ashley Hull will be our Burley contact person and is helping to spearhead this activity.

If you don’t live in this area, feel welcome to hold such an event in your own area!!!!!!!

Thanks!!!

Cheri Archibald

Hi everyone!!!!

I’m just passing the word along…it seems that the big craft stores, like Michael’s and Robert’s have their ornament and ornament kits marked WAY down right now………13 cents a piece at our store!! We are coming up short in the ornament department for Project Rudolph. We’re getting in too many that can’t be used due to being too large, or too small in size and or made from flimsy materials like paper and thin foam.. If you have a chance, check out your local craft stores for some great bargains!!!

They can be sent to us as is, or you can use groups in your own area to finish the ornaments and have them ready for use. Lots of people are looking for service projects throughout the winter months!! Please try to write on the back of each one “Project Rudolph” and the state it is coming from, or add a tag to each one.

I am currently saving the tops and bottoms of vegetable cans and such that I use. My can opener opens from the side of the can and so the lids come out without a sharp edge. I will be able to use these to paint on or to decorate in some other way for use as ornaments. Frozen juice can lids are great for these too!! A little tole painting or a bit of glued on card cutouts and a decorative touch of glitter…..we’ll see…….

Any crafting clubs out there need a project??? Painting clubs??? Woodworking clubs???? Crocheting or quilting clubs??? School Art or shop projects???? Anyone do beading?? Vinyl or laser cutouts???? Help me spread the word about the need for ornaments. Feel free to direct people to our website for information they may need. I don’t want to wait until Fall to get things in motion, there just isn’t time as we need everything turned in and ready to deliver by Thanksgiving!!

Good Luck!!!

Cheri Archibald
Stateside Coordinator
Project Rudolph

Gallery of new photos added to the PHOTOS page here on the site. Check them out!