Blake saw an ad posted by a local family needing a walker for their mother who has been in and out of the hospital the last few months, he called and told them about the foundation and that we would like to donate a walker to them and gave the man my number. I got a call this morning and this afternoon was able to deliver a wheelchair, and 2 different walkers to them. Being out of work and worried about their loved one's safety and health, little things like this are hard to deal with. I was really proud of Blake for answering the call and grateful that we as a foundation could fill a need for another family. We want them to know we wish them luck and pray she will be doing much better soon! 
 
 
When news of the earthquakes in Haiti came, we as the whole world watched in horror as we saw the devastation there. Our hearts went out to the people of Haiti and all of us wanted to do something to help. We looked into a few things and quickly realized it would be difficult to accomplish. Just last week one of our new team members Skyler Crump, decided to do his eagle scout project to gather items for Haiti! A friend of his father's has a private jet that was planning to leave on the 11th with humanitarian aid! Skyler contacted T.J. and Jake and asked if the foundation could help! We were all so excited! We made up a flyer and delivered 200 of them. We called friends and neighbors and sent out emails! We made a trip to our FOH storage unit and brought home bags and bags of clothing items that have been donated to us! For the last 5 days we have been going through bags and boxes, separating clothes, and boxing items to send! Last night we finished! We are sending 14 boxes of clothing, 1 box of sandals, 1 box of 147 cloth diapers, 6 boxes packed with over 100 blankets, and 5 tents!! All of this will be delivered to an orphanage and those living close by, about 40 min. from the city of Port O Prince. We would like to thank all of those who donated items to this cause and thank Skyler for including us in his project and allowing us to help these children and families in Haiti! 
 
A few changes 02/10/2010
 
As a foundation we have made a few changes. We want everyone to be aware of those. A board of directors has been added to help the boys with planning and finances. As parents we want to support them all in their goals with the foundation! Blake (President) and A.J. (V.P) are working very hard at school and are in the running to win the state debate competition! If they do win and make it to Nationals this spring it could mean a full scholarship for each of them! They are working long, hard hours toward this goal and we are committed to taking some of the "busy" work off of their plates for a while to help them succeed! The other boys are also working hard at school to maintain their grades and set an example of the importance of education,we are so proud of all of them! This in NO WAY changes the foundation our its goals in the future. This is a foundation run by teens and they are the ones doing the bulk of the work toward goals. We have merely stepped in (officially) to help out and give them the support they need to succeed! We have recently added several new members and will continue to update you. We want to tell the boys how proud we are of all of them and let Blake and A.J. know we will do our best to help them in any way! We love you all! Mom, Dad & Kara
 
 
What an amazing experience we all had this week! We were contacted by 2 family friends about helping some families out for Christmas. As a foundation we decided that this falls right in with our mission statement and helping the children of the world! As a group the guys all got together and went shopping! After going through donated items and our trip to Wal-mart we were able to put together a huge Christmas surprise for 3 families! Each child received several outfits, socks and undies, and their Christmas wish lists were filled, with extra surprise presents to boot! 
Two of the families lived about 15 min. from us and we went as a group to deliver the gifts to them, the little kids were adorable and their eyes were huge as they watched us walk in with brightly wrapped gifts!
 The last family was about a 2 hour drive away. It was snowing hard and we had to drive through a canyon to get there, but as we were on our way, the weather cleared long enough for us to make it! This beautiful little girl sat shyly on a chair in the front room, while her mother stood by and talked with us, tears streaming down her face. Both parents recently lost their jobs. As a group we gave her an Elmo live doll and Ellie of course jumped up on the chair with her and "helped" her, showing her how it worked! It was a great experience! The best part: As we loaded back into the truck to head on our 2 hour drive home we looked up to the 2nd story window..that shy little girl was standing in the window with a huge smile on her face, waving and blowing kisses to us! One of the boys commented "That made my year!" Indeed the whole experience was life changing! We plan to help additional local families during the holidays in the years to come! 
 
 
Quota season, its out the window and we're back to the drawing board. A new system is being created that will allow each member to make their way up the rankings through acts of service, funds raised, and materials gathered. Once the last step is completed, said person is garaunteed travel to Guatemala in 2010. Our goals have changed completely (read the home page) and our mindsets are 10 times as positive and productive. Our team is now buckling down and making the changes we needed made. We're ready.
 
Just an update. 08/07/2009
 
We have been doing some random fundraisers here and there but summer has come and gone pretty fast. Dealing with legitimizing the organization and spreading the word have consumed a lot of time and we are behind on cash goals. However, we are happy and confident with where we are at right now and nobody is showing any signs of letting up. The school year means tighter schedules and more serious attitudes. We'll see what it brings. E-mail us so you can find ways to help out:

getinvolved@four-of-hearts.com
 
Quota Season 06/29/2009
 

It's coming up fast and I'm not sure if we can handle it...We have a lot of dedicated people but with our goals we need a lot more. Quota season will get us on track and everything is hopefully going to start running a lot smoother. Moeny is ok right now but I feel like we are behind. We will get everything organized and start taking the bull by the horns.

 
A new face 06/05/2009
 

A.J. Roennebeck recently joined our team and is already earning his way in the ranks. He was the first individual to successfully put out a collection box for our organization (he put out four in one day) and he is 100% dedicated to our cause 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A.J. will be representing The Four of Hearts Foundation as the organizations Vice President under Blake Kirkpatrick and he is expected to do great things during his time as a leader of the team.

 
 

A lot has changed in the past couple weeks. We have officially put out our first collection boxes at two Arctic Circle locations in West Jordan, Utah (a special thanks to them.), and we have set up our new policy and quota system that will begin on the mark of 365 days. Each team member will be expected to raise a specific amount of funds weekly according to an equation that will help us raise $50,000.00 cash to take with us to Guatemala. A new code of ethics has been set up for the company and will take effect upon the signing of a contract by each team member. As an organization with high morals and standards, we strive to keep individuals from engaging themselves in harmful activities or going behind their parents backs. In saying that, all team members are now required to take home a parental consent form allowing them to join the team. Thanks for reading.

 
Children... 05/04/2009
 

Wow. Inspiring, motivating, the light at the end of the tunnel. Moving, touching, heart whrenching even. Kids..helping kids, when their parents wouldn't. We knocked door to door, asking for donations. On a few occasions, the parents would begin to say no, when the child, standing next to them at the door, would either get mad, telling their parent to donate, or run and grab change themselves, holding up one finger and saying "one sec., ill be right back" one little girl said, "dad, dont you care about the kids that are poor?" leading to her fathers donation of a couple dollars. One childs mom, clearly sad that she didn't have change on her, was surprised when her son ran to his room and grabbed his only money, a two dollar bill, the only one we recieved the whole time. It seems the kids are the most interested in what we are doing, and we love that. We hope we can inspire them to make a difference in the world and not give in to this fast paced, winner-take-all society. A special thanks to the little boy who shattered his piggy bank and handed me the little change he had with a smile.