High Hopes and Community Involvement

Forgive my sporadic posting, please....I'm still adjusting to having a blog to keep up. I'll get better at it, I hope.

I'd like to take a quick minute here and talk about what's happening next week, the Saturday before Easter specifically. WFS is having an Easter-themed coloring contest for the children of Altadena (well, actually, it's a raffle, because all the kids are winners in our book) that culminates Saturday the 22nd of this month. We're very excited to announce that the winning names, of which there will be 3, will be drawn by none other than the Easter Bunny himself. How fun will this be for your young ones? Bring 'em on in, there'll be wonderful Easter baskets for the prize winners and no child will leave empty handed......don't forget your cameras, either, 'cause you'll definately want to get a picture of your cutie and Mr. Bunny!

After you enjoy the Easter fun, you can browse our store.....you might notice the banner hung by our office windows above the cash station. This banner is announcing that 25% of our sales for the entire day on the 22nd will be donated to the Bright Future Scholars for the benefit of Antwan Havard. The Bright Future Scholars are a group of middle and high school high-acheivers under the wing of Dr. Sandra Thomas, Altadena's current Citizen of the Year. Being part of this highly respected group allows a child to expand their educational horizons, exposing them to real-life studies of current events that will contribute to shaping their lives. To that end, they are planning a Spring Retreat in Washington, D.C., this April. Each child needs $2,000.00 to cover their expenses for this important trip, and Antwan was anticipating going with everyone when April rolled around.....but the unthinkable happened and his grandmother passed away. Money that was earmarked toward Antwan's trip had to be used to honor is grandmother's memory, and because of that, his long-awaited trip is in jeoprady. One of my associates, Leilana, knows Antwan and his family very well and brought me a letter Antwan wrote requesting help getting to Washington, D.C. with the Bright Futures Scholars. What could I do, I thought, to help this child take this trip to our nation's capitol? I'd just been at the Chamber of Commerce dinner honoring Dr. Thomas and was so impressed with her accomplishments and moreso by the obvious pride she takes in "her kids", who were there in numbers supporting and cheering her on. I told her that evening that I'd love to do something to help.....this, I thought, is the perfect time to begin doing something. Webster's has been a presence in Altadena for well over 80 years and I believe that we should use that presence to help our community and its most valuable assets.....the children. So come by on Saturday.....don't feel pressured to buy anything, but all of us would sure appreciate it if you did.....you could just leave a donation for Antwan with one of us, if you'd rather.

Where We're At Now, Con't

Along with the childrens' books, we also offer a large selection of educational (and fun!) toys, games, puzzles and blocks. We proudly feature toys from Melissa & Doug and although their line of toys is mainly manufactured in China, their testing standards exceed those of any large toymaker. Their toys are tested 3 times....once after manufacture, once after being loaded on the transport ships and again after docking at their destination. The trouble we've been hearing about with tainted paint, etc., is that larger companies subcontract out the inspection jobs so it's more difficult to coordinate and control. Melissa & Doug performs their own inspections and testing so they can be assured that all their toys are safe. These are quality toys at a very reasonable price point. We also carry learning aids such as school workbooks by subject and flashcards.....we even have workbooks in Spanish and flashcards in Spanish and French. We also believe that raising children with integrity, manners and good citizenship is important, so you'll find things that will help with that, too. We have the cutest Good Habits chart that you can hang on a wall at home to keep record of how your child is progressing....we have Good Manners and Good Citizenship flashcards, too.

So enough about the kids' stuff and on to what lies in store for the Easter Holiday. Check out the pictures above.....come in and browse, share a cup of gourmet coffee or tea and have a sample of our wonderful chocolate, we'd love to see you!