Dear Friends & Family~

The holiday season is upon us and I'm asking for your help with our 4th annual fundraiser for our Christmas project called the G.I.V.E. project- 'Giving Individuals Valuable Esteem' The purpose is to help the students at the Day Reporting Center (those actively enrolled in the GED program) to provide a gift for their child/children and for those who do not have children they may choose 1 significant person in their life they would like to give a gift to. The idea is to encourage the principle of giving and provide an opportunity to experience the benefits of giving. Most do not have any resources to do this on their own and not being able to give a gift to someone for Christmas can affect one's self-esteem especially for parents. The Brian Eddie Foundation will purchase the appropriate gift for each participant and the student is responsible for wrapping their gift and making a card to go with it if they choose.

We also try to give a small gift to each of the students as well. In the past we've been able to give a small gift card for food along with some candy or other token. Through this project we are giving the gift of giving with the hope of creating a domino effect. If you've been privileged to give to others you know the rewards that come with it. There's a special joy that one receives when they give to another and it truly raises a person's spirits and esteem. In the act of giving everyone receives.

Again this year we are selling Christmas wreaths to help raise funds for our project. Our efforts last year were very successful and helped tremendously. This year I plan to enlist the help of the young people I work with to decorate our wreaths. This will open up another opportunity to build self-esteem through working towards self-sufficiency and contributing to the project themselves. My hope is to eventually see this project become completely self-sustaining through our wreath sales while spreading the message of peace and love this holiday season. Understanding that these are tough times for many we are reducing our price. They will be $22 each this year. Most are decorated with the standard Christmas colors accented with gold and silver ribbons and bows. Most have an encouraging word- peace joy hope or some symbol of peace incorporated in them. Special orders for specific colors or different sizes can be taken price may vary depending on needs of the order. All are a standard 18" and will last year after year. They’re great for doors over the fireplace on the front of a desk placed at the cemetery or anywhere else you might want to hang a wreath! Perfect for offices and businesses or as gifts to give to family & friends.

We will also be doing the memorial wreaths again if you want to give a wreath 'in memory of' or 'in honor of' someone. This is usually a 'virtual wreath' and we will send out a special letter letting the recipient know a donation to the project has been given in their memory/honor. Of course you may also purchase an actual wreath for the same purpose and we will include the letter with it.

If you are interested in a wreath as a memorial or to honor someone please send me the information for the letter/card. We will need the name of the person you are acknowledging and the address where to send your announcement. All checks can be made payable to the Brian Eddie Foundation. We are a non-profit 501 ( c ) 3 organization.


Of course we will accept and appreciate any donation. Anything that you can contribute will help us to give the gift of giving. Thank you and may God bless you with his peace this Christmas season!

Peace & Blessings~
Lynda Simmons
Founder/President
Brian Eddie Foundation Inc
www.brianeddiefoundation.org
910-580-6281

*See Memorial/Honor letter below...

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December 1 20xx


Recipient’s Name
Street Address
City State zipcode

A Giving Wreath has been purchased and donated to the Brian Eddie Foundation Christmas G.I.V.E. project (Giving Individuals Valuable Esteem) in memory of (name).
This charitable gift is from the (name of giver)

The G.I.V.E. project helps at risk young people who are working on changing their lives for the better.
The purpose is to help the students at the Day Reporting Center (those actively enrolled in the GED program) to provide a gift for their child/children and for those who do not have children they may choose 1 person significant in their life that they would like to give a gift to. The project encourages a spirit of giving and providing an opportunity to experience the benefits of giving. Most participants do not have resources of their own to purchase gifts and not being able to give a gift to someone for Christmas can affect one's self-esteem especially for parents. The Brian Eddie Foundation will purchase the appropriate gift for each participant and the student is responsible for wrapping their gift and making a card to go with it if they choose. We also try to give a small gift to each of the students as well. Through this project we are giving the gift of giving which helps to create a domino effect. If you've been privileged to give to others you know the rewards that come with it. There's a special joy that one receives when they give to another and it truly raises a person's spirits and esteem. When someone gives everyone receives.

Mei God surround you with his peace and comfort this holiday season.


Peace & Blessings~
Lynda Simmons
Founder/President
Brian Eddie Foundation Inc
www.brianeddiefoundation.org

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share with you a project my foundation is doing that I thought you may be able to pass along for me. Our basketball tournament is this coming weekend and we will be displaying for the first time something we are calling the Puzzle Peaces. It is meant to bring awareness to the problem of violence and bring attention to those who have lost their lives through violence. I will be decorating large puzzle pieces (in a scrapbooking style) for the victims of violence. Each puzzle piece will connect to one another and we plan to continue to build it from there. (like the aids quilt concept) I'll also use some of the puzzle pieces for reporting statistics and other crime facts, victim statistics and other important information to help educate people on the issues each community faces. If you would like to include your loved one and know others who would like to have their loved one to be a part of the puzzle for peace, let me know. Below is a form outlining the information I would need to include on the puzzle piece. If a picture is to be included, it can also be emailed to me and I can print it out. I would need the info by Friday to include in the display on Sat., but since this is an ongoing project, I will be accepting the information at anytime for future use.

Anyone can email me the information and I will create the puzzle peace. There is no charge. We will however have another wall hanging, a clear, vinyl heart with 35 pockets that will hold 5" paper hearts that people may show their support through giving a donation (any amount) and the individual or we will fill out a heart for them and place it in the pocket. The hearts can be the donating person's name or it may be filled in for someone. This will be called our A Peace of My Heart project. This is separate from the Puzzle Peaces however both will be displayed at our tournament. My hope is it will bring about a needed awareness and eventually our puzzle peaces will be displayed in other places and so on.

If you would like more info on the tournament, you can everything on our website- www.brianeddiefoundation.org After the tournament I plan to put pictures up and I will have the puzzle peaces on there for people to view. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to get in touch.

God bless you. Peace & Blessings~
Lynda Simmons
*Brian Colletti's mom

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Puzzle Peaces

Victim’s full name-

________________________________________________

Birthdate- mm/dd/year         Heaven-date- mm/dd/year

Please include anything that you would like included on your puzzle piece such as a nickname, favorite food/sport/color/song/movie etc., special bible verse or quote or saying, anything specific you would like to add- We love you, We miss you, Forever in Our Hearts… (these are just some examples)

*Please keep in mind the area of the puzzle piece is about 8”x 8” with two 2 ¼” circular areas (good spot for picture). We will do our best to include the extra information you provide but also do not want to clutter your puzzle peace.

**If you have more than one family member to be included in the puzzle, please let us know and we will do our best to keep family members connected to one another in the puzzle.

My hope is this project and our combined efforts will help to bring more awareness to a subject most find unpleasant and try to avoid. Violence is a problem in our communities, more specifically it is a social issue among our young people and there is a need to reach out and help to make a difference. One report on violence states young people that ages 14-25 are the most likely to lose their lives to violence, the 2nd leading cause of death among this age group is homicide. Maybe even more alarming is the statistics that state the same age group are the ones committing such violent crimes. This is unacceptable and clearly there’s a problem here. Something has to be done. It starts with awareness of the problem and then hopefully we can find a way to the solution.

God bless you. I pray peace find’s its way to your hearts and your communities.

Living peacefully & loving freely~
Lynda Simmons
Founder/President
Brian Eddie Foundation, Inc
www.brianeddiefoundation.org
910-580-6281

I uploaded a new song for Brian's site.  It's a very appropriate song.  It's called The Servant's Song and it's sung by Giles Blankenship.  He sang this song at Brian's funeral and recently recorded it for his new CD.  It's a beautiful song. 

We are travelers on a journey.  We need to help one another as we journey through life.  We all will have troubles and trials in our lives from time to time and we're meant to help each other walk through those times as we keep our trust in God.  Life is tough and it bewilders me when I see people who seem to make it tougher for someone rather than try to ease their load.  We all have our own burdens to bare and the load can be heavy at times, but when my load is light, I can take on some of someone else's load to help make their journey a little easier.  The amazing thing about that is my load seems to lighten as well!  I know this is because when we reach out to one another, God is in the center of that and he helps us carry our load. 

In short here's what I'm trying to say;

Walk with your brother, not away from him.

Work with your brother, not against him.

Love your brother, don't hate him.

Forgive your brother, stop resenting him.

Respect your brother, don't ridicule him.

Be at peace with your brother, stop fighting.

Reach out to your brother, don't push him away.

Encourage your brother, don't put him down.

Do unto your brother as you would have him do unto you...

I could go on and on with this list, but I think we all know what I'm getting at.  I pray that in this world we will learn to respect our differences and embrace our similarities.  None of us are all that different from anyone else.  We are more alike that we are different.  Open your eyes and seek out the commonality between you and your brother.  Once you begin to do this, the differences will become less and less. 

We are travelers on a journey, fellow pilgrims on the road...

If you would like Gile's new CD or a copy of one of two other CD's, please let me know.  I will be glad to mail one to you.  They are $15 and well worth every dime!  God bless you.

Peace & Love~

Lynda

*Proud mom to Brian Colletti

I only knew Eddie for a short time. Four years to be exact. We were shipmates at Station Oregon Inlet in Nags Head, NC. It only took those short years to know what type of person Eddie was. He was the one you wanted when the SAR alarm rang, he was the one who you wanted by your side when rescuing those in peril. He was also the one who made those long hours in quaters interesting and funny! Eddie always had his seat in the back of the room and it was his for a reason!! I could continue on with the many reasons that made Eddie the type of friend everyone needs, but I do not need to! Everyone who knew him knows a lot more than I do.

In Memory

Denise