Pledge 2 Protect!

Pledge 2 Protect is a proposal to stop genocide before it begins. Please take a few seconds to sign the pledge and be one of 1,000 Harry Potter fans standing up against genocide.

Step 1: Go to ipledge2protect.org.
Step 2: Click on "add name" and start typing your name.
Step 3: As you type your name, a new field appears that asks if you want to send a personal message. Please type "HPA" - that way it can be counted as part of 1,000 Harry Potter fans against genocide.

This is such a quick, easy task, but it is so important! Please take a few seconds to participate. If you have already signed the pledge, please encourage your family and friends to do the same.
-Danielle

December Meeting Recap

Our December meeting was last night, and here is a recap of some of the things that we talked about:

Holiday Cards - We signed cards for the Red Cross' Holiday Mail for Heroes program.

Christmas Cookies - When we were brainstorming ideas for holiday projects, we decided we really wanted to bake cookies. However, since the holiday season is so busy, we will not be able to do this together. This is a project that we will be doing as individuals. We will be baking cookies and donating them locally.

Change Drive - Our change drive for the Harry Potter Alliance's Nine and Three Quarters campaign is going until December 31st. If you would like to make a donation to the HPA, please visit www.thehpalliance.org to do so. You can donate online through PayPal; the HPA also has a PO box if you would rather donate by check.

Genocide - The HPA will be launching a new campaign very soon that deals with genocide prevention.

Magical Acts of Gratitude - This is mainly what we will be focusing on at our January meeting. We will be writing letters / making cards for those we would like to thank.

Charity Walks
Jingle Bell Run/Walk 5K for The Arthritis Foundation - Some of us are hoping to participate in this run/walk on December 13. This event is being held at General Wayne Elementary School, 20 Devon Road, Malvern, PA. For complete details on this event, please visit their website, jbrphilly.kintera.org. This is a dog-friendly event.

Relay for Life - We are hoping to put together a team for Relay for Life. There are several Relays in the area in the spring/early summer. As soon as we definitively decide what we are doing with this, the details will be posted here.

There are some other future projects that we chatted about. As soon as those are a bit more fleshed out, the details will be posted here. Our next meeting will be Sunday January 10. New members are always welcome! If you are interested in getting involved with Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please e-mail danielleg@thehpalliance.org. For more information on the HPA in general, please visit www.thehpalliance.org.
-Danielle

Meeting Reminder

Our next chapter meeting is this Sunday, December 6th. New members are always welcome, so if you are interested in attending, please e-mail danielleg@thehpalliance.org. Our main project this meeting will be holiday cards for the Red Cross' Holiday Mail for Heroes program. There are several other projects that we are going to be chatting about, as well.

For more information about Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please e-mail danielleg@thehpalliance.org. For more on the Harry Potter Alliance in general, please visit, www.thehpalliance.org.

-Danielle

Current Projects

Here is what Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County is working on currently:

Change Drive - Our change drive is still going strong. We are saving our spare change for the HPA's Nine and Three Quarters Campaign. This is going through December.

Holiday Projects - We will be participating in the Red Cross' Holiday Mail for Heroes program. This program collects holiday cards for service people and veterans. We will also be baking cookies for organizations in the area.

Our next meeting is on Sunday December 6. If you are interested in getting involved with DA of Delaware County, please e-mail danielleg@thehpalliance.org. If you would like more information about the Harry Potter Alliance in general, please visit www.thehpalliance.org.

-Danielle

Meeting Reminder

Our next meeting is Sunday November 1. We will be talking about our ongoing projects, as well as chatting about some holiday projects. New members are always welcome! If you have any questions or are interested in getting involved with our chapter, please e-mail danielleg@thehpalliance.org. For more information on the Harry Potter Alliance in general, please visit www.thehpalliance.org.

Update

I have mentioned most of this on here before, but here are the projects that we are working on currently or will be working on in the near future:

Campaign Nine and Three Quarters: This is the Harry Potter Alliance's fundraising campaign. Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County is holding a change drive to contribute to this campaign. We will be tallying up our change in December to make a donation.

We also may be participating in another craft fair with the proceeds going to the HPA. This is still up in the air at the moment, though.

Magical Acts of Kindness: A Magical Act of Kindness is an act of kindness done anonymously. We each did our own thing during MAK week, October 1-8. We made cards for a local nursing home. Also, we are collecting things for refugees, such as warm clothing and household items.

NaNoWriMo: November is National Novel Writing Month. A few of us will be participating in this. Participants are challenged to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. For more information on this or to register for Nanowrimo, please visit www.nanowrimo.org.

Our next chapter meeting is on November 1. New members are always welcome! If you would like more information about Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please e-mail danielleg@thehpalliance.org. For more information on the HPA in general, please visit www.thehpalliance.org.

-Danielle

Craft Fair Results

Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County participated in a craft fair at Marple Christian Church today. The weather didn't exactly cooperate, but some brave shoppers ventured out for us. Through our craft sales, we were able to raise money for Standfast, which is awesome!

Our next meeting will be on Sunday November 1. New members are always welcome! Please e-mail danielleg@thehpalliance.org if you would like more information relating to Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County. For more information on the Harry Potter Alliance in general, please visit www.thehpalliance.org.

Craft Fair Reminder

Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County will be participating in a craft fair this Saturday, October 17. The craft fair is from 9am - 4pm. It is sponsored by Marple Christian Church, 475 Lawrence Road, Broomall, PA 19008. Dumbledore's Army will be selling a variety of items, including pillows, scarves, bookscarves, holiday decorations, and dog cookies. We are doing this for a great cause; we are using this to raise money for Standfast! If you are in the area, we hope to see you there!

If you are interested in getting involved with Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please e-mail danielleg@thehpalliance.org. New members are always welcome! If you would like more information about the Harry Potter Alliance in general, please visit www.thehpalliance.org.

-Danielle

Coming Up This Week...

There are a few exciting things going on with the Harry Potter Alliance and our chapter this week!

Live DA Meeting on uStream: The HPA will be holding a live DA meeting (podcast) on uStream this Wednesday evening. The meeting starts at 8:30pm, and you can listen to it here:

www.ustream.tv/channel/pottercast

The DA meetings are always interesting, informative, and encouraging. If you can't listen live, the podcasts are usually released on iTunes afterwards.

Magical Acts of Kindness Week: This is taking place from October 1 - October 7. Our chapter members will be participating in MAK as individuals during that week. Then we plan on doing some group projects to celebrate MAK later in October / early November. For the rules and guidelines of MAK, you can check out the MAK website at:

www.thehpalliance.org/magical-acts-of-kindness

Johnny's Walk for Life: A few of our chapter members will be participating in Johnny's Walk for Life on Sunday October 4th. The walk is being held in memory of Johnny Williamson and is raising money for A Baby's Breath, a crisis pregnancy center located in Bryn Mawr, PA. If you have any questions about this walk, please contact the Race Director, Marybeth Toscani, at Marybeth99@comcast.net.

That is what is have coming up this week, and October looks like it is going to be a busy month! If you would like more information or are interested in getting involved with Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please e-mail danielleg@thehpalliance.org. (New members are always welcome!) For more information about the HPA in general, please visit www.thehpalliance.org.

-Danielle

Nine and Three Quarters / Magical Acts of Kindness

At our meeting this past Sunday, we discussed two of the Harry Potter Alliance's campaigns: Campaign Nine and Three Quarters and Magical Acts of Kindness.

The Nine and Three Quarters campaign is about fundraising for the Harry Potter Alliance to keep the organization going. To participate in this campaign, Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County will be holding a change drive. We will be saving our loose change and tallying it up in December.

Magical Acts of Kindness is about anonymously doing kind things for others in an effort to make our world more magical. Magical Acts of Kindness Week is October 1-7. We are all going to be doing small things as individuals during that week. Then we will be doing a group MAK project in late October / November. We are going to be collecting various items for refugees. We also had a few other ideas, but those still need to be finalized.

New members are always welcome! If you are interested in meeting some of our members and learning about our chapter of the HPA, you have two chances to do so in the upcoming weeks:

October 17th - We are participating in a craft fair at Marple Christian Church, which is located at 475 Lawrence Road, Broomall, PA 19008. We have been making crafts to sell at this fair, and we will be donating our proceeds to Standfast. The craft fair is from 9am - 4pm.

November meeting - Our November meeting will be on the evening of Sunday November 1st. For details, please e-mail danielleg@thehpalliance.org.

Please feel free to e-mail me at danielleg@thehpalliance.org if you have any questions regarding Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County. For more information about the HPA in general, please visit www.thehpalliance.org.

Craft Pictures / Meeting Reminder

We are going to be participating in a craft fair in a little over a month. We are making a variety of crafts to sell, and here are a few examples. Some house bookscarves and scarves, as well as some pillows:

The craft fair is being hosted by Marple Christian Church, 475 Lawrence Road, Broomall, PA 19008. It is on Saturday October 17, 9am to 4 pm. Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County will be using this to raise money for Standfast. If you are in the area, we hope to see you there!

Our next meeting is on Sunday September 20th. We are collecting towels and blankets for the SPCA, so if you have any old towels or blankets, please bring them to the meeting. We will be discussing details for the upcoming craft fair. We also will be talking about Campaign Nine and Three Quarters and Magical Acts of Kindness. New members are always welcome! If you would like to attend the meeting, please e-mail danielletgillen@hotmail.com.

If you would like more information about Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please e-mail danielletgillen@hotmail.com. For more information about the Harry Potter Alliance in general, please visit www.thehpalliance.org.

-Danielle

Upcoming Projects

We had a really good meeting the other day, and we have several projects coming up! Here is a little bit about each one:

Collecting towels and blankets for the SPCA. We are digging the old towels and blankets out of our closets and donating them to the SPCA. Hagrid would be appreciate our helping animals.

Johnny's Run for Life. This is a run to benefit Baby's Breath, a crisis pregnancy center in Bryn Mawr. It is being held in honor of Johnny Williamson, a Drexel University student who passed away last winter. The run is at Wilson Farm Park, 500 Lee Road, Wayne, PA 19087. It is on Sunday October 4th. There is a 1 mile fun run/walk at 9am and a 5K run at 9:30am. The registration fee is $20 in advance/ $25 day of the race and $10 for students. Some of us will be running or walking in this event. If you would like to participate, please contact Marybeth Toscani, Race Director, at Marybeth99@comcast.net or call 610-724-3031.

Craft fair. We are making various crafts to be sold on Saturday October 17th. The craft fair is sponsored by Marple Christian Church, 475 Lawrence Road, Broomall, PA 19008. It is from 9am to 4pm. We are donating our proceeds to Standfast to aid those affected by genocide.

Campaign Nine and Three Quarters. Last week, the Harry Potter Alliance launched a fundraising campaign called campaign nine and three quarters. We would like to do what we can to help with this campaign. The details need to be ironed out, but we may be doing something Halloween-themed for this.

Nanowrimo. Some of us will be expressing our creativity and breaking out of the Muggle Mindset by participating in Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month). Nanowrimo takes place in November and gives participants the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. For more information on Nanowrimo, please visit www.nanowrimo.org.

We would also like to hold a sock drive, as well as a book drive, in the future. We hope to have a Christmas-themed project in a few months.

Our next meeting will be on the evening of Sunday September 20th. If you are interested in attending, please e-mail danielletgillen@hotmail.com for the details. New members are always welcome!

If you would like to get involved with Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please e-mail danielletgillen@hotmail.com. If you would like more information about the Harry Potter Alliance in general, please visit www.thehpalliance.org.
-Danielle

Meeting Reminder and Craft Fair Update

Our next meeting is Sunday evening, August 23rd. If you are interested in attending, please e-mail danielletgillen@hotmail.com. We will be doing some brainstorming and planning for the upcoming school year. Hope to see you there!

We have some more details on the craft fair that we have been working on. We have rented a space at Marple Christian Church's craft fair, which is going to be held on Saturday, October 17th. Marple Christian Church is located at 475 Lawrence Road in Broomall, and the fair is from 9am - 4pm. Our chapter members have been hard at work on various projects, including scarves, bookscarves, wreaths, and pillows. If you are in the area, please come support our chapter! We are doing this as a fundraiser. While we have not decided 100% on a charity, it will most likely be something related to genocide prevention / intervention. Harry and his crew didn't tolerate genocide by Voldemort, and we are following Harry's example and fighting genocide in our own world! To learn about the other wonderful crafters that will be at the fair, you can visit the craft fair's website: www.marplechristianchurch.org/craftfair.

Again, we would love to see you at our next meeting or at the craft fair! If you are interested in getting involved with Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please e-mail danielletgillen@hotmail.com. If you would like more information about the Harry Potter Alliance in general, please visit www.thehpalliance.org.

More Craft Photos

We are still crafting away for the craft fair that we are planning on participating in. Here are a few more scarves and bookscarves:

If you are interested in getting involved with Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please e-mail danielletgillen@hotmail.com. Our next meeting will be the evening of Sunday August 23rd, and new members are certainly welcome. Just e-mail me for the details. If you would like more information about the Harry Potter Alliance in general, please visit thehpalliance.org.

-Danielle

Next Meeting

Our What Would Dumbledore Do party this afternoon was a success! It was a fun and productive little event. Our next meeting is going to be the evening of Sunday August 23rd. If you are interested in attending, please e-mail danielletgillen@hotmail.com for the details. We will be doing some brainstorming and strategic planning. Hope to see you there!

-Danielle

WWDD Reminder and Craft Update

Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County is hosting a What Would Dumbledore Do party on the afternoon of Saturday, July 25th. If you would like to attend, please e-mail danielletgillen@hotmail.com for the details. It will be fun event, and we would be happy to have you!

We are crafting away! We are going to be participating in a craft fair in the fall, so we have been working on various crafts for that. All of our profits will be going to charity. Here are pictures of a few of the scraves and bookscarves that we have made:

If you are interested in getting involved with Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please e-mail danielletgillen@hotmail.com. If you would like more information about the HPA in general, please visit thehpalliance.org.

-Danielle

What Would Dumbledore Do?

We are having a What Would Dumbledore Do party! It will be the afternoon of Saturday July 25th. There will be discussions, games, food, and fun...all of the spirit of our beloved headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. If you are interested in attending, please e-mail me at danielletgillen@hotmail.com for the details. Hope to see you there!

-Danielle

Huge Craft Project!

We are beginning work on a huge craft project. We will be making a variety of crafts and selling them at a craft fair. The proceeds will be donated to a charity. That's the basic idea. The details are still to be decided. We do not know the location/date of the craft fair yet, but it will most likely be in the late fall/holiday season. We have also not definitively decided on a charity yet. All of these details will be posted here when we find out/decide.

We are just about finished knitting our afghan squares and will be mailing them off shortly. We have been knitting afghan squares for Warm Up America, which gives afghans to those in need. (warmupamerica.org) Thank you again to those who donated materials for our knitting projects! It helped a lot, and we really appreciate it. :)

The campaign that the Harry Potter Alliance is currently focusing on is "What Would Dumbledore Do?" Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County would like to hold an event relating to WWDD and the movie release next month. This is still in the planning stages, and more details will be posted here later. If you are interested in attending, please e-mail me.

If you would like more information about Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please e-mail me at danielletgillen@hotmail.com. If you would like more information about the HPA in general, please visit thehpalliance.org.

Updates on Some Completed Projects

This is just a quick update on some projects that we have wrapped up, as well as a progress report on our ongoing projects. It seems like ages ago now, but we did participate in the Lovers Not Fighters Charity Walk on April 25th. This walk was a lot of fun, and it benefitted the PSPCA's Etana Fund to fight cruelty against animals. Also, we have finished and shipped our hats. We knitted a total of 13 hats for Warm Woolies (warmwoolies.org).

We are still knitting. We are making afghan squares for Warm Up America (warmupamerica.org), and we will most likely ship them off later this summer. As far as other projects, we have several half-ideas, which we will be sharing when they become a bit more fully formed.

If you would like to get involved with Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please feel free to e-mail me at danielletgillen@hotmail.com. If you would like more information about the HPA in general, please visit thehpalliance.org.

-Danielle

Care of Magical Creatures and Accio Books Results

We are going to be participating in an event that ties into Care of Magical Creatures. We will be participating in the Lovers Not Fighters Charity Race on April 25th. This race is being held at Ridley Creek State Park, and it will benefit the PSPCA's Etana Fund to Stop Cruelty Against Animals. There will be a 7k run and a 5k run, as well as a 3k walk. We will be paripicating in the 3k walk, most likely with my dog. If you would like more information about the race, please visit loversnotfighterscharityrace.com for all of the details. I think Hagrid would be proud. :)

The results of Accio Books are in. A total of 13,481 books were donated, which is amazing. Congratulations to Ravenclaw on winning the House Cup! (My own Gryffindor came in a close second.) Congratulations to the Lumos Chapter of Madison, Wisconsin on winning the Chapter Cup! Most importantly, 13,481 books are going to those in need, and that's pretty awesome.

If you would like to get involved with Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please feel free to e-mail me at danielletgillen@hotmail.com. If you would like more information about the HPA in general, please visit thehpalliance.org.

Accio Books Upddate and More

Accio Books, the Harry Potter Alliance's first annual book drive, wrapped up last week, and it was a huge success. While the winners have not been announced yet, everyone in the chapters and in the HPA in general did an awesome job collecting and donating books. Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County donated books locally, as well as to ASYV in Rwanda.

Our MAK knitting projects are still going strong. While this started out as a Lenten project, it looks like it is going to go well past Easter. We want to be able to give some nice big donations, and we are certainly not the fastest knitters. ;)

If you would like to get involved with Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please feel free to e-mail me at danielletgillen@hotmail.com. If you would like more information about the HPA in general, please visit thehpalliance.org.

-Danielle

Clothing Drive Completed and Projects In Progress

Our clothing drive was a big success and is now finished. We donated 20 grocery size bags to the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

We are currently working on Accio Books, the HPA's first book drive. We will be donating some books to ASYV in Rwanda, as well as donating books locally. Here is the collection so far:

We are also doing a Lenten / Magical Acts of Kindness knitting project. Some of us are knitting hats for Warm Woolies:

Others are knitting afghan squares for Warm Up America:
If you live in Delaware County and would like more information about Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please e-mail me at danielletgillen@hotmail.com.

If you would like more information about the Harry Potter Alliance in general, please visit www.thehpalliance.org.

-Danielle

Accio Books!...and other cool stuff

We are in the midst of Accio Books, which kicked off yesterday. Accio Books is the Harry Potter Alliance's first book drive. As fans of Harry Potter and reading in general, literacy is something we care about very much. We will be collecting books and donating them locally.

Our clothing drive is wrapping up. We donated gently used clothing to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. By donating this clothing, we are doing a magical act of kindness by giving to those who need it. We are also decreasing some of our own clutter, which is a good and positive thing.

Lent started last Wednesday, so I have started my Lenten knitting project. I am knitting hats to donate to Warm Woolies (warmwoolies.org). I've been told that other members of the chapter are knitting afghan squares for Warm Up America (warmupamerica.org), but I've not seen any evidence of this...yet.

If you live in or near Delaware County and would like to get involved with Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please e-mail me at danielletgillen@hotmail.com.

If you would like more information about Accio Books and the Harry Potter Alliance in general, please visit thehpalliance.org.

In Progress...

Our current project is a Magical Act of Kindness. We are working on a clothing drive.

Some projects we would like to work on in the future:
-a book drive
-more Magical Acts of Kindness
-something relating to "No New Stuff"

If you live in Delaware County, PA and would like more information about Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please e-mail danielletgillen@hotmail.com.

If you would like more information on the Harry Potter Alliance in general, please visit thehpalliance.org.

-Danielle

1-800-GENOCIDE

Please call 1-800-GENOCIDE today.

Today members of STAND and the Harry Potter Alliance are calling their state representatives to let them know that we care about Darfur. The members of Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County have all made this phone call today, and we ask that anyone else reading this blog please do so as well. It only takes a few minutes of your time and is totally worth it. If you would like to read more about the Harry Potter Alliance and waking up the world to Darfur, please visit thehpalliance.org.

If you live in Delaware County, PA and would like more information on Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County, please e-mail danielletgillen@hotmail.com.

-Danielle

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Dumbledore's Army of Delaware County has done some awesome projects over the past few months. We raised money for StandFast. We also participated in several community projects. Our favorite was sponsoring a little girl for Christmas through the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program.

Due to lack of interest, it does not look like we will be holding a public interest meeting. However, if you would like to get involved with our chapter, please email danielletgillen@hotmail.com. If you would like more information on the Harry Potter Alliance in general, please visit thehpalliance.org.

-Danielle