Helping Haiti: Lessons in Love, Jewelry and Making a Difference

Never underestimate some cast-off jewelry and a bunch of fourth-grade girls.

This is the story of how trash became treasure and a life-changing moment for some girls in Indiana and in Haiti.

What started as a simple project for our Junior Girl Scout Jeweler Badge became an act of love and a major fundraising effort for scholarships for children at our mission church in Haiti.

Yes, our girls learned about creating unique designs from unwanted necklaces, but they learned more. They learned about how seemingly small efforts can build together and make a difference.

Our assignment? Design a necklace for yourself and one other person (meeting two of our badge requirements, one to make a piece of jewelry, and the other to make one to share.)

I was floored when one girl asked if we could sell them for Haiti. And even more so when the rest of the troop agreed.

What began as a simple scrapbook paper and Modge-Podge project became a whirlwind of activity. Nearly 200 necklaces were created for a sale to benefit our Hearts for Haiti program, which in part provides scholarships for children to attend school.

The girls started with a dream: Raise money for Haiti.

And then it grew.

Inspired by their idea and business lessons from another jewelry company that helps out disenfranchised women in Africa, the troop set pricing, learned about marketing (as in, no we don't need a website for a one-time sale, but there are better ways to spread the word), and set a business goal.

They dreamt big.

It was a reach, but we hoped to sell enough necklaces to raise enough for three scholarships for students in Haiti. Our eye-opening moment: A year's tuition was a mere $300 compared to American standards. 

We didn't quite make the full three scholarships, but we were inspired. And inspired others. Tens and twenties were dropped in the donation jar and as the church service times passed, our goal reached higher....

Four services later, these girls raised more than $700 - allowing for two students to attend school worry-free for a year. We're proud. But we're even prouder of the kids in their class, when the results were announced at school, who want to something too.

Paying It Forward - A Note of Thanks

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. ~Edward Everett Hale

I want to say Thank You. Thank you to each of my readers who've followed our family's journey the last few years. And THANK YOU (large caps intended) for each of you who have helped my in-laws.

Our large medical expenses, coupled with the struggle to keep our children in parochial school, means we have very little left, if anything, at the end of the month. However, our in-laws, who live on a very limited income, have it worse.

Because of YOU - those people who have ever clicked on an Amazonaffiliate link - we were able to replace a needed appliance for them, something that would have been unthinkable to do before.

Thank you. You made a difference.

Meeting Ember Arts: A business lesson from Uganda for our Junior Jeweler badge

Jewelry can be pretty, but it can also have meaning and make a difference. That's the lesson we shared with our Juniors at our last Girl Scout meeting.

The girls have found meaning in their upcycled projects, which we are selling at our church next month to support the much-loved Haiti ministry. Our fourth-graders have been passionate about this cause, which in part supports educating girls such as them, and they are thrilled to take their big idea and see it to completion.

At the same time, I'd gotten a pitch from a company called Ember Arts, which empowers Ugandan women by allowing them to have a jewelry business and a market in the United States. They sold them locally in a shop in Kokomo, Indiana, but also have an online component to their business.

The timing was beyond perfect. We shared with the girls what jewelry looked like from another culture - instead of just showing a picture from the web or in a book. We shared the stories (some sanitized) of the women who were escaping poverty and war and simply wanted a better life for their families. The girls could not wrap their heads around the idea that hard labor could earn a person $1 a day - or that they themselves, had they been born in Uganda, might be sharing the same fate of hard labor instead of schooling.

Their response? "Can we help them too?"

Perhaps in time we can. But for now, we are sticking to learning their lessons and sharing our knowledge with others.

Next week, we begin our "business side" of the fundraiser and learn how to make paper beads similar to what the girls admired at our last meeting. The girls compiled questions for Ember Arts - everything from how the beads are created to how to the business is run. (After all, our girls are going to be marketing their own work and setting prices for their sale.)

I was touched that we got a personal letter back that we're sharing with the girls next week:

Dear Girl Scouts,

Isn’t it fun getting all dressed up and looking pretty? Don’t all young ladies love following fashion trends and wearing all of the latest styles?

Well, I know I do. But did you know that some girls, all around the world, don’t have closets full of the prettiest clothes, and jewelry boxes brimming with accessories? Some girls have barely any clothes at all, and their families struggle to make enough money to pay for things like food, homes, and education.

At Ember Arts, we don’t think it’s ok that only some of us to get to go to school, and wear pretty clothes, and have nice homes, but that other people don’t get to have those things. That’s why we are working hard at creating jobs for women in Uganda, Africa that will enable them to build brighter futures for themselves and their families.

How are we helping these women in Uganda? Well, Ember Arts gives women jobs crafting beautiful handmade jewelry. We buy the jewelry from the women at a very fair price and then we sell the jewelry to lots of people in the United States.

This business began seven years ago when a man named James took a trip to Uganda and met women who worked in a place called a rock quarry. These women would sit in the hot sun all day long pounding big rocks with a hammer to make smaller rocks and gravel. This was very hard, tiring work, and the women were paid less than $1 a day.

James knew that these women were beautiful and talented and had amazing dreams. All they needed were better jobs that would pay them well.

That’s how Ember Arts started. Now, we employ 28 Ugandan women and a couple of men, and together they make hundreds of pieces of jewelry every month. With the money they make from Ember Arts, they are now able to buy clothes and food, to live in nice homes, to send their children to school, and to pursue dreams like starting their own businesses and going to college.

The jewelry these women make is really unique and special. Every piece is made by hand using recycled paper. We also use other materials like wood, seeds from trees, and glass beads the women buy from the market, but the paper beads are definitely the highlight of every piece of jewelry. The women cut pieces of paper into very skinny, long strips and then they roll up those strips into circles, ovals, or cylinders, and then they cover the paper with something like glue. As you can probably imagine, every bead takes a long time to make, but the women now have lots of practice and can make the jewelry very efficiently. About every two months, the women ship hundreds of pieces of jewelry in big boxes to the United States where they are sold.

Every piece of jewelry is very unique and some of them are very complex designs. The women who make the jewelry get most of their ideas for designs from a woman named Emily. Emily used to live in California and worked as an artist. She now lives in Uganda and spends all of her days helping people pursue their dreams and teaching them artistic skills.

Apart from Emily and the 28 women who make our jewelry, we have a staff of eight people here in the United States who do all of the work that it takes to actually sell the jewelry. We do everything from attaching tags to the jewelry, to updating our website, to making lots of phone calls to stores. We sell most of the jewelry wholesale, which means we work with big stores, and sell them a lot of jewelry at one time at a cheap price, and then they usually raise that price and sell the jewelry in their own store. Each piece of jewelry has a different price, and that price is determined by how the piece was made, what it was made out of, how long it took to make, and how popular it is with consumers. Basically you just have to put a lot of thought into how much you want to price your jewelry and you also have to be willing to work through trial and error to see what works best.

I think it is so admirable that you all are venturing on your own projects with making jewelry and supporting other people. How blessed your ministry in Haiti is going to be because of your efforts.

Here are a few things that you should never forget while working on your project: even small actions make really big differences in the lives of other people; be as creative, unique, and true to yourself as you can possibly be when it comes to creating your art; know that everyone has a dream, and when you do something nice for someone, raise money for them, give them a gift, or just say nice things to them, you are fueling their dreams and giving them lots of joy and hope.

I wish you the best of luck on your jewelry making project! Thank you for supporting Ember Arts!

Love,

Kimberly and the Ember Arts family

Can a piece of jewelry change the world?

Jewelry to me had always been about frills. An extra layer of stuff (one that admittedly was pretty low on the must-buy list.)

But the last few weeks have made me wonder: Perhaps jewelry can mean a little bit more.

The backstory: My daughter's Girl Scout troop is earning their Jeweler badge. The girls unanimously wanted to earn it, and I admittedly had squirreled away supplies of donations of leftover items the last couple of months.

I introduced the first project, an upcycled necklace, and let them know they could make as many as they wanted, but they could only keep one. Their response: "Could we sell them for Haiti?"

Within an hour we had designed more than 100 upcycled necklaces, which were donated to church for our Hearts for Haiti ministry, a cause dear to these girls.

Some of the upcycled necklaces made by my daughter's Junior Girl Scout troop. Funds from the sale next month go to our church's Hearts for Haiti ministry.

But it didn't stop there. As we later talked about jewelry, what it symbolized and what it was made from, I shared some stories and jewelry from Uganda that I recently received from Ember Arts, a company that works with jewelry artists in Uganda to create upcycled jewelry with paper beads that are just gorgeous. As I shared the story of some of the artists - some of whom used to earn $1 per day in hard work - the girls' response was "Can we help them too?"

Maybe jewelry in itself doesn't change the world. But perhaps the stories behind them can change hearts.

Introducing Light of the World Seed & Tea Co.

I'm proud to say we've planted our own seeds of change.

This morning, my children - inspired by our school and church's commitment to a community in Haiti - announced the formation of their new company: Light of the World Seeds and Tea Co. This local business is proud to offer hand-harvested seeds and loose-leaf peppermint tea as a benefit for the Haiti ministry.

I'm inspired. Inspired that they came up with this idea. Inspired that something as small as leftover seeds could make a difference for families miles and miles away. Even if it's a short-lived effort, I love the love for our fellow man that was behind it.

Right now Light of the World has the following seeds to share for a donation to the Hearts for Haiti Ministry: chive, dill, bok choy, asparagus beans and peas. Cantelope is coming soon (still drying).

If you're interested, please send me an email at goinggreenmama@gmail.com.

Giving and receiving: When your loved one is struggling

"To learn to give, you have to learn to receive," a sister told me years ago.


It is the toughest advice I ever had to swallow but one I think I benefit from each day.

My baby boy was just a baby, my husband was out of work, and the great recession was in its beginnings. Everyone was scared. And so was I.

This was the year that Christmas came from loved ones - and many secret Santas I'm still grateful for. They blessed us with diapers, clothes, toys for the children. I spent that Christmas day in half tears, devastated by the fact we ourselves couldn't provide things for our family. The Kroger gift card - giving us a week's worth of groceries - drove the point home. Never intended, but our situation was too raw.

I learned my "lesson" that year and despite our financial situation tucked away a few things over the year (clearance summer clothes, etc.), determined not to be empty under the tree.

But it took even longer for me to learn the real lesson. Whatever we have - no matter how little - is a gift from God, and we always have the chance to grace others and share blessings.

Here are some ways we've learned to bless others - and some tips for friends and family who are on the "other side" wanting to help:

Blessing When You're Broke

• Time and talent: I always try to remember that in our church they talk about gifts of time, talent and treasure. (Note the treasure is last!) Gifts of time and talent can make such a difference - whether it's donating time to a charitable organization or making an upcycled gift.
  
  In the last few years, while we try to recover from our financial upset, we have redoubled our efforts to help, whether it's at school, scouts or church. Not only does it provide needed volunteer support, but my children will remember that mom and dad were there! Maybe you can't donate to the Angel Tree; can you help wrap gifts or deliver them?
  
  The gift of time is simple too. While I don't do gifts for friends, we do invite them for cookie making - treasured time when everyone is so busy! Or offer to babysit one night for a dear friend.
• Use ExtraBucks wisely. As we don't have a lot of extra money right now, we are very careful in what we can donate. But I have recently realized that ExtraBuck deals can bless others. Now I buy nearly free diapers for our Gabriel Project at church or free foods or medications for the church food pantry. Every bit helps.
• Reach out. I believe people naturally want to help others but sometimes we need to give them the opportunity. A woman at church knew a family whose home burnt. She certainly couldn't help them in all the ways they needed, so she reached out. And we reached out. A few phone calls later and I had not only clothes for one daughter from us but also clothes for a son and decorations for a Christmas tree I had heard was being donated to the family.

Helping Loved Ones Who are Financially Struggling

• Don't be afraid to ask what they need...and gently encourage them to share. Do the kids need new shoes? PJs? Maybe they need diapers (or maybe cloth ones they can reuse?) or gas cards?  Be specific. Saying to let me know if you need anything, or asking what I can do to help may not get you far.
• Help meet emotional needs. While you're not a therapist, even something as simple as movie tickets and an offer to watch the kids for a night can give parents the emotional break from the constant worry of a situation.
• Be practical without feeling"practical." Sure you could buy groceries, but you can also buy a basket of locally made spaghetti sauces, breads and salad dressings (for example) from the winter farmers market or buy a gift certificate to a local produce delivery service. It makes the ordinary - cooking and worrying about feeding the family - feel a bit more decadent.
• Consider experience gifts for the kids. My mother one year bought the kids soccer and dance lessons at the parks department instead of toys. She likely even saved money, but more importantly, the kids felt a little more "normal" and for once weren't turned down when they asked to do an activity.
• Take the focus, if you can, off money. Invite them for a popcorn and Christmas movie night at your house, take them to a free or low-cost Christmas event, go caroling or looking at the Christmas lights, or invite the kids out for an afternoon of sledding.
• Remember, while they appreciate it, it's also hard to receive. Being in a position of constant worry is difficult, and it's hard to learn to receive gracefully.

Gifts that Give Twice (and a giveaway)

Giving a gift always leaves that unanswered question - "Did the person like it? Did it mean anything?"

This year, I'd like you to consider a gift that gives twice. 

One such option is the long-standing World Vision Gift Catalog, which offers more than 30 options for handcrafted items from around the world in addition to opportunities to support causes ranging from nutrition and safe drinking water programs, to poverty relief and community development programs.

The catalog includes hand-crafted gifts (which also include a donation to World Vision), including gifts for foodies, jewelry and scarves, and Christmas ornaments.

We had the opportunity to check out the Prosperity Cinnamon gift box, which includes Vietnam's renowned sweet cinnamon, sold to benefit generations of hard working families. I absolutely love the wooden box, adorned with the symbol or prosperity, and have to say it may be the best cinnamon we have tasted.

A great thing about this cinnamon, beside the taste, is that it comes from a renewable resource - the Cassia tree. Logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices have contributed to soil degradation and deforestation in Vietnam. Other environmental issues include water pollution, overfishing, contaminated potable water supplies, and urbanization.

I invite you to check out the World Vision site for this and other foodie gifts for this holiday season. World Vision is also giving away one Prosperity Cinnamon gift box to one lucky Going Green Mama reader.

You can enter by:

1. Posting below. What gift from the catalog would you most like to give?
2. Tweet about the giveaway. Tag @goinggreenmama1.
3. Pin this giveaway.
4. Like https://www.facebook.com/worldvisionWorld Vision on Facebook.
5. Like Going Green Mama on Facebook. 

We will draw one winner on Dec. 14, and we will contact the winner for World Vision to ship it to you.

World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children, families, and communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. It works in nearly 100 countries, including the United States, through interventions such as nutrition and safe drinking water programs, poverty relief and community development programs, disaster assistance, and more.In 2012, 85 percent of World Vision's total operating expenses were used for programs that benefit children, families, and communities in need. Visit them on Facebook or Twitter.

Disclosure: I did receive a sample from World VIsion, and the organization is providing the giveaway.

The end of the world as I know it

So today ends the last day of "normal," if you believe the Mayan calendar. Funny thing is I'm hoping "normal" comes to a close pretty soon.

Everyone I know has been so wrapped up in the busyness of life - the hassles of work, the commutes, health scares, holiday shopping, school and children's events - that we've almost forgotten to enjoy life. We've been given such a gift in this world: the gift of being able to watch a sunrise, hug your child, hear the wind rustle through trees - yet we too often turn a blind eye to it all.

We're so wrapped up in our own worlds that we forget about our communities. Our local Salvation Army drive is at just 51% of donations needed this year just days before Christmas, and many other charities are begging for support to meet growing needs in our backyards.

But what if today we lived life as if it was the last day on this world? How would it be different?

These past few days I've been more cognizant of that idea - not because of the coming "end of the world" but just because of the uncertainty of life. I couldn't imagine that empty hole at Christmastime without my children by my side, as many Newton families are facing this year.

So I've been a little more focused on living my day as if it was my last. Extending a smile to stranger. Saying a prayer for those who hold signs looking for work along the highway. Remembering that the dishes left on the kitchen table by my husband really aren't the end of the world. Finding ways to share my bounty with  families in need, even if it means nagging my sick husband to fix an outgrown bike so it's ready to be under someone's Christmas tree.

So my challenge to you today: Live today as if it is truly your last. Because every moment matters.

Teamwork and tornadoes

The tornadoes that hit southern Indiana two weeks ago struck too close to home. And I don't mean geographically.

I grew up in Wichita, where tornado sirens blew twice a week in the worst of the season and you didn't really worry until the crazy weather spotters on the radio spotted something on your end of town. I remember clearly the F-5 that hit the suburb of Anderson just before my senior year and how one house, walking distance from my home, was fine, and the next looked stepped on.

I was blessed that when the F-1 hit our one-stoplight town in Kansas in 2001 that it lifted a block from my home. I still remember the train sound, the destruction, the leaves embedded in my plastic lawn chairs and siding. And I remember the little children hysterical in church the next time it stormed.

And of course the former reporter and tornado survivor (a decade ago at work) watched it all unfold on Twitter and the news. And the children were watching.

You forget how much little ones absorb, even when they're playing. So when my daughter wanted to pray for the people in Henryville two days later, I knew we had to do something. Children need to know that they can pray for results, but they also need to know they have the power to make change.

That was when we decided our Daisy Girl Scout troop needed to do something. The funny thing about tornado relief, though, is that organizations aren't equipped immediately to take things. They need food. And water. And shelter. And cleaning supplies. And, ideally, money. All of which would teach the girls nothing, and impose yet another thing for parents to buy.

Several calls and emails later, we found our answer.

Our troop would do a shoe drive, collecting outgrown shoes from our closets for Soles 4 Souls. (As my pastor put it: Kids lose their shoes on a good day!) My hope? Each family could find one pair to donate.

And then it grew. Our church's disaster committee, who I contacted for possible help in donating them, hooked us up with our pastor, who announced it during a sermon on Girl Scout Sunday. (The first-graders were thrilled!) So we made posters and collection boxes. And the word spread.

Each day, I'd tell my daughter: We have 11 more pairs. We have 20 more pairs.

Officially, our drive is over, but a few donations are trickling in. We've easily exceeded 200 pairs of shoes. More than half are going to Osgood, Indiana, with the church disaster committee this weekend. The rest are being shipped to Soles 4 Souls to help other communities in need.

It's an awesome lesson to share with our girls: By yourself you may not be able to do much, but as a team, you can accomplish a lot.

Stretching your holiday giving

Helping others in need is one of the greatest signs of the Christmas season, one that I worry is getting ignored more and more.

So many organizations and people need help. So many in fact, that it seems people turn a blind eye anymore to the "noise" of cries for help.

This year, the first in my decade at my work, my department opted not to adopt a family for Christmas. I know for a few, money was an issue, though with some creative efforts and a small sacrifice of a lunch out, we could have pulled together something for a family in need. It breaks my heart; this was one thing that we truly did as a team, and one that touched little children's lives. How would you explain to your child that he or she was overlooked by Santa on Christmas Day?

The reality is, we all have a lot of gifts to bear. Many of them in our own homes, if we choose to look beyond the clutter, to really look at the unloved toys and things among our excess.

This year, we are still tight on budgets as we are working to rebuild after three years of my husband being out of full-time work. But a little creativity is going to help a single mom of two, who's in college and looking for work, this Christmas.

All in all, I spent $1.25 out of pocket for two little girls. Seriously. Here's how we did it:

• We looked at gifts that were given but never used by our children. That included two PBS-themed plush puppets, two travel Etch-a-sketches that were used once and then ignored, and a stuffed dog from the Grinch.


• We looked at what was outgrown but still in pristine condition. That included two children's cookbooks (a Sesame Street story/cookbook and a duplicate Princess and the Frog cookbook), two stashed-away but unused children's winter plates, a Dora fleece blanket and a stack of outgrown Halloween costumes and dress-ups.


• We looked at our excess. We knew the mom needed many of the basics for everyday living, so we packed a reusable shopping bag with toiletries that we'd bought with register rewards and coupons. We can always watch for future sales and replenish.


• The $1.25? Spent on a pair of cute pants on clearance for the toddler.

What do you have that you are blessing others with this Christmas season?

Santas in shoeboxes

Santa isn’t just a chubby old man with cold feet and a warm heart. In our home, we stress that we are Santas for other people, regardless of time of year.

I never want my children to forget that they have an opportunity, in fact, a duty, to be there for other people and share the resources they’ve been given. And I’ve been humbled time and again how they have held up to their part.

My children offer outgrown shoes to “Haiti” (actually a fundraising sale for a mission there). They offer well-loved toys, even ones they still play with often, to share with others. They proudly share the few coins they have to Faith Filled Fridays at school or other drives. And they are an example to me. One I should pay attention to more.

Each winter, for as long as I can recall, the preschool class at my daughter’s school does a shoebox drive for the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry at our church. I suppose it is much like Operation Christmas Child, only on a much smaller scale.

The children wrap a shoebox (top only or the full box) and include a gently loved toy, book, a few candies, apple and orange, and a note of hope for the holidays. These are distributed to young children in families helped with food baskets and other Christmastime support at the church.

It’s such a simple thing, but I love that it’s grown beyond the preschool, stretching to the Moms group, the Girl Scouts and other volunteers who’ve learned about it. A Santa in a shoebox. That’s what Christmas is about.

When hunger can't wait

It's so easy to dismiss news from across the globe as being a world away. But what if you could do something simple to make a difference in the lives of others? Today, guest blogger Sarah Lenssen from #Ask5for5 shares her ideas on how a few dollars and a few friends can make a big impact:

A hungry child in East Africa can't wait. Her hunger consumes her while we decide if we'll respond and save her life. In Somalia, children are stumbling along for days, even weeks, on dangerous roads and with empty stomachs in search of food and water. Their crops failed for the third year in a row. All their animals died. They lost everything. Thousands are dying along the road before they find help in refugee camps.

At my house, when my three children are hungry, they wait minutes for food, maybe an hour if dinner is approaching. Children affected by the food crisis in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia aren't so lucky. Did you know that the worst drought in 60 years is ravaging whole countries right now, as you read this? Famine, a term not used lightly, has been declared in Somalia. This is the world's first famine in 20 years.12.4 million people are in need of emergency assistance and over 29,000 children have died in the last three months alone. A child is dying every 5 minutes. It it estimated that 750,000 people could die before this famine is over. Take a moment and let that settle in.



The media plays a major role in disasters. They have the power to draw the attention of society to respond--or not. Unfortunately, this horrific disaster has become merely a footnote in most national media outlets. News of the U.S. national debt squabble and the latest celebrity's baby bump dominate headlines. That is why I am thrilled that nearly 150 bloggers from all over the world are joining together today to use the power of social media to make their own headlines; to share the urgent need of the almost forgotten with their blog readers. Humans have the capacity to care deeply for those who are suffering, but in a situation like this when the numbers are too huge to grasp and the people so far away, we often feel like the little we can do will be a drop in the ocean, and don't do anything at all.


When news of the famine first hit the news in late July, I selfishly avoided it. I didn't want to read about it or hear about it because I knew I would feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable. I wanted to protect myself. I knew I would need to do something if I knew what was really happening. You see, this food crisis is personal. I have a 4-year-old son and a 1 yr-old daughter who were adopted from Ethiopia and born in regions now affected by the drought. If my children still lived in their home villages, they would be two of the 12.4 million. My children: extremely hungry and malnourished? Gulp. I think any one of us would do anything we could for our hungry child. But would you do something for another mother's hungry child?


My friend and World Vision staffer, Jon Warren, was recently in Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya--the largest refugee camp in the world with over 400,000 people. He told me the story of Isnino Siyat, 22, a mother who walked for 10 days and nights with her husband, 1 yr-old-baby, Suleiman, and 4 yr.-old son Adan Hussein, fleeing the drought in Somalia. When she arrived at Dadaab, she built the family a shelter with borrowed materials while carrying her baby on her back. Even her dress is borrowed. As she sat in the shelter on her second night in camp she told Jon, "I left because of hunger. It is a very horrible drought which finished both our livestock and our farm." The family lost their 5 cows and 10 goats one by one over 3 months, as grazing lands dried up. "We don't have enough food now...our food is finished. I am really worried about the future of my children and myself if the situation continues."


Will you help a child like Baby Suleiman? Ask5for5 is a dream built upon the belief that you will.



That something I knew I would need to do became a campaign called #Ask5for5 to raise awareness and funds for famine and drought victims. The concept is simple, give $5 and ask five of your friends to give $5, and then they each ask five of their friends to give $5 and so on--in nine generations of 5x5x5...we could raise $2.4 Million! In one month, over 750 people have donated over $25,000! I set up a fundraiser at See Your Impact and 100% of the funds will go to World Vision, an organization that has been fighting hunger in the Horn of Africa for decades and will continue long after this famine has ended. Donations can multiply up to 5 times in impact by government grants to
help provide emergency food, clean water, agricultural support,
healthcare, and other vital assistance to children and families suffering in the Horn.



I need you to help me save lives. It's so so simple; here's what you need to do:

1. Donate $5 or more on this page (http://seeyourimpact.org/members/ask5for5)




2. Send an email to your friends and ask them to join us.




3. Share #Ask5for5 on Facebook and Twitter!

I'm looking for another 100 bloggers to share this post on their blogs throughout Social Media Week. Email me at ask5for5@gmail.com if you're interested in participating this week.



A hungry child doesn't wait. She doesn't wait for us to finish the other things on our to-do list, or get to it next month when we might have a little more money to give. She doesn't wait for us to decide if she's important enough to deserve a response. She will only wait as long as her weakened little body will hold on...please respond now and help save her life. Ask 5 for 5.



Thank you on behalf of all of those who will be helped--you are saving lives and changing history.





p.s. Please don't move on to the next website before you donate and email your friends right now. It only takes 5 minutes and just $5, and if you're life is busy like mine, you probably won't get back to it later. Let's not be a generation that ignores hundreds of thousands of starving people, instead let's leave a legacy of compassion. You have the opportunity to save a life today

Green Phone Booth: A Time of Need

As a parent of a first grader, I've struggled with a balance of staying informed with the news and opening my daughter to the reality of 9/11 and the questions I'm sure will follow. Rather than marking the 10th anniversary beyond what's said at our church on Sunday, we'll quietly remember it in our hearts and follow my child's lead if any questions arise.

One thing that has stuck with me this week is a comment I heard on the radio on turning 9/11 rememberances into a time of forgiveness. Others have talked about a time of prayer or a time of good works. All are remarkable ideas - turning our small sacrifices of a way to remember those who sacrificed their lives on that day.

Today at the Green Phone Booth, I'm reflecting on the anniversary and how it makes life's hassles seem so small. Join the conversation.

Bringing out the blessings

The next phase in my story of stuff....

The summer months are an awkward time when it comes to the accumulation of "stuff." It's a time of compiling - birthday presents, school supplies, new shoes and socks, the right size of uniforms. Not to mention produce to be "processed" for the freezer for the winter, the smattering of seeds drying all over my kitchen and other tell-tale signs of summer.

But this summer, our story of stuff took a somewhat different turn. It was regifting our blessings that have gotten us through the last few years.

I've been reading FlyLady off an d on for a few years, and I admit very little has actually stuck into process (as evidenced by my office.) But the one concept that stuck with me was that our unused items can truly be a blessing for others. Maybe it's the idea of Christian stewardship. Maybe it's because so many helped us in small ways in those three years of immense need. Maybe it's simply time to pass things on.

But doing so means breaking free of worries - and in a sense, letting God take control. What if I get pregnant and need those boxes of baby items stashed in my closet (and surprisingly not yet being climbed on by my precarious three year old)? Then hopefully the right garage sale or hand-me-down will materialize.

What if I don't see that toy again? It's SPECIAL (though unplayed with), my children will cry. That too is mitigated, by sharing with a younger neighbor friend, our daycare, or baby cousin.

But those kind of mindsets take time to change. So slowly, box by box, bag by bag, items have disappeared from my house. Outgrown clothes are boxed by size and put on "sale" - dirt cheap - on our employee classifieds, helping everyone from grandmas now raising their grandkids to foster parents-to-be.

Sets of snowsuits and boots went to a garage sale this weekend, blessing my neighbor with a less expensive winter expense and me with funds to do more damage at the farmers market.

The last of the girl clothes were divided into a box for my sister (wrapped, so she can't return a holiday gift!) Those few items in unneeded sizes went next door to our expectant neighbor.

The cloth baby burp rags and blankets? Being boxed this week for our crisis pregnancy and adoption center.

My well-worn work clothes that I struggle with parting with? Getting picked off, one by one, for Goodwill.

In the end, those things that got us through the tough times might help another through their's. And it's a good feeling.

Bye, bye baby

Thursday I did the unthinkable. I said goodbye to the idea of a newborn. For nearly six years, I've had a crib, baby swings and car seats in my possession. And you don't realize how much space little ones take until you start gathering supplies. But after two years of telling my kids not to play in the infant booster seat or turn on the baby swing, it's time to quit hanging onto the idea of the nebulous infant #3. And the realization that my son is finally over the idea of sleeping in his crib, and he's finally comfortable in his "big boy bed," it was time for me to cut the cord. We loaded up the van and took it to St. Elizabeth's home. It's a surreal feeling knowing all that's left babywise is the changing table (now housing organizing boxes for toys) and some infant/toddler clothes, but even those are getting picked over too. It's like saying you're officially done, even though the winds of fate can change at any minute. But the uncomfortableness of the moment was gone when I arrived and visited with the staff. Saw the reminders of the families they serve on a daily basis. Heard how equipment and baby supplies come out the door as quickly as they arrive. The drop-side crib, which aren't being sold anymore? An improvement over the risk of SIDS from co-sleeping. The infant car seat, which you truly can't resell? Will go to a family so they can take their infant home from the hospital - and legally, they can't discharge until the family has one. It makes you sleep a bit better knowing your things will help another family grow together and create memories...safely.

Impressed

Last night, I shared with my kindergartener, who's very concerned about Haiti, a story about an area church trying to put in a water-filtration system in Haiti that would serve 5,000 or so people. The cost? A mere $5,000. What a simple price tag on life: $1per person to prevent cholera.

I asked her what we could do to help.

Her solution? She is giving up her Thursdays buying lunch at school habit, and we'll share that savings with the church. (Proactively.) I trust she'll stick it out.

We all have gifts to bear

The Christmas season can bring out the best in us, but many of us want to do more, but simply can't.

I know finances can be a strain, and it's tough to see sometimes that there are people out there who have it worse than we do. It can be even tougher to see that our little ways can make a difference.

If you're torn this holiday season about whether you can truly make a difference with what little you have, I ask you to take a few minutes and read this story. Living it really opened my eyes.

Wishing you a happy holiday season,
Robbie @ Going Green Mama

Hungry in America

Wanted to share a great post at Greenest Dollar on hunger in America and the many small ways you can help. Donations to pantries are down everywhere, and the need continues to grow. Please consider helping your fellow neighbor.

GPB: Shoes for other souls

Today at the Green Phone Booth, I'm sharing resources to share your unneeded shoes for other souls. Check it out!

GPB: Cleaning out for a cause

Has the rainy forecast gotten you determined to do something about your spring cleaning? Today in the Green Phone Booth, I post my first installment about how you can make the most out of your clothing donations to charity. Check it out!