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.

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?

Helping people, helping yourself

"We need to help people," my daughter informed me the other night in the car. "We need to go to the store and buy stuff for people every day."

Now, don't get me wrong, I was impressed by her sudden stance of philanthropy, which I am guessing was triggered by watching the Veggie Tales' Lord of the Beans the other night. But significant shopping? That caught me by surprise.

So I paused. Took a deep breath. And started talking.

"Sometimes we help people, and God calls us to do it in different ways," I stumbled to explain. "Sometimes that's with money, sometimes that's with sharing what we have. Sometimes we buy stuff they need like groceries."

She raised an eyebrow but kept listening.

"And sometimes, we don't have the money to help people, and that's OK too. You can help by doing something or playing or giving a hug or a smile."

She paused for a moment. "OK but we need to buy stuff too."

It's tough to break through to a child that helping people doesn't always have to equal buying something, since that's the most immediate thing they see. But the cool thing about this story was she didn't give up. For the last few days, she's reminded me that we need to help people. And finally, we came up with a solution.

Tonight, we sat down together and made a card to give to a kid who are sick. I'll drop it off at the pediatric unit at the hospital on the way to my office one morning. But the cool thing is, it was her call. And her heart. And that is just fine with me!

When giving gives a Fresh Start

For many people I know, “going green” isn’t just about buying a few select products. Instead, it seems to be part of an entire lifestyle overhaul that reflects on largely simpler and less chaotic living.

As part of that reduction of chaos in my life, I’ve been slowly paring back the “stuff” in my home over the last few years. I admit that I hate to get rid of things. What’s worse is this is a learned trait from my mother, who hung on to things for sentimental or other reasons. I still remember when I came home from the hospital when my daughter was born – and my parents greeted us with two moving boxes full of artwork, random items and paperwork from when I was a child.

Paper clutter aside, I’ve learned over the years that good things can find good homes. And while it’s easy to pass along outgrown baby clothing to an expecting friend, what to do with other things may not seem so obvious. Perhaps you’ve splurged on new dishes or furniture, or received an heirloom item and no longer need redundant items cluttering up your life.

That’s when donating good items to good causes makes sense. While many of us know about Goodwill, Salvation Army or AmVets, the reality is these items go to showrooms of randomness and may end up being severely marked-down castoffs. It’s great when looking for a random find, but not so great about getting things directly to people who could use them.

One cause I’ve held dear to my heart since moving to Indianapolis is Fresh Start of Indiana, a domestic violence organization that provides transitional services to families leaving the shelter. As having a stable homelife can help prevent victims from returning to their abusers, getting these families re-established with a home – not just an empty apartment – makes all the difference in rebuilding their life.

Fresh Start provides everything from bedroom furniture to kitchen supplies to clothing for these families. It helps nearly 100 women each year, which is an amazing feat, given that these are all donated items.

If you’re considering some serious spring cleaning or just want to give green, consider this untraditional way of caring by donating your unneeded things to causes that help families rebuild a home.

This month's APLS Carnival is focusing on ways we can give green. For more posts, visit Green Resolutions on March 20.