finally.

Copper Boom supports charity:water

I’ve updated my etsy shop. Which means to exciting things have happend.

1. I have discovered that making jewelry is more fun than I first thought.

2. Copper Boom is now supporting charity:water. I will be paying myself what it cost to buy the supplies for the product. The rest of the money will go to charity:water. And, just so everyone knows, many, many, many of the items I make are from supplies I’ve gotten for free which means 100% of the sales from over half the items will go to charity:water.

Happy shopping.

Advent Conspiracy 2009

It’s a raffle for water.

For every $5 you donate here (use the big yellow button that says “donate”) you will get a chance to win all of this.

Most of it is from Starbucks and a few things are from water4 christmas or charity:water.

You’ll get one water 4 christmas tote bag, one water 4 christmas water bottle, one copy of The House at Sugar Beach (about Liberia), two cute Starbucks Mugs, two cute Starbucks tumblers, an assortment of Starbucks candies and cookies, two Starbucks charms from Rwanda, Starbucks Mocha powder, African themed Memory game, cute tote from the Starbucks Africa collection, Africa trivia game, the official charity:water bracelet and a surprise that’s not listed.

Seriously, that is a pile of loot for $5. For every $5 you donate, your name will be entered in the drawing.

Oh, and there will be a new coffee & water box every day this week. And if you win shipping is free.

So, go play.

P.S. After you donate, leave a comment here with the number of tickets you bought…and be honest. She gets a print out of who donated.

World AIDS Day

December 1st is World AIDS Day.

It’s a day to remember, a day to act, a day to speak up, a day to educate, and a day to be educated.

Today, 6,500 people will die as a result of AIDS.

6,000 of those people will leave behind children.

Those children will join the already 15 million children who have lost parents to this treatable disease.

2.3 million children are infected with HIV world-wide.

Most pediatric infection occurs in mother-to-child transmission – the virus infects while the immune system is immature, making it easy for the virus to disseminate through the body.

It is estimated that, without treatment, 50% of HIV+ children in resource-poor settings will die by the age of two.

And here’s the really kicker…with treatment children with HIV can grow up, go to college, get married, have children and grow old. Mothers and Fathers who are HIV+ can live to see their children accomplish these things and so much more.

Have you heard about the Lazarus effect? The medications used to treat HIV are so quick to act that within three months people who could barely hold their heads up are thriving.

See for yourself:

And worth mentioning: There Is No Me Without You by Melissa Faye Greene. An excellent book about the issues of orphans in Ethiopia. Most of whom are orphans because their parents died of AIDS.

In the year 2000 there were 12 million orphans in Africa and more than twenty-five percent of those lived in NIgeria and Ethiopia. Eleven percent of all children in Ethiopia were orphans.

By 2010, between twenty-five million and fifty million African children, from newborn to age fifteen, would be orphans. In a dozen countries, up to a quarter of the nation’s children. The numbers were completely ridiculous.
Twelve million, fourteen million, eighteen million-how could numbers so high be answers to anything other than “How many stars are in the universe?” or “How many light-years from the Milky Way is the Virgo Supercluster?”

Who was going to raise 12 million children? Who was teaching 12 million children how to swim? Who was going to sign 12 million permission slips for school field trips and pack 12 million school lunches? Who was going to by 12 million sneakers that light up when you jump? Backpacks? Toothbrushes? 12 million pairs of socks? Who will tell 12 million bedtimes stories? Who will quiz 12 million children on Thursday night for their Friday morning spelling test? 12 million trips to the dentist? 12 million birthday parties? Who will offer grief counseling to twelve, fifteen, eighteen, thirty-six million children?

And another good book: 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa A book about 28 different people in more than 20 different countries who are HIV+ or have AIDS or are fighting to help someone who is HIV+ or has AIDS.

NaBloPoMo Post #29: Shopping with a Purpose

If you have someone on your holiday gift list but you have no idea what they want or need consider buying something in their name, like water or a goat or a flock of chickens or a micro-loan. Here’s a list of places to get you started.

charity:water Give clean water.
Oxfam America Give animals, training for mid-wives, soap, blankets, seeds and much more.
Heifer International Give goats, sheep, water buffalo, ducks, knitting baskets, rabbits, milk cows, etc.
Samaritan’s Purse Help buy a plane ticket for a child needing surgery. Buy hot meals. Provide clothing and shoes. Help build schools and hospitals.
PlumpyNut A peanutbutter type paste that is being used to save children from malnurishment.
Doctors Without Borders Doctors and Nurses who volunteer their time in areas of the world where medical care is difficult to come by.
AHOPE Sponsor an orphan in Ethiopia who is HIV+

Or, if you don’t want to just give someone a card stating you donated money in their name, consider purchasing gifts from a store that gives back.

Ten Thousand Villages Great gifts from around the world. Ten Thousand Villages is part of the fair trade organization so you know that what you buy is hand made and the artist is getting a fair price for their work.

Fistula Foundation Beautiful jewelry and scarves. Supports hospitals treating women with fistula – a complication from childbirth that can leave a woman incontinent, which usually means she is shunned from her family/support system. (P.S. check out the movie Walk to Beautiful for more information on this).
Amharic Kids Jewelry made in Ethiopia by women who are HIV+. The money made from the sales helps support these women.
Water4Christmas T-shirts, waterbottles, etc. 100% of the money goes to charity:water. You can also check out the Water4Christmas etsy shop for handmade items. Again, 100% of the money goes to charity:water.
Orphans No More You’ll have to e-mail the Matts to see if there are any left. The bracelets and ornaments were all made by the nannies in Uganda who are currently caring for their son while they wait to bring him home. The money will go towards their adoption costs and back to the orphanage he is currently staying in.
Beads For Life Handmade paper beads by bead makers in Uganda. I ordered a bag of loose beads for myself and they are amazing.
Kazuri Handmade beads from Kenya.

I’ll add more to the list as I find them. If you have any organizations, feel free to add them.

NaBloPoMo Post #28: Change the World

“Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, famine and injustice in the world when He could do something about it… but I’m afraid He might ask me the same question.”

-Anonymous

You know that story about the guy on the beach who is tossing starfish back into the ocean and another guy comes along and tells the first guy there are too many starfish to really make a difference and the first guy responds by picking up one starfish, tossing it into the ocean and saying “it made a difference to that one”? That’s how I feel. There are so many things wrong in our world. So many people suffering. So many wrongs that need to be made right that I wonder how I can make any impact on anyone. And, as corny as that story is it’s constantly reminding me that my efforts, even though they may seem small, make a difference to someone.

I guess I’m just an optimist and hope that if everyone who is able helps out one or two people in need then we just may start to see some change in the world.

Water Update

On Friday, November 13, 2009, over 1000 people chose to spend $10 on their first gift of the season. $10000 was raised in 24 hours to provide clean water for 1000 for 10 years.

If $10000 was raised in 24 hours, what can we raise before Christmas?

NaBloPoMo Post 14: November 13th. One Day Viral Campaign. $10.

Every day, 4500 mothers bury their children due to contaminated water. They are forced to sustain their families with a diabolical liquid that contains both life and death. This lack of clean water is the leading cause of death in underdeveloped nations. And it just doesn’t have to be!

So as we gear up to scurry through department stores and browse endless catalogs in search of new jeans, Tonka Trucks, gadgets and dolls….we are pausing. We are pausing. And today, November 13th, we are buying water. Clean, life-saving water.

$10 will provide one person in Africa clean water for 10 years. It will literally change and possibly save someone’s life. A mother. A child. A brother. A grandfather.

We are rallying together for a cause. Clean water. One day. $10. Asking everyone to let this be their first gift. Let water, let life be their first gift of the season.

Click here to be directed to the secure donation site of the highly recognized, non-profit, charity: water. Or just click the yellow button to make a donation. All donations are tax deductible, and 100% of your donation will go to clean water solutions in West Africa.

I am only one.
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything; but still I can do something;
and because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
- Edward Everett Hale -

NaBloPoMo Post #13: Clean Water for Everyone

It’s almost here.

The day to spend $10 to change a person’s life forever.

$10 on Friday, November 13.

That’s it.

NaBloPoMo Post #11: A reminder and a few random things.

First, the reminder:

Don’t forget. This Friday. Everyone who blogs, everyone on twitter, facebook, myspace, forums. Everyone buy your first gift of the season. $10 from everyone can bring clean water to millions of people around the world.

Post this on whatever you use to get the word out. Remember, on Friday, November 13 spend $10. The first gift you buy this year.

A few random things.

• Conferences are a week from Thursday. My report cards are finished. Comments are written. Files are organized. With over a week to spare. Go me.
• Sesame Street turned 40. Sesame Street taught my kid what ‘predicament’ means. Happy Birthday.
• I think we are on round 2 of the flu in my class. The kids that were out sick about 3 weeks ago are now out sick again. It’s nice to have only 12 kids in my class, it gets a little dull. I hope they get better soon. We all miss them.
• My class got a compliment from the teenagers who hang out in the parking lot near our school. Typically, this group of teenagers is obnoxious, shouting, swearing with no regards to anyone around them. My class walked by and they all agreed that “they are really good and cute and respectful.” Way to go kindergarten.
• Baking soda and vinegar works really well as an alternative to shampoo. And it’s about a million times cheaper.