I have been thinking a lot about giving back lately. As the weather gets colder here in Boston, I see the homeless people here struggle and part of me wonders how they are planning to survive the winter. I have been approached for money numerous times already while riding the T or walking through the streets. I have given a little here and there based on what I have on me at the time; however, of all the people I met asking for help, what struck me the hardest was a scraggly old man holding a simple sign "Asking for a Little Kindness" in front of the old State House. It was both his sign and the forlorn, head half-cocked way that he was kneeling on the cobblestones that impacted me deeply. Unfortunately, I did not have any spare change on me at that time and I hope that someone did offer him some kindness in terms of food or water, as it was an extremely hot day.
Our nation's servicemen and veterans have also been on my mind a lot as of late, in part due to the fact that I live very close to the VA here, but also because I have thought about our vets a lot over the years, as well as our servicemen who will one day become vets. Not to mention that our servicemen are near and dear to my heart as my cousin is a Marine and I have a number of friends who are in ther service and/or are married to servicemen.
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| American Hero Charity Necklaces available in my Etsy shop! |
The terrible natural disasters faced by our country and in others parts of the world at this time have also motivated me to think long and hard about how I can help others. The damage suffered by the people in Texas, Florida, and Mexico is both saddening and profound. And the harrowing reminder of the anniversary of the September 11th tragedy is still within our midst. I watched a great livestream by the creator of Marshfellows on Instagram (@Marshfellows) the other day and was excited by her idea of creating a Texas Strong Marshfellow character based upon an idea from one of her many followers. I decided that I too wanted to do something meaningful and charitable so that I could make a donation to those who have suffered in these recent tragedies.
At first I was tempted to create products with flags from Texas or Florida (this was before I learned about Mexico). However, I quickly gave up on that idea once I took a good look at Florida's flag. There were too many details to incorporate into anything small. Additionally, I wanted to create a piece that was not just for these specific events. I wanted to create something that reflected my sense of American pride and the beauty of our country and its people. I also wanted to create a fun patriotic piece that could be worn on any occasion.
I spent the day yesterday creating prototypes and working on creating the perfect piece and here is the end result. I hope you like it! :) Each piece will vary slightly due to the handmade, hand-sculpted, and hand-painted nature of the piece, and I plan to write something special (messages and sentiments will likely vary) on the back of each piece as well.
PURCHASE YOURS here TODAY!
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American Hero Necklace on Ball Chain (above)
and cable chain (below). |
At least 50% of the proceeds
(excluding shipping and handling costs)
from each piece sold will be donated to charity.
At this time, donations will be provided to the disaster relief victims; however, in the future, proceeds will be donated to servicemen and/or veteran organizations.
Thank you for supporting my mission to give back! :)
XoXo,
Joyce
