volunteering.

Because it’s good for you.

‘Homeless Real World.’

| Betsy

An article about a group of people who filmed the lives of 6 homeless individuals in Denver recently came up on the radar. The project was originally filmed for Mania TV, but after it was deemed “too edgy,” the filmmakers are now looking for somewhere to air this reality show. (Or “actuality show,” as it was noted in the article.) Optimistically, they are in the process of editing the 160 hours of footage down to smaller portions for future viewing as a television series.

Homeless Real World (sizzle reel) from Broadcasting & Cable on Vimeo.

When I was 16, I had a friend named Jimmy, who was a year or so older. He left his parents house due to abuse and lived on the streets. He was in our wide circle of friends, and would sleep in the park or at a friend’s house, stashing his few possessions in his backpack. I remember running into him and snacking on treats he had found (fully boxed and closed) in the dumpsters behind grocery stores, worrying about his safety, and amazed that despite living in a park he held down various part-time jobs, albeit for short periods of time. He was killed in a car accident when he was 23. At his funeral, we all wondered how he could have sustained his lifestyle in the long run and were happy his skateboard was with him in his coffin.

Ever since then, I’ve held a special spot in my heart for the homeless. Not the ones who swear and yell and beg you for money, but the ones who play instruments or have dogs or quietly sit on doorsteps with handmade signs. I am amazed at how life bustles on around them and how they almost become part of the landscape, not actual human beings. I generally try to at least catch their eyes and nod as I pass, letting them know that they are not invisible, they are not just part of a larger backdrop. They are us, only a few rent checks behind. Watching the video above reminded me of Jimmy, and wondered where he would be now had he lived, if his life would be like those chosen for the show. And I remember that he gave the best most enthusiastic hugs of anyone I’ve ever known, and it is for him, that I donate some of my knitted items to the homeless.

Women In Need, Inc.
America’s Youngest Outcasts
National Coalition for the Homeless
National Alliance to End Homelessness
Department of Veterans Affairs Homeless Veteran Program

For more information on how you can help homeless people in your area, try Googling “your city name” and “homeless.” It should set you off with a few places near you that happily take handmade donations for those in need.

Repost From Etsy.com. (Valentine’s Day Edition)

| Betsy

In case you have nothing to do today but make Valentine’s Day cards, then have I got a job for you! 

This a last-minute call to action to help Etsy.com reach 18,000 Valentine’s Day cards. The deadline is February 2nd, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have today and tomorrow. And what better to start your weekend than by making some lovely cards for lovely people in need? 

They are accepting cards to be delivered along with Valentine’s Day meals delivered to homebound elderly New Yorkers. How great is that, to spread a little extra love around?! 

There are more details here, as I’ve cut out some of them that don’t pertain to last minute making.

The instructions, from Etsy.com’s blog:

There is too much love on Etsy for us to keep it to ourselves. So this year, we decided to share the love with a project we’re calling Special Delivery. This Valentine’s Day, we’re teaming up with Citymeals-on-Wheels to bring nutritious meals, handmade greeting cards and companionship to thousands of homebound elderly New Yorkers.

“Gee, that’s nice, but how do I get involved?”

Easy! We need your help to supply the cards. Citymeals-on-Wheels serves over 18,000 people, so we need as many as we can get. There are two ways to do this. The first is (you guessed it) to make your own card or send in a vintage card from your shop and fill it out with a nice message. Please craft as many valentines as you would like and send them to us. Before you send them, you can also post photos of your cards in our brand new Special Delivery flickr group.

“Ok, then what happens?”

Special Delivery! We will collect all the cards and bring them to Citymeals-on-Wheels, where each will be delivered along with a meal on Valentine’s Day. Several of the Etsy admin will be volunteering that day. We’ll be tromping around the city with hot meals and friendly conversation to brighten the day of local seniors.

“Is that all?”

No! Each Etsy member who sends a card (or cards) will be featured on a Special Delivery page that will be linked from a banner on the Etsy home page. When you send your cards, please include a separate note with your username and user ID number. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.

“Is there anything else?”

Yes! Here is a badge that you can download and put in your item listings or on blogs. This is a great way to help spread the word and help us reach our goal of 18,000 valentines. Here’s the embed code:

<a href=”http://www.etsy.com/storque/article/3268/”><img src=”http://www.etsy.com/storque/media/bunker/2009/01/SDBanner125x125.jpg”></a>

You can also help by donating to Citymeals-on-Wheels, or by volunteering or donating to your local organization.

Now stop asking questions, read the FAQ’s and get crafting! February 2 is closer than you think. Oh, and thank you very much for helping to spread the love. 

FAQ

1. How do I participate in Special Delivery?

Two ways. Either make or purchase a handmade Valentine’s Day greeting card (or several). Please mail them to:

Etsy
Attn: Adam Brown
325 Gold St.  Floor 6
Brooklyn, NY 11201

If you make the card(s), please be sure to include a note with your Etsy user name and ID number. If youbuy the cards, please ask the seller to include a note with your Etsy user name and ID number when they mail the package to the above address.

*To find your user ID number, go to your shop home page. The number is at the end of the web address. It will look like this: etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=123456. So, in this example it’s 123456.

2. When do the cards have to arrive at Etsy?

The deadline is Monday, February 2, 2009. This is important!

3. Are there any rules about what the cards should look like?

Yes. Please follow these guidelines, otherwise we can’t use your card(s):

  • No glitter! This creates food safety issues.
  • Please make your cards cheerful by using bright colors. You can decorate cards using paint, crayons, markers, pastels, collage or anything else you can think of.
  • Please avoid dark backgrounds and religious symbols.
  • Please write clearly and in large print, and avoid using the abbreviation “V-day”. Please say, “Valentine’s Day”.
  • You should not give out your address or suggest that the recipients write back to you. Initiating an ongoing correspondence is not appropriate.
  • Please make sure that the cards are appropriate for the intended audience. That is to say, pretend it’s for your elderly grandma, not your snarky, angst-ridden teenage brother.

4. How many cards should I send?

As many as you want!

5. Is this open only to Etsy sellers?

Nope. This is open to anyone who wants to help brighten someone’s day. You do have to be an Etsy member to be included on the Special Delivery page, though.

6. Can I send vintage cards?

Sure! The more, the merrier.

Vintage Valentine from Flickr.

on giving.

| Betsy

Two new projects have been brought to my attention lately, which I’d like to share, both of which are accepting donations until December 10th. Both of these projects are not only for wonderful causes, but they are both for causes that are very near and dear to my heart for two very different and very personal reasons.

Supernaturale 6th Annual Scarf Drive

All donations go to Sanctuary for Families, a New York non-profit that helps women and children affected by domestic violence. This annual drive is very special to me for two reasons. This is first drive I ever sent a knitted donation for charity to! It’s mentioned briefly in the book, and I still remember shipping those scarves off and being so happy to be able to do something for people who had been through so much.

While fortunately I’ve never been in a domestic violence situation, I have been in abusive relationships. They were long ago, in what now, thankfully, seems like another lifetime. But I will never forget the powerlessness, the helplessness and the confusion involved in them, and how they turned my little world completely upside down for a long time. I’m still quite gunshy when it comes to trusting people as a result, and still wonder what could have healed more completely if I had gotten help at the time.

So sending those scarves to those women for the first time, I felt like I was sending them all my love and hope and acceptance in those stitches created by my hands. It was my greatest hope that they would wrap them around themselves to keep them warm and know that somewhere someone was rooting for them and sending them strength. It is for reasons like this that I earnestly believe in the power and the sanctity of the handmade and giving and loving without expecting reciprocity. Clicking either the link above or the photo will take you directly to more information about what types of scarves to send and where to.



Mama to Mama: Caps to Cap Haiti Project

Mama to Mama is a new craftivism project started by the always inspirational Soulemama that is collecting newborn caps and receiving blankets for safe birthing kits for new mothers and babies in Haiti via Konbit Sante, an organization created to improve Haitian healthcare.

According to Mama to Mama, in northern Haiti:

* Just 1 in 5 women receives skilled medical care during childbirth.
* Haiti has the highest maternal mortality ratio in the Western Hemisphere.
* 1 in 40 women will die as a result of pregnancy complications, unsafe abortion, or obstetrical emergency.
* Twelve percent of children die before the age of 5

My personal interest in this is due to a long-time concern regarding the health and welfare and newborns and their mothers, especially those with premature babies. In 1975, I was born 3 months early, a thousand miles away from where my parents were from, while they were on vacation. When I was in my early teens, I visited the NICU I was in for 3 months, and was shocked at the teeny tininess of the infants. The fear for my survival can still be seen in the faces of my parents and relatives as they relive the first few months of my life and how I fit entirely in my uncle’s hand.

Thirty-three years later, my birth still evokes heavy emotions from them. And I was born in a modern Cincinnati, Ohio hospital! What about all the babies that are born with problems to scared new mothers in countries without all of our technological might? They, too, need to be comforted and held and listened to like my own mother was. But in countries where so many horrible things are happening simultaneously, how can everyone be heard and comforted and listened to? The links above will take you directly to more information and what to make and where to send donations.

Both these new mothers and new infants, as they begin their new roles in life, need the same warmth and comfort and hope that the women and children affected by domestic violence do in New York. Or the children of Iraq and Afghanistan. Or the hurricane victims still suffering from Katrina. Or any of the hundreds of thousands of people that receive donations all over the world from charities.

The trick to starting to live more compassionately and openly is by figuring out where you’d like to help and for what cause…something determined by your own life experiences and histories. And then to reach out and do some good for others, whether it’s for someone in your own life who needs some help and support or for someone across the world. By being a tiny part of the change you’d like to see (or even the change you’d like to have), you’re causing tiny ripples, ripples that perhaps one day will become waves.