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Thursday, August 28, 2008

ethiopia fundraiser!

I told you a few days ago that we're going to Ethiopia with the HOPE Bracelet Project. This is so far beyond exciting I'm just flat out of words! I've spent several days putting together a fundraiser to help pay for this trip, and since I've already written about it all so nicely on my website, I'm just going to paste it in here for you.

If you already know about the HOPE Bracelet Project, and want to help, you can skip all the reading and go directly to the special Donation Page on the Cunningham Foundation website.

Feel like reading? Here you go!
Thank you for all your help!!!

~~~
I have some super exciting news!
Rick and I have been invited to go to Ethiopia in November, to teach beadmaking for the HOPE Bracelet Project! This is so amazing to me, to finally be able to meet the people we've been working with all this time. This year, for the first time ever, there will be bracelets available made with beads from the Yetebon Studio at Project Mercy. This is huge, as it means our goal of helping the HOPE Bracelet Project to become self-sufficient is becoming a reality. More than ever, teachers and mentors are needed there to encourage the students and help them become awesome, creative beadmakers. This is where I come in!

As you might imagine, a trip like this is not inexpensive. We don't want funds for the project used for our travel expenses, and we're not wealthy volunteers who can actually afford to do this on our own. We're just simple beadmakers, making our living bead by bead.

So, I'm holding a fundraiser, and asking for your help in making this important trip possible. I've gone through my personal jewelry collection, and have chosen several wonderful pieces that I think you'll love as much as I do. I will be holding a Thank-You Drawing at the end of this fundraiser, just before we leave for Ethiopia, randomly picking new owners for some of my favorite jewelry. Every $10 donated will get you a chance to win! The dates of the trip are November 19-29, 2008. I'll mail everything before we leave. Sure, it stings a little, but this means a lot to me!
I'm asking a lot of you, and I want to give something of myself in return.

Our goal here is $6,000. This will cover our travel costs, but not any personal expenses along the way, which we will, of course, pay for ourselves. If we bring in more than we need for our own trip, the rest will stay with the Cunningham Foundation, either directly benefiting the HOPE Bracelet Project,
or to help with the travel expenses of other volunteers.

To make a donation of any size, please visit my special page on the Cunningham Foundation website.

Thank You So Much!!!
Here are the pieces of jewelry I'll be giving away. I wish I had something for each and every one of you!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Kim ! Great idea and the jewelry looks lovely on Lauren !
I HOPE you enjoy the trip !

Jean Katherine Baldridge said...

Kim! this is so exciting for you and Rick to actually be able to travel and to teach at the special and meaningful place you have worked so hard for all these years!

Your jewerly for "the sort of raffle-like thing" *you know what I mean* is so amazingly beautiful!!! WOW!!! and I know that you will have NO trouble realizing the money you require for this eventful trip. We need to get together and wor on this for ou! ou have given us al so much beauty for so many years now! I think that your recent fast retrospective of your vintage beads makes which you recently had uo for sale makes that very clear!

Jim and I will do our part. We will link to this blog or wherever you would like us to link, as well, to publicize this really worthwhile cause! I hope that other people who have blogs also do this when they read this. Just give us the way to do it as you would like. We all love you so much! xox jean! Hooray, Hooray!

Jean Katherine Baldridge said...

ACK I am so sorry about the typos! jean xix

Anonymous said...

Kim, your forthcoming trip sounds amazing, and it really is a wonderful thing to do! I take my hat off to you both....x