gifts of hope :: shop. do good.

Holiday Shopping Event to benefit Mission of Hope!

bring your christmas list and we'll provide the rest...

hot cider, christmas music, and a great selection of fabulous and unique gifts 

that will directly benefit the people of Haiti!

saturday, december 10 
2-5pm 

at new charlotte church
11011 monroe road in matthews 

this christmas you can give to the people of haiti simply by purchasing products at our 'gifts of hope' holiday shopping event. there will be something for everyone on your shopping list... 

take a look at some of our vendors who will be participating:
:: orginal artwork by roodoodles and kelley sanford 
:: clothing by heraldry 
:: handcrafted wooden items by bob's bowls 
:: accessories from three cords (a haitian-run company) 
:: pottery by dove pottery

:: custom embroidered items from quill designs
:: shoes and purses by asheville artist eva evans

:: handstamped jewelry from lilabean

:: cork boards and handmade metal crosses by carol haun
:: accessories by katya
:: bags from 31 gifts
:: custom cookies from milk and sugar cookie company
:: local honey from harris family farms
:: handmade wreaths

and much more! 
  
proceeds will go directly to Mission of Hope Haiti - an organization that provides for the educational, medical, and spiritual needs of the people of Haiti. 
  
questions? contact elizabeth at elizabethmaxon@newcharlotte.org

maggie

friends - meet maggie...

...she is a sweet baby girl waiting in china for her family to bring her home!  matt and shari barcalow - along with their 2 kiddos - are answering God's call on their life to make maggie their daughter {and sister!}.  

if you want to be part of this story - here's a simple way...

if you live in {or near} charlotte, stop by a yard sale to benefit maggie's adoption...

THIS saturday - july 16 

5326 alexa road 

charlotte, nc

{there is also still time to drop of items that you would like to donate for the sale!}  

contact megan for more details.

if you can't make it out to the sale but would like to make a donation to maggie's adoption fund you can do so at matt and shari's blog.

angelie

this is a picture of me holding sweet little angelie during our september trip to mission of hope in haiti.  this precious baby made such an impact on me because she is 2 years old, just like my lucy.  i couldn't help but think about lucy running and jumping and climbing and then be faced with the harsh reality that angelie was not yet walking.  doctors said she may in fact never walk.  when she was abandoned at moh last may some wondered if she would even survive...she was so sick and malnourished.

guess what?

angelie is walking.

visit the moh blog to hear the whole story.

and keep praying for our brothers and sisters in haiti who are nurturing a new generation of children like angelie...

BLOOM is proud to support their efforts!

going to haiti?

tonight we sent a few more bags of much needed supplies to our friends at mission of hope in haiti.  believe it or not we have so many generous BLOOM folks supporting this project that we are having a tough time getting everything that we are collecting over to port-au-prince.  if you or someone you know is traveling to haiti and you have some extra room in your bags we would love to fill them up with items for the orphans at hope house.

{and please join us in prayer for an affordable way to send more regular shipments!  we have all the supplies we need right at our fingertips and plenty of people to collect them...we just need a way to get them over there!}

BLOOM gift-giving a success!

we kicked off our alternative gift-giving to benefit orphans at our holiday party a few weeks ago.  but...the giving didn't stop there!  many folks continued this movement by spreading the word to friends and family, posting about it on their blogs, hosting events at schools and other venues.  what started as a simple idea raised nearly $2000 and resulted in the collection of even more items...all for the orphans we support in haiti and dr congo!!  one local elementary school class even made a personal contribution by writing letters to the orphans of haiti to share encouragement and love!


special thanks again to our vendors who participated in this year's event...
::baubles and bags::
::heraldry clothing::
::arbonne::
::wood by chuck::
::little joy company::
::madison lane photography::


with this much success the first year...we can't wait to see what next year holds!

holiday gift giving update

what an amazing response to our 'alternative gift giving'!

one of our BLOOM girls, megan, reposted this opportunity and mentioned a new book called 'Scroogenomics' in which the author provides data demonstrating our inability to 'give good gifts'.  in other words - most people could care less about the junk we buy them for holidays.

so...many of us are finding that purchasing items or making donations that ultimately help those in need is a great alternative.

so far we have received many donations to purchase shoes, clothes, athletic equipment, food, and other much needed items for orphans in haiti.  we still have some items left so feel free to use our pay pal button to make your donation {yes...we had some technical difficulties yesterday but everything should be back up and running now!  thanks for your patience!}

for details on what you can purchase and how you can have your 'gift' sent to someone on your Christmas list see amy's previous post.

with your help we are helping to make 2011 a year full of hope for a lot of deserving kids!

BLOOM holiday party

The Bloom Project had a great night Friday night.   One of our "Bloom Girls"  threw a Christmas shopping party to benefit Bloom and it was amazing.  There were several vendors there with all kinds of amazing things.   What an inspiring night, all for the benefit of orphans!!!!  As you know we traveled to Haiti two months ago and got the chance to hug and hold some of the orphans that we sponsor.  We asked the wonderful directors about some of the things they needed and one of the things they mentioned was church clothes for the kids. They can not take the kids to church unless they are properly dressed so they desperately want all the kids to have their very own set of "sunday bests"!    We created a Christmas Tree Wish list for the orphanage.  So you can purchase an ornament that represents a donation of a gift in your recipients honor.   Here is how the tag reads....  

And here are the beautiful ornaments (one of our girls donated some beautiful ornaments purchased at cr@te and Barrel, so 100% of the profits go straight to the orphans!).... 

Here are some of the items they requested.... 

Sewing Machines $200 each

5 yards of fabric-   $50 each

   yarn for knitting-    $5 each

soccer balls -      $25 each

        basketballs-       $25 each

       ballet shoes -       $20 each

        tap shoes -          $25 each

girls church dress- $15

boys church clothes - $15

Powdered milk - $10 (per one month supply) 

This was a hit at the party last night and a great holiday gift for that certain someone who already has everything, and has a heart for  orphans!  We would love to extend this to you and your friends!  You can choose any donation item and  and pay by the paypal button on the sidebar.... if you live close by you can pick up your ornament gift bag or, if you add $2 to your purchase we will send the wrapped ornament with gift tag explaining the gift and ship it directly to your recipient! (just leave us the address in the paypal checkout instructions)  

Also please help us spread the word!  if you post about this on your blog or facebook or BOTH!!! leave us a comment and we will enter you into a raffle to win a $25.oo give card to St@rbucks! 

Best yet, after Christmas we will post photos of the kids getting their Christmas gifts...the joy on their faces will surely be my best gift of the year :)