Back in Action

After a long summer hiatus, Creative Change is back in full swing! We've had a card-making party and participated in the Hillcrest Chapel Craft Fair, raising over $100 for the Hillcrest Chapel Adoption Fund (a fund that provides grants to families who are adopting).

I'd been going back and forth about which organization to support for our holiday sales when I learned more about human trafficking from a series my church is doing (check it out at http://www.thesecretweaponproject.org/). This horrendous industry enslaves 27 million people - million! - most of whom are women and children. In response to these heart-breaking statistics, Creative Change will donate it's holiday proceeds to Shared Hope International, a group working to prevent, rescue and restore people from this industry (http://www.sharedhope.org/).

Don't miss this chance to create a change this holiday season!

Let's end genocide

On Monday, May 5, my small group held a genocide awareness fundraiser. We watched the documentary, Darfur Diaries, and raised over $80 for The Enough Project, a group that works to end genocide. There are so many people suffering from the horrific act of genocide. Inform yourself about what's going on around the world and what small actions you can take at www.enoughproject.org.

Our First Parties!

7 hours, 2 parties, 17 photographs, 11 pairs of earrings, and 35 packs of cards ended with Creative Change raising over $700 dollars for Cows for Kenya and World Vision! It was a great day of fundraising in Bellevue! Our next project will be an Open House for the Enough Project, a group that works to end genocide, on May 5th. We'll be viewing Darfur Diaries, a documentary about genocide in Darfur. Stop by anytime from 7:00-9:30pm if you want to buy Mother's Day gift. The film will start at 7:30pm.

1913 Harris Ave
Bellingham, WA 98225

Blessings,
Ellie

Kenedy!!!

Creative Change has its very own sponsored child! We are sponsoring Kenedy, a young girl from Uganda, through World Vision. I'll post more information when I receive the packet from World Vision. Interested in sponsoring a child? Check out www.worldvision.org.

Mother's Day Madness!!!

We're busing gearing up for the Mother's Day rush! Upcoming events include:

April 12th - Card-making party in Bellingham

April 19th - Cows for Kenya party 10-1pm in Bellevue

April 19th - Creative Change Open House / Card-making party 1-5pm in Bellevue

Early May - ENOUGH Project fundraiser in Belligham

Don't miss out!

March Happenings

With our first donation under our belt, we started March by stocking up on cards. Thanks to large machines that cut large amounts of paper simultaneously, we were able to increase our production of cards by 50% with half as many volunteers! Wow! Six young ladies spent Saturday last afternoon taping and gluing over 300 cards together - we had a great time making assembly lines and marveling at how many cards we were able to make with the pre-cut paper. Thanks Becca, Allison, Liz, Rosemary, and Evaline!

With our inventory increasing, we are getting ready for our Mother's Day parties. Will these be happening on Mother's Day? No. These parties will happen BEFORE Mother's Day so that beautiful Creative Change gifts can be purchased as Mother's Day gifts! What's a better way to say "I love you" with a thoughtful gift that will impact someone in need? Available for purchase at the Mother's Day parties: card packs (suggested donation $10-12), beautiful earrings handcrafted by Creative Changer Liz (suggested donation $10-15), and stunning photography by Creative Changer Eileen (suggested donation $8-$15). Stay posted!

We bought the farm!

To date, Creative Change has raised $840 for Heifer International! With these funds, we are purchasing one heifer, one llama, one goat, one hive of bees, and two flocks of chick! Wow, wow, wow! Fun facts about these animals:

Heifers can produce a calf every year and four gallons of milk a day.

Llamas supply wool and carry small loads.

Goats can produce four quarts of milk a day and give brth to twins or triplets.

Honey bees supply beeswax and honey, while pollination improves crop yields.

Chickens supply up to 200 eggs a year.

I sent our donation in today!


Our upcoming projects include child sponsorship through World Vision (www.worldvision.org) and purchasing bed nets to prevent malaria through Malaria No More (www.malarianomore.org). Stay tuned for more details!

Remember you can always order cards via mail - I love it when our cards travel from Bellingham to different parts of the country!

AND we recently became an officially incorporated non-profit with the state of Washington (thanks to help from our taxman Pat!). Exciting, exciting!!!

Great MOOOO-s!!!

Thanks to some generous donations, Creative Change has raised enough money to purchase one heifer! Let's make it two! Coming soon: details about the next organization Creative Change is going to support!

The orders are coming in!

Wow! What a great response for our first day! I hadn't realized how many people would be interested in getting cards via mail, so I didn't provide explicit instructions on how to do so. Here they are:

1). Write a check to Heifer International. Make sure your donation includes shipping. Please include how many packs of cards you are purchasing with your donation (or you can let me know via email at ellie_mcdermott@yahoo.com.)
2). Send your check to:

Ellie McDermott
Creative Change
1913 Harris Ave
Bellingham WA, 98225

We are in the process of establishing Creative Change as a non-profit corporation. Until then, please make your check out to the organization we are supporting. We will send all the individual donations in when we have reached our goal.

Thank you for your support!

The First Card-Making Party!

After three hours of cutting, taping, and eating chocolate on a gray Saturday afternoon, new and old friends ended up making nearly 200 cards! We developed quite a system of assembly, taking care to squeeze behind each others' chairs as we moved around our very full apartment! Now there are over 50 packs of eight cards just waiting to be purchased! And since our goal is to buy a heifer ($500), when all 50 packs are sold, we'll have ourselves a cow! (Check out the post below for more information and details). So if you feel inspired to purchase or sell these cards, please contact me at ellie_mcdermott@yahoo.com. Hosting card parties, taking cards to your place of work or worship, buying them as gifts - there are so many opportunities to spread the word about Heifer and our project. I look forward to hearing from you soon!






I want to thank Rosemary, Kayce, Lindsay, Liz, Allison, Danielle, Becca, Eileen, Christina, Katie, and Stephanie for spending their Saturday making a difference!

Welcome to Creative Change!

This week marks the exciting beginning of Creative Change. The mission of Creative Change is two-fold: to generate funds for domestic and international non-profits and to raise awareness about the non-profits we support. On Saturday, a group of young ladies will meet in Bellingham to create beautiful, handmade cards. These cards will then be sold in packs and the proceeds will benefit the first non-profit that Creative Change has chosen to support, Heifer International. Our goal is to purchase a heifer for a family. (Please visit Heifer's website at http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.2663295/ for more information). The reason Creative Change has chosen to support Heifer is because by providing livestock, Heifer helps people to break out of the cycle of poverty and into a life of economic independence. The offspring from the livestock are required to go to another family in need, thus creating a cycle of self-reliance and community development!

How can you help? There are many ways to support Creative Change:

1). Host a card party. Invite your friends over for a night of hors d'ourves and share the mission of Creative Change while providing an opportunity for your guests to purchase cards.
2). Take Creative Change cards to your place of work, church, or neighborhood.
3). Volunteer at a card-making party.
4). Purchase Creative Change cards directly.

Packs of eight cards plus envelopes will be sold at a suggested donation of $10/pack. Please add $2 for shipping.

Let's make a creative change in our world!