“The Gulf Restoration Network is committed to uniting and empowering people to protect and restore the natural resources of the Gulf Region for future generations. The GRN’s vision is that the Gulf of Mexico will continue to be a natural, economic, and recreational resource that is central to the culture and heritage of five states and three nations. The people of the region will be stewards of this vital but imperiled treasure, and they will assume the responsibility of returning the Gulf to its previous splendor.”
Jen’s print entitled Down, Down, Down is an unsigned edition and will only be available June 8th through June 18th, 2010. It will no longer be available for purchase after that date - so go buy one now! Each print sold raises $15 dollars for the Gulf Restoration Network.
Down, Down, Down
Jen Corace
archival inks printed on a 290gsm natural white printmaking paper
7″ x 10″ (plus border for framing)
$30.00
In December 2009, Jiashan Wu, New York based artist/designer, and Joyce Meng, founding CEO of Giveology traveled to Uganda to visit the Circle of Peace School. Givology is a 100% volunteer based online non-profit marketplace improving access and quality of education in the developing world through microphilanthropy. The Circle of Peace School provides free tuition and board to children from disadvantaged backgrounds, many of them aids orphans or kids from the village who have no other access to education. Known in the community as the “School that Love Built”, the Peace School delivers high quality education to children who otherwise could not afford fees. But as a family run non-profit they lack the financial resources to bring all the kids from the villages under their roof.
Jiashan and Joyce posed a simple question to the children they met at the school and in the village “What would you buy with $50?” They asked the children to draw their answers - which were all over the map, revealing that many had no concept of money because they’ve never had any. There were drawings of houses and cars, laptops and phones, but the ones that break your heart are the images of everyday basics like cups, books, even biscuits. Over three weeks, they collected 163 drawings and portraits of the children, along with countless video interviews, photographs, and profiles. As a means of fundraising these drawings have been made available for purchase for, you guessed it, $50. each. You can view and purchase the drawings on their website 50dollars.org.
The goal of the ‘What would you buy with $50?‘ campaign is to invest the funds raised in the expansion of the Peace School and give all of the village kids an opportunity for a good education. For many $50 may be a paltry sum, but for these children, $50 enables dreams. $50 is roughly 100,000 Ugandan Shillings. It can easily send a child to school and pay for his or her tuition fees, uniform, and supplies for a year!
Encouraged by the amazing fundraising efforts of our friends at Bamboletta dolls, pal Kiersten Hatchcock of Mom Mom Furniture, is raffling off a specially designed Keepsake Storage Box to benefit the Red Cross and their Haiti relief efforts. To learn more and to purchase a ticket for only $10., please visit the Mod Mom Furniture Blog!
Well, this weekend before Christmas marks the second annual World Wide Christmas Toy Drop organized by the Toy Society. (You may recall my posts on the group from January and February of this year: one, two) Their Australian based blog is headquarters for a worldwide, pay-it-forward style street project in which members create handmade toys and disperse them anonymously - leaving them in public places to be found and given homes by complete strangers. I’ve become a regular visitor, reading about the various ‘toy drops’ in places near and far and loving the accounts by those who have discovered and given homes to these toys. It’s such a simple act of kindness and some of the discovery stories are really moving.
In December of 2008, Christmas Drop participants distributed 104 toys around the globe and of course this year they’re hoping to exceed that numbers. As of this moment, it appears that there are 102 toys posted on the Toy Society blog - with, I’m sure, many more to come. I’ve selected a few images showing various drop locations. People are so ingenious and thoughtful, not only in the creation of these handmade toys but in their drop locations - everywhere from the safety seat of a frozen shopping cart to the toy hanging out in the manger of a nativity diorama (both shown below). I can’t tell you how much I love this idea and so have decided to give it a go - scroll down to see my toy.
I’ve been making Sock Elves for my shop this holiday season and decided that one of these fellas should be part of the Toy Society’s Christmas Drop. I left him just a few minutes ago hanging from the fencing that surrounds a child development center playground in my neighborhood. The TS has downloadable labels that read simply, “Take me home, I’m yours!” and a letter that explains the project and encourage the finders to report back and let them know the toy has been claimed - you can see the label mounted on a card in my picture and the letter is affixed inside. Part of me wanted to hang out and see who picks it up, but I also don’t want to be that weird guy loitering around the playground luring children with free toys - so I’ve resolved to just drive by later this afternoon and see if he’s still there or hopefully has gone to a good home.
If you’re interested in participating in the Christmas Drop or the Toy Society’s on-going, year-round toy drops - sign up on their site (scroll down the left hand column fr the sign up form) for complete guideline and instructions. Spread a little handmade love.
Being that Valentine’s Day is this weekend I thought it would be the perfect time spread a little love and finish placing the batch of Valentine Vermin I made for the Toy Society project. You can read about the first round of drops in this post. These three little mice were placed in spots I thought easily accessible by a kid - two schools and the neighborhood library! These images have also been uploaded to the Toy Society’s Flickr group with more information on their drop locations. Continue reading below the image.
I was so excited to learn that at least two of the toys from the first drop were found and reported! The found reports will be posted on the Toy Society’s website soon. Although anonymity is part of what makes this project so cool, one of the new owners is also an industrious fellow Flickr member and managed to track me down. I loved his enthusiasm and he posted his own photos!
“dude! i found it yesterday! i was walking my bike thru the park taking pictures of the beach when i saw it–thought at first it was some sort of setup, prank, etc….too damn cool…you can see pics @my flickr–http://www.flickr.com/photos/bob_o/.. ….thanks!”
And finally, Junior Society member Laurie was kind enough to let me know that she tackled the valentine mouse project and posted pictures here. I love her clever alterations! (A tail…now why didn’t I think of that!) Thanks Laurie!
Ok, so you’ll remember the Valentine Vermin tutorial from the other day. You may also remember that I mentioned having special plans for the 10 merry mice I made (and their Swiss cheese hearts.) Here’s the story. There is another fantastic web society (no, we are not the only one!) I recently learned of called the Toy Society. This Australian based blog is the headquarters for a worldwide, pay-it-forward style street project in which members created handmade toys and disperse them anonymously - leaving them in public places to be found and given homes by complete strangers. I have become completely enthralled with the site, reading about the various ‘toy drops’ around the globe and then reading accounts by those who have discovered and given homes to these toys. It’s such a simple act of kindness and some of the discovery stories are really moving.
So I signed up and decided to give it a go. The mice were all nicely packaged and I enclosed the official Toy Society letter explaining the project in little envelopes I made from two-toned origami paper (I love this stuff). And all this week long I’m dropping these fellas around town. I feel like I’m part of some clandestine operation, trying to place packages without being seen and then snapping photos. I’m sharing the first five drops today and will post the remainder later in the week. These images have also been uploaded to the Toy Society’s Flickr group with more information on their drop locations.
I think this would be a great project to embark on with your kids! Come on…making crafts, being sneaky, leaving surprises - what kid’s day isn’t already filled with these activities. As illustrated by my mice - the project doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelming. However, if you or Junior are able to take on a little more advanced toy consider some of these other inspired (and free!) online tutorials:
Junior Society loves DreamHost, they host our club house (aka blog) and have since the club’s inception. We love them for numerous reasons - they’re owned by their 70+ employees, they’re Southern California based (just like me!), their customer service is spectacular, they offer free hosting to US-based non-profit organizations…and now they’re green! When they learned that running DreamHost generated as much carbon dioxide as 545 average-size homes they realized they had to do something to neutralize their emissions - click here to learn how they’ve made the jump to being a carbon-neutral company. We love their commitment to the environment and the steps they’ve taken to be green - because as our host, they’ve helped make the Junior Society a little bit greener as well!
But the love fest doesn’t stop there! DreamHost facilitates donations to a revolving selection of charities. This is great but the best part is that they MATCH all donations made by their customers through their website. Currently donations are being collected for:
Habitat for Humanity International - seeking to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action.
Susan G. Komen for the Cure - the global leader of the breast cancer movement, having invested more than $1 billion since inception in 1982.
We think you’ll love DreamHost’s service as well.
If you’d like to utilize their hosting service
for your new or existing website/blog
the Junior Society would like to extend a little green love
and pay $20. of your yearly hosting bill.
Use the promotional code JuniorDream to receive $20. off yearly hosting when you sign up here.
Ok, when it comes to creative fund raising few come close to the brilliance of 826 Valencia’s Pirate Supply.
826 Valencia is one of seven chapters of 826 National, a non profit dedicated to helping students, ages 6-18 with their writing skills, and to help teachers get their students excited about the writing. 826 was founded in 2002 by a favorite author of mine Dave Eggers (of McSweeney’s fame) and educator NÃnive Calegari. Their work is based on the understanding that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success and that great leaps in learning can be made when skilled tutors work one-on-one with students.
Each chapter offers drop-in tutoring, field trips, workshops, and in-schools programs — all free of charge — for children, classes, and schools with particular interests or particular needs. Several locations offer unique retail experiences, not the least of which is San Francisco’s only pirate supply store. Where else can you purchase your designer glass eyeballs and support an educational non-profit? I ask you.
The good folks over at GoodyBlog recently pointed their readers in the direction of MarkMakers.com, a smart new online venue for kids to learn about charitable giving. It’s such an important concept to instill in the short set, one that will hopefully develop into a life long pattern. The basic concept is this, purchase a gift card (which you can either print out or email to the recipient) which kids can then use to shop at the MarkMakers store for goods and services needed around the world. They can spread their funds among more than 40 needs/causes such as vaccines, medicine and eyecare, or saving animals, rain forests and coral reefs.
The site is cleverly divided into ’shops’: Environmental Protection
Peace & Justice
Kids in Need
Disease Prevention & Healthcare
Poverty & Hunger
Animal Protection
Easy to navigate, each charity is explained in clear terms educating Junior about everything from Human Rights Watch to Seeds of Peace. Below is an example of how a gift-giving option might be formatted.
And in these last few days before Christmas, know that you can purchase a MarkMaker’s gift card up until the very last minute! Print it out, roll it up, tie with a ribbon and stuff in stocking.
In 1995, Brown’s Foster Home, a facility in Rome, Maine for developmentally disabled men, began a wood shop program and their first project was to build a classic birdhouse. The guys enjoyed the collaborative process and began experimenting with not only various house shapes and rooflines but also with recycled and repurposed materials. As their skill improved and they refined their designs Recycled Reflections became a full fledged enterprise. And now more than 15 years since inception the guys at Brown’s have made literally thousands of birdhouses all of which they catalogued: stamping, numbering, dating and photographing each piece.
Inspiring story aside, the birdhouses really are quite remarkable with their trademark pine cone shingled roofs, patina of age lent by the recycled materials and quirky personality acquired from their unexpected perches. They average between $65. and $75., a price tag tempered by the knowledge of the sense of accomplishment and dignity the guys get from their efforts building birdhouses.
