Dear Reader,
For those of you who are keeping up with our events, don't forget about our yard/bake sale on the 24! That's next Saturday, less then a week away. We're taking care of all those last minute details that have been piling up, but have no fear! Our fundraising event will be organized for smooth sailing on Saturday. We've checked the weather, and so far it's looking good, but on the off chance that there is rain, the fundraising event will be moved to the following Saturday.
On another note, we do have some news protaining to Sudan. George Clooney was resently arrested for protesting against the Sudanese Government's genocide towards the ethnic miniorities of the country. He did so in an effort to capture the international community's attention so that we may all become more aware of the atrocities that have been occuring for decades in that region. You can read more about the protest and the arrest in the following article:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/george-clooney-arrested-sudan-embassy-washington-dc/story?id=15936415&page=2
George Clooney is exceptionally inspirational. It's always nice to see someone who is so well known using his fame in the interests of others. Yes, for those gossips out there, we love hearing about who cheated on who and who's got arrested this month. However, I can't remember the last time I heard about a celebrity being arrested for a good cause. This was defintely refreshing, and it is apparent that his arrest did some good, as it has brought about awareness.
Some of you are probably aware of the Kony issue that's been circling the media over the past few weeks. There have been two different opinions on the subject, one agreeing with the Invisible Children's efforts, and another saying that the whole idea is a waste of time, and people who are invested in the awareness project are doing so for selfish reasons. While we agree that it's important to become informed on any cause you decide to become a part of, and to question things, we believe that the important thing is to take action about injustices that occure throughout the world.
We understand if the Kony 2012 campaign is not something you agree with, but the efforts others are making to better the world is admirable. We need to care about what happens in this world, and we need to help eachother make the best of what we have. If you don't agree with Kony 2012, then we urge you to find a cause you do agree with. Find something you're passionate about, get involved, and make your efforts mean something!
Anyway, stay tuned for further updates on Sudan and Arts to Live by. We hope everyone enjoyed their St. Patrick's Day, and as the Irish say,
"Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!"
Sincerely,
Lainie and Bree
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
A Hero In The Strife
Dear Reader,
"In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!"
When Henry Wardsworth Longfellow wrote that in his poem, "A Psalm of Life", Sudan did not exist, the United Nations had not yet been formed, and slavery was still a common practice. However, there is probably no one who fits the description "hero in the strife" more than Ryan Boyette.
Ryan Boyette made countless sacrifices for something he believes in. His love for the Nuba people is truly amazing. But don't let us ramble on about it. This video and article says it all.
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/rock-center/46581824/#46581824
Boyette is an incredible person, and his love for others is inspiring. Even though we aren't making such extreme sacrifices, we truly believe we can make the world abetter place. That's why we started Arts to Live By and it's why we're fighting for South Sudan. It's easy to care about people and once you let yourself care, everything else falls into place and you find yourself doing everything you can to help.
We're hosting a Yard/Bake sale to raise money to get our organization off the ground. These beginning stages are challenging, but with a little support, we can do it! So please, feel free to come, buy things, donate, hang out, whatever.
"In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!"
When Henry Wardsworth Longfellow wrote that in his poem, "A Psalm of Life", Sudan did not exist, the United Nations had not yet been formed, and slavery was still a common practice. However, there is probably no one who fits the description "hero in the strife" more than Ryan Boyette.
Ryan Boyette made countless sacrifices for something he believes in. His love for the Nuba people is truly amazing. But don't let us ramble on about it. This video and article says it all.
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/rock-center/46581824/#46581824
Boyette is an incredible person, and his love for others is inspiring. Even though we aren't making such extreme sacrifices, we truly believe we can make the world abetter place. That's why we started Arts to Live By and it's why we're fighting for South Sudan. It's easy to care about people and once you let yourself care, everything else falls into place and you find yourself doing everything you can to help.
We're hosting a Yard/Bake sale to raise money to get our organization off the ground. These beginning stages are challenging, but with a little support, we can do it! So please, feel free to come, buy things, donate, hang out, whatever.
Friday, February 24, 2012
A License and a Goal or Two
Dear Reader,
Starting a business is so crazy! We're having a lot of fun with it, but there's so much to do! The work is never done, and there are never enough hours in a day. Right now we're working on obtaining a license for our non profit. The process seems easy enough so far, but we shall see where it goes. We're sitll in the beginning stages, but soon hopefully our little company will be legally recognized as a non-profit organization!
In other news, we have a nice set of goals for March.
1- Knit one complete elephant as a prototype.
2- Have a yard/bake sale to raise at least 100$ to get us started
3- Have a knitting party to get more people involved
4- Increase our Blog traffic
5- Obtain a license!
Wish us luck as we contiune on our little journey. This project of ours has really started to take off, and we can't wait to see where it goes. Stay tuned for further updates about our non-profit and news from Sudan!
Sincerely,
Lainie and Bree
P.S. If anyone has any suggestions or tips regarding obtaining a nonprofit license in California, or even suggestions on what would be good for our project, please let us know. We're always up for new ideas!
Starting a business is so crazy! We're having a lot of fun with it, but there's so much to do! The work is never done, and there are never enough hours in a day. Right now we're working on obtaining a license for our non profit. The process seems easy enough so far, but we shall see where it goes. We're sitll in the beginning stages, but soon hopefully our little company will be legally recognized as a non-profit organization!
In other news, we have a nice set of goals for March.
1- Knit one complete elephant as a prototype.
2- Have a yard/bake sale to raise at least 100$ to get us started
3- Have a knitting party to get more people involved
4- Increase our Blog traffic
5- Obtain a license!
Wish us luck as we contiune on our little journey. This project of ours has really started to take off, and we can't wait to see where it goes. Stay tuned for further updates about our non-profit and news from Sudan!
Sincerely,
Lainie and Bree
P.S. If anyone has any suggestions or tips regarding obtaining a nonprofit license in California, or even suggestions on what would be good for our project, please let us know. We're always up for new ideas!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Happy Valentine's Day from (He)arts To Live By!
Dear Reader,
Happy Valentines Day everyone! We hope your days are full of celebration and love. We really enjoy this holiday because it basically stands for every idealistic thing we believe in. This holiday is about wearing your heart on your sleeve and showing as much love as you possibly can. The thing is, once you break those boundries that hold us back in love, you'd be surprised at how much love the human heart can hold. It's kind of amazing, and that's why we like celebrating it on days like today.
And how have the makers of Arts to Live by spent their Valentine's Day? We did volunteer work at an elementry school and worked with the most adorable children. Then we went to get our first round of supplies at the PurlSide here in town! This business of ours is really starting to take off, and we can't tell you guys how imeasurably excited we are about it. This non-profit has been a dream of ours for months now, and it's nice to see that after all this careful planning, it's really going somewhere.
So we've chosen the PurlSide as our home base for our knitting supplies. It's a small shop here where we live and it's the most adorable place you will ever see. Plus, they sell fair trade yarn, as well as certified American-made yarn. We're very particular about the yarn that we use for this business; we want to make our products are made from yarn that is ethically sourced. So we were very excited to find a place that sells this kind of yarn in a nearby location.
Anyway, we hope everyone is enjoying their love and friendship day!
Sincerely,
Lainie and Bree
Happy Valentines Day everyone! We hope your days are full of celebration and love. We really enjoy this holiday because it basically stands for every idealistic thing we believe in. This holiday is about wearing your heart on your sleeve and showing as much love as you possibly can. The thing is, once you break those boundries that hold us back in love, you'd be surprised at how much love the human heart can hold. It's kind of amazing, and that's why we like celebrating it on days like today.
And how have the makers of Arts to Live by spent their Valentine's Day? We did volunteer work at an elementry school and worked with the most adorable children. Then we went to get our first round of supplies at the PurlSide here in town! This business of ours is really starting to take off, and we can't tell you guys how imeasurably excited we are about it. This non-profit has been a dream of ours for months now, and it's nice to see that after all this careful planning, it's really going somewhere.
So we've chosen the PurlSide as our home base for our knitting supplies. It's a small shop here where we live and it's the most adorable place you will ever see. Plus, they sell fair trade yarn, as well as certified American-made yarn. We're very particular about the yarn that we use for this business; we want to make our products are made from yarn that is ethically sourced. So we were very excited to find a place that sells this kind of yarn in a nearby location.
Anyway, we hope everyone is enjoying their love and friendship day!
Sincerely,
Lainie and Bree
Friday, February 10, 2012
Plan of Action!
Dear Reader,
So we've been contemplating our next plan of action to keep this business of ours afloat. There's so much to do and it's getting a little overwhelming to be honest. Any big project like this can seem a little impossible, but as long as we take it one step at a time we think things will be ok.
We've already made the simple starter steps to get our name out there. We have the blog, our facebook page, and a twitter account. The social media is covered. But what about the rest of it? What about the actual, knit some elephants, sell some stuff, and donate part?
Well, we've figured it out. We plan on hosting a bake/yard sale to raise money for the foundaition of all this. Then we're going to have a knitting party to get our friends involved. So if you're our friends, be warned. We're coming for you. We can't knit all this by ourselves! We could....but that would take forever, and the world needs change NOW!
So that's pretty much what we've been up to in the few weeks of blog silence. But once this ball gets rolling, you can be sure to expect more updates from us! We have big ideas and we can't wait to put them into action. So stay tuned kids! Big things are coming!
Sincerely,
Lainie and Bree
So we've been contemplating our next plan of action to keep this business of ours afloat. There's so much to do and it's getting a little overwhelming to be honest. Any big project like this can seem a little impossible, but as long as we take it one step at a time we think things will be ok.
We've already made the simple starter steps to get our name out there. We have the blog, our facebook page, and a twitter account. The social media is covered. But what about the rest of it? What about the actual, knit some elephants, sell some stuff, and donate part?
Well, we've figured it out. We plan on hosting a bake/yard sale to raise money for the foundaition of all this. Then we're going to have a knitting party to get our friends involved. So if you're our friends, be warned. We're coming for you. We can't knit all this by ourselves! We could....but that would take forever, and the world needs change NOW!
So that's pretty much what we've been up to in the few weeks of blog silence. But once this ball gets rolling, you can be sure to expect more updates from us! We have big ideas and we can't wait to put them into action. So stay tuned kids! Big things are coming!
Sincerely,
Lainie and Bree
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Step One
Dear Reader,
"Change your thoughts, and you change your world." - Norman Vincent Peale
There are a lot of things this world needs. There are people who struggle in ways we can't even begin to imagine.You can't fix them all, but doing the little you can is better than doing nothing at all. Helping children, both boys and girls, obtain a higher level of education is definitely a step in the right direction. That's the mindset we had when we first came up with the idea of Arts to Live by.
Arts to Live by is a charitable organization that sells knit elephant toys made from organic, fair trade yarn and uses the profits to contribute to the creation of schools in South Sudan.
A quality education means several things. It means a brighter future for a child, a higher standard of living for their community, and the creation of new, higher paying jobs.
Perhaps the demographics most in need of empowerment and education are women and girls.
Only 10% of girls in South Sudan, ages 7-14, go to school — this is the lowest rate in the world. (UNICEF).
This is an unaccaptable statistic. It means that out of every 100 girls, only TEN are receiving an education.
Education for women is vital: the more educated a woman is, the less children she is likely to have; AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases can be prevented by a comprehensive sex education; and perhaps most importantly of all, education is power, an educated woman is a woman empowered, able to invest in her community and change the world.
Follow us on facebook and twitter for more information as we embark on this journey to do our part in making the world a better place.
Sincerely,
Lainie and Bree
All our profits go towards the following organization: http://www.projecteducationsudan.org/pages/about.html
Arts to Live by is a charitable organization that sells knit elephant toys made from organic, fair trade yarn and uses the profits to contribute to the creation of schools in South Sudan.
A quality education means several things. It means a brighter future for a child, a higher standard of living for their community, and the creation of new, higher paying jobs.
Perhaps the demographics most in need of empowerment and education are women and girls.
Only 10% of girls in South Sudan, ages 7-14, go to school — this is the lowest rate in the world. (UNICEF).
This is an unaccaptable statistic. It means that out of every 100 girls, only TEN are receiving an education.
Education for women is vital: the more educated a woman is, the less children she is likely to have; AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases can be prevented by a comprehensive sex education; and perhaps most importantly of all, education is power, an educated woman is a woman empowered, able to invest in her community and change the world.
Follow us on facebook and twitter for more information as we embark on this journey to do our part in making the world a better place.
Sincerely,
Lainie and Bree
All our profits go towards the following organization: http://www.projecteducationsudan.org/pages/about.html
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