We Need Your Help!!!

No doubt you have heard about the devastating Victorian Bushfires that have claimed many lives and homes, including entire towns. We in California have experienced similar devastation because of our extremely dry, hot weather and never-ending drought conditions. Like every natural disaster, our hearts and prayers go out to people affected, and many of us wish there were something we could do to help. Well, there is!

Through this wonderful world of blogging, I've made friends with Debbie Pamment. Debbie lives in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, and has donated food, money, and blood to help the fire victims. Yet she still laments not being able to do more, especially since she knows people who have been directly affected by the fires. This got me to thinking about the Splitcoast Non-Raffle for Midwest Flood Relief held last August. So I got in touch with Jenn Balcer (who, by the way, is every bit as sweet as I've heard she is on various blogs and postings) to find out how we could get something similar started for the Victorian Bushfire victims. She offered to help get it all set up on SCS for us once we pull it together, and suggested that I contact Peggysue, who spearheaded the Midwest Flood Relief non-raffle.

Peggysue got right back to me when I PM'd her, and gave me a wealth of advice and encouragement. I can't thank her enough! So, with the advice and encouragement we needed, Debbie and I are teaming up to get the ball rolling.

The first order of business is to solicit donations of prizes, which can be either products or handcrafted items. All of these will be displayed in a special gallery set up on the SCS website. The donors will mail the prizes directly to those who win (which could be anywhere in the world... the shipping cost will be part of your donation to this very worthy cause), and there will be a winner for EACH prize, so hopefully lots of chances to win! But, most importantly, we will be helping our Aussie friends. All money raised will go to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfires Appeal.

If you are interested in donating an item, be it a stamp set, crafting materials, a handcrafted item, or anything else, please contact me (lhjulberg@charter.net) or Debbie as soon as possible. If you know someone who might also be interested in contributing, please forward this blog post to them. Any way we can get the word out is most appreciated. We'd like to have commitments and photos of all the donations by next Saturday, February 28th, if possible so that we can kick off the non-raffle in March.

The most wonderful thing about stampers and scrappers... in fact, all crafters... is the amazing amount of generosity, the spirit of giving and sharing, and all the kindness and fun. These are the reasons I cannot let a single day go by without checking in, even if only for a few moments. It's always refreshing to my soul. Oh, and the eye candy is pretty darn wonderful too! *smile*

Thank you so very kindly for considering this request for donations. And remember, if you can't donate, then stay tuned for the non-raffle because we'll really need your help then!

God bless,

Lisa