Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Craft Hope Project



I discovered this A-MAY-ZING craft blog a few months ago - Craft Hope - through my cute friend Angela. Angela was also one of my roommates in college and you can see from her blog that she can make darling things!

Anyway, I am not the crafty type, but I am always trying to find ways to incorporate more charity and giving into my and my kiddo's lives. Do I succeed a lot - oh no - but occassionally I happen upon a project that is perfect for us.



Craft Hope shares handmade crafts with those who need them most. They've sent newborn kits to Africa, scarves to Haiti, and now they are collecting handmade bracelets to send to orphans in Russia.



The statistics they shared were staggering:

Every day 5,760 more children become orphans.
Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually, but…
Every year 14,050,000 children still grow up as orphans and AGE OUT of the system.
More than 1 million orphans are waiting for a home in Russia.
In Russia, 60% of girl orphans become prostitutes and 70% of male orphans become hardened criminals.

Broke my heart. After college I had planned to serve in orphanages in Russia or China, but life had other plans and I met my honey instead. These little ones still hold a place in my heart. Of course, they need donations for money, food, clothing, etc. But what I love about this project is that it is something that is just for each little girl to call their very own. That is special!

This project was so incredibly fast and easy! Just a quick trip to the store for the beads my little girl picked out and then half an hour out of our family get together on Mother's Day. Many hands make light work, right? I love that this is a project that everyone from the preschoolers to the grandparents can do and enjoy. Even the men got involved! In fact, they were the best at tying the knots onto the beads so the bracelets didn't fall apart. It was a good feeling to be serving together as a family - definitely something we want to do more of.




I 100 perecent recommend doing this with your family! It's a great project for little ones! I plan on making some friendship bracelets on our car trips over the next month (that totally take me back to junior high - love it!). Whether you can do a few or a lot, you will definitely have fun with your family! My daughter was so excited to do it for the little girls who had no mommies or daddies. In fact, she was quite sad when we had to drop them off at the post office instead of taking a trip to Russia to see the little girls.

So head on over to Craft Hope and check out the details! The project goes until June 15th. They are also now collecting hand made blankets for tornado victims in the South.