Discover helping a friend

One of my friends and members of our little group has such a cool charity that she started back in 2006. It is called The Forever Bear Foundation. Check out her site Forever Bear Foundation

 Isn't that the cutest little bear? I have to say they are very soft and cuddly. What makes these bears special? Well, they go to siblings of babies that die at birth. The founder lost a baby girl when her oldest was just 4 years old. As you can imagine, it was hard on the family. Her little 4 year old had a particularly hard time with the passing of his little sister until he was given a bear. That bear provided much needed solace at a difficult time. In memory of their lost daughter they started this foundation to help others that go through the same thing.




With orders for 350 bears, a deadline, and t-shirts to put on all of them she called on our group to help out.

We are missing three more in the picture, but we were on FIRE dressing those bears so we missed a second picture! It pays to be on time :)!
We had quite the sweat shop set up. One person throwing the bears to the rest of us and two more at the end counting them out to get our numbers right. And, if you can believe it, there was no food involved. We managed to make it through without any chips and queso -ha. It is the best helping a friend.

I am amazed at the greatness in those around me. The founder has inspired me and I am sure many more with her desire to turn something so difficult into something that brings so much joy. Go help a friend. Sometimes it is the people closest to us that need our help. Think of the difference you can make in just your neighborhood or even city. The discovery for me was that little things make a big difference. Thank you friend for letting me be apart!

Discover Art- field trip

This week we, meaning only two of us, went to an open house for J. Kirk Richards's art. We brought our husbands along this time!

Photo credit goes to me. Ha! I stink at taking pictures, especially selfies because I have short arms and I can't get the camera far enough away. Ok, I digress. Back to the art. A member of our group, Michelle, knows Richards and received an invite to his once a year open house. He literally opens his house to view his artwork. I mean we walked in his bedroom and bathroom to see some of his art. 

There was finished paintings, sculptures, works in process, and just sketches. Over all, 100 works to view. It was an interesting way to view someone's art. In their home, with their family blending into the crowd, and a bit of their personal life on display. We even went in to the garage where the cats sleep :). 

"J. Kirk Richards is a favorite among admirers of contemporary spiritual artwork. His love of the textural, the poetic, and the mysterious has translated into a unique take on traditional Judeo-Christian themes" 

It was amazing to see his talent exhibited in different mediums.Mostly religious subjects. I think this would work great into our discussion on Angels... maybe next time.  

You should check out his artwork.J Kirk Richards Beautiful stuff! I loved this one above with the angels. It was stunning and brought great light to the room. A lot of his art is done in darker hues, so this one really stood out for me. I love art. I love that it can make us feel different emotions just by viewing it. I don't have any skill myself with the visual arts, but I appreciate it immensely. 

Try some art yourself. Here are a few sites I have used to help me on my artistic journey. 

www.instructables.com- You can learn how to do just about anything on this site. 

www.drawspace.com- "anyone can draw" is their motto"

www.artforkidshub.com- this is great for kids. Even my 5 year old loves to watch these tutorials and busts out some great art. 

Post some of your art for us all to enjoy :)

Discover Charity

This week we came together to discover what charities we wanted to be involved in helping. It started with food, of course. I think this is becoming one of the staples of our club. We need food. It gives you something to do with your hands when you are nervous :). It also helps us to loosen up. After we all got enough snacks to keep us going for a few minutes we dived right into the different charities we had found. So here is our list. 

        1. Kids on the move is a group that helps kids that have special needs and their families. From their website "Our mission is to help the development of young children..." One of our members, Heidi, has worked with them before. She had put together little kits that they give the children when they come in to get services. We decided as a group that this would be a great thing to do for one of our meeting. Lunch and kits for kids, how awesome is that ? Here is the link, Kids On the Move, if you are interested in knowing more about this great program. 

       2.  Women of the World is an organization that helps women refugees adapt to life in the US. They provide English tutoring, help them find jobs, help them get education, and provide advocates for these women. I have worked with them in the past and they are doing great things for women. There are many services out there for men refugees and the children, but the women get forgotten. They are left home all day without anyone there to guide them through this crazy transition. There are many ways to help this great group. Here is the link. Woman of the World

      3.  Africa is Life Changing is another group one of our members, Michelle, has been apart of helping. They are a non-profit whose mission is to "nurture the value of women and children". They build schools for children in Africa. They provide micro loans so these families can become self sufficient. They teach about healthy life style practices and other health screenings. You can go on an expedition to help build a school. I am blown away by how much people are willing to give and help! Here is a link to their site, Africa is Life Changing .

     4.  Refugee action Network is a group that is local to us. It's goal is to provide housing for refugees in neighborhoods that can help them succeed. They want 5 families to "adopt" a refugee family. They need people to find housing, help teach English, find a job, and integrate into society. I can only imagine how hard it would be to be kicked out of my home and start anew in a new country, with a different language and culture. Our little group is interested in this organization. We have given the assignment to Shannon to get more information for us. If you want to know more, 

Refugee Action Network. 

There are so many needs all around us. You don't have to be apart of a group or work with an organization to make a difference. Go out and be nice to someone, buy somebody lunch, smile more, give compliments, or just be a good friend. Go do good!