A success story!

Today was the 2010 Walk for Life to support Pregnancy Support Services of Wake Forest. Let me tell about the immense success of today:

*the forecasted rain held off, but the overcast skies kept the day crisp and cool instead of hot and sweaty
*walkers turned out even though there was a threat of rain, with 500-600 in attendance
*over 20 people were in the "Platinum Club", which means they each raised over $1000.00
*the total amount raised for the walk was ...........
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
keep reading....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
$110,000 !!!!!



That is twice as much as walkers raised last year! To God be all the glory for this wonderful, jaw-dropping amount of money. This will help PSSWF to meet their annual budget, and will help them achieve their goal of buying an RV for a mobile ultrasound unit. Thank you to all of my friends and family for joining my team, praying for this event, and giving to this amazing cause. I am so blessed by your generosity, and pray that this will encourage even more people to be involved with Pregnancy Support Services in the future.

Button rings

Here is my latest crafty project. If you remember, I found a button ring that I love last Christmas. I decided to make a few myself and I really like how they turned out. A few pictures are below. I am selling these rings for the bargain price of $5.00/each, with all proceeds to go to my Walk for Life, so please let me know if one catches your eye!

Creativity for a good cause

If you read my post below, you know I am participating in the 2010 Walk for Life to support Pregnancy Support Services of Wake Forest. I am asking everyone I know (and even those blog readers I don't know:-) to consider donating money to my walk. My fundraising goal is $2,000--that is a LOT of money, but I believe that God will bless this ministry and help me meet my goal.

Another way that you can contribute is by purchasing something from LFinnDesigns from now until April 23, the day before the walk. All proceeds from anything I sell will go to the Walk for Life. Over the next several days, I will be posting pictures of items I have available or that you can order. So be thinking about that nursing cover, diaper clutch, burp cloth, or baby blanket that you want! I also have a few new things to show you soon, so please come back to check it out. Buy something in April to support a great cause!

If you would like to donate to my walk, please go to http://www.blogger.com/www.psspartners.com, select "Donate Now" and enter my name in the comments/notes section. And if you cannot donate, please pray for the Lord to bless this wonderful ministry and the 2010 Walk for Life!

2010 Walk for Life

At the end of April, I will be participating in the 2010 Walk for Life to support Pregnancy Support Services of Wake Forest. This wonderful ministry serves women and men dealing with unplanned pregnancies, seeking to help them with pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, crisis counseling, and life skills classes. It is very easy to donate online at http://www.blogger.com/www.psspartners.com by clicking on the Donate Now button. Please put my name, Leah Finn, in the comments section so my fundraising account can be credited. If you would prefer not to donate online, you may give/mail me a check made payable to PSSWF. Thank you for supporting this great cause! More information about this ministry can be found here.

My small fundraising attempt

Though I am not ready for an Etsy store, on occasion I do sell the nursing covers, diaper clutches and other items that I make. A handmade gift is a special touch, and if I can help someone give a handmade gift, then all the better!

From now until April 24, anything that I sell will be a double gift--it will be a gift for someone special, AND all proceeds will go to benefit Pregnancy Support Services and the 2009 Walk for Life. I intend to cover the cost of my fabric and then all the rest will go into my "fundraising pot." I have posted a Flickr badge on my sidebar that shows several items I have already made as well as fabric swatches. Though I don't often have time to make things unless someone has ordered it (having 2 kids under 3 will do that), I hope to have some additions to my stash over the next two weeks.

If you are a new mom, or know a new mom who would be interested in a nursing cover, diaper clutch, or baby sling, please look through what I have and let me know what grabs your interest! The ministry of Pregnancy Support Services helps women and families dealing with crisis pregnancies and gives precious unborn children a chance for life. This cause is dear to my heart and I pray you will support me by buying some handmade items, spreading the word, or even giving generously yourself.

Raising money for a good cause

Do you give to ministries and charities?

Later this month I am participating in the 2009 Walk for Life to raise money and awareness for my local Pregnancy Support Services. This wonderful ministry provides support, counseling and material needs for women and families experiencing crisis pregnancies. Each person walking commits to raise a set amount, but I really want to go above and beyond that amount!

Here are some things I am doing to meet my personal goal:
*collecting all of my loose change (and spare dollars when I can) into a jar specifically for Walk for Life
*holding a yard sale with all proceeds to benefit the Walk
*emailing friends and family
*posting about it on my blog :-) and Facebook
*donating proceeds of anything I sell in the month of April to the Walk for Life fund--more coming on that soon!

In this tough economic time, charities and ministries are suffering because charitable giving is down. Though I am participating in this special event at my local favorite charity, my "regular" charitable giving is not as high as I would like. Works for Me Wednesday is in reverse this week--we pose a question that we want people to answer. So here is my question--I don't have a problem trying to raise money for a special cause (like Walk for Life), but how do I find money for regular charitable gifts? When the wallet is tight, where do you find the money to give generously? Are you giving to churches, charities, and ministries? I need ideas for how to budget for charitable giving during budget crunching times--and if you have any great ideas for raising money for the Walk for Life, I would love to hear that as well!

A Reprieve for CPSIA

Back in December I posted about the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act which was set to go into effect in February, possibly causing hundreds of small business owners and craftsmen across the States to go out of business. Earlier in January, the Consumer Products Safety Commission decided that thrift and consignment sales will not be required to certify their products, which is a blessing for those of us who shop at consignment sales! Yesterday it was announced that the CPSIA has been delayed for one year, until February 2010. This is wonderful news, and will hopefully give lawmakers time to review the law and make amendments for small business owners and those who make any goods for children under the age of 12. You can read more about it here.

Save Handmade!

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act was voted on by Congress in an attempt to put an end to toxins in toys by requiring extensive third party testing. While the CPSIA is intended to make toys safe for our children, and that is to be applauded, small businesses (and even people like me who are not really a business) are not addressed in their guidelines. This will affect toy manufacturers, clothes manufacturers, and the thousands of people who run small businesses/have shops on Etsy/sell things at craft fairs/etc. The high costs of testing their products will put many people out of business--including those that sell handmade clothes, wooden toys, baby slings and carriers, hairbows, felt food, burp rags, cloth diapers and more!

Please help save handmade items and small businesses by checking out the links below, which have more information and ways that you can support homemade items.

Boutique Cafe--National Bankruptcy Day
Cool Mom Picks (lots of resources, including the Save Handmade button I am using)