Letters, Syllables, Words, Phrases, Sentences.: a cause, shopping with a cause, and just plain shopping

HE(ART) for Haiti results:

The event went pretty incredibly actually. We had a blast hanging the show and getting to know the manager at Dominican Joe Coffee Shop. I was honored to have my own paintings in the mix of AWESOME artists. We had a nice large group of family, friends, and other supporters come and help us raise about $2,600!!! That's half the house! We are so excited to plan how to raise the rest :)

My Pieces

After we hung all the pieces!

Shopping with a Cause:

My friend Mackenzie was wearing some really cool sandals the other day and whenever I asked her where they were from she told me they were SSEKO's and told me a little bit about there mission (I'll share below!). I have been a huge fan of Tom's Shoes (and now sunglasses) for quite a while now and have stocked up on more than a few pairs. But, when Mackenzie told me about SSEKO's, it made me realize that there are other organizations out there that do similar things (obviously), most that aren't for profit. Two organizations I am seriously digging right now are SSEKO and Noonday.

Sseko \say-ko\ Designs was created to help these bright young women continue their education. The Ugandan school system is designed with a nine month gap between secondary school and university. These nine months are intended to allow time for students to earn money for tuition before continuing on to university. However, in an impoverished and male dominated society, many of these young women struggle to find fair work during this time.

Sseko Designs hires recent secondary school graduates for this nine month period to live and work together, while earning money that will go directly towards their university education. These women will not makesandals forever. They will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers and teachers that will bring change and unification to a country divided and ravished by a 22 year-long war.

Sseko Designs is a not-just-for-profit enterprise that recognizes the power of business and responsible consumerism to support sustainable economic development, which in turn affects a country's educational, justice, and health care systems. The goal of Sseko Designs is two-fold: provide university tuition for these promising young women through a sustainable monthly income, while also contributing to the overall economic development of Uganda.

Although consumerism makes many empty promises, responsible and proactive consumerism has the ability to change lives.

Sseko's are really cool sandals that you can tie any infinite number of ways and you can change out the ties. They are unique, trendy, comfortable, AND are a great alternative to wearing Tom's in the heat of summer!

Noonday's story: After visiting Uganda in February of 2010 and holding hundreds of children without moms and dads, Joe and Jessica Honegger (the founder) decided to adopt internationally (from Rwanda). Also on that visit, they met up with long time friends who had lived in Uganda for many years trying to create sustainable income opportunities for the Ugandan people. They asked Jessica if she would like to sell the fair-trade locally made goods in Austin, in order to raise money for the costly adoption process. Jessica agreed and the first Noonday Collection trunk show was born!

At Noonday Collection, we believe every child belongs in a family. While the owner is no longer raising money for their Rwandan adoption (though they think more adoptions will come), the vision remains the same. We advocate for the orphan by:

Providing jobs that create a pathway out of poverty for women. A stable income means a family is less likely to abandon their child.

Help families fundraise for their own adoptions. We give10% of trunk show sales directly to the adoptive family when they host a trunk show.

Aside from donating 10% towards qualified adoptive families, Noonday Collection Foundation gives net proceeds towards orphan care and prevention. Watch the video to see one of our main beneficiaries.

The dream: Take YOU on a trip to visit artisans and visit orphans in their distress.

Noonday is an organization that makes really pretty jewelry and accessories and are JUST my style :

Unadulterated Shopping:

I am still a shopaholic and find myself drawn back to the same, purely for profit stores. BUT, I am proud of myself for keeping in my (very tight) budget for the summer and enjoying trying clothes on without purchasing them! Also, I have saved half of the money I need to go to France!! :) Anyways, here are some clothes I have stumbled across while shopping in the past month!