317-409-1801

Charities

Earlier this year, I joined the Junior League of Indianapolis, which is an amazing organization filled with wonderful women who are committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. (To learn more about the Junior League of Indianapolis, visit their website at www.jlindy.org )

They have a variety of fundraisers every year that help fund their numerous charity projects and one of them is the American Girl Fashion Show . The American Girl committee is currently in search of models for their 10th annual fashion show fundraiser! Since we receive so many inquiries from models and parents of children who want to get into modeling, I wanted to share this information that I received from the JLI:

“Last year with the help of our models, the JLI raised over $30,000 with this spectacular event. St. Mary’s Child Center and Kids Krew of the Damien Center are two examples of the many organizations that receive our volunteer hours and money. We appreciate the support from you and your daughters and hope that you will join us in 2008. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, October 4th and Sunday, October 5th at the brand new Renaissance Hotel in Carmel . ( 11925 N. Meridian Street ) We are in search of girls ages five and up interested in modeling Bitty Baby clothing, Historical Doll and Contemporary clothing. If you are interested in modeling and would like more information about this outstanding event, please email [email protected] or call Tracy Burch at (317) 222-6528. Don’t miss out on being part of the 2008 American Girl Fashion Show!”

By
0
Charities, Contests & Fun Stuff, Fashion & Modeling, Personal

So many of you have seen Olivia & Wessel's album – either the online album link on our website or the sample album we still have in our office from their wedding. Well, they moved to Amsterdam after the wedding and I received an e-mail from them about an educational project they're starting in Mozambique. Check this out & see if you can help them reach their goal! 🙂

Dear Family and Friends,
 
We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to join us in one of our new adventures – bringing about change!  Reading this email will not take long and we hope you will find the time to support our simple cause….
 
Our dream was born in Egypt over a year ago and has been evolving over the last few months while traveling to developing countries.  You might recall some pictures of Olivia and I being led up the Sinai Mountains on camels by two young smiling Egyptian boys.  While we were trekking up the mountain, their uncle was preparing a local meal of mezze and chicken which we enjoyed later that evening while admiring the African sun setting against the backdrop of the Red Sea.  The experience was unforgettable.  The evening’s conversation later exposed the limited future these two boys were facing due to their lack of education.  Our nudging conscience made it increasingly difficult to wash down the meal with the two-liter coke they brought along for us to enjoy.  We vividly recall their smiles as we said goodbye that night, thanking them sincerely and watching them eagerly as they walked into the night laughing and bragging about the 2 Egyptian Pounds (about 37 US cents) we sheepishly gave them as a token of our appreciation – if only we could do more….
 
A recent trip to Mozambique was yet another of several similar experiences that kick-started our idea of bringing about change.  We witnessed “firsthand” some of the devastating conditions in this beautiful country.  Due to its location, Mozambique is prone to natural disasters, including cyclones and floods and it has one of the highest malaria related casualty rates in the world.  In the 1990’s it emerged from 2 decades of civil war and until very recently has been ranked the poorest country in the world.  Its income per capita is roughly US$310, life expectancy is set at 37 years and about 60% of children live below the poverty line.  A more startling fact is that approximately 50% of its 20 million population is children – roughly 20% being orphaned as a result of past wars and its high AIDS/HIV casualty rate.  On average, one in five children is severely deprived of education (i.e. has never been to a school or are not attending school) – this statistic becomes increasingly alarming as you move into the rural areas and can be as high as one in every two children.
 
Education is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing childhood poverty and inequality.  The importance of education – particularly primary education – in advancing economic and social development and in reducing poverty is well documented.  Recent findings suggest that educational improvements over the period 1999- 2004 accounted for 13.9% of economic growth in Mozambique.
 
To help bring about change we envision contributing books and establishing an Information Center in Mozambique.  This Center will potentially include a library and computer center with basic English and computer skills training, primarily for children in the Zambezi Province (northern Mozambique).  Our goal is to establish, in coalition with the local community, governmental and non-governmental organizations, a safe and informative environment where all children can go to read and learn.
 
How can you help:
  • Find as many English or Portuguese books to include in a library as you can possibly lay your hands on, for example; educational books that are fun: science, geography, math, world history; children's storybooks; easy novels for older children; ABC and 123 books.
  • Send or drop-off the books at the hubs listed below with your contact details attached.  (Thanks to our parents whom we nominated as custodians of the books in the USA and South Africa—we love you!).
  • If you don’t have any books, slip a cash donation in an envelope and we will either buy books in bulk at a discounted rate or use it to help cover the largest expense – shipping costs.
  • Forward this email to all your friends and family – we all have old books lying around which we no longer read or that the kids have outgrown.
  • Donate spare frequent flyer miles to help cover the high traveling costs to Mozambique.
 
Olivia and I will, in return, take a few months leave of absence during the summer to organize, ship and categorize the books and work in Mozambique to establish a self-sustainable Information Center for the children.
 
We strongly believe that this simple cause will bring about an enormous change in the lives and future of the children, many whom have never opened a book before.  We all want to and can make a difference!  Please help us grasp this opportunity to help the children of Mozambique by aiming to accumulate 10,000 books by the end of July 2008.
 
Good luck – we look forward to keeping you updated!
 
Warm Regards,
Wessel and Olivia.
 
“Education enhances lives.  It lifts children and their future families out of poverty and provides the basis for sustainable development” – UNICEF Annual Report Mozambique.
 
Hub Addresses:
 
USA
Al Hardymon
1327 Pauls Drive
Greenfield, IN 46140
USA.
 
South Africa
Wessel and Joey Booysen
28 Fourth Street
Marlands
1401
South Africa
 
The Netherlands
Wessel and Olivia Booysen
Wouwerman Straat 24/3
Amsterdam
1071 LZ
 

By
0
Charities, Personal

I just received this email from a friend of mine, Amanda, whose wedding & family pics we photographed. Her dad was recently diagnosed with melanoma and she's in need of some help!! 🙁 Here's the info on her dad and what has transpired…if you or anyone you know can help her with this cause, please email her at: [email protected]

"Hello everyone!

As a handful of you already know, my father (whom many of you know personally) was recently diagnosed with melanoma.  I have not told many people until now, because unfortunately, I do not have a lot of information about his prognosis yet.  He is having surgery for removal of the affected tissue and a sentinel lymph biopsy on Thursday (05/15) morning.  This will determine what stage of cancer he has and what further treatment, if any, he will need.

About a week after finding out that my father has melanoma, I was watching the noon news and there were two ladies on there talking about Outrun the Sun Race Against Melanoma.  According to www.outrunthesun.org, Outrun the Sun "help[s] generate funding for melanoma education and research initiatives."  I was inspired to participate in the 5K walk/run.  I then thought of a way to raise money for melanoma and to hopefully help out a friend with some advertising for her new business.  After making sure that it was ok with my friend Karen von Kamecke-Sutton (Head Cupcake at Holy Cow, Cupcakes!), "Team Holy Cow!" was born.

So, I am asking you to join "Team Holy Cow!" on Saturday, June 7 at 7:00 pm at IUPUI to "outrun the sun" together.  We need 10 people to make it an official team.  The fee to run the race as a member of the team is $17.  We have also considered having team t-shirts made, so if we can get that done and if you want one, there would be a cost for that as well (completely optional, though).  I have not set up the team website, yet, because I want to make sure that we can get enough people for a team.  The teams have to be registered by Wednesday, May 21.  There are 3 events:  a 5-Mile Competitive Run, a 5K non-competitive walk/run, and a 1-mile non-competitive fun walk.  Please feel free to choose either of these; we will be participating in the 5K non-competitive walk/run.

I did not know a lot about melanoma until I found out about my father.  I then started looking up information about it.  Here are a few facts about melanoma taken from the American Melanoma Foundation website (www.melanomafoundation.org): 

  • Melanoma accounts for only about 3% of skin cancers.  However, melanoma causes more than 75% of skin cancer deaths.
  • Melanoma is the second most common cancer in women aged 20-29.
  • The five year survival rate for people whose melanoma is detected and treated before it spreads is 99 percent.
We are hopeful (obviously) that my father will fall into the category of those who detect their melanoma early.  I will hopefully have more information about him for everyone within the next week.

So PLEASE come join us to help raise money for the fight against melanoma.  If you would like to join us (you know you want to!), please let me know by this Sunday, May 18, so that I may set up the team website.  Please don't try to register until I let everyone know that I've set up the page for us.  I'd hate for you to not officially be a part of our team.  Please forward this to anyone that you think might want to participate or knows someone who might.  We don't have to know each other for someone to be a part of "Team Holy Cow!."  We would just love to be able to participate as a team.

I hope all of you will come join us!

Thank you very much for your time!"

By
0
Charities, Personal

36.jpg

On Wednesday evening, we headed to Terre Haute to surprise Jessica with the money we helped raise for her cause. (If you missed the past blog posts, click here and here to read her whole story!) Anyway, her best friend Jess had set up this whole thing…she told Jessica that they would go for a "girls night out" dinner at Red Lobster, one of their favorite restaurants. Luckily, she bought the story and even though she wasn't feeling well that night, she came anyway. Jess had called all of Jessica's closest friends and family to join us in surprising her and proceeded to collect more cards, checks and gifts for Jessica before the surprise party. Prior to Wednesday night, we had all helped collect $4,400 for her cause…but I just heard that the grand total for the evening ended up at $5,500!! Thank you to ALL of my clients, friends and family who helped make this surprise a HUGE success for all of us! 🙂 Here's the first of many checks…

210.jpg

And some of the gifts she received…one group of hospital staff members even pitched in and bought her a pink iPod! 🙂  

52.jpg42.jpg

I LOVE this…Jess put the names of all of the people who donated on this card…it was continued on the back too… 

62.jpg

LOL She also bought her some cute Victoria's Secret PJ's for her upcoming hospital stays….

81.jpg

And Jess got her some roses too! Look at all of the goodies!! 

101.jpg

Here's Jess texting Jessica before she arrived… 

71.jpg

And Jessica looking at all of us like "what is going on here?!" 😉  

112.jpg

The reactions!! She was sooooo adorably cute!! She was so surprised and excited all at the same time. The cutest was when she blurted out, "I'll be able to pay all of the medical bills now!" 🙂 That was our mission! LOL She was so surprised at all of the items that local businesses donated too…I loved it! 

110.jpg

Jess spent the whole day putting the names of everyone who donated into the heart shaped raffle box…there were a LOT of people!! 

91.jpg

The official drawing… (and if you won, Jessica Durbin will be contacting you!) 😉  

121.jpg

Here's everyone watching her pull names for the winners of the raffle… 

131.jpg141.jpg

Both Jessicas together!! Love you guys! 🙂 I'm so glad we were able to help you out with this project!!!!  

By
0
Charities, Contests & Fun Stuff, Personal

Last night, hundreds of photographers tried accessing the Thirst Relief auction site and their server went down. I couldn't even log in to see who won my session last night nor could I continue to bid on other photographers myself. LOL! We just received this e-mail though so if you were planning on bidding on us at the last minute last night, you have another opportunity today. 🙂 

Here's the updated info: 

"The auctions that were in progress when the server went down have been restarted and extended. They now end in 15 minute intervals starting Thursday morning at 10am.

The host thinks we were being "attacked" by someone overloading the server with web requests. However, we are trying to clarify whether that was actually the case or whether it might just have been a couple of hundred people all hitting "refresh" every five seconds (as people have been conditioned to do by their eBay experiences). That's one reason why we are staggering all the auction ending times now (plus it gives people an opportunity to bid on a second or third choice).

Just remember that the anti-snipe feature means you don't have to check an auction more than once every 5 minutes or so. (Stop thinking like eBay!) It is currently set to extend the auction if a new high bid comes in within 10 minutes of the auction end time – and don't forget – if you are the previous high bidder, you will be notified by e-mail if that happens, so you should have plenty of time to respond. So relax, and bid what you are actually willing to pay. Don't try to snipe in order to win by a nickel at the last minute. (It's a tough habit to break!)Again, the following are the only auctions that ended before the server went down (at 8:30 pm EST) and so have final results:

David Beckstead

Millie Holloman

Laura Novak

Rick and Deborah Fero

Kevin Kubota

Sarah Petty

Bronson Pate

Corey McNabb

LaCour

–Auction Admin"

By
0
Charities