Give a Gift that Gives Back

In addition to helping to create and run Bellflower Books, I also make and sell jewelry on Etsy donating 100% of the proceeds to a scholarship fund for young women. Before having children I was an art teacher at Maria High School, located on Chicago's south side. Maria is in a pretty bad neighborhood and serves as a daily oasis of sorts for many of the young women who attend. By selling jewelry to raise tuition money, I am hoping to give more girls the opportunity to attend school where they are truly cared for, appreciated and encouraged to go on to college. I work with Sister Clement, also a former teacher, to pick our recipients and distribute the scholarships. Not only do these scholarships help financially, they also boost the self-esteem of the recipients because we are showing that someone else believes in them!

When you are doing your holiday shopping this year, think about giving a "gift that gives back". Here is the link to my Etsy site, Sweet Charity Designs, and several other Etsy sites who are also committed to giving back a large portion, if not all, of their proceeds!

Shopping for Charity on Etsy!

Sweet Charity Designs - Art Helping to Educate - Handmade jewelry from freshwater pearls and natural stone. 100% of the proceeds are donated to the Maria High School Scholarship Fund.

BIC Bands - Adorable fabric headbands, proceeds going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

One Gift One World - Where giving is at the heart of the art! - Extremely whimsical and unique gift items. I am in love with their ornaments benefiting the Arbor Day Foundation!

Going to the Dogs - Beautiful handmade jewelry. 100% of the proceeds go to helping animals at the Lakes Area Humane Society in Alexandria, MN

Painting Well - A way of living and giving - This artist donates 100% of her profits to cancer research. I have been a customer of hers for a while and absolutely love her work. Her paintings are all created to easily fit into store bought frames and make lovely gifts!

Lefft - This shop features darling handmade cards and other gifts. I especially love the holiday designs! The artist here is a cancer survivor and donates all of her profits to families fighting childhood cancer.

Future Leader 78 - Future leaders of Ghana - This artist is a 3rd grade teacher who loves crafting and travels to Ghana often to bring supplies, provide lunch, train volunteers and help to improve 4 impoverished schools in Ghana. Pretty amazing! She offers a fun variety of products. I especially love her "Adventure Book".

Gifted Hands NYC -The mission of Gifted Hands is to provide marginalized and broken people in New York City the opportunity to participate in a therapeutic and recreational art program that contributes to their physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. As a former art teacher, I absolutely love this concept. The jewelry they create is from high quality materials and absolutely beautiful!

Wild Strawberry - The proceeds from these original photographs and handmade gifts are donated to Engineers Without Borders. Engineers Without Borders creates opportunities for rural Africans to access clean water, create income producing family farms and have improved access to the services they need to improve their lives.

AWBAR - Abandoned Wild Babies Animal Rescue- What is there not to love about this organization? If you are an animal lover, you will really appreciate these darling cards. I especially loved the squirrel. 100% of the proceeds are for the animals!

Apache Moon - Jewelry for the joy of it!- I love this extremely artistic jewelry and I love even more that 100% of the proceeds go to helping animals!

I really enjoyed researching these Etsy shops. If you have the time, send this list on to your friends and take a minute to read the profiles of the artists behind these wonderful shops and products. I found them all to be very inspirational!

And, don't forget, a Bellflower Book is also a "gift that gives back" because a portion from each book sold goes to donating books to the Pink Ribbon Girls!

Happy Holiday Shopping!!!

Start thinking about giving meaningful gifts for the holidays!

I know the holidays are still two months away, but now is the perfect time to get started on a Bellflower Book for the special person in your life who has everything material and deserves something meaningful.

Last year I worked with my very large extended family to create a book of love and memories for my 90 year old grandmother. This is a photo of us looking at the book together. She is losing her short term memory, so this book has been a wonderful way to remind her on a daily basis of how much her 8 children, 20 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren love her.

Creating my grandmother's Bellflower Book allowed for my family members to share memories and express their appreciation. This book ended up being a gift, not only to my grandmother, but to the whole family. There are multiple copies in circulation and I am so happy that my children will now have photos and documentation of the wonderful time we all spent at my grandparents'.

Seriously, get started on a Bellflower Book for the special person who has truly made a difference in your life and the lives of many others =). It would be hard to give a better gift than heartfelt words of love and appreciation! Learn more at www.BellflowerBooks.com!

Use the code HOLIDAYSPECIAL to save $20 on your order. It expires December 31st!

Meaningful Person of the Month: Deb Buker

Our meaningful person for October is Deb Buker of Perrysburg, OH!

We met Deb (pictured, third from left) through our good friend, Marsha (Metti) Swanson (pictured, second from left) and she has had our backs ever since!!!

Deb is the editor of the Perrysburg Messenger Journal and she does such an exceptional job of highlighting relevant and meaningful stories in Perrysburg any beyond.

Deb just ran a second story about Bellflower Books - it focused on our partnership with The Pink Ribbon Girls, an organization that supports young women who have breast cancer. The day the story ran, the four of us pictured above went out for a cocktail in downtown Perrysburg, during which we learned that Deb, herself, is a breast cancer survivor. So, not only is she a great person and Editor, but she's a fighter and a survivor, too. After seeing my Mom go through chemo and radiation, I now have a much greater appreciation for what Deb has been through.

Thanks, Deb, for being a great advocate for Bellflower Books and for women fighting breast cancer. Your kindness and support are much appreciated!

Bellflower Books and the Pink Ribbon Girls – Working together to provide support!

Kim Henn, a young mom and a three-time breast cancer survivor, earned her spot as the honoree at this year’s 6th Annual Pink Ribbon Girls Wiffleball Tournament. This mother of two was diagnosed in 2002 with breast cancer and learned in 2007 that it has spread (metastasized) to her lungs.

Thanks to our new charitable partnership with the Pink Ribbon Girls we were able to donate a Bellflower Book to honor Kim and her unbelievable strength as she fights cancer for the third time. More than 50 of her closest friends and family members contributed memories, wishes and photos to make sure Kim knows why she is so loved and supported during this ongoing challenge in her life.

It was so exciting for us to see our product “in action” letting Kim know how loved and appreciated she is. Being a part of the book presentation was extremely meaningful for us. After seeing all of the amazing letters and photographs in her book, it was wonderful to meet Kim in person! She was just as incredible as we thought she would be.

We are looking forward to many more moments like this where we are given to opportunity to use the product that we so lovingly created to improve the lives of others.

Words of love truly are the best gift (and they keep on giving...)

As I was packing yesterday for our upcoming move from the 'Burbs to downtown Columbus, I came across a stack of letters & cards that I received last fall after my mother passed away from breast cancer. I ended up sitting on my kitchen floor (surrounded by boxes and clutter) reading the entire stack...

I was so struck by the wisdom and love in those cards. They lifted me up last fall when they were originally sent and reading them for a second time yesterday gave me another opportunity to grieve the loss of my mother while feeling supported & loved by my friends.

I am continually reminded of how powerful it is to tell people why you love them and how they make a difference in your life. THANK YOU to all my dear friends who have done that for me so many times in my life, but especially the past 18 months.

- Heather

Giving Back

Almost three years ago Kerry and I sat around my parents’ kitchen table and brainstormed about plans and ideas for our new company. We both agreed that using our product to “give back” in some way should be a top priority. We have accomplished that goal and we couldn’t be more excited about it.

www.BellflowerBooks.com has become charitable partners with www.PinkRibbonGirls.org The Pink Ribbon Girls is a Cincinnati-based non-profit that was founded to support young women dealing with breast cancer. The organization offers education, awareness for early detection, support and an outlet to express fears.

Kerry’s mother-in-law is a breast cancer survivor and my mom passed away from Triple Negative breast cancer 18 months ago, so this is a cause that is very meaningful to both of us. One of my mother’s defining characteristics was her ability to recognize the good in people and to make sure they knew why they were loved and how their lives made a difference. That is exactly what a Bellflower Book does for somebody…it allows a group of people to tell somebody exactly why she is loved, supported and appreciated. We believe from first-hand experience that this is the best gift for somebody going through breast cancer treatment or achieving a survival anniversary milestone.

A portion of the proceeds from each Bellflower Book sold will go towards donating books to the Pink Ribbon Girls. These books will be given to women currently undergoing treatment, women reaching exciting milestones (like 5 years of being cancer free!) and amazing volunteers. In addition to donating books, www.BellflowerBooks.com is also extremely committed raising awareness about The Pink Ribbon Girls. Our wonderful software developer, Jared Saunders at www.LittleGreenCube.com, donated his talent and his time to create a special book design to honor this partnership.

Please help us spread the word!
www.PinkRibbonGirls.org

A special thank you to Kerry's cousin-in-law for donating her services as our photographer. Check out her amazing work at www.AngelaDugan.com.

Meaningful Person of the Month

Mac the Bike Guy

The other day I took my daughter to get her first bike. Instead of going to one of the large chain stores, we went down the street to visit “Mac the Bike Guy”. Mac is 89 years old and for the last 17 years he has been fixing up and recycling used bikes and giving them life again. He uses his garage as his storefront and workshop. He has every type of bike you can imagine, but my favorites are the vintage bikes that just need new straw baskets before they are good to go! The best part about buying my daughter’s bike from Mac was his genuine enthusiasm for his product. Not only did a get a great deal on a “recycled bike” but I also had a great conversation with Mac and left feeling really good about my purchase.

People like “Mac the Bike Guy” give a community like mine character. I love meeting people with a passion for something that brings joy to others. Thanks to Mac, old bikes in Perrysburg are rebuilt instead of thrown away!