Did you ever wonder what $1400 looked like all stacked up in cash and checks?
Did you ever wonder what 3,600 Rainbow Loom bracelets looked like all together?
Wonder no more. You all rock. Really, you do. In fact, I think you are way incredible.
Thanks to kids and families from all over the US and Canada, we collected over 3,600 Rainbow Loom bracelets and $1400 in cash/checks. Many people donated online - I don't have those totals yet - but, my guess is with the online donations, cash, checks and coaches' pool from yesterday's blog post, we raised well over $2,000 for AHOPE. $2,000!
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There were so many bracelets, Mr. UpCyclist had to wrangle them.
At one point, I made Lil O a Rainbow Loom bed. That's how many bracelets you all made and donated.
There were Rainbow Loom creations for as far as the eye could see. Like a sea of color and love.
I now know how many Rainbow Loom bracelets can fill a gallon-size Ziploc bag. Around 300 - give or take a few - in case you were wondering. Your donations filled 12 of those gallon-sized Ziplocs. 12!
The packages. The hand-written notes from kids. The dollar bills crammed inside - like kids had donated their allowance. The $100 checks from total strangers. The love for kids halfway around the world who are orphans, HIV+, and who need the support of AHOPE. It really was incredible to see the giving.
When I gave Julie from AHOPE all the donations. She cried. I cried. These are the kids that aren't adopted and are left behind. These are the kids who struggle to stay alive, have lost their parents, have no abundance of toys, books or things.
Now, these Rainbow Loom creations will find their way to Ethiopia in early April with the 15 AHOPE volunteers who will be visiting there. These gifts of love will adorn the arms of boys and girls, children and teens, and their adult allies - a reminder they are valued and important.
I've never used social media for anything like this - anything with such purpose, impact, and selflessness. Thank you for showing what can happen when we do and when kids relate, create and donate.
A gigantic thank you to these amazing, blogger moms who joined me in launching this project:
Susan from Crafterhours
Ashley Ann from Under the Sycamore
Jenny from The Southern Institute
Stacy from Kids Stuff World
And huge thanks to these supporters who continued to carry the torch for us:
Marie from Make and Takes
Amy from Mod Podge Rocks
Forever grateful for all of your support,
Jen
If you missed giving to AHOPE and would like to, you make a donation on their webpage here or buy a pair of shoes for the kids/teens at AHOPE using this Amazon wish list (and AHOPE's address: 104 Hume Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22301). Lil O and I picked out two pairs yesterday - one for a girl and one for a boy. The girly pair was full of sparkles :)
