Lisa Fuller Designs and End the Backlog

Please feel free to link to this blog post at your own blog or social network page like Twitter or Facebook. Shine light on this great cause. Thank you!

My favorite jewelry designer, Lisa Fuller, is supporting the efforts of End the Backlog and has created some beautiful (and inexpensive!) pendant necklaces with 100% of the sales going to the charity. Please help spread the word!

http://www.lisafullerdesigns.com/backlog.html

The federal government estimates that hundreds of thousands of rape kits sit untested in the United States. The Joyful Heart Foundation, along with president and founder, actress Mariska Hargitay, have started a movement at www.endthebacklog.org to shed light on this horrible epidemic.

Lisa Fuller Designs is offering one-of-a-kind pendant necklaces to help raise awareness. 100% of the sales of these necklaces will benefit The Joyful Heart Foundation and their efforts to END THE BACKLOG!

# Hand crafted
# Recycled denim
# Beaded accents
# Wide color selection

Browse our ETSY shop for the current selection of necklaces.

Lisa has a variety of pieces available, and creates all sorts of beautiful lines. She also takes custom orders. Contact her with custom design requests.

Thanks for your support!

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month.

From http://www.ovariancancerawareness.org -

Ovarian Cancer is one of the most deadly of women's cancers. Each year, approximately 21,500 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In 2008, approximately 15,500 women will die in the United States from ovarian cancer. Many women don't seek help until the disease has begun to spread, but if detected at its earliest stage, the five-year survival rate is more than 93%.

Wear teal today for Ovarian Cancer Awareness.

Visit websites such as ovariancancerawareness.org and ovariancancercalifornia.com to make yourself more aware of the facts and to get involved in educational and/or fundraising events.

Art Saves: Realm Lovejoy

This contribution and guest blog comes from Realm Lovejoy, author of the forthcoming illustrated novel Clan. She created this Art Saves piece for a very special reason - and then received some news about a loved one. The rest of this post is in her own words.


Click here for larger view.

This Art Saves piece was inspired by the news story about Colby Curtin, whose dying wish was to see the movie UP by Pixar before she passed away. It's an example of how much artistic creations can mean to us. During hard times, sometimes we just hold onto the simple and happy things in life.

Shortly after I started this painting, I received news that my grandmother has cancer and may only have a few months left to live. It would mean a lot to me if I could dedicate this painting towards collecting what she loves most.

I am offering to send a signed print of this piece. Instead of paying me for the print plus shipping, all you have to do to get a print is to buy a ten stem bouquet or a Pinky Tree on-line and have it sent to my grandmother. (She misses gardening very much.) One can never have too many flowers!

If you are interested or have questions, just give me an email at rtlovejoy (at) yahoo (dot) com

I'll accept requests up until August 10th of this year. Thank you!

- Realm Lovejoy

Visit Realm's website and blog.

Help Stamp Out Hunger

35 million Americans don't have enough food to eat. Today, May 9th, you can Help Stamp Out Hunger by donating food to the 17th annual nationwide food drive. Simply fill bags with non-perishable food items and leave them next to your mailbox, and your letter carrier will carry them off.

From the official Help Stamp Out Hunger press release:

Nation's Largest One-Day Food Drive Helps The Increasing Number of Americans Struggling with Hunger

CAMDEN, NJ (April 13, 2009) — On Saturday, May 9, Campbell Soup Company will join forces with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) to Stamp Out Hunger!(TM) across America in order to provide assistance to the one in eight Americans who struggle with hunger.

The Stamp Out Hunger! effort is the nation's largest single-day food drive, having collected more than 909 million pounds of food since its inception in 1993. Last year, letter carriers across the country collected a record total of more than 73.1 million pounds of food, but with hunger impacting many Americans – including working families, children and the elderly – help is needed now more than ever before.

To help Stamp Out Hunger! this year, simply leave a sturdy bag containing non-perishable foods, like canned soup, canned vegetables, pasta, rice or cereal, next to your mailbox prior to the time of regular mail delivery on May 9. Food items should be in non-breakable containers, such as boxes and cans. The nation's 230,000 letter carriers will be collecting donations from homes across the country and delivering them to food bank members of Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network) and other hunger relief organizations in more than 10,000 local communities.

"In these difficult economic times, hunger is an issue that must be addressed in every community across our country," said William H. Young, NALC president. "We see it daily out on our routes. That's why now more than ever before we need everybody’s help to make a real difference."

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 36 million Americans live in food insecure households, and approximately one in every three of these Americans is a child. Additionally, a recent survey of Feeding America food bank members reported a 30 percent increase in requests for emergency food assistance. The reasons cited for this dramatic increase in demand included rising cost of food, increasing unemployment and underemployment, the cost of fuel and the burden of mortgage or rent costs.

Food banks are also notoriously empty during summer months, having exhausted the supply of donations received from food drives conducted during the holidays that are then distributed during spring. Summer donations are even more critical since many children in need no longer have the benefit of their school lunch program.

Read the entire press release.

For more information about the food drive, visit http://www.helpstampouthunger.com and http://www.stampouthunger.info/

Click here to locate your nearby post office and make sure it is participating in the food drive.

Peace Over Violence presents Denim Day

Every year, Peace Over Violence presents Denim Day, a campaign to raise awareness and educate the public about rape and sexual assault. Here's more information about the event:

In 1998, an Italian Supreme Court decision overturned a rape conviction because the victim wore jeans. People all over the world were outraged. Wearing jeans became an international symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitudes about sexual assault.

In 2007, 300,000 people signed up to wear jeans in support of raising awareness about the need to end sexual violence.

In 2008, on the 10th Annual Denim Day, over 600,000 individuals, 350 organizations, 75 businesses, 110 schools, 40 cities in LA county and representatives from over 20 states signed up to support the sexual violence prevention and education campaign Denim Day in LA and Denim Day USA 2008.

On Denim Day, wear your jeans as a visible sign of protest against the myths that still surround sexual assault!

Learn the statistics. Download the press kit.

Also visit Safe Horizon, an organization whose mission is "to provide support, prevent violence, and promote justice for victims of crime and abuse, their families and communities."

I encourage you to wear jeans on Denim Day no matter where in the world you live!

For recommended books and other notes, keep reading this post at my blog.