Monday Motivator: Hearts for Haiti

I've never done any sort of crafting for charity. It's one of those things I've always wanted to do and meant to do, but I've just never gotten around to doing it. And I can't help but think that I'm not alone in that. Many of us have good intentions, but it's easy for them to get lost amongst the odds and ends of our own busy lives.

We don't have cable or satellite or even an antenna--DVD's and videos only in our house--so the only news I get is headlines on my phone and what I come across here on the internet. So two weeks ago, when the earthquake struck Haiti, I was sitting here completely unaware until I decided to check my phone and saw the headline. And then throughout the day and the rest of the week, I watched charitable acts and organizations popping up all over the place, like flowers in spring.

There has been much buzz on the Etsy forums about what we crafty folk can do to help, and there have been plenty of efforts organized by our fellow Etsians. One of the first I came across was Hearts for Haiti.

This is an awesome shop that sells items--many of which are heart-themed--that have been donated by Etsy sellers. 100% of the proceeds (minus the Etsy and Paypal fees) goes to Doctors Without Borders, which is a fantastic organization itself, and if you aren't already familiar with them, you really should go take a look at their site. Hearts for Haiti has already raised over $16,000 and is still going strong.

I decided as soon as I saw the shop that I was going to donate something, and after some thought, I decided to design a piece specifically for them. A little wire-work, a little stringing, and here's what I came up with:



Working on this has got me thinking it's about time I dug out that list of crafty charities and got to work. What about you? Have you done any crafty donations? Got a favorite crafty charity? Leave a comment and let me know. I may just make this a weekly feature...