Blogs for a Cause

Do you like the re-do on my blog?  I sure do, and what I like best is that the $30 it cost me is being donated to charity.  Thank you, Nikki!  (see her button on the left)

Of the $30, $25 goes to support Nikki's humanitarian work.  She is a 20 year old Canadian, and in her last year of college.  She sponsors four children in Africa and Haiti, and has gone to the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Ethiopia to work in orphanages, malnutrition clinics, schools, etc. This coming May she will go to India.

The other $5 goes to a monthly charity.  This month's charity is Heartline Ministries in Haiti, which has an orphanage and women's program, that "endeavors to be the hands of Christ in Haiti."

I needed a re-do so my blog would match (and not clash with :-/) the Botanical Interests button that links to the fundraiser to benefit Open Arms International .  Please spread the word to your gardening friends!  It's time to start planning for spring!

Seeds for a Cause!

If I talked with you about gardening at all last year, you probably heard me raving about Botanical Interests seeds.


I first discovered them at Portland Nursery, and was taken by the beautiful colored sketches on the front of each packet.  As it turns out, they are not only aesthetically pleasing, but organic, heirloom, and family-owned.


Does it get any better?


Well, as a matter of fact, it does!  Now when you buy seeds from Botanical Interests (using the link or button above - very important!), 25% of the proceeds go to Open Arms International. 


Open Arms International is administratively based in Portland, but serves in Eldoret, Kenya, East Africa.  They provide a safe haven for children orphaned by AIDS and other tragedies.  They currently house twenty-six children in two homes, with a set of house parents in each home.  I love this model for orphanages.  Please read more about them on their site!


And, if you want to share this fundraising link for seed shopping with others, please use this link.  http://www.botanicalinterests.com/store/register_affiliate.php?AffiliateId=332
(Once you actually get to their site, the link will look different, so don't copy it there.)


For now, it's time to start thinking about planting sweet peas.  January and February are the months to plant for an early summer bloom!

A Couple Good Reads

I loved these books.

Jansen's Gift is a true story, about a woman who suddenly loses her son.   In her grief, she finds a greater purpose for life and ends up helping children around the world.

 Scared is fiction, based on the real life experiences of Tom Davis, President of Children's HopeChest, a Christian-based child advocacy organization helping orphans in Eastern Europe and Africa.

Both show the vulnerability of children and the reality of modern slavery

(often in the form of sex trafficking).  They will break your heart and give you hope.

And if you think you've got problems... you won't think so anymore.