For those of you who haven't yet been directed over to the Craft Hope for Haiti Etsy shop (the whole of craft blog-land does seem to be linking there), you should definitely go and check it out. Crafters from around the world have been donating beautiful things to the shop and all proceeds are going to Doctors Without Borders, which is an extremely worthy organization that does very good work in Haiti (and around the world).
I've thrown a few items into the mix over there, and they have been snapped up super fast. Everything has. In fact, if you are at all accustomed to the usually un-frenetic pace of Etsy listing and buying, this Craft Hope business is a serious phenomenon to behold. Over 180 items have been sold in the last two days and the amount of money raised is into the thousands of dollars now. Things are getting purchased almost as quickly as they can be listed. I was all ready to toss one of Sarah's donated items into my cart (because Sarah is awesome) but went to help Mariam brush her teeth and when I came back, someone else had already bought it!
I'll continue donating to the listings at Craft Hope for the duration, and I hope that any of you who are makers might consider doing the same. They've also begun a shop category that allows children to donate items that they have made and I think that this is a wonderful way to involve the whole family in being mindful about the depth of this tragedy and the idea that each of us should do whatever we can to help.
Also, a big thanks to those of you who made purchases from my own Etsy shop over the course of Thursday and Friday. I had already given what I felt my family could afford at that point, and was feeling so very discouraged about not being able to do more. I know that the couple hundred dollars that I am able to send now isn't a huge amount in the grand scheme of things, but I also know that every little bit is something and I am sincerely thankful for your generosity, lovely readers!