You Can Bring A Smile

You. Yes, YOU can bring a smile to the face of a hungry child.

I knew it would be difficult to see a starving child in person. I don't think you can really even imagine it until you actually see it. It left a huge impact on me and has lit the passion even more that I had to help bring hope to these children.

Every week children come into the Rescue Center with empty stomachs and a hopeless look in their eyes. After a week or two of nutritious food and extra love, they start to get that sparkle back and you can see the hope creeping back in. That hope is why we started Artists For Hope and we want YOU to help us help these children.

We're thankful again to have the problem that we need more artwork and artists. Things have sold quickly and we're excited to be able to expand Artists For Hope and share art with art lovers who want to make a difference in this world. Check out these pictures and think about the artists in your life that you can talk to. I can't think of a better reason to create something. Help bring a smile back to their faces.

Haiti Is Amazing- Spread the Word!

I knew traveling to Haiti and meeting the children in person would spark my passion to do even more to give every child that comes into the Rescue Center the HOPE that they deserve. The Rescue Center and Clinic do so much for the people in Haiti and I thought over and over again "what would people do if they weren't here???" What if there wasn't a place here to provide nutritious food for kids that are starving? What if there wasn't a medical clinic here for the baby whose arm was severely burned in a pot of boiling water? Real Hope For Haiti truly is giving hope to people and it was such a gift to experience it first hand.

I'll be sharing more about our week in Haiti soon, but wanted to at least post a few pictures. Even in pictures, it's amazing to see the children who have recently come to the center and how solemn, frail, and weak they look....and then to see the kids who have been there awhile as they are getting stronger and healthier and have huge smiles on their faces. How amazing to see the joy return to their eyes.

I've already had several people ask me how they can help these children. Spread the word about Artists For Hope! Tell the artists, etsy people, and friends and family in your life so we can add more artwork and raise more money for the Rescue Center. ALL proceeds from donated artwork go directly to the Rescue Center. Plus we'll give free advertising to all artists who donate.
What better reason to buy or create artwork?

Next Week~ In Haiti....

....we will be sharing our love of art with the older children at the Rescue Center. We have some simple art projects planned and one of the things we made to bring along is something I loved to make as a teacher. We recycled old broken crayon pieces into Cupcake Crayons. They are fun and swirly and they make beautiful designs. Kids love them because they are easy to hold, so hopefully some of the younger kids who are feeling better will be able to join us too.

If you want to make your own, gather some willing participants and have them pull the paper off the crayon pieces and separate them into a cupcake tin or segmented pan that has been coated with cooking spray. I found a triangle pan at a local thrift store that I think used to be meant for corn bread. I recommend using old pans so you don't ruin your favorite one. (I'm speaking from experience. ugh.)

Put them into a 250 degree oven until they start to melt together and get all swirly and shiny. It doesn't take very long, so keep a close eye on them. You'll know they are done when the tops are totally smooth.

This is how they look when they are finished. Sorry about the terrible picture. I only had my camera phone available because my camera and lenses are all in getting cleaned before we head to Haiti.
At least you get the basic idea.

Hopefully some of you will try this fun project. I'm so excited to spend time with the children at the Rescue Center and hopefully they will enjoy creating things as much as we do. When we return we will be adding new artists and hopefully launching our new website. Go out and create something for the children in Haiti.
What better inspiration, right?

Today.

Today. The Rescue Center has 350 patients waiting to be seen. Many who slept outside overnight. Many who walked hours to get help. Today. They have 70 children in their care. They are beyond full...but how can you turn away a sick child? So they make room. Today. They have some of the worst cases of Kwashiorkor they have ever seen. Several are on IV fluids and have feeding tubes. Several are near death. Today.

I know this seems a world away. It's easy to not think about it, but it's happening. Today. Right now. Will you please say a prayer for them? Or use this as an inspiration to create something that can help them? Keep these kids in your thoughts. They need supplies and funds to keep helping these children. Think of what you can do today to help them. Today.

Can you help these runners....

.....to help the women of Haiti?

Heartline Runners is a group of people who will be running together in a marathon at Disney World in January to raise money for an ambulance that will be used to save lives and to offer Haitian women better options for delivering their babies into the world safely.

You can read more about their efforts here or click on the button on the side of this blog. Sponsor a runner to help the women of Haiti. Do it because you are a runner. Do it because you are a Mother. Do it because you love Haiti. Do it because it will make a big difference in someone's life. Just do it!

Yee to the Haw

Our first attempt at a fundraiser was a great success. Way more people than we expected showed up and we were able to raise over $4500.00 for the Rescue Center. There was lots of shopping, eating, and dancing (mostly by the kids) and we were able to share Artists For Hope and information about the RC with a lot of great people.

Please reach out to those artists in your life! In 3 short weeks we will be in Haiti and I can't wait to add some amazing new artwork to our site when we return. If you are an artist....imagine what a difference your work could make in the life of a child!

It's a Haiti Hoedown!

We have been busy getting ready for a local fundraiser we will be doing for the Rescue Center. I wish everyone was close enough to attend! Our little group of 4 that will be traveling to the RC in November decided to have an old fashioned Hoedown to raise money for the kids in Haiti before we go. We're excited to have a fun and crazy night of dancing, silent auctions, food, and friends...all coming together for the children at the RC.

Please tell your friends, family, favorite artist, favorite Etsy seller, neighbor, dentist....you get the idea~ about Artists For Hope. When we return from Haiti, we hope to finish our promotional video and our Non-Profit status ~ AND launch our new website to share lots of Artists with lots of Art Lovers around the world!

Thank you again.

Look At These Boys!!!

They just took a new picture of the boys and they look SO great!
That Medika Mamba stuff is amazing and thanks to Tara Livesay lots and LOTS of kids will be able to have it.
I included the picture taken the first week and a few weeks later, so you can see the amazing transformation in these boys. I can't wait to scoop these little guys up and love on them when we get to Haiti!

Marathon For Medika Mamba This Sunday

Because of the matching grants that Tara had been offered when she decided to run for hungry kids in Haiti, we decided to donate the money we made through Artists For Hope to help Tara raise more for Medika Mamba, knowing that it would help the kids at the Rescue Center.

They have actually raised over $53,000 and you can follow their journey on Sunday by watching Troy's Twitter updates on their blog during the race. I wish I could be there to witness her cross the finish line, knowing that SO many lives have been changed because she decided to run! Amazing! I love when people see a problem and they decide to get up and DO something about it! BIG things happen when people do that!

You can also read a great article about Tara here.

Thank you for being an inspiration Tara and helping to provide "peanut butter medicine" for all those hungry kids at the Rescue Center!

Glass Tile Necklaces available NOW!

Our Etsy Site now has more Glass Tile Necklaces for Haiti. I'm sure they will go quick, so if you don't get one, let me know and we'll get some more up soon.

Thanks to those of you who added our button to your blogs and websites. We really appreciated you spreading the word and helping the children at the Real Hope For Haiti Rescue Center!

Information About Kwashiorkor

Haiti Necklaces Coming Soon

We are thrilled with the excitement about the Haiti necklaces cuz~ well it means we can send more money to Haiti! Obviously many of you have a heart of Haiti and thank you for helping the Rescue Center!

We are in the process of making more necklaces and I promise I will post as SOON as they are ready! In the meantime, would you mind sharing about Artists For Hope with your friends and family? Do you know an Artist or do you have a favorite Etsy person that you could talk to about donating? Do you have a blog or website that you could add our button to?

More donations = More Cool Art = More Help for the Rescue Center

Thank you!!!

New Necklaces For Haiti

Is a part of YOUR heart in Haiti?

A group of us made over 100 glass tile necklaces as a fundraiser for the Rescue Center to be sold locally. These special few were made for our Etsy site for those of you whose hearts belong to the beautiful country and people of Haiti.

The money from these will go to help ship pallets of supplies from the US to Haiti. This is stuff that they really need for both the Rescue Center and the Clinic.

Purchase one of these necklaces for yourself or a friend and then use the opportunity to tell people who notice your jewelry about the children in Haiti and the RC!

Week 7 on Medika Mamba

We had to show the comparison between week 1 and week 7. These boys came into the Rescue Center and they really didn't know if they were going to live. So young and so malnourished. Thanks to the "peanut butter medicine" and care they are receiving at the Rescue Center, they are healthy and growing every week.

Thank you to everyone who as donated so far and purchased things from Artists For Hope to help these children. You really are making a difference in their lives.

Week Six- Wow!

Wow. That Medika Mamba stuff really works!
Every week these cuties look better and better.

We will have some new fun necklaces for sale soon and some information about the cool new Etsy Scroller, featured on the left side of this blog, that was designed for Artists For Hope and donated to us to raise money for the Rescue Center. For a $10 donation, this Etsy scroller can be yours too! Click HERE for more info and be sure to tell those Etsy lovers in your life so we can send more money to Haiti. :)

The Boys

Week 5!!!
We were told that it is getting much harder to take their pictures now that they are feeling so much better and starting to become more active. What a great problem, right?

A few of us involved with Artists For Hope will be visiting the Rescue Center the end of November and I'm hoping we'll get to hold these babies and see firsthand how much the Medika Mamba has changed their lives. Amazing stuff!

Week 4 On Medika Mamba

Together the boys gained 3.5 lbs this week. We love Medika Mamba!

Thanks Joey!

Artist Joey Breed has once again generously donated to help the children at the Rescue Center. We have some beautiful jewelry and fun painted wine glasses for sale now here. They would make wonderful gifts or they would be a great way to treat yourself while also helping change the lives of the kids in Haiti.

Be sure to check out her other creations at the Painted Pineapple!

Go Medika Mamba!

These four little cuties were lucky enough to be put on the Medika Mamba program. This progression has taken place after only 3 weeks! The difference you can see even between week one and two is amazing. This "Peanut Butter Medicine" really does work and the money we raise will allow more children to receive it.

Did you know it only costs about $6 a week for these children to be on the program? If you purchase something or donate what it would cost for you to go out for lunch, you're providing life saving medicine for a child. You aren't just sitting back and wishing there weren't starving children in our world...you're DOING something about it.

There is a Haitian Proverb Men anpil chay pa lou, which mean Many Hands Make the Load Lighter. If everyone does even a little bit to make the suffering of others better, a LOT can be accomplished!

New Artist- Stephanie Reed

We have some wonderful photographs for sale now that were donated by photographer Stephanie Reed. They would be a great addition to any home and an awesome way to support the kids at the Rescue Center.

You can check out more of Stephanie's work at her website, http://thestephaniereed.com/
Thank you Stephanie for your generosity and for donating your photography to help the kids in Haiti!

This is Why

THIS is why we started Artists For Hope.
This picture was taken this week at the Rescue Center.
These kids need help.
They need food and water and someone in the world to show them that they care. They need to know that there is hope.

Thanks to people spreading the word we have some very exciting new artists that we will be adding soon! I just returned from Chicago and I hope to get some things up for sale very soon.

Please tell your friends about Artists For Hope and add our button to your blog or website. The more people who know, the more we can sell and the more exciting new artists will learn about our cause ~ and most importantly the more children we can help in Haiti!

Check out the Painted Pineapple on Etsy

A wonderful Artist, Joey Breed, donated a beautiful necklace to us to help the children in Haiti. I posted it for sale on Etsy and before I could even post the information about her new Etsy site...it sold. It sold fast! But we are definitely NOT complaining. ;)

I just wanted to make sure you all new the address of her new etsy site. Her stuff is fun and colorful and I know you will like it.

We've been in contact with some new artists and we're very excited to learn more about their work. Please continue to spread the word so we can continue to help the children at the Rescue Center.

New Portrait For Sale of Soline

This beautiful portrait by Alexis of Soline is now for sale on our etsy site. Thank you AGAIN Alexis for your generosity and for sharing your talent with all of us. This portrait will definitely be a special addition to anyone's art collection!

Look at that smile! If you go to the post below this one, you will see a MUCH different look on her sweet little face. When Soline arrived at the Rescue Center she was severely malnourished, and thanks to the care and nutritious food she was able to receive at the center she made a full recovery.

Now she can play and laugh and enjoy life again.
She has HOPE for her future and is now living with her family in Haiti.

Through donated and purchased artwork we are helping children like Soline who arrive at the Rescue Center every day.

Thank you SO much to the people who have already donated and purchased art from Artists For Hope. You really are making a difference in the lives of these kids. Feel GOOD about that! :)

Soline

This is what little Soline looked like on the day she was brought to the Rescue Center. She was about 3 years old. Soline's mother had gone to 3 local clinics with her daughter but they all gave her syrup medicine to drink. She didn't receive any information about the types of foods she should be trying to feed her daughter.

When she arrived at the RHFH Rescue Center they did some basic nutrition education with Soline's Mom and admitted Soline to the Rescue Center in hopes of saving her.

Her mom said she'd been swollen like this for about a month. The swelling is from a type of malnutrition called Kwashiorker. You can read some more about Kwashiorker here and here.

Her little legs were so swollen and tight. This is very painful. :(

Soline was severely malnourished and went through a lot on her road to recovery. You can read more about her journey here.

The wonderful part of her journey is she made an amazing recovery and has now returned to be with her family. They do a lot of education and follow ups with the family so that they can try to prevent this malnutrition from returning. It can be really tough though when food is scarce.

Alexis has created a beautiful portrait of Soline and the difference you will see is nothing short of a miracle. She is now a healthy and happy little girl with the sweetest smile ever. We will post a recent picture and information about the portrait very soon.