hello saturday - sole hope

Hello Saturday.  I certainly had a hard time opening my eyes to you this morning with your cold, cloudy skies and stay in bed attitude.  But I'm up, I have my second cup of coffee in me and my eyes are open (all though a little bit puffy from a sleepless night) and I am ready to spend some time in the house today cleaning and purging and then I am off to a craft party that I am so excited to attend.

Last Saturday I helped the women at my church cut old denim jeans into shoe parts for an organization called Sole Hope.  The jean fabric and rubber from old tires are used to make shoes for children in Uganda and Zambia whose feet are susceptible to sand fleas (chiggers) which can lead to infections and other diseases.

I encourage you to read the whole story here  and be fully enlightened, but basically we collected old jeans and then gathered together and disassembled the jeans, drew a pattern, cut the shapes and pinned them together assembly line style, to be shipped to Africa so the women there can sew them together and attach them to tire rubber (that has also been collected) to make shoes for the children of their country.

It is a wonderful organization and such a fun and easy way for us who have been blessed to live without this worry to be able to help them to help themselves.  It's that old teach a man to fish quote...

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.  Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time." Chinese Proverb

As the day progressed and I saw the mountain of unused jean parts growing an idea started brewing in my head as to how those parts could be repurposed.  That's when the idea for these adorable cuff bracelets came to me.   And the isla bracelet was born...

So here's where you come in.  There is a need for financial help as well.  That denim needs to be shipped and the women making the shoes deserve a decent wage for their work, so I will be donating $2.00 from the sale of any denim bracelets sold through my Etsy shop in the month of February to Sole Hope.

The isla bracelet can be made from newborn on up to adult sizes, the adult "vintage lace denim cuff" bracelets have a button and elastic hoop closure and are sized at 6, 6.5 or 7 inches.  The customization of these will be limited to the wording on the bracelet and size, for this fundraiser only.

I have also added a PayPal Sole Hope button on my side bar if you just have a heart to send a donation and not purchase a bracelet or want to help out above and beyond your purchase. I have added the link to my Etsy shop to the side bar as well.

I am not officially connected with the Sole Hope organization but only one person looking for a way to make a difference.

Think about it.  I know there is some little (or big) girl that would love a customized bracelet and I also know there are some children in Africa who would really love some new shoes and moms there who want nothing more than to provide for their families.  It seems like a win, win, win situation to me.

Happy Saturday!

xo, Patty