HOSTing Project Wonderful!

We are delighted to be able to feature two new Project Wonderful advertisement boxes on our team blog...

Our previously central 'HHH' column - HOST Helping Hands - has relocated to the left hand column of the blog. It has been converted into a 'PW HOSTed' section with the new ad-box in pride of place. Approval for these ads is set on a bid-by-bid basis because we have reserved them for Etsians who need help with exposure for their shops, or who need sales more urgently than others. Please click through to these shops - there are so many little treasures to be discovered!

The centre column of our blog now houses our paid ad-box 'PW HOSTed too'. All the advertisement spaces in this box are currently for sale at $0.10 per day, and ALL proceeds accumulated from this ad-box go to HOST to be used to provide basic financial assistance to Etsians in need. Please click on these ads and help support our advertisers, who are all helping to support HOST and the wider Etsy community! We would like to thank you, our advertisers - and our visiting readers - for your generosity, and for helping us to serve our fellow Etsians to better effect.

This column also features Etsy minis for HOST, HOST members and Etsians we are currently helping... The HOST shop is stocked with items that are donated by generous Etsy sellers, and the proceeds from sales in our HOST shop all go towards helping us fulfill our HOST mission... If you would like to donate an item to HOST, just convo us through the shop and we will walk you through what is needed.

Thank you!


maisyh

A miracle in motion?

The accident

One of our Etsy community, Retro Cycle, recently posted in the forums about her step-son - Greg - who was seriously injured on April 14th of this year after being struck by a car whilst crossing the street near his college. Greg is 20 years old and until the accident, he was a Junior in college, with great plans for the future and his imminent Spring break... Doctors told Retro Cycle and Greg's Father that Greg was unlikely to survive his injuries, and that even if he did, he would likely be left with irreparable brain damage...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10821019

http://retrocycle.etsy.com - vintage prom dress

The update

Greg remains hospitalised but incredibly, Retro Cycle was able to report back to Etsians who had been waiting and praying for good news, that on June 11th Greg actually managed to STAND upright, and was now talking to his Father and able to read! Clearly this young man is a real fighter and it is his sheer determination that is helping him defy the initial prognosis from his doctors - and they couldn't be happier! Greg obviously still has a looooooong battle ahead of him but the indicators are positive and his doctors are now saying he may even be able to return home in October. This is fantastic news - especially to Greg's Father, who has been staying in New York to be near Greg since the accident - and to Retro Cycle, who does her best to support Father and son from home in Tennessee.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11765258

http://retrocycle.etsy.com/ - vintage milk glass

Dealing with the expense

Greg's medical bills are unsurprisingly huge and they continue to grow. In addition, there is the expense of Greg's Dad staying in NY and commuting between NY and Tennessee when he returns to spend any time at home. The family have been looking for ways to address some of their expenses and Retro Cycle subsequently posted that ALL proceeds from sales in her Etsy shop will go towards helping her husband to stay with Greg until his recovery and release from hospital.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12573867

http://retrocycle.etsy.com/ - gorgeous vintage Summer purse

How to help

Other kind-hearted and generous Etsians have donated items from their own shops, with proceeds from those sales going to help with the family's expenses. These items have been tagged "For Gregory" and HOST is doing everything possible to help promote the sale of these items, as well as sales in Retro Cycle's own Etsy shop: http://retrocycle.etsy.com If you would like to make a contribution to help this family, you can search for Etsy items tagged "For Gregory" to find listings where the proceeds will go to Greg. Alternatively, if you would like to donate an item, please convo Retro Cycle for more information.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11140510

http://retrocycle.etsy.com - vintage retro earrings

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10811742

http://retrocycle.etsy.com - fabulous vintage wedding outfit

maisyh

Happy Monday

Welcome to a fresh new week everyone! We know some of you will have come flying into it, excited to find out what lies ahead this week - and others have come to it more slowly, a little weighed down by the things you have going on in your lives. Whatever the week holds, remember that HOST is here for you, to celebrate the good and offer support during the not so good.

From a team perspective, this particular Monday started off on a happy note, when one of our early risers (well, not really a morning person if the truth be told - just luckily placed because of her time zone!) managed to snag a treasury west space and filled up the list with some great goodies currently available in the HOST team shop - yay!!

The new HOST treasury west is pasted in here for all of you to enjoy even after it is timed out on Etsy. If these items have been snatched up by the time you run to the HOST shop, don't worry because thanks to all the generous hearts of the Etsy sellers, we receive some really wonderful donated items and the shop will re-stock, so keep stopping by as often as you can.

Remember that ALL proceeds from the HOST shop sales go towards Etsians who are having a tougher time of it than others. We HOSTies take nothing away for ourselves but the feeling of satisfaction that we have managed to help someone along. Well... actually, we're not really that selfless. Nope. Truth be told: we do it for the hugs - LOL :)

Click on the image for a more detailed view - or click straight through to the HOST team shop and check out all the other items we currently have available:-

http://HOST.etsy.com

maisyh

Look what we have!!!

Yay!!! The long awaited "DONATE to HOST" button is now up and running!!! Take a look at the top left hand corner of your screen... and don't be shy to use it :)

HOST has been very lucky lately and we are counting our blessings :) We have been picking up speed and lots of FABULOUS Etsy sellers have been donating items to our team shop. We have been able to list about 2-3 items a day non-stop since we opened - can you believe that?! We would like to thank all of the wonderful sellers who have donated items, and send out special HOST hugs to each of them :) Please take a moment to check out the shop, as well as those of our contributors:

http://host.etsy.com/

Maura

The HOST shop is open!

Our HOST team shop is now open for business! Visit and you will find all kinds of items donated by HOST members.

In a few days you will also begin to see listings of jewelry made by two other street teams, CGGE and etsyBEAD. They did a cross team promotion and collaboration project and our group gets to use the proceeds from the sales to help others - yay!

The shop can be found at: http://host.etsy.com/

Brenda

Braided light

"Doorways" Fine Art Photograph for sale at BraidedLight

When HeatherRLange posted a forum topic on December 20th asking if any people from Etsy were in need, one of the first responses came in from Brian of BraidedLight. His request was simple: if anyone in the Portland, Oregon area would like to donate cans or bottles to help his family survive on one income, he would be grateful. He didn't ask for anything else.

Little did he know what would become of that simple request. In his words:

"After posting an ad on Etsy requesting bottles and cans from Portlanders, I was totally unprepared for the response I got. Etsy posters and sellers purchased a dozen items from my shop, and a couple others donated funds totalling $535. I am still stunned by this response as I write these words. I really was (and still am) only looking for bottles and cans to recycle but the sales and gifts were a tremendous help and encouragement during a difficult time."

Brian, his wife, Larissa and their two young children.

Brian and his wife, Larissa, choose to survive on one income so that Larissa can stay home with their two young children. Like so many of us have found, this is not an easy financial road to take. After Brian completed graduate school, he was unable to find steady work for two years. In Brian's words, "Larissa worked really hard to put me through school. My parents graciously put up with Larissa and I and our two toddlers while we lived with them. I was finally able to find work in Oregon in late spring of 2007. We were able to move into our own apartment last summer. We are grateful every day to have enough to pay the rent and the grocery bills." Unfortunately, his salary does not cover medical insurance, and they've struggled with Brian's depression and their daughter has broken her arm twice this year.

"Sweet Skirt" for sale at Elaborations

Brian also shared with HOST that his wife's grandmother had had a stroke and his brother-in-law is terminally ill with cancer. Brian and his wife Larissa are looking into the idea of moving out of their apartment and buying a house where they can help care for Larissa's grandmother but right now, that idea seems financially impossible. The couple is also trying to stay strong for Brian's sister and her family, including two young children, and help them cope with the realities of cancer. Chemotherapy has taken it's toll on Brian's brother-in-law, and although the long-term prognosis does not seem good, they do have treatment options to consider.

Brian feels that his immediate family's needs are very small compared to the needs around them. Despite struggling to make ends meet, they consider themselves blessed. Brian expressed his thanks to HOST: "It was helpful to express some of these concerns. Many of them are a heavy weight to bear, and laying them down is a very healing practice. Thank you for the chance to do so!"

"Circles and Square Purse" for sale at Elaborations.

Brian has been able to publish a few stories in the last year or so, three of which can be found at the following links:

Land Sick
Safelights
Below the Waterline

Both Brian and Larissa have Etsy shops to help supplement their income. Brian's amazing black and white photography and other work can be found at http://braidedlight.etsy.com/. Larissa's fabulous sewn clothing and purses can be found at http://elaborations.etsy.com/.

"Door" Fine Art Photograph available at BraidedLight

All photographs provided by BraidedLight and Elaborations and are protected by copyright. Story submitted in part by BraidedLight and the bulk was written by quirkybags - I did my best but these two are much better writers than me!

Brenda