HAITI :: Seeing Stars buys 600 meals!

3-Dimensional stars by Cris Letourneau, CZT

Time and time again we share stories of our team's interactions with disabled children in China, Haiti and the USA. We post photos of mission trips showcasing volunteers working on behalf of these extraordinary kids. We continually tell how your donations make a difference in the lives of children. And we love, love, love sharing the creative ways that people support The Red Thread Promise and inspire others to do the same.

Here is a follow up on our post from Christmas Eve, 2013 where one of our long-time supporters had a great idea and ran with it. 

Cris, a Certified Zentangle Teacher in central Ohio, heard about the food crisis at St. Vincent's. She saw a need and wanted to make a difference. In December 2013, she published Seeing Stars, an ebook of instructions and templates for creating 3-dimensional star ornaments. Inside the book she wrote about St. Vincent's and promised to help feed the children with every book sale. The rest, as they say, is history! 

The Red Thread team recently did a mini-interview with Cris. We asked why she felt compelled to help and how she arrived at the idea of writing a book. 

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When I thought about the kids at St. Vincent's sitting in the dark, hungry at Christmas time, it just about broke my heart. Hearing the news on my dad's birthday was even more upsetting. My father was a physician whose motto was, "All God's children get sick. And when they are sick, I will help them get well, whether they can pay or not."  

At first, I thought, "What can I do to help?" I am not a physician; I am an artist. Normally, I am a "write a check and be done" person. But since my husband is between jobs right now, we aren't able to donate as much as I would have liked.

I took a quick skills inventory:

• I have writing experience, having written Made in the Shade last year
• I get a lot of compliments about my art
• I had just taught a very popular class on making 3-Dimensional star ornaments

So, I decided to combine the three and write an instructional book on how to make star ornaments. I did all of the art on the stars so you don't have to know how to do Zentangle to enjoy the book. When the book went up for sale, I asked all of my fellow Zentangle teachers to let their students know about it and they did!

I donated 100% of the profits from the book to TRTP up until Christmas. After that, I'm sharing with them so that each book sold will feed a child for a day. That will go on for as long as people continue to buy the book. My goal was to earn $500 for the kids and I just sent that check to them today!

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Sending a hearty THANK YOU to Cris and all who ordered her book. 

Together, you have provided 600 meals for St. Vincent's kids!