Thanks Haley!
I went over to Haley's house today to pick up some non-Soleful Suitcase stuff, and she had a pair of shoes and some school folders waiting for me. That was a fun surprise.
Then I come home and start to work on the computer. I checked with the GoFundMe site that we use, and surprise! there was a $10 donation from Haley from a few days ago. Wow. Double bonus day!
So thanks Haley! Your continued support from the last trip to this one is so great. Thank you!
Monday, May 20, 2013
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Aaaannnnnddd back to the regularly scheduled shoes posts
I've got a couple thanks to give out...
Penny from KC Express donated a pair of shoes - thanks Penny!
"Daisy" from KC Express donated 3 pairs of shoes - thanks "Daisy"
Paula, from San Francisco, mailed a box with a pair of shoes and some ink pens. Thanks Paula! That was a fun surprise to get at the mail box.
I am starting to get that desperate feeling. I'm hoping to bring 75 pairs of shoes, stuffed into 6 suitcases, with 150 pairs of socks and a lot of school supplies. So far, the shoe count is short. By a lot. And I'm short on socks too. Nicol donated enough cash to buy 12 pairs of socks, but that isn't close to the 44 we currently can match up with shoes.
Penny from KC Express donated a pair of shoes - thanks Penny!
"Daisy" from KC Express donated 3 pairs of shoes - thanks "Daisy"
Paula, from San Francisco, mailed a box with a pair of shoes and some ink pens. Thanks Paula! That was a fun surprise to get at the mail box.
We are less than 60 days out from the trip!
I am starting to get that desperate feeling. I'm hoping to bring 75 pairs of shoes, stuffed into 6 suitcases, with 150 pairs of socks and a lot of school supplies. So far, the shoe count is short. By a lot. And I'm short on socks too. Nicol donated enough cash to buy 12 pairs of socks, but that isn't close to the 44 we currently can match up with shoes.
Total shoe count: 27 (17m, 10w)
For those keeping track, our current total sock need is as follows:
24 pairs of men's socks
20 pair's of women's socks
People, I *need* your help!
In order to make this work, I still need shoes, socks, a few more suitcases, and lots of school supplies. I can get nice, hardback children's books from our local thrift store for $0.55 cents a piece, and would love to have someone sponsor some of those. I need some help with the baggage fees as those will run over $300. Can you help? Do you know a business, big or small, that would be willing to sponsor a suitcase or two either with the baggage fees, or filling it up, or both? Do you have an inside connection with a sock company that would love to donate some? Please, please, please!
Share your shoes, share your love, share your world.
If you'd like to donate to Soleful Suitcases and our upcoming trip in July 2013, there are several ways to help. You can donate your in-good-shape, still life left, adult athletic shoes. You can donate brand new adult socks. School supplies are always welcome. Shop on Amazon via the link on the right hand size so we get credit to help pay for baggage fees. Or donate to our GoFundMe site at www.gofundme.com/solefulsuitcases
www.facebook.com/solefulsuitcases twitter @RunningWithHart
Melissa Hart 119 N. Parker St. #143 Olathe, KS 66061
If you'd like to donate to Soleful Suitcases and our upcoming trip in July 2013, there are several ways to help. You can donate your in-good-shape, still life left, adult athletic shoes. You can donate brand new adult socks. School supplies are always welcome. Shop on Amazon via the link on the right hand size so we get credit to help pay for baggage fees. Or donate to our GoFundMe site at www.gofundme.com/solefulsuitcases
www.facebook.com/solefulsuitcases twitter @RunningWithHart
Melissa Hart 119 N. Parker St. #143 Olathe, KS 66061
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Lego Fish Bowl
Ok, this has nothing to do with Soleful Suitcases, but it is fun and I wanted to put it up here. My oldest son loves Lego, and yesterday we finished up a project I'd been thinking about for a couple weeks. It turned out pretty great I think.
An upclose view A view from the top
I used a fish bowl, just the plain clear glass goldfish kind. I created a base for the inside using clear 1x2 bricks and 1x2 clear plates to make it sturdy. Then I added the fish (a creator set), the shark (made from LEGOLAND in Kansas City or use this one), and the turtle (made at a mini monthly build). The 'gravel' on the bottom is just little pieces that we grabbed from the Pick-A-Brick wall at our local Lego store.
My son loves it. It is in his room, and he likes having a 'pet' all his own in his room. My youngest boy loves it because he thinks they are real fish, and can stare at them for a while before getting bored. It is a win-win.
If you'd like to see more Lego stuff, head over to my facebook page, Moms of Lego. You'll find event postings, cartoon listings, great deals from Amazon and Lego.com, and more.
And if you're new to Soleful Suitcases and you ended up here randomly, please feel free to poke around. My kids like Lego, and I am happy to support them with it. Another thing we as a family all like is to travel. So, like anything they do, I'm trying to teach my kids that traveling doesn't just have to be about them. It is okay to give back to the local population too, and our Soleful Suitcases project is just that; giving back to the local population one pair of shoes at a time.
Share your shoes, share your love, share your world.
If you'd like to donate to Soleful Suitcases and our upcoming trip in July 2013, there are several ways to help. You can donate your in-good-shape, still life left, adult athletic shoes. You can donate brand new adult socks. School supplies are always welcome. Shop on Amazon via the link on the right hand size so we get credit to help pay for baggage fees. Or donate to our GoFundMe site at www.gofundme.com/solefulsuitcases
www.facebook.com/solefulsuitcases twitter @RunningWithHart
Melissa Hart 119 N. Parker St. #143 Olathe, KS 66061
The whole bowl
An upclose view A view from the top
I used a fish bowl, just the plain clear glass goldfish kind. I created a base for the inside using clear 1x2 bricks and 1x2 clear plates to make it sturdy. Then I added the fish (a creator set), the shark (made from LEGOLAND in Kansas City or use this one), and the turtle (made at a mini monthly build). The 'gravel' on the bottom is just little pieces that we grabbed from the Pick-A-Brick wall at our local Lego store.
My son loves it. It is in his room, and he likes having a 'pet' all his own in his room. My youngest boy loves it because he thinks they are real fish, and can stare at them for a while before getting bored. It is a win-win.
If you'd like to see more Lego stuff, head over to my facebook page, Moms of Lego. You'll find event postings, cartoon listings, great deals from Amazon and Lego.com, and more.
And if you're new to Soleful Suitcases and you ended up here randomly, please feel free to poke around. My kids like Lego, and I am happy to support them with it. Another thing we as a family all like is to travel. So, like anything they do, I'm trying to teach my kids that traveling doesn't just have to be about them. It is okay to give back to the local population too, and our Soleful Suitcases project is just that; giving back to the local population one pair of shoes at a time.
Share your shoes, share your love, share your world.
If you'd like to donate to Soleful Suitcases and our upcoming trip in July 2013, there are several ways to help. You can donate your in-good-shape, still life left, adult athletic shoes. You can donate brand new adult socks. School supplies are always welcome. Shop on Amazon via the link on the right hand size so we get credit to help pay for baggage fees. Or donate to our GoFundMe site at www.gofundme.com/solefulsuitcases
www.facebook.com/solefulsuitcases twitter @RunningWithHart
Melissa Hart 119 N. Parker St. #143 Olathe, KS 66061
Monday, April 29, 2013
First Donation via GoFundMe!!
Yahoo!!
We received our first donation from Nicol W. from our GoFundMe site. (I was beginning to wonder if it was turned on.)
Today Nicole donated $16, which I will use to purchase 2 packages of 6 adult socks. Doesn't seem like much, right? It is huge. This means that 6 adults will receive the gift of 2 pairs of brand new, clean socks to go along with a pair of shoes.
Our trip is coming up, and we still need so much to be able to meet the goals we've set. Can you help, like Nicole did? Visit our site, www.gofundme.com/solefulsuitcases, make a few clicks to donate, and follow along here on the blog as we make our trip preparations, head out, and then watch the smiles fly on give-away day.
Thank you Nicole. Thank you so much!
Share your shoes, share your love, share your world.
If you'd like to donate to Soleful Suitcases and our upcoming trip in July 2013, there are several ways to help. You can donate your in-good-shape, still life left, adult athletic shoes. You can donate brand new adult socks. School supplies are always welcome. Shop on Amazon via the link on the right hand size so we get credit to help pay for baggage fees. Or donate to our GoFundMe site at www.gofundme.com/solefulsuitcases
www.facebook.com/solefulsuitcases twitter @RunningWithHart
Melissa Hart 119 N. Parker St. #143 Olathe, KS 66061
We received our first donation from Nicol W. from our GoFundMe site. (I was beginning to wonder if it was turned on.)
Today Nicole donated $16, which I will use to purchase 2 packages of 6 adult socks. Doesn't seem like much, right? It is huge. This means that 6 adults will receive the gift of 2 pairs of brand new, clean socks to go along with a pair of shoes.
Our trip is coming up, and we still need so much to be able to meet the goals we've set. Can you help, like Nicole did? Visit our site, www.gofundme.com/solefulsuitcases, make a few clicks to donate, and follow along here on the blog as we make our trip preparations, head out, and then watch the smiles fly on give-away day.
Thank you Nicole. Thank you so much!
Share your shoes, share your love, share your world.
If you'd like to donate to Soleful Suitcases and our upcoming trip in July 2013, there are several ways to help. You can donate your in-good-shape, still life left, adult athletic shoes. You can donate brand new adult socks. School supplies are always welcome. Shop on Amazon via the link on the right hand size so we get credit to help pay for baggage fees. Or donate to our GoFundMe site at www.gofundme.com/solefulsuitcases
www.facebook.com/solefulsuitcases twitter @RunningWithHart
Melissa Hart 119 N. Parker St. #143 Olathe, KS 66061
Monday, April 22, 2013
80 days out & we still need lots
This trip is sneaking right up as we are just about 80 days out. That may sound like a lot to some of you, but to me, I'm looking at a lot of work still to get there. We are still in need of a lot of stuff, and hoping that perhaps you can help out.
Right now we have 22 pairs of shoes, and need 53 more to reach the goal of 75 pairs.
We need socks. We don't have any adult right now, and need both men's and women's to hand out with the shoes.
We need school supplies. We have some, but can always use more. Servite Primary serves 700+ children, who often come to school with little to none of their own supplies like pencils, notebooks, or crayons. These children are in desperate need of basic supplies.
We have been given 2 laptops to take to the school for the staff to use, but we need some USB thumb drives. These drives allow the teachers to make lesson plans and save them when they don't have access to the computer.
We need books for the school library. It is pretty easy to shop Goodwill and find books in great shape that can be taken. Do the shopping yourself, or donate a few bucks and I'll do the shopping for you. 700+ kids need lots of books to read. Can you imagine going to a school without library books?
Do you have an older, but still working digital camera laying around? This school could use it for special projects, and would be an amazing treat. Cords, cables, and software would be a plus. Does not need to be fancy, just a point and shoot would do wonders.
We need suitcases. They need to be in good enough shape to go on a one-way trip from Kansas City to Jamaica. Would prefer them to have wheels and handles. I can find these at Goodwill as well, and they run around $15. Donate the money to buy one?
Baggage fees. This is huge. Like so huge. And expensive. It is vital that we have people help us get some baggage sponsored. Can you help with this, or know someone or a business that would? This is so costly, yet still cheaper than shipping.
Today marks one week since the bombings at the Boston Marathon. Honor Boston and donate your old athletic shoes, buy a pair of socks in one of the victim's name, or donate some crayons in honor or Martin.
Share your shoes, share your love, share your world.
If you'd like to donate to Soleful Suitcases and our upcoming trip in July 2013, there are several ways to help. You can donate your in-good-shape, still life left, adult athletic shoes. You can donate brand new adult socks. School supplies are always welcome. Shop on Amazon via the link on the right hand size so we get credit to help pay for baggage fees. Or donate to our GoFundMe site at www.gofundme.com/solefulsuitcases
www.facebook.com/solefulsuitcases twitter @RunningWithHart
Melissa Hart 119 N. Parker St. #143 Olathe, KS 66061
Right now we have 22 pairs of shoes, and need 53 more to reach the goal of 75 pairs.
We need socks. We don't have any adult right now, and need both men's and women's to hand out with the shoes.
We need school supplies. We have some, but can always use more. Servite Primary serves 700+ children, who often come to school with little to none of their own supplies like pencils, notebooks, or crayons. These children are in desperate need of basic supplies.
We have been given 2 laptops to take to the school for the staff to use, but we need some USB thumb drives. These drives allow the teachers to make lesson plans and save them when they don't have access to the computer.
We need books for the school library. It is pretty easy to shop Goodwill and find books in great shape that can be taken. Do the shopping yourself, or donate a few bucks and I'll do the shopping for you. 700+ kids need lots of books to read. Can you imagine going to a school without library books?
Do you have an older, but still working digital camera laying around? This school could use it for special projects, and would be an amazing treat. Cords, cables, and software would be a plus. Does not need to be fancy, just a point and shoot would do wonders.
We need suitcases. They need to be in good enough shape to go on a one-way trip from Kansas City to Jamaica. Would prefer them to have wheels and handles. I can find these at Goodwill as well, and they run around $15. Donate the money to buy one?
Baggage fees. This is huge. Like so huge. And expensive. It is vital that we have people help us get some baggage sponsored. Can you help with this, or know someone or a business that would? This is so costly, yet still cheaper than shipping.
Today marks one week since the bombings at the Boston Marathon. Honor Boston and donate your old athletic shoes, buy a pair of socks in one of the victim's name, or donate some crayons in honor or Martin.
Share your shoes, share your love, share your world.
If you'd like to donate to Soleful Suitcases and our upcoming trip in July 2013, there are several ways to help. You can donate your in-good-shape, still life left, adult athletic shoes. You can donate brand new adult socks. School supplies are always welcome. Shop on Amazon via the link on the right hand size so we get credit to help pay for baggage fees. Or donate to our GoFundMe site at www.gofundme.com/solefulsuitcases
www.facebook.com/solefulsuitcases twitter @RunningWithHart
Melissa Hart 119 N. Parker St. #143 Olathe, KS 66061
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Busy Couple of Days
It has been a busy couple of days for me with Soleful Suitcases. With the events at Boston just a couple days ago, there has been a lot of new friends visiting this little blog. I'm excited to know that so many more people are learning about this little project, and how much it impacts those on the receiving end in such a big way.
Dimity McDowell from the book Run Like A Mother made a post on her blog Another Mother Runner, "10 Ways to Support Boston". Under number 4 is
Dimity McDowell from the book Run Like A Mother made a post on her blog Another Mother Runner, "10 Ways to Support Boston". Under number 4 is
"Commit 26.2 acts of kindness in the running community - or world...
donate your old kicks to a charity like Soleful Suitcases..."
Um, wow. Did Dimity McDowell just write about Soleful Suitcases? I'm kind of speechless. And pumped. The more people know about this, the more good we can all do.
And just a little blip for all you friends new to Soleful Suitcases - the basics are this. My family and I collect gently used, adult athletic shoes, brand new adult socks, and school supplies. We load them up in suitcases and put them on a plane and head to Jamaica. Once there, we hand out the shoes and socks to the workers in our hotel, who are ever so thankful for them. We have also adopted Servite Primary School in Brown's Town, a village close by, and we bring them school supplies to support the 700+ children that attend their school. We do this out of the kindness of our hearts and yours. We are not a mission trip, with a church, or a 501c3 (didn't want to pay the fees when we could buy supplies instead.) We are just one family teaching our kids how to be kind and loving citizens of the world, and that it is always better to give back when possible. This is our way to give back, and we are so thankful you are helping us.
Share your shoes, share your love, share your world.
If you'd like to donate to Soleful Suitcases and our upcoming trip in July 2013, there are several ways to help. You can donate your in-good-shape, still life left, adult athletic shoes. You can donate brand new adult socks. School supplies are always welcome. Shop on Amazon via the link on the right hand size so we get credit to help pay for baggage fees. Or donate to our GoFundMe site at www.gofundme.com/solefulsuitcases
www.facebook.com/solefulsuitcases twitter @RunningWithHart
Melissa Hart 119 N. Parker St. #143 Olathe, KS 66061
If you'd like to donate to Soleful Suitcases and our upcoming trip in July 2013, there are several ways to help. You can donate your in-good-shape, still life left, adult athletic shoes. You can donate brand new adult socks. School supplies are always welcome. Shop on Amazon via the link on the right hand size so we get credit to help pay for baggage fees. Or donate to our GoFundMe site at www.gofundme.com/solefulsuitcases
www.facebook.com/solefulsuitcases twitter @RunningWithHart
Melissa Hart 119 N. Parker St. #143 Olathe, KS 66061
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Pray for Boston
#PrayforBoston
That hashtag is trending on twitter right now. After the bombings at the marathon yesterday, a mournful nation is reaching out to try and heal the wounds, and one of those ways is by committing 26.2 acts of kindness (#26acts2). I committed one this morning by buying the coffee of a stranger behind me at the Starbucks drive-thru line. I'm committing another by taking athletic shoes, socks, and school supplies to the poverty-stricken people in Jamaica. Can you help me?
I'm still looking for used, in-good-shape adult athletic shoes in either sex, brand new adult socks, and school supplies to take down to Jamaica in July. My family and I will be giving the shoes and socks out to the hotel works where we stay. (2 pairs of brand new socks for each pair of shoes.) We've also adopted a school (Servite Primary) in a local village, and once again, we hope to be able to shower the school with much needed supplies like crayons, pencils & pens, and books for their school library.
If you're in the Kansas City area, I can try to meet you someplace to collect a donation. If you're not, you can mail donations to me, or use the GoFundMe site I've set up in order to make long-distance donating easier. On our last trip we gave out 61 pairs of shoes. Help me make it 75 on this trip.
Share your shoes, share your love, share your world.
If you'd like to donate to Soleful Suitcases and our upcoming trip in July 2013, there are several ways to help. You can donate your in-good-shape, still life left, adult athletic shoes. You can donate brand new adult socks. School supplies are always welcome. Shop on Amazon via the link on the right hand size so we get credit to help pay for baggage fees. Or donate to our GoFundMe site at www.gofundme.com/solefulsuitcases
www.facebook.com/solefulsuitcases twitter @RunningWithHart
Melissa Hart 119 N. Parker St. #143 Olathe, KS 66061
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