Help Nikki and Alex Go To Ethiopia!

I have posted about Nikki - oh, I don't know - a half-dozen times or so. I am somewhat fascinated by her and all she's been able to accomplish at such a young age and am living vicariously through her.

It's rather embarrassing.

Have I just mortified you beyond belief, Nikki?

Anyway, Nikki and her boyfriend, Alex, are going to Ethiopia in February. You can read all about it HERE. She and Alex will be volunteering in a children's home through Blessing the Children International. She'll also get to visit the little girl that she's been sponsoring through World Vision.

In order to help raise money for the trip, she is sponsoring a fantastic drawing chock-full of fabulous items. With Nikki's permission, I've copied her latest blog post about the raffle.

I encourage you to read through it and make a donation if possible. Think CHRISTMAS GIFTS!!! Also, if you participate in the raffle and mention it on your blog, then you get an extra ticket!

Even if you don't participate, will you mention Nikki's trip on your blog? I've said it before and I'll say it again. This girl is going to change the world. Don't you want to be a part of that?

If you want to participate in the raffle or make a donation, please CLICK HERE.

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Just a reminder that the Charity Raffle will be closing on November 20th- just 9 days away! I have posted the details again below and the Chip In to enter the raffle is on my sidebar! Altogether there are 13 prizes that will be given away, so you have a very good chance of winning!

I am holding my very first CHARITY RAFFLE!! There are a TON of prizes to be won! Tickets are one for $5, or five for $20. This can be paid to the Chip In button on my sidebar. If you make a donation (of any amount) and then post about it on your blog, you will receive an additional raffle entry (just leave a comment on the blog to let me know!) I will email you after I have received your raffle entry to confirm your email address, so that I have a way to contact you in the case that you are one of the winners. 50% of the funds raised will go towards paying for Alex and I to go to Ethiopia. The other half will be donated to World Vision.

Raffle will close NOVEMBER 20th.

And here are the prizes!! You do not need to enter separately for each one, if you enter the raffle you are entered into all of them, and if you enter multiple times, you have a chance of winning multiple prizes.

1) $25 gift certificate to MJennings Designs; personalized name bracelets and beaded jewelry custom designed for you! You can use this $25 towards anything available in Melissa's online store. I purchased one of the personalized kids' bracelets to give as a gift to Frangelis when I was in the DR. I had it personalized with her name, and she LOVED it. They are really beautiful.

2) Personalized photo frame from Murals With Love. This is a handmade 5 by 7 inch photo frame which you can have personalized with any theme and words. The frame pictured is one that I had personalized as a gift for Caitie with a photo of us with part of the African Children's Choir when we went to watch them. I told her I wanted pink and leopard print and she came up with this awesome creation!

3) A Jillyd bag: Eclectic, whimsical, and unique bags. The one pictured is the one which will be raffled off.

4) Africa Inspired Clock: A huge thanks to Bearly Art for donating this fantastic leopard and zebra clock. These hand painted clocks are made from 12” LP record albums. It is just one thing I do that helps save something from ending up in a landfill. These green home décor wall clocks are battery operated and have a hanger on the back of the mechanism. Whether you want to call them recycled, up-cycled, re-purposed or reused, buying these clocks helps reduce the need for more and more things being made in factories. They are lightweight, and durable.

5) A huge thanks to Hillary of Hillary Heydle: Peaceful Jewelry for donating these two fantastic, peace-inspired necklaces. The first pictured is the Chakra Peace necklace: This sweet little necklace is made with sterling silver, precious and semi-precious gemstones. Garnet(red & orange), kyanite, tourmaline, blue zircon, citrine, peridot, aquamarine, ruby, amethyst, emerald and iolite make up the necklace. These stones represent all the seven chakras have been selected to soothe and balance while giving a little peace as well. The second is made with gemstones that are the color of the ocean. A modern peace sign accentuates the peaceful design.


6) Ethiopia Zipper Pouch: Urbanhen will be donating one of these adorable zipper pouches, complete with an Ethiopian flag and lined with repurposed fabric.

7) South America Necklace from StoneGems. As it says on their shop, "each piece is "made by nature", the ocean...the water...the waves. The pieces are not altered, I simply add some accents and name each one by what I see." This particular necklace has a map of South America on it.

8) Blog Makeover at Blogs for a Cause. As many of you know, I design blogs to help raise money for differnet charities and for the humanitarian trips I go on. I will be donating one free blog makeover (also covering the cost of the digital scrap kit used).

9) Megan of Burp Itty Burp will be donating two $15 gift certificates! She sells adorable baby and children's items that can be personalized.

10) Peace in 50 Languages: This fantastic design by GeeZee's is printed and wrapped around a 10x10 piece of wood. A hole is drilled in the back of the wood for easy hagning. Winner is given the choice of the design being in red, black, or green.

11) Denise Punger, doctor and author of the book Permission to Mother, is donating a free copy of her book! As the book says, "going beyond the standard of care to nurture our children".

Nikki

Read about my volunteer work in the DR http://www.heroholiday07.blogspot.com/

Read about my volunteer work in Ethiopia http://ethiopia2009-adana.blogspot.com/