110 Coloring Books and Crayons for Aklan Kids!

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My work-in-progress (WIP) craft is a knitting project. I finished my crochet ripple blanket a few months ago and quickly took on my second blankie project. Unfortunately, it has taken the backseat since after Yolanda hit the Philippines in November.

No, my family was not among the victim/survivors. But like many people out there, we were struck by the tragedy and had wanted to help. There was (and still ongoing) a relief project at Mom’s work so she was involved in that. As for me, I chose to come up with my own fund raising program with the latest hobby I took up. The Rainbow Loom.

I enjoyed my Loom Bandz so much that an idea immediately came to me: why not encourage kids/young people to donate by letting them buy the bracelets for 20 pesos each, where 10 pesos is guaranteed to go to a fund for crayons and coloring books for kids who survived Typhoon Yolanda. Thanks to friends and colleagues who thought it was a good idea, we sold over 300 rainbow bands and bought enough crayons and coloring books for 110 kids!

Here are some samples of the bracelets we sold:

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My two helpers: Esban and Michal. They were making bands with me during the SATS fiesta on 11/30. They also came by the house after school to make bands that their classmates ordered.

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Supportive family and friends Smile

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It was really important to me that kids and young people were involved with the project, because the intended recipients were kids too. In the midst of tragedy, we should always think about them first. Since there are already a lot of efforts in providing the necessities, I wanted to make sure that fun stuff – stuff that would help them heal too – were also included.

My niece/goddaughter Hanna accompanied me to the National Book Store that morning of December 21. I was probably the first person she talked to upon waking up, and I’d asked her to dress quickly and accompany me. What a way to start her off on her holidays. Hehe.

After buying all these stuff, we spent an hour in my car removing price tags and packing them into brown envelopes.  

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That same afternoon, the kits were packed into a bus to Aklan where the volunteer distributor was bound for his Christmas holiday with his family. I was so thankful that he was around to make sure these items reached happy little hands.

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This year, I hope I can embark on another meaningful project, and be a real blessing to others. I still have people ordering the bracelets but I’m taking a break for now. Also not sure if I’ll continue it with the charity pledge or make a little profit from the bands. I had zero profit from the November-December project, hehe.

Anyhoo, doing this project has really kept me busy the last several weeks of 2013. Busy, but in a very delightful way too.