Patrick Rothfuss Raises Money

I'm a big fan of Patrick Rothfuss (Name of the Wind) and he's helping out his favourite chairty Heifer International, an organization that (from Pat's blog) "It helps people raise themselves up out of poverty and starvation. All over the world Heifer promotes education, sustainable agriculture, and local industry.

They don’t just keep kids from starving, they make it so families can take care of themselves. They give goats, sheep, and chickens to families so their children have milk to drink, warm clothes to wear, and eggs to eat."

He's collecting money through direct donations, lottery and auction items. There's a TON of great stuff to be won, including Pat's own donations, hundreds of books from Subterranean Press and Del Rey, you wouldn't believe it all if I told you. ;) But you might believe it if you see it. You can check out all the great stuff HERE on Pat's blog, just follow the links.

You could also bid on a professional critique of your manuscript. Some of you might have read on my blog that I did this at a fundraiser called The Boom Effect (raising money for Tee Morris' daughter) and had the unique experience of having professional agent Laurie McLean of the Larsen-Pomada agency. It was worth every penny!! I'm probably going to bid on this auction as well. Wait a second, then why am I telling YOU about it?! Because it's for a great cause. Get on over to Pat's blog and check it out!

The Boom Effect

The Boom Effect is a fund drive to raise funds for Sonic Boom, and was started by a group of podcasters and writers as a way for these communities to show support for the Morris family.

From The Boom Effect Blog:

Tee Morris is a beloved founding father of the podcasting community; co-creator of Podiobooks.com, writer of four social media books, and the first novelist to serialise his novel.

On the 5th of January 2010 Tee found himself facing raising his daughter (with the alias of Sonic Boom) alone, after the sudden, shocking death of his wife Natalie.

The podcasting, writing, and social media community gathered around and within days had raised over $10,000 to cover funeral expenses and other pressing bills Tee was facing. This response was incredible, and showed just how much Tee has touched the lives of others.

However now, as a community we are turning our attention to Sonic Boom’s future. She is only five now, and relying on Tee to provide everything for her. We have the aim of providing a trust buffer for her, so that she can go to college if she wants.

Nothing is going to replace her mother, but the funds raised will give more opportunities . So writers, podcasters and creative types of all stripes are offering up items for auction.

I have donated a 12 week workout and nutrition program to the auction!!! 

The program will be done completely online, via email, photos etc and is a 12 week “all inclusive” program.  That means it includes your personalized diet, cardio and weight program, as well as food journal checks, physique checks (via emailed photos) and program changes and updates as you need them.

I will send you a list of questions to answer (including pictures, measurements, your life schedule etc) so that I can then take all that info and make your program.  I have a client only discussion board where you will be able to chat with the other clients, including my competitive clients.

This Program Includes:

• A 12 Week Personalized Weight Program
• A 12 Week Personalized Cardio Program
• A 12 Week Diet Program
• Food Journal Checks
• Physique Checks and Program Reviews Throughout
• Extra Motivational Tools and Tips Throughout
• Group Support via a Private Discussion Board

FYI, This Program is not a “quick fix” solution that promises to have you looking like a superstar in 12 weeks.  It’s going to mean work on both our parts and will be a great step toward a healthier and happier you!

Click here to visit my auction, if you go to "home" you can see all the other fantastic items. Happy Bidding!

This event will be a webathon run by Podcasting’s very own Rich Sigfrit, with a plethora of special guests and fun. It will take place live online at 10amEST  February 27th 2010. Watch the event here

Craftathon Results

We did it! We finished our 12 hour craftathon for critters..and it was fun, but exhausting! You wouldn't think it would be that tiring, but by the final hours, we were absolutely beat!! We actually didn't finish as many as we thought we would, I guess we had great visions of massing large amounts of blankets, but the truth is, it takes a lot of time to make them!!

Here's some photos of our efforts, thanks to everyone for their support! We'll be dropping blankets and our cash donations off to the SPCA this week.

Just before 9:00am, it begins with the overflowing yarn supply and a doubtful kitty:



Here's a shot of my mom, working hard:



Just to prove I actually worked too, with the help of my assistant:



Still going strong, and as you can see, my assistant is fickle, any ol' lap will do:



Each blanket WAS tested carefully for consumer satisfaction:



The final results of our 12 hours of hard work, being reviewed by the experts:



Okay, okay, I know that one's not quite finished, but the 12 hours was up!! I will finish it, I promise:

Craftathon for Critters

Tomorrow is our "Craftathon for Critters"! My mom and I will be buckling down and knitting and crocheting blankets for the homeless puppies and kitties. We're also raising money through sponsorship, so we can give all the blankets and all the money we earn to our local homeless shelter. (you can sponsor us and make a donation at http://www.sandrawickham.com/2010charity.htm if you like!)

For twelve hours we'll be working our little butts off (fingers, actually) on blankets so send us your positive vibes and energetic thoughts! If you knit or crochet, feel free to join in for a bit tomorrow to make a blanket, or you can make a donation to your local animal shelter. I won't be blogging tomorrow (there won't be time!) but I plan on taking lots of pictures to share after. We're looking forward to it. We've got lots of movies and tv shows on DVD lined up, it should be fun! :)

Wish us luck!

Craftathon for Critters

I blogged about this once already, but I think it deserves re-blogging.

I've invented a new charity event..the Craft-athon for Critters.Not only that, I have co-erced my mom into doing it with me.
Here's what we've decided to do.

EVENT DATE: January 31st, 9am to 9pm

OUR GOAL: Raise money for our SPCA while making Snuggles blankets for the homeless cats and dogs.

PLAN: 12 hours of knitting and crocheting cat and dog blankets. We'll do as many blankets as we can in that time, then donate them all to the SPCA, and gather sponsor donations.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: You can help us in our quest to help the homeless cats and dogs by making a charitable donation through the ChipIn button below. You can sponsor us per hour, for example, $1 an hour for $12, or any amount you'd like. Every little bit helps. OR, make a donation to your local animal shleter in honour of our attempt!

If you're a crafty person and would like to join in from your own location, simply email me to let us know! sandrawickham@live.ca. We can encourage and support each other while making some animals very happy!

Just to make sure the blankets we give out are good ones, we have our official quality assurance blanket tester to approve our work. ;)

Craft-athon

I've invented my own charity event..the Craft-athon for Critters.

Not only that, I have co-erced my mom into doing it with me. Here's what we've decided to do.

EVENT DATE: January 31st, 9am to 9pm 

OUR GOAL: Raise money for our SPCA while making Snuggles blankets for the homeless cats and dogs.

PLAN: 12 hours of knitting and crocheting cat and dog blankets. We'll do as many blankets as we can in that time, then donate them all to the SPCA, and gather sponsor donations.

I've set up a donation button on the Charity page of my website, hint hint...in case anyone would like help us on our quest to help the homeless cats and dogs by making a charitable donation. You know, maybe sponsor us per hour, for example, $1 an hour for $12, or something like that. OR, make a donation to your local animal shleter in honour of our attempt!

If you're a crafty person and would like to join in from your own location, contact me to let us know! We can do it together, encouraging and supporting each other while making some animals very happy!

Here's some pics of some of the blankets I've done in the past for the SPCA and the Chihuahua Rescue foundation...with my blanket tester helping me out, because, you know, you can't send the blankets out until they've been kitteh approved: