November Jewelry for Charity Recap & December Kick-off

Wow - November was my busiest month yet! Not only were my sales totals the highest they have ever been in any previous month, but my sales for the month were more than ten times what they were last November. Thank you Etsy!!!

The best part of making lots of sales is being able to write bigger checks to my featured charities! November's recipient was Behrhorst Partners for Development, a group working to improve the lives of rural people in Guatemala. I am putting a check in the mail to them today for $404, bringing my total contributions under my Jewelry for Charity program to a whopping $2,238!

Thanks so much to all of you who patronized my jewelry shop and my bead shop during the last month. Remember, 5% of your purchase always goes directly to charity!

Hopefully December will be a great month as well... this month's recipient is Farm Sanctuary.

Farm Sanctuary was founded in 1986 to combat the abuses of industrialized farming and to encourage a new awareness and understanding about "farm animals." At the sanctuary, these animals are friends, not food.

Farm Sanctuary volunteers started out by visiting farms, stockyards and slaughterhouses to document conditions, and found animals literally left for dead. Hilda, a sheep found on a pile of dead animals behind a stockyard, was the first animal to be rescued by Farm Sanctuary. She lived there for more than a decade, and died of old age.

Hilda

Over the years, Farm Sanctuary has rescued thousands of animals, and educated millions of people about their plight. People are shocked to learn about the intolerable conditions that are commonplace on today's industrialized farms.

Farm Sanctuary's rescue and education work continues, as they advocate for laws and policies to prevent suffering and promote compassion. They are reaching out to legislators and businesses, and working to bring about institutional reforms.

When Farm Sanctuary started in 1986, it was a fledgling, all volunteer organization that was funded by sales of veggie hot dogs from a VW van. Today, Farm Sanctuary has grown to become one of the nation's leading farm animal protection organizations, with hundreds of thousands of supporters.

Farm Sanctuary remains solidly committed to our founding vision, while expanding our vital rescue, education and advocacy efforts.

For a unique and meaningful holiday gift, this year please consider sponsoring an animal at Farm Sanctuary in honor of a loved one!