Wise-Abe: Buy a bag, help a student

Today I found a company, Wise-Abe, that makes and sells messenger bags made of recycled coffee bags. A portion of their proceeds goes to Compassion International's Leadership Development program, which helps students in poverty actually attend college. The bags are really cool-looking! And... if you visit their blog here and leave a comment, you will be entered in a drawing to win a free bag! Win, win, win!

I want this one!

The company was started by Kristi Hayes after she visited her sponsored child in Guatemala and was moved to do something more. You can read her story here, on the Compassion blog.

I've been challenging my students to think about what unique gifts and talents they have that they could use to impact the world. Kristi apparently doesn't even sew! But she has a friend who does, and so they are partnering in this venture.

On another note, Craft Hope has posted a new project: handmade bracelets for orphans in Russia! They are asking for bracelets, lots of them. The only requirement: That they are handmade. I love this! It may not seem like much, but imagine a child who is basically alone in the world, feeling like they are not even on the world's radar screen, being given a bracelet that someone made for them, intentionally, to say "I care."

Here are some instructions for making friendship bracelets with embroidery floss. Make some and send them to

Carin Vogelzang

630 Griswold SE

Grand Rapids, MI 49507

Shop here--NOW!!

At the risk of always stealing my posts from Michelle at Blogging From the Boonies, I had to also give a shout out for "Come Together Trading Company." This is a Christ-centered, Fair Trade company that is "seeking to help our brothers and sisters living in underdeveloped countries across the world by providing them with a marketplace for the beautiful products they produce."

After Michelle recommended it, I went to their website. I ordered some birthday gifts for Lilia (shhh!), so you can't see them, but look what else I got: This purse and this shopping bag!

Purse

Shopping bag

They are really beautiful, and beautifully made--and they got here so-o-o-o quickly!

So... this company is a winner! They have a huge variety of products, including the category "Men's Clothing and Other Manly Things" (which makes me smile), jewelry, toys, and even musical instruments.

I really want this scarf:

 

and these earrings:

oh, and this "singing bowl." (Suddenly my music room seems really incomplete without this!)

Check them out!