give.

hi my dears! happy sunday! aaah, i love sundays. so peaceful. and i usually get to tend to things i can't during the week, so that's always fun!

i've been wanting to donate a proceed of my sales to a charity for a while now... just have been unsure about how much and to where? i think i am narrowing down my 'where' and 'how much'... yay!

i want to donate 3.5% of sales to a cause that helps the homeless in LA. los angeles has the most homeless people in america, about 84,000 people. most of them are living in 'skid row', a section of LA that the city has pretty much allowed the homeless to live without being hassled. i've driven through there once while getting lost in the fashion district, it borders the blocks of shops i buy my fabrics and supplies from downtown.

it. is. terrible. :( sooo sad. no one in america should be living like that, sleeping on the pavement with nothing to eat and no roof over their head. it's like these people have been forgotten. what makes me really scared too is, many of us are just a few paychecks away from being homeless ourselves. it's not that unimaginable. luckily, a lot of us have a family to fall back on, or an education to get another job. what if you didn't have these precious things? what if you didn't graduate high school and your family disowned you? where would you go? ugh. it's a frightening thought.

i feel like now, as a resident of los angeles, i owe some of myself to those that have less. i can't keep heading back to the fabric store and drive past these unfortunate folk and just ignore them. the only issue i'm having is, WHICH homeless help organization should i donate to? there are many! the one i've been feeling best about it called Chrysalis : changing lives through jobs. i particularly like this non-profit because it offers people a way out of homelessness. i totally understand homeless folk need food and shelter, but i like the idea of training and educating people to find a job so they can be self-sufficient and create their own food and shelter. Chrysalis' motto is 'a hand up rather than a hand out', which i really like.

so i want to ask YOU, have you ever donated to a charity? do you have any tips for me? would you feel good about a percentage of your money going to help the homeless in LA? what cha think?

many thanks! much love and gratitude sent your way! xoxo.