2012

it's been such a great year! 

thanks to all these incredible women {and sometimes some of the husbands} 4 charity was able to accomplish it's 2012 goal of being involved with some kind of service each month. we were able to learn about many organizations that are doing amazing things for others, we were able to meet inspiring people who just want to do good in the world, and we were able to spend time together, getting warm fuzzies and feeling heartened about the goodness of humanity.

the last couple months have been quiet over here on the blog because our projects have been a bit more personal and it seemed appropriate to to be a little more discreet. in december some of us were able to go help at 'the candy cane corner store' which is run through 'the road home shelter'. it's a very cool little set-up, people donate brand new clothes, toys, and other useful things which are then sorted and organized in a space set-up like a store where those being assisted by 'the road home' are able to come and essentially christmas shop for their families. to see the generosity of those who donated and those who came to help was overwhelming. it was a perfect experience to finish off a beautiful year.

we're looking forward to 2013 and the opportunities we hope it brings. we've already started discussing ideas for this year's fundraiser and it's going to be a good one, so watch for more details and pencil it in to your summer plans! 

and until then, here's a little inspiration to kick off your new year:

"an essential part of a happy, healthy life is being of service to others"

-susan patton thoele

thank you.

well, we did it!

we hosted our 2nd annual garden fundraiser.

it was so much fun,

and such a success! 

and we have SO many people to thank for that!

so, first we're going to show you a whole bunch of pictures,

and then say a whole bunch of thank you's.

the cutest lend-some-aide stand girls around.
those sweet faces helped us make lots
of money for the kids!

the baked goods section. yum.
these ladies killed it!
HUGE thank you to all the talented lovelies {especially that master chef in the middle}
 who made delicious
treats to sell!

lizzie b {in the coral pants} and jen c {in the black skirt} were the absolute
rockstars of our event! 'h is for haiti' is their baby, lizzie and her husband james and
 jen's husband buzz {who built our beautiful 'lend-some-aide' stand} know
these kids personally from their trips to 'foyer de sion' and they worked their bums
off to make sure this boutique was a success!
HUGE thanks to them - it was!!

our sister charity and event sponsor, pearls with purpose.
they're doing amazing things to help change lives worldwide.

spotted this cutie sporting his 4charity shirt from
last year's boutique!

couldn't have run the whole silent auction section without these beauties
{i mean the two on the left, but the brother's a sweetie too!}

these ones checked everyone out with a smile and a thank you!
good job girls!

a couple of our lovely vendors selling some of the favorite items of the night
- we love you ladies!

that one on the right - our jenni! she can keep track of dollars and sell
things and make dollars for charity like nobody's business.
we'd be lost without her!

brookie wins biggest trooper of the event. super pregnant but didn't miss
a second of the night {or the setting up or the cleaning up!}

and now onto the rest of the thank you's!

thank you to:

kim huish (our biggest donor of the night!)

matt clark of crossfit

brittany of trinket jewelry

chris giles

ramsi knowlton stoker

dash studio

fitness on 7th

megan davis

dynamite lawn and pest control

cheryl inc.

the school of dance

mariko

tuck landscape

julia of junking for joy

growing up vintage

huish outdoors
hdg photography

tiffany hatch

natalie johnson

celeste johnson

leslie ostler

laura lindsay

shelly bourne

katie johnson

carlee richins

megan dorny

amber warner

all our 4charity girls

and everyone who came.

we can't thank all of you enough!

because of all of you sweethearts, we were able to raise over $8,000.00 for charity!!

those dollars will make a huge difference in helping ensure that the children of 'foyer de sion' are able to receive an education, giving them their best chance for a brighter future!

for more information on the 'foyer de sion' one-for-one program, please visit here.
through this program you have the opportunity to sponsor a child, and help make sure that child's basic needs are met for the year!
you receive a picture of that child, along with some information.
and because our lizzie b. knows all these children personally, i bet if you ask nicely she'd give you even more personal information about them! 

see you all next year,

it's going to be even bigger, better and more fun for the whole family.

see you then!

it's almost time.

we're very excited for our boutique this year!

we're going to have all kinds of good stuff!

lots and lots of perfect gifts for yourself and everyone you know.

take advantage of this opportunity to shop completely guilt free, 

knowing your purchases are helping to send precious little boys and girls in haiti to school.

for more information about the orphanage, foyer de sion, please click here.

our very own lizzie badger and her husband james have been to the orphanage several times to help re-build and improve it.

they started 'h is for haiti' after falling in love with the children and understanding their only hope for a better future is an education, an expense the orphanage itself can not afford. 

on august 9th we invite you to come help us, help them.

the boutique is being sponsored by Pearls With Purpose.

Flashes of Hope

last friday a couple of us were able to go to Camp Hobe, a special summer camp designed for children currently being treated for cancer, to assist Flashes of Hope, an organization that uses photography to help change the way children with cancer see themselves, in addition to raising money for pediatric cancer research.

the photographer we assisted.

keeping track of the kiddos and organizing the shoot

this cutie with chantell is angela - she's the local coordinator for Flashes

this was our team for the day, the photographer and the other volunteers we worked with

it was an amazing day.

the kids were absolutely delightful and adorable!

their smiles were heartwarming and their giggles were contagious.
we would have loved to take pictures of all of them to show your their sweet faces,
but in an effort to be discreet and respectful you just have to look at ours!

both Camp Hobe and Flashes of Hope are incredible organizations that do wonderful things for these sweet kids.

for more info on Camp Hobe and for ways to volunteer - look here.

and for more info on Flashes of Hope and for ways to volunteer - look here.

The Shine Event

For our May project we participated in the SLC Shine Event.

The darling Ashley from My Shine Project

hosts Shine Events all around the country.

The money from admission to participate in the event goes to her foundation which raises money for scholarships to send underprivileged kids to school.

The event was a scavenger hunt, sending teams off to do random acts of kindness.

scavenger hunt item: "leave a place better than you found it"
brookie and the adorable megan {from here} opening a stall in a public restroom that was locked from the inside. this pic was taken right after brooke hoisted megan up to reach over and unlock the door which immediately swung open with megan still hanging over it, bless her heart. funniest moment of the day.

{side note: our new friend megan arrived at the event just as we were taking off to start our scavenger hunt so we were lucky enough to grab her and take her with us. spending time with her was a highlight of the day! she's lovely! check out her blog, you'll see what i mean!} 

scavenger hunt item: "leave happy notes in public places"

scavenger hunt item: "write an inspiring message on the ground with sidewalk chalk"

we rocked the scavenger hunt!
we played in the rain {cause it was pouring that day}
we got warm fuzzies from doing lovely funny things.
and we met our new bff - megan!
it was just a lovely day of goodness.

Thanks for bringing 'the shine' to SLC Ashley.