Help For Two Little Angels

There is a lot of sadness and suffering in the world. And on some level, we mourn for all of it. But every now and then a story just grabs hold of your heart and won't let go. That's how it's been for me with Benson & Claire Skinner. My heart is especially tender for Claire, as the severity of her condition requires that she be on dialysis for 15 hours a day (3 hours in the hospital and then 12 more through the night at home). Sweet little Claire is waiting for a kidney/liver transplant and her family is raising money to help cover the costs.

I was linked to their blog by a good friend, with a plea for prayers. I clicked over, saw the pictures, read the stories, watched the video clips and my heart's been following this family ever since. I think, at least in part, I feel so deeply for them because Claire reminds me so much of my own little Lily - and the sadness just comes too close, goes too deep.

When I told Anne about them, we both agreed that we wanted to do something. Something a little bigger than ourselves. And so we come to you, dear friends, with a proposal.

Here's what we propose:

Online Silent Auction to be held at Bloom on December 10th - 13th. (Remember the incredible response at Design Mom for Stephanie & Christian Nielson? We're hoping (on a much smaller scale) to duplicate that kind of fund-raising effort).

Here's what we need:

Donations from you. Maybe you sew, or make jewelry, or create paper goods or mod-podged collages. Maybe you're a rockin' graphic designer and could auction a blog-makeover. Or custom Christmas Card Design. Maybe you are a photographer and could donate a shoot. Or a fine-art print. Maybe you don't do/have any of those things, but maybe you have a friend who does - tell them about the auction. Ask them to donate. Maybe you feel like you could auction off a few of your children's books. Maybe you have some other gift that you feel you could donate. If nothing else, maybe you could help us spread the word.

Whatever it is, e.mail us with details and hopefully we'll have a smashing auction here on the 10th. We felt this would be an ideal time of year to do this - everyone has Christmas shopping to do - what could be better than getting a little shopping done while helping a wonderful cause? And isn't this just the kind of thing that this season is/should be all about? Generosity. Compassion. Love.

If you would like to donate, please send us an auction-ready e.mail by Friday, December 4th (or sooner!) about what you'll be auctioning off. By auction-ready, we mean a complete description of the item up for bid, a starting bid, and pictures to go along. We will upload and format the posts and the auction will be held here at Bloom beginning on December 10th. All bidding will be done in the comment thread of the item up for bid. We'll post more details on the day of the auction. In the meantime, please feel free to leave a comment or e.mail with questions.
All payments will be made directly to Benson & Claire's COTA fund. 100% of proceeds will go directly to the Skinner family.

Please visit Benson & Claire at their blog, read about their condition, soak up a bit of their sweetness. And then think of a way you can help. We can't wait to see what you come up with!

-Em & Anne
aplacetobloom {at} gmail {dot} com

* Need a great roll recipe for Thanksiving? Anne's got your back...scroll down.