Welcome!

Welcome to Garage Sale 4 Orphans.  

This all began with a vote.

You see, I'm part of a fun little group called the Shamrock Book Club.  Every year, we have a night where we all propose book titles to one another and vote to determine which ones we'll read for the year.  There are only two rules:  No church books (we are predominately an LDS group of women, but by no means all), and No self-help books.  When one in our number, a dear friend by the name of Heidi, proposed the book 7 by Jen Hatmaker, however, it somehow passed the vote, though it is slightly guilty of breaking both of the club rules.

Or, that was my opinion at the time.

Now I know better.

It is not a Church book.  It is a Christian book.  It is not a self-help book.  It is a help-others, help-the world book.  I stand corrected, and so very happily so.

I thoroughly loved the book, and I really looked forward to the night of book club when we could discuss it, but alas, when the time came I was unwell and couldn't attend.  The next day, I could tell there had been incredible, dare I say life-changing, discussion about it, just by the facebook status updates of my fellow bookclubbers.  I knew that 7 had pricked my inner do-gooder, and it seemed our entire group had felt the same way.  A rally-call for better.  A fire for impact, resolution, change.

And so began our small corner of movement.  An idea that we could DO something to change the circumstances of others.  

So, this is it.  We are inviting all.  Join us now through Mother's Day 2012.  Help us make a difference.  On May 12, 2012, we are holding a community garage sale.  Our hope is to raise enough money by Mother's Day to provide a home for the motherless in Haiti.  It only takes $6000USD.  We can do it if we work together.  We invite you, wherever you are, to join us.  Clean out your closets.  Skip a night at the movies.  Whatever it is you can sacrifice.  Watch this video and tell me that you don't have anything excessive in your life that you could give up for this cause.  If you're privileged enough to be able to watch this in the privacy of your home, you are probably privileged enough.  Please.

I told my kiddos about this idea.  Everything we own is in storage at the moment.  But you know what wasn't in storage?  Our pantry.  My kids are doing their small part by running a lemonade stand in our front yard.  Six days a week until Mother's Day.  The word is out.  Folks know that the money is going to Haitian orphans and they are stopping.  My kids are spending their afternoons outdoors and are making an impact for good.  Can't remember the last time I could say the same for a day spent in front of the Disney Channel.

It can be done.  We are the people to do it.  We who have food, who have shelter, who have MORE than we need.  As a society, we have so much that an entire industry revolves around the self-storage of our excessive possessions. What if we gave up our excess and just had enough, and by so doing helped provide enough for those who can't fathom excess?

Sometimes we don't know what we're ready for until called upon to act.  We're ready for this, and we're being called.  Let's do it.  Let's make a change.