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My professional life and my blog life have always been separate. Until today.

Many of you know that my days are spent working with children as a pediatric psychologist. We all have our niche in life and mine is working with children.

On Friday afternoon, I sat at my desk and tried to avoid the influx of Facebook posts about the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. I knew that it was bad and I knew I couldn’t bear reading through the facts. Around 2:00pm, I finally caught up on what had happened. It was worse than I could have imagined. Kids dead. Mourning parents. Survivors. Forever scarred. I just don’t get it.

There have been too many tragedies like this in our country, but I am not in the business of arguing gun laws, school security, or the motives of the gunman. There are other skilled professionals who can do that far better than me. My cause is for the children of Newtown. The kids and survivors who have to process this and make sense of it over the next days, weeks and years.  The kids who had to be escorted out of their school, passing the bodies of their classmates and teachers. The kids who likely have Christmas gifts to give to friends they won’t see again. The kids who will jump every time they hear a pot drop on the floor or a siren, fearing that it’s all happening again. The kids who will have trouble returning to school, worried if they are safe there.

There is absolutely nothing that anyone can do to rewind this disgusting event, but I feel like I must do something and I know many of you feel the same way.

During my graduate and post-grad training, I did some work with grieving children. I am by no means an expert in this area, but I have seen it. It’s tragic and unfair and extremely difficult to process.

Children seldom sit down and just start talking and telling you what’s on their mind. Some do. Most don’t. Most don’t even know what to say…they haven’t figured it out for themselves. Research in the fields of social work and psychology offer significant evidence that art can be a valuable therapeutic tool for children as they work through grief and trauma. Children’s drawings can help them tell their story to adults. Art may offer a healthy coping mechanism for children experiencing difficult emotions. Art can also provide a helpful activity for parents to spend quality time with their children, which is undoubtedly something every parent in Newtown needs right now. It’s with these things in mind, that I’m launching Drawn Together, a chance for us to use our passion for creativity to help, in a small way, to heal the community and children of Newtown, Connecticut.

Drawn Together: For the community of Sandy Hook Elementary School

ThePlanTapeStripThe idea is to assemble at least 50 creative kits filled with art supplies that will be sent to the Newtown Youth & Family Services Center. This center is currently providing counseling and support services to the community and is accepting donations.

Each creative kit will include several items that can be incorporated into the work they are doing with the children and families of Newtown. The kits can also be sent home with children and used with parents to help process this event.

My goal is to assemble and send off the kits during the first week of January 2013.

how-you-can-help-tape-strip

donate-supplies

Vendors, companies and individuals are all invited to donate new & unused supplies to be included in the creative kits. Below is the need list for completing each kit. To meet the goal, we’ll need at least 50 of each item. You do not need to donate all 50 though! Do what you can and we’ll chip away at this list together!

        • Child-friendly stamps (wood-mounted preferred, since clear stamps require acrylic blocks)
        • Black Ink Pads
        • Plain white cardstock
        • Colored cardstock
        • Patterned Paper
        • Small set of crayons
        • Small set of markers
        • Child scissors
        • Watercolor or Acrylic paint
        • Paintbrushes
        • Alphabet stickers
        • Pencils
        • Glitter
        • Glue or Gluesticks
        • Envelopes
        • 50 small canvas tote bags to package each kit

donatedollarsYou can also donate dollars toward creating these kits. Every dollar donated will go toward purchasing supplies for the kits. If the money donated exceeds the amount needed for 50 kits, then we’ll make more! Donations will be open from today, December 16, 2012 through Friday, December 28, 2012. Donations are processed securely through Paypal. Simply click the button below to go to the donation page.




CREATE-A-CARDIt would be nice to include a handmade card in each kit, don’t you think? Create a child-friendly handmade card and send it to me at the address listed at the end of this post. Send one, send ten! Any additional cards that don’t go into the kits will go directly to the Newtown Youth & Family Services center to be distributed. I imagine that children might like to choose a favorite card after their visit to the center. The center could also keep the cards for children who visit them in the future for other services. For themes on the cards, uplifting or all occassion sentiments might be the most appropriate (e.g. Thinking of you, You’re Special). We can’t be sure who these will reach. For the inside of the card, you can either leave it blank or sign it with your name and where you are from. Here are a few greeting card verses that may also be appropriate for the inside of your cards:

Greeting-Card-Verses

Papertrey Ink also offers some great “Thinking of You” sentiments in their Over Under Easy stamp set and  Half & Half stamp set, so feel free to use those as inspiration!

SPREAD-THE-WORD

I’ve never ever done anything like this, mostly because I’ve never felt as heartbroken as I do about what happened in Newtown. Please share this with friends or companies who may also like to participate in some way. This blog is not a big one, but I’d like this to reach as many people as possible. I’d love your help with that.  Use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram…heck…send out carrier pigeons, I don’t care! Let’s work together and do what we can to help!

Grab the graphic below if you’d like to share this on the sidebar of your own blog

Drawn-Together-Button

contactinformation

If you would like to donate supplies, please contact me first via email at:

damaskloveblog{at}gmail{dot}com

Cards and supplies will be mailed to:

Amber Kemp-Gerstel/Drawn Together

P.O Box 310157

Miami, FL 33231-0157

Thanks to each of you for reading this post. I hope you’ll participate. I remember a professor once told me “There is no such thing as true altruism.” I agree. In part, I need to do this to help myself cope, but if my need to cope also helps a few children in Newtown, then I’m okay with that.

Keep on crafting with these other posts

142 thoughts on “Drawn Together: A Fundraiser for Newtown, Connecticut

  1. What an amazing idea, Amber! Friday night, I was sharing w/my mom I wanted to organize a blog hop with other crafters to send out handmade cards to the families involved and the community that has been affected by this devastating tragedy!!! SO glad you are doing this and I want to participate and help, too!!! Still praying for everyone involved in this!!! )’:

  2. Amber, what a heartfelt idea. I would love to help anyway I can. I have tweeted, shared and pinned. I will you email soon, to pledge a donation of supplies. I am sure you will soon have what you need and more.

  3. I love how you decided to take action to help the victims and families! Thank you so much and count on me doing something – I’m starting with looking through my supplies to see what would be good to donate! I will also post this on Facebook.

  4. Hi Amber! I found your blog today through Ellen Hutson,and what a perfect day to do so. This is an amazing idea. I will send some items to you, I have many alphabet stickers that I can send and I am sure I can find other items as well. I will send you an email for the info. Or if you see this first you can contact me at [email protected]
    The only thing good that comes of tragedy like this is how it brings people together. The rest of it is senseless.
    May God Bless you!
    Mary

  5. I love this idea! I made a donation, but still feel like I am not doing enough. As a school teacher, I can’t imagine what these children and teachers are going through. My heart aches and I am still trying to process this. Thank you for sharing and inviting us to participate. 🙂

  6. Amber, I commend you on a wonderful idea!! I am also a child therapist and know the value of giving children tools for self expression -art and play are essential! I think it helps us too to take our feelings of grief, helplessness and sympathy for the victims and families and do something constructive. I will definitely send you some supplies! Thanks for a great idea!!

  7. Great idea! I just filled my cart full of stuff at Blick’s, so I’ll be ready to send when you give an address. Thanks for the opportunity to contribute to such a great cause.

  8. My kids and I are making cards this afternoon. I am heartbroken too. I have a kid in kindergarten. I can’t even fathom him walking past dead classmates never mind him being one of the kids lying dead on the floor. I just can’t go there in my heart. And I adore his teacher. To lose her would be a huge loss to the world. I’m guessing the teachers lost there will be similarly missed. Such sorrow.

  9. I’m IN! I’m still in disbelief over this, but I know I wanted to and have to do something. I will surely be in touch. Thanks for leading the charge on this Amber!

  10. I’m on it ! ! And I’m spreading the word. I’ve got a feeling that, considering how wonderful and giving our crafty community is, that there will be more than 50 kits! What a wonderful plan you have come up with Amber. Thank you for facilitating this for us.

  11. I’m going to donate, as I’m from the UK and getting supplies over to you wouldn’t be an effective use of resources. I’m a teacher in a high school, and school should be a safe place for kids to come, and this tragedy really touched me. I also have two little ones, and so I can’t bear to think how the parents must be feeling. I’ll post this on my blog. Thanks for your idea and leading the way on this project.

  12. You are an inspiration to all of us Amber! I will send off an email to you this evening, and I will share this with my mom’s group that I’m getting together with this evening! We might not be able to send a lot over because we are SAHM of Special Needs children, but we have big hearts and will do what we can to help.
    God Bless you for taking on this fundraiser to help those who really need a little something to help them get through this rough time!

  13. you had better believe I am in on this! In Feb. we had a shooting at the high school where my youngest son was a senior. I can’t even begin to tell you what it does not only to the students, but to the entire community. this latest tragedy has brought it all back again for our little village.

    if I can help even one other family who is going through what we did, then I am more than willing to. I’ll go through my things and gather up what I can to help these children.

    thank you for your willing heart and generosity!

  14. Made a small donation, but will re-check your blog to see if there si more I can do. May God richly bless you for coordinating this much-needed project. Like you, we all feel helpless.

  15. Fantastic idea. As we all sit feeling so helpless, you have instilled an idea that is sure to be appreciated by so many. Our thoughts and prayers are with Newtown, CT and our entire country at this incredibly sad time.

  16. This is a wonderful idea, especially since one little girl’s dad, Emilie, said that she was always drawing and making cards for people who looked sad. My school is currently looking into sending you craft kits, we’d love to help! It would really bring a smile to a lot of children’s faces, and would keep them occupied in this difficult time.

  17. Such a great idea!! I’m definitely going to be making some cards to send in and donating supplies. It will make me so happy to feel like I’m contributing something to help those children affected.

  18. I’m so in. You articulated everything so well an your take action plan is perfect & so appropriate. I’m donating funds next but I have a lot of craft supplies I’d like to donate. Mostly paper. I will email you. Thanks for putting this together!

  19. Amber, this is fantastic. I want to be a part of this. I already shared on Facebook and I will share in a Facebook group I manage called Ohio Scrappers. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do (other than donate time, money and cards.)

  20. You might want to remind people to print in their cards, not write in cursive as kids can’t read it. Some even in kindergarten can read some simple words. I also thought of another couple good things to write in cards.

    Reach across your body with one hand and put it on your shoulder. Do the same with your other hand and squeeze tight. That’s a hug from me!

    You are so brave.

    You are amazing!

  21. I am so glad you are doing this…I will send out some cards when I get back from our Christmas vacation overseas. It’s a great idea!

  22. What a wonderful way to express our condolences when the entire country is mourning the loss of innocent lives. I’m in!!!

  23. This is such a fantastic project and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for organizing it! I would like to donate supplies and cards — and I will share this on PaperMadeBakery’s outlets.

  24. As a teacher of little kinders, this tragedy has truly touched my very core. I would love to be able to send art supplies. Will begin getting together. Thank you for organizing this!

  25. What a wonderful idea Amber, donations, items and cards being sent. Thank you for coordinating this for the community that now belongs to each and every one of us.

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