I never really understood what people meant when they said “The outpouring of support has been amazing.” Now I understand.

In two days, Drawn Together has reached far more people than I initially imagined. Support for this project has come from every corner of this country and has reached outside of our borders to international individuals as well.  Over the last two days, the number of visits to Damask Love has more than doubled and thousands of new visitors have come here with the express intent of joining in on the Drawn Together project.

As this project continues over the next week and a half, I want to keep you all updated on the progress. You’ve each contributed your time, money and supplies, and it is only fair that you continue to be involved by watching this project come together. I will be posting progress reports here on the blog as well as photo updates on the Damask Love Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.  If you’d like to join in and share photos of your #drawntogetherforCT projects, please do! Upload them to any social media outlet and tag @damasklove with the hashtag #drawntogetherforCT. This way we can see how you are contributing!

• $2653.57 has been raised by way of your dollar donations! This money will go toward the purchase of additional supplies for the kits and toward the assembly of all the kits. This is amazing!

• Though, I have not yet received any physical donations and therefore cannot make a firm determination of the amount coming in, my estimate is that we will be able to assemble 200-250 creative kits for the children of Newtown, Connecticut! This is at least 150 more kits than I thought was possible! You guys are fantastic.

• In addition to the amazing individuals who have donated money, supplies and time to this project, several companies have rallied and shown support for Drawn Together. Hero Arts, Online Card Classes, Whisker Graphics, Hampton Arts, Clear & Simple Stamps and Denami Designs have each made sizeable donations to this project.  You can all be proud to know that this project is making a big impact in the crafting community and beyond! Not only are we going to send tangible tools for healing to the kids of Newtown, we are also spreading the word about the therapeutic utility of art! I think we can all agree that’s a good thing.

•  The Drawn Together project continues to gain momentum. Apparently, I need to dream bigger because I thought I’d be pushing it to produce 50 creative kits! Man, oh man, was I wrong! Please continue to share this project with your network.

• If you would like to contribute dollars to this project, you may still do so. Click on the donate link below to make your contribution:

• There is now an official PO Box for the Drawn Together project. You can send your donations to:

Amber Kemp-Gerstel/Drawn Together

P.O Box 310157

Miami, FL 33231-0157

• If you are sending via FedEx , UPS or other carrier that does not deliver to PO Boxes, please contact me  for alternate shipping instructions

• One of the bigger developments in this project is my decision to take a trip to Newtown in the beginning of January to see this project through to it’s end. Last night, I broke down with intense anger and sadness for these kids and families and I just feel the need to do this for myself but also for all of you who have contributed greatly. I have never been the type to go on “mission trips” but in a sense, that’s what this trip will be. I would like to ensure that our kits make it to the proper channels for distribution and I’d like to share the purpose of our cause in person. I want to be clear that none of the donation dollars will be used to fund this trip. I am figuring that out on my own. Your donations are going to the children of Newtown, CT. Plain and simple.

• I’ve received an unbelievable amount of emails over the last two days. Since I have not yet begun to receive the actual supplies, I can’t make a firm statement about what is still needed; however I welcome your continued support! I am doing my best to make informed guesses on the supplies we could still use. By Friday of this week, I expect to have a better sense of which supplies we could still use for this project.  Please email me at damaskloveblog{at}gmail{dot}com if you would like to contribute.

• Thanks to the wonderful suggestion of Paulina, I’ve added Washi tape to the need list. This child friendly tool will definitely add another opportunity for creativity in these children. Please contact me if you would to donate a few rolls.

• Please remember that we need new and unused supplies for this project! We want to send quality supplies to every child and begin the healing process in the best way possible. Of course, this may include unused items from your own craft room, just be sure they are in new condition and from  a non-smoking environment.

• Shipping of all these kits is now somewhat an area of concern given the amount of kits I expect to send up to Newtown. If you would like to help defer these costs, please make a dollar donation. This will help greatly in making sure we can cover the safe and secure delivery of all our kits. I’d like to say a big thank you to Bing for their significant contribution to Drawn Together toward the shipping costs. With a bit more help, we’ll be able to get these shipped – no problem!

Thank you to everyone who has contributed in some way. I am planning to thank each person who has donated dollars or supplies, in a special way at the end of this project.  Sadly, it would be impossible for me to thank each person who has shared this project with friends, but please know that your efforts are truly appreciated!