Soup at Spaulding
I was lucky enough to have Soup at Spaulding contact me and ask me to present for the homeless project.
I was able to present on Thursday December 2, 2010 and I was so happy so many amazing people showed up; Faith, Ro and Rachael., Nick and Jess, Dondo, Vicky, Ken and Babs, Anthony and his son Max, Harry R, Chrissie and Garrett, Tuka, Chris and Kim Castell, Tom Nordane and his wife and a bunch more I didn’t know and some faces i recognized from the first time i went.
I knew I had 3 minutes to prep speak and so the day before I wrote up my little speech I had recited it Breedlove and Faith and felt confident it sounded good though a little worried I may get teared up.
Dinner started at 7pm…a lovely squash soup and salad with Avalon bread and hot tea. At 8 is when the people there to pitch there cause are presented to the audience.
Well the person who was supposed to present with me didn’t show up..so I got to pitch mine alone. Which is a weird feeling I must admit, cuz your like well I guess I win by default and well I hope people don’t feel gipped they don’t get a choice. But then I found out. that it didn’t mean I won automatically as anyone had the option to vote to have the money roll over to the next week. So..the competition was on…oi!
This is what I had prepared so I was allowed to read it cuz normally you are not allowed to have anything with you but they figured it was ok…
Hi! Thanks for coming and supporting this awesome event for Spaulding Court! Thank you for allowing me to present! I am honored and humbled to be here.
My name is doxie or danielle….. and I would like to talk about the Back Pack Project for the homeless I am involved in where items are given directly to the people on the streets.
4 years ago I started to see homeless under the bridges on the highways in Detroit and it made me realize I had too much stuff, don’t we all. So I started to fill my car with blankets and food and my clothes and my dads clothes I still had ..then I would stop and take items to the people who I started to call highway men. I soon ran out of stuff so I started to ask friends and family for donations and their stuff and now I bug anyone and everyone! (all eyes on you!).
In 2008 I started a chapter of Burners without Borders- a civic arm of Burning Man that helps where we see a need in our communities …I see that need in Detroit with the homeless.
Then when Ro asked her family 2 yrs ago to give her stuff to help me instead of xmas gifts she created backpacks full of items she was given- how Selfless and genius! I love you!
Now after asking people on the streets what They need we fill more & more packs with things like; hats, gloves, socks and socks and socks, hand warmers, canned protein (fish, meat beans) and veggies, and can openers of course- along with soft granola bars, (imagine no teeth- food needs to be soft) juice and water…then we tie blankets to the bags with scarves.
Then I hit the streets and look for people who don’t go to shelters for whatever reason and there are many! I also keep clothes and coats in my car too to give out if people need them. I am not trying to get anyone off the streets I don’t have that skill set. I am just trying to help out anyone I can with a backpack filled with supplies, compassion and non-judgment to make a night on the streets a little easier.
I blog about most of my adventures so people can see what happens to the donations they give me. …and here is where I hope you can help me in any way you can Because I can NOT do what I do without the help of people like YOU!
Thank you.
And of course I cried my eyes out…I should not have looked at Ro but I did and I dropped my box. I told the audience I am very attached to this project and sometimes I get that that can be not a great thing.
Then I tried to sit down but I was called back up for questions which I had planted Faith and Ro with one each in case I forgot what to say but since I read from my sheet I was ok..
Well then Harry asked me a question about other ways I raise money…which lead to me getting embarrassed and talking about the Dirty Show and how I raise money there!!
And I got to answer about 3 or 4 more questions then people were allowed to vote.
I am happy to say the vote was unanimous and everyone elected to support the homeless cause! I was very pleased. I then told everyone that a bunch of us were going over to the Mars Bar in Hamtramck and to met us for drinks.
It was a good night… and I got to talk to the owner and he told me any time I would like to use his place to just ask…I told him he had no idea what he just got himself into!!
As I was looking up something today I saw this post someone put on Yelp about the Mars Bar from the evening. I met the guy…and I am glad he had a good time!
One review for The Mars Bar
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-mars-bar-hamtramck
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Teal and Purple
so just this afternoon...Teal from Bay City who came to the backpacking party earlier this month with her sister who's name i can not recall but started calling her purple cuz she was wearing a ton of it that day..
so today Teal hit me up and i knew she might as she was staying with Ro (and Rachael) in Corktown after going to Santarchy. She had contacted me earlier in the week to tell me she had a load of clothes for me...and a bunch of hats.
now these are not just any old hats...no no... teal and sister and niece have been crocheting hats and and i guess fingerless gloves and gave me a big back full of them.
Purple told me it takes no time at all.. she can make the fingerless gloves in an hour and a half...yes she makes it sound that easy... i told her i am very impressed and in no way no how could i even start to do the art she makes look so easy.
I told them both thank you very much and that i will look forward to giving out these hand made with love donations!
so today Teal hit me up and i knew she might as she was staying with Ro (and Rachael) in Corktown after going to Santarchy. She had contacted me earlier in the week to tell me she had a load of clothes for me...and a bunch of hats.
now these are not just any old hats...no no... teal and sister and niece have been crocheting hats and and i guess fingerless gloves and gave me a big back full of them.
Purple told me it takes no time at all.. she can make the fingerless gloves in an hour and a half...yes she makes it sound that easy... i told her i am very impressed and in no way no how could i even start to do the art she makes look so easy.
I told them both thank you very much and that i will look forward to giving out these hand made with love donations!
Erin is a HERO!
So last year Erin McClain found me..not even really sure how she did to be honest..but I think it had to do with Burners without Borders Detroit on the Facebook page.
It has been a pleasure communicated with her ever since…this year in January she showed up late to the Back packing event in my basement but it was a pleasure to meet her and her husband Craig when they did…they came with supplies too and left with full backpacks to distribute on the streets. I was happy she took some cuz she was one of the few who did as I don’t pressure people to hit the streets but encourage them if they do.
This month she was at Backpacking event on time and again with Craig and she brought her friend Carrie who works with and organization called HERO. She had been telling me about Carrie for some time so it was nice to meet her and she had about 8 packs with her to contribute to the cause.
What Carrie does with HERO is this as she wrote me in a facebook message;
Hi Danielle! I'm happy to help with what I can. HERO is the Homeless Empowerment Relationship Organization. I actually work for the collections company for HERO's clothing and shoe donation program. We have the black boxes all over southeastern Michigan. Their main focus is helping to "empower" the homeless through workshops and classes. All furniture that is given to HERO is used to help furnish housing for those coming through the programs. HERO works through MAP - Michigan Ability Partners and is also the clothing distributor for Michigan Prisoner Release program. I'll probably only have about 10 backpacks to add to the mix for this year - but will plan to collect them for next year! Thank you for doing such great work in the community!!! If I can't make it to do the packing - I'll make sure that Erin has the donations :-)
--
How wonderful is that? Erin made a wonderful connection for BWB Detroit and I am so thankful. I look forward to how Carrie told me she could possibly overwhelm me next year with backpacks…I asked her to try!!
Both of these ladies are now my hero's!
It has been a pleasure communicated with her ever since…this year in January she showed up late to the Back packing event in my basement but it was a pleasure to meet her and her husband Craig when they did…they came with supplies too and left with full backpacks to distribute on the streets. I was happy she took some cuz she was one of the few who did as I don’t pressure people to hit the streets but encourage them if they do.
This month she was at Backpacking event on time and again with Craig and she brought her friend Carrie who works with and organization called HERO. She had been telling me about Carrie for some time so it was nice to meet her and she had about 8 packs with her to contribute to the cause.
What Carrie does with HERO is this as she wrote me in a facebook message;
Hi Danielle! I'm happy to help with what I can. HERO is the Homeless Empowerment Relationship Organization. I actually work for the collections company for HERO's clothing and shoe donation program. We have the black boxes all over southeastern Michigan. Their main focus is helping to "empower" the homeless through workshops and classes. All furniture that is given to HERO is used to help furnish housing for those coming through the programs. HERO works through MAP - Michigan Ability Partners and is also the clothing distributor for Michigan Prisoner Release program. I'll probably only have about 10 backpacks to add to the mix for this year - but will plan to collect them for next year! Thank you for doing such great work in the community!!! If I can't make it to do the packing - I'll make sure that Erin has the donations :-)
--
How wonderful is that? Erin made a wonderful connection for BWB Detroit and I am so thankful. I look forward to how Carrie told me she could possibly overwhelm me next year with backpacks…I asked her to try!!
Both of these ladies are now my hero's!
Jessca and her co-workers
So Jessca who showed up out of no where during MCVR to help run our door for the event has been around helping ever since…and I am thankful she does! Jessca has a huge beautiful smile and a heart of gold and is willing to help you with anything she can. And she recently helped Burners without Borders Detroit by asking her co-workers make donations that she would collect at work and bring the Back Packing Party on Sundy December 5, 2010. And donate they did, she came to the event with a ton of items to help us back the packs with and then some. People helped her bring her collection and others helped her sort them! It was good teamwork! I am grateful to Jessca for being in my life and especially for helping as she has by asking her co-workers to donate. I do hope she told everyone at Coldwell Banker Shooltz how much I appreciate their help.
Mittens for Detroit
Jimi Santigo is an angel in my life…and I am blessed he has found me.
Jimi is a quiet guy ..don’t really even know him, he is a friend of a friend really yet he helps out Burners without Borders in subtle ways like sending me links to stories of the homeless or topics that are on point.
He also recently informed me contacted a possible source for gloves & mittens. It's a charity called Mittens for Detroit. He told me they wanted more info about the homeless project and sent me his contacts number.
I contacted the person in charge of Mittens for Detroit as he questions that Jimi thought I was better able to answer.
I also found out by searching online that Mittens for Detroit was started by a star of the tv show Detroit 1-8-7, Erin Cummings; its Mission from the website says this; "Mittens for Detroit, the brainchild of Detroit 187 actress Erin Cummings, is a community initiative whose sole purpose is to collect and distribute new gloves and mittens to children and adults in the city of Detroit. "
Here is a bit of what I wrote to Jason the contact for the project;
To answer your questions Jason;
1) How many pairs would you need? That depends on how many back packs i get...i have about 50-60 now..i hope to have another 200 very soon.
2) What organizations get these packages? I started a chapter of Burners without Borders in Detroit where once backpacks are filled with items like; hats. gloves, hand warmers, canned protein, can openers juice..toiletries etc...i hit the streets and look for people who do not go to shelters.
3) How long does this initiative occur?it occurs from around November to March depending on how cold it gets...if the snow and temps drop earlier in the year i hit the streets then, if Spring takes a while to get here i stay out til she does! then i take the summer off from the streets but do small fundraisers throughout the year and start to collect items again in fall and continue through winter again.
Here is a link to the Back Packing party on Facebook; where i just found Mittens for Detroit- what a wonderful program and site!
I hope this answers your questions, here is a bit about Burners without Borders Detroit too !!
-----------
Though I never heard back from them I am really happy that this program exists inside the city! Way to go Erin Cummings…thank you for caring about Detroit.
And thank you Jimi for going above and beyond and contacting the organization with Burners without Borders Detroit in mind…that means the world to me!
Jimi is a quiet guy ..don’t really even know him, he is a friend of a friend really yet he helps out Burners without Borders in subtle ways like sending me links to stories of the homeless or topics that are on point.
He also recently informed me contacted a possible source for gloves & mittens. It's a charity called Mittens for Detroit. He told me they wanted more info about the homeless project and sent me his contacts number.
I contacted the person in charge of Mittens for Detroit as he questions that Jimi thought I was better able to answer.
I also found out by searching online that Mittens for Detroit was started by a star of the tv show Detroit 1-8-7, Erin Cummings; its Mission from the website says this; "Mittens for Detroit, the brainchild of Detroit 187 actress Erin Cummings, is a community initiative whose sole purpose is to collect and distribute new gloves and mittens to children and adults in the city of Detroit. "
Here is a bit of what I wrote to Jason the contact for the project;
To answer your questions Jason;
1) How many pairs would you need? That depends on how many back packs i get...i have about 50-60 now..i hope to have another 200 very soon.
2) What organizations get these packages? I started a chapter of Burners without Borders in Detroit where once backpacks are filled with items like; hats. gloves, hand warmers, canned protein, can openers juice..toiletries etc...i hit the streets and look for people who do not go to shelters.
3) How long does this initiative occur?it occurs from around November to March depending on how cold it gets...if the snow and temps drop earlier in the year i hit the streets then, if Spring takes a while to get here i stay out til she does! then i take the summer off from the streets but do small fundraisers throughout the year and start to collect items again in fall and continue through winter again.
Here is a link to the Back Packing party on Facebook; where i just found Mittens for Detroit- what a wonderful program and site!
I hope this answers your questions, here is a bit about Burners without Borders Detroit too !!
-----------
Though I never heard back from them I am really happy that this program exists inside the city! Way to go Erin Cummings…thank you for caring about Detroit.
And thank you Jimi for going above and beyond and contacting the organization with Burners without Borders Detroit in mind…that means the world to me!
Burners without Borders as explained on Causes..
Burners without Borders as explained on Causes..
BWB is under the umbrella of BRAF; which is the Black Rock Arts Foundation. BRAF is a 501(c)3 organization and donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
It is under these two umbrellas that Burners without Borders Detroit operates. On the Causes website BWB is explained as follows…it’s a short concise way of explaining it to someone who may other wise know;
“Burners without Borders is a loose association of aid and action leaders who choose to step in and work together to rebuild communities.
We help make homes happen, the basics of everyday life. Together we help build bridges and survive the basics. We know that just the right mix of people will come together at the time when you will most need it.
BwB evolved after Burning Man 2005 as a response to Hurricane Katrina; today we take on the challenges in the news....rebuilding from fires, survival skill assembly with creative solutions to life-changing problems.
Burning this brightly is not for the faint of heart. This cause is for everyone who respects the community leaders, builders, counselors and architects who create new opportunities from rubble.”
BWB is under the umbrella of BRAF; which is the Black Rock Arts Foundation. BRAF is a 501(c)3 organization and donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
It is under these two umbrellas that Burners without Borders Detroit operates. On the Causes website BWB is explained as follows…it’s a short concise way of explaining it to someone who may other wise know;
“Burners without Borders is a loose association of aid and action leaders who choose to step in and work together to rebuild communities.
We help make homes happen, the basics of everyday life. Together we help build bridges and survive the basics. We know that just the right mix of people will come together at the time when you will most need it.
BwB evolved after Burning Man 2005 as a response to Hurricane Katrina; today we take on the challenges in the news....rebuilding from fires, survival skill assembly with creative solutions to life-changing problems.
Burning this brightly is not for the faint of heart. This cause is for everyone who respects the community leaders, builders, counselors and architects who create new opportunities from rubble.”
More on my Birthday Wish
Birthday Cause update
With in moments of my posting my Birthday Wish donations started to come in...and have continued to.
As of December 18th the generous donations of the people below have reached $415 of the $500 goal i set.
* Damian Polack Damian Polack
* David Koren David Koren
* Cynthia Cooky Jones Cynthia Cooky Jones
* Thaddeus McKracken Thaddeus McKracken
* Brian Lewis
* Thomas Jankowski
* Scott M Reilly
* Paul M. Grinnell Paul M. Grinnell
* Julia Raskin Julia Raskin
* Diane Kobasic
* Bohdi Bill Baber Bohdi Bill Baber
* Artur Zukowski
* Codrin Cionca
* One Space, LLC One Space, LLC
* Sarah Elizabeth Whitman
* Aaron Krynicki Aaron Krynicki
* Tom Nardone Tom Nardone
* Judith A Mauro
Two people are Not on this list as one misread and didn't click the cause for My Birthday Wish and that was the amazing Mr. Dixon. And another Micheal Spleet did not wish to put his credit card into Birthday Wishes as part of Causes so he paypal'd me instead. The donations would be over $500 if they had been included..and i am honored and humbled people care enough to help.
Thank you very much donors.
With in moments of my posting my Birthday Wish donations started to come in...and have continued to.
As of December 18th the generous donations of the people below have reached $415 of the $500 goal i set.
* Damian Polack Damian Polack
* David Koren David Koren
* Cynthia Cooky Jones Cynthia Cooky Jones
* Thaddeus McKracken Thaddeus McKracken
* Brian Lewis
* Thomas Jankowski
* Scott M Reilly
* Paul M. Grinnell Paul M. Grinnell
* Julia Raskin Julia Raskin
* Diane Kobasic
* Bohdi Bill Baber Bohdi Bill Baber
* Artur Zukowski
* Codrin Cionca
* One Space, LLC One Space, LLC
* Sarah Elizabeth Whitman
* Aaron Krynicki Aaron Krynicki
* Tom Nardone Tom Nardone
* Judith A Mauro
Two people are Not on this list as one misread and didn't click the cause for My Birthday Wish and that was the amazing Mr. Dixon. And another Micheal Spleet did not wish to put his credit card into Birthday Wishes as part of Causes so he paypal'd me instead. The donations would be over $500 if they had been included..and i am honored and humbled people care enough to help.
Thank you very much donors.
Birthday Wishes for the homeless
Birthday Wish
On December 1, 2010 I created a Birthday Wish with the goal of to raise $500 for Burners without Borders. My wish can be seen here; http://wishes.causes.com/wishes/118809
I sent emails to people in my address book, admittedly and surprisingly I had more in there then I have saved but the Birthday Wish script was able to grab like every email I have ever written too…and boy is there a lot. So yes I took advantage of it and wrote this note to many of them:
Hello, and thanks for checking out my Birthday Wish!
For my birthday this year, instead of getting me a typical birthday gift I'm asking my friends and family to donate $25 (or however much you can afford) to Burners without Borders. It's a great cause that directly helps the homeless in Detroit with supply filled backpacks.
I've chosen Burners without Borders because it celebrates the power of communities making a difference one person at a time!.
Please consider giving to my Birthday Wish, and together we can make the world a better place. If you can't afford to donate, I'd really appreciate it if you'd share this page with your friends.
Thanks for reading this....Bee well and beelieve! xoxo
And thank you because i can NOT do what i do without the help of people like YOU!!
-Danielle ~doxie Kaltz
Learn more about Burners without Borders Detroit here;
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Burners-without-Borders-Detroit/139544484100
and i blog about my time on the streets and events and fund raising etc. here;
http://littledsworld.blogspot.com/
On December 1, 2010 I created a Birthday Wish with the goal of to raise $500 for Burners without Borders. My wish can be seen here; http://wishes.causes.com/wishes/118809
I sent emails to people in my address book, admittedly and surprisingly I had more in there then I have saved but the Birthday Wish script was able to grab like every email I have ever written too…and boy is there a lot. So yes I took advantage of it and wrote this note to many of them:
Hello, and thanks for checking out my Birthday Wish!
For my birthday this year, instead of getting me a typical birthday gift I'm asking my friends and family to donate $25 (or however much you can afford) to Burners without Borders. It's a great cause that directly helps the homeless in Detroit with supply filled backpacks.
I've chosen Burners without Borders because it celebrates the power of communities making a difference one person at a time!.
Please consider giving to my Birthday Wish, and together we can make the world a better place. If you can't afford to donate, I'd really appreciate it if you'd share this page with your friends.
Thanks for reading this....Bee well and beelieve! xoxo
And thank you because i can NOT do what i do without the help of people like YOU!!
-Danielle ~doxie Kaltz
Learn more about Burners without Borders Detroit here;
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Burners-without-Borders-Detroit/139544484100
and i blog about my time on the streets and events and fund raising etc. here;
http://littledsworld.blogspot.com/
Burners without Borders Chicago
I am still receiving boxes of donated items from the Chicago Decomp on November 6,2010 where the Chicago chapter of BWB collected so many items they filled my friend Sullys rented PT Cruiser. He brought them back to Detroit and Brick brought them to me, there so many boxes...
and this weekend i was out in Ann Arbor and picked up four more boxes of clothing donations from the garage of Shai and Blaja that Shirley brought back that were over looked during the packing the car after the event was over.
its amazing the amount of clothes i have. sure i have said i need to cut back on those donations and just focus on the backpacks but i cant seem to say 'no' to people cuz i know people on the streets need clothes as well as the contents of the packs.
more reasons for me to keep dreaming of getting the Ford Transit to modify with shelves so i can have a place to sort out clothes to size people as i give them backpacks! big dream..but i like to dream big.
and this weekend i was out in Ann Arbor and picked up four more boxes of clothing donations from the garage of Shai and Blaja that Shirley brought back that were over looked during the packing the car after the event was over.
its amazing the amount of clothes i have. sure i have said i need to cut back on those donations and just focus on the backpacks but i cant seem to say 'no' to people cuz i know people on the streets need clothes as well as the contents of the packs.
more reasons for me to keep dreaming of getting the Ford Transit to modify with shelves so i can have a place to sort out clothes to size people as i give them backpacks! big dream..but i like to dream big.
Baby It’s Cold Outside! The Atelier Gothique Burners Without Borders Detroit Project!
Baby It’s Cold Outside! The Atelier Gothique Burners Without Borders Detroit Project!
The Amazing due behind Atelier Gothique Charles and Serphina Black the couple who made the amazing donation at the DAMNED show of the ring that was auctioned off and raised over $400 for Burners without Borders Detroit have come up with a project being offered on their website and are advertising it on facebook. The entry is long but worth reading…and the chance to win a wonderful unique handcrafted piece of wearable art is amazing.
Read of to their post on facebook;
(http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=459368496147)
Baby It’s Cold Outside! The Atelier Gothique Burners Without Borders Detroit Project!
by Atelier Gothique on Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 9:17am
Baby It’s Cold Outside!
This will be long winded I ask you take the 5 minutes from your busy day and please read.
For those that personally know me you know how I get when I feel strongly about something so please read this all the way through this is not like my normal soap boxing!
As many of you know and so many more of you don’t know here at Atelier Gothique we have a personal cause. There are a group of people in which Seraphia and I like to refer to as our “Fuzzy glow-stick cousins” the wonderful Burning Man people. There is one in particular a friend of ours here in Detroit … Doxie…
Doxie is amazing she is one on the most selfless people I have ever met, her compassion, kindness and self sacrifice for others shows us an exemplary example of the goodness of mankind. She does this not for glory or fame or a pat on the back but just to help those in need. As a matter of fact she has no idea about this posting she will find out about it at the same time as all of you. She is also so humble that I am probably going to get my ass kicked for bringing her into the “spotlight” on this.
Doxie has put together and runs Burners Without Borders Detroit (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Burners-without-Borders-Detroit/139544484100)
Now I know there have been many generous souls that help and have helped her in her mission but really she has done so much and worked so hard and given so much of her heart her soul her time her energy her love and compassion she should be commended. So Doxie.. We Love You! You are one of the most amazing human beings I have ever had the pleasure of knowing!
I have posted links to the BWOBD fan page before and asked people to “Fan it” and a few of you did….. I ask again! Its pushing a simple little button that puts a simple little like on your page… who cares if you are not from Detroit…. It may be seen on your page by someone who can make a huge difference and you may even be that person so fan the page!. Link above. Also until they get their website up info on BWOBD can be found here (http://littledsworld.blogspot.com/)
Now what does Detroit Burners Without Borders Do? Well the following are Doxie’s words not ours……
Creating random acts of kindness & service to Detroit Homeless.
1 supply filled backpack @ a time. Always accepting donations!
As we all know Detroit is on hard economic times and its getting harder. This is a perfect time for grassroots community building. This is when organizing our community to network with other organizations in and around Detroit to help those in need is most important.
Detroit Burners without Borders is an opportunity to help others in your area. You do not have to give money (but if you do that would be great) which you may not have instead give of yourself and get out and do community service that not only helps others but leads to building stronger community, networking and friendships with people you might not otherwise come in contact.
If we as concerned and proactive citizens get together to combine forces to volunteer, support and assist others we will succeed in not only building a stronger city and community but what we will accomplish spreading hope to people who will if we are lucky be motivated to join us in making this city one where we can all be proud to say we are from.
So won’t you join us in our up coming events and please brainstorm with us on ways that we can continue to help others! Who in your city do you see that needs help? What organization could use a robust crew of like minded citizens to come in and help them on a project? These events could be one time or on going it matters not…what matters is that they are!!!
Looking forward to burning with you!
Here is also a link to a note that was written on one of the packing parties….
http://www.hamtramckreview.com/2010/01/these-volunteers-for-the-homeless-know-how-to-pack-a-good-cause/
So Baby Its Cold Outside…….
This morning at 6:30am I started another one of my ridiculous work days and while the coffee was brewing I stepped outside and fired up a Djarum Black and was like shit its finally winter here in Detroit and I was freezing my Jewels off. I take solace in the fact that I know in 3 minutes I will be back in my warm home, where Seraphina is sleeping in a warm bed, my daughter my niece are sleeping cuddled up with our cats and all is well and all are ok……. I know that no matter how bad things ever got I would always have a roof over my head and my family’s head. It makes me reflect again back to a meeting I had with Doxie a few weeks ago as we were brainstorming about how we could help those that are not in this same boat.
Soap box…… It pisses me off to no end that I live in the most powerful nation in the free world and yet we have citizens who are lacking the very basic necessities to sustain life there is no excuse!
We have a federal, state and local government and a system that fails and fails badly how is it we can afford trillions of dollars for wars and bullshit but cannot help our very own sustain life which would cost a fraction of the “War Effort”? As a veteran this pisses me off even more!
This is not about well it’s a bunch of junkies on the streets so it’s their fault why should I help them. These are people that lost their jobs and homes due to our outsourcing to countries we should not even allow importation from due to their human rights policies (our governments failure and selling our asses out to big business) . People that lost their homes because they were bankrupt over asinine medical bills they could not pay (Yes we are the only country in the Free world where people lose everything due to ridiculous medical costs). So most of these people that are being helped by Burners Without Borders Detroit are families like yours and mine, veterans, everyday people that fell victim to bad luck, the worst economy since the great depression, illness, and a general failure of our elected officials.
For our friends and fans many of you as a matter of fact most of you are not from metro Detroit, Michigan, or even the United States but please I still want to reach out to you. Think of these people as you fellow man, woman, child kind……
Now here is what I propose but I need your help!
We have 2800 fans on our fan page. I want each of you to suggest our fan page to all of your friends to make this happen fast (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Atelier-Gothique/135954156184)
I also want all of you to do me the honor and fan the BWOBD fan page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Burners-without-Borders-Detroit/139544484100)
Time is of the essence I want this to happen quickly! I feel that 3500 fans will be enough for me to get the word out to make a significant impact! During this time I will be setting up with paypal to create a link. Then when we hit 3500 fans there will be a huge posting which we will also ask you to link to and help spread the word!:
The Atelier Gothique Burners Without Borders Detroit Project
We are going to ask you to give whatever you can afford through paypal it is safe and secure and you can even do it in your PJ’s. Every $1 will equate to a number so lets say we have $832 sitting there in donations and you decide you want to skip eating one lunch at some fast food joint and donate $10 that means you will be number 833-842. So in other words every $1 you donate will give you a “Number” because its Paypal we will have your email address!
Now when we hit the number that I have in my mind (Which I will never tell as we want to raise as much money as we can for this cause) We will ask Doxie to randomly pick a number 1 thru our magic number. She of course will have no idea who any of the numbers correspond to.
The generous soul who’s donation number is drawn will have won one of our Concave Saddle Rings© (http://www.ateliergothique.com/ggallery/concave-saddle-rings.html) The single black diamond Grooved Saddle in the upper left corner. Made to your size. This ring has a value of $1,400.00. Now we know that this may not be everyone’s thing maybe you are one of our Fet jewelry fans! So the winner may pick any other piece in our line and they will have a $1400 retail credit! That can be used for anything at anytime……. Did we entice you now?
So just because you do not live in Detroit or the United States for that matter does not mean that you cannot help! Even if you say AG I honestly don’t care about causes but I love your jewelry…. We say well then donate! $1, $5, $10,$20, $50, or even $1000 will put you in a position to have a wonderful piece of jewelry or one hell of a deposit towards the piece of your dreams!!!! We honestly don’t care what your motivation is behind the donation and remember the more you will give the greater your chances of winning are. You can donate once or you can donate multiple times…. So for all of you that have been wanting one of our pieces this is a perfect thing for you to be involved with.
I apologize for the lack of brevity folks but this is a very very important cause and for the price of a venti starbucks latte you can make such a big difference!
We thank you all and now we ask for your help! We need you to help get the fan page to 3500 so we may start this project. So please take 3 minutes from your day go to our fan page, click the suggest to friends and click away… the faster we get there the faster we can start bugging you for the donations to The Atelier Gothique Burners Without Borders Detroit Project
From the bottoms of our hearts we thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you in advance for your support with this very important cause!
Atelier Gothique & Seraphina Black
To that I responded;
Danielle Doxie Kaltz “you are so amazing..i am going to cry..that meeting with you still has my brain spinning and i am working on many of the things we talked about!..your suggestions are priceless and i am honored (and slightly embarrassed) by your accolades..thank you both so much...big love and hugs!!”
Today I am still humbled and awe struck that they have been so generous and amazing.
I am blessed to have the people in my life that I do! Aho!
The Amazing due behind Atelier Gothique Charles and Serphina Black the couple who made the amazing donation at the DAMNED show of the ring that was auctioned off and raised over $400 for Burners without Borders Detroit have come up with a project being offered on their website and are advertising it on facebook. The entry is long but worth reading…and the chance to win a wonderful unique handcrafted piece of wearable art is amazing.
Read of to their post on facebook;
(http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=459368496147)
Baby It’s Cold Outside! The Atelier Gothique Burners Without Borders Detroit Project!
by Atelier Gothique on Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 9:17am
Baby It’s Cold Outside!
This will be long winded I ask you take the 5 minutes from your busy day and please read.
For those that personally know me you know how I get when I feel strongly about something so please read this all the way through this is not like my normal soap boxing!
As many of you know and so many more of you don’t know here at Atelier Gothique we have a personal cause. There are a group of people in which Seraphia and I like to refer to as our “Fuzzy glow-stick cousins” the wonderful Burning Man people. There is one in particular a friend of ours here in Detroit … Doxie…
Doxie is amazing she is one on the most selfless people I have ever met, her compassion, kindness and self sacrifice for others shows us an exemplary example of the goodness of mankind. She does this not for glory or fame or a pat on the back but just to help those in need. As a matter of fact she has no idea about this posting she will find out about it at the same time as all of you. She is also so humble that I am probably going to get my ass kicked for bringing her into the “spotlight” on this.
Doxie has put together and runs Burners Without Borders Detroit (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Burners-without-Borders-Detroit/139544484100)
Now I know there have been many generous souls that help and have helped her in her mission but really she has done so much and worked so hard and given so much of her heart her soul her time her energy her love and compassion she should be commended. So Doxie.. We Love You! You are one of the most amazing human beings I have ever had the pleasure of knowing!
I have posted links to the BWOBD fan page before and asked people to “Fan it” and a few of you did….. I ask again! Its pushing a simple little button that puts a simple little like on your page… who cares if you are not from Detroit…. It may be seen on your page by someone who can make a huge difference and you may even be that person so fan the page!. Link above. Also until they get their website up info on BWOBD can be found here (http://littledsworld.blogspot.com/)
Now what does Detroit Burners Without Borders Do? Well the following are Doxie’s words not ours……
Creating random acts of kindness & service to Detroit Homeless.
1 supply filled backpack @ a time. Always accepting donations!
As we all know Detroit is on hard economic times and its getting harder. This is a perfect time for grassroots community building. This is when organizing our community to network with other organizations in and around Detroit to help those in need is most important.
Detroit Burners without Borders is an opportunity to help others in your area. You do not have to give money (but if you do that would be great) which you may not have instead give of yourself and get out and do community service that not only helps others but leads to building stronger community, networking and friendships with people you might not otherwise come in contact.
If we as concerned and proactive citizens get together to combine forces to volunteer, support and assist others we will succeed in not only building a stronger city and community but what we will accomplish spreading hope to people who will if we are lucky be motivated to join us in making this city one where we can all be proud to say we are from.
So won’t you join us in our up coming events and please brainstorm with us on ways that we can continue to help others! Who in your city do you see that needs help? What organization could use a robust crew of like minded citizens to come in and help them on a project? These events could be one time or on going it matters not…what matters is that they are!!!
Looking forward to burning with you!
Here is also a link to a note that was written on one of the packing parties….
http://www.hamtramckreview.com/2010/01/these-volunteers-for-the-homeless-know-how-to-pack-a-good-cause/
So Baby Its Cold Outside…….
This morning at 6:30am I started another one of my ridiculous work days and while the coffee was brewing I stepped outside and fired up a Djarum Black and was like shit its finally winter here in Detroit and I was freezing my Jewels off. I take solace in the fact that I know in 3 minutes I will be back in my warm home, where Seraphina is sleeping in a warm bed, my daughter my niece are sleeping cuddled up with our cats and all is well and all are ok……. I know that no matter how bad things ever got I would always have a roof over my head and my family’s head. It makes me reflect again back to a meeting I had with Doxie a few weeks ago as we were brainstorming about how we could help those that are not in this same boat.
Soap box…… It pisses me off to no end that I live in the most powerful nation in the free world and yet we have citizens who are lacking the very basic necessities to sustain life there is no excuse!
We have a federal, state and local government and a system that fails and fails badly how is it we can afford trillions of dollars for wars and bullshit but cannot help our very own sustain life which would cost a fraction of the “War Effort”? As a veteran this pisses me off even more!
This is not about well it’s a bunch of junkies on the streets so it’s their fault why should I help them. These are people that lost their jobs and homes due to our outsourcing to countries we should not even allow importation from due to their human rights policies (our governments failure and selling our asses out to big business) . People that lost their homes because they were bankrupt over asinine medical bills they could not pay (Yes we are the only country in the Free world where people lose everything due to ridiculous medical costs). So most of these people that are being helped by Burners Without Borders Detroit are families like yours and mine, veterans, everyday people that fell victim to bad luck, the worst economy since the great depression, illness, and a general failure of our elected officials.
For our friends and fans many of you as a matter of fact most of you are not from metro Detroit, Michigan, or even the United States but please I still want to reach out to you. Think of these people as you fellow man, woman, child kind……
Now here is what I propose but I need your help!
We have 2800 fans on our fan page. I want each of you to suggest our fan page to all of your friends to make this happen fast (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Atelier-Gothique/135954156184)
I also want all of you to do me the honor and fan the BWOBD fan page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Burners-without-Borders-Detroit/139544484100)
Time is of the essence I want this to happen quickly! I feel that 3500 fans will be enough for me to get the word out to make a significant impact! During this time I will be setting up with paypal to create a link. Then when we hit 3500 fans there will be a huge posting which we will also ask you to link to and help spread the word!:
The Atelier Gothique Burners Without Borders Detroit Project
We are going to ask you to give whatever you can afford through paypal it is safe and secure and you can even do it in your PJ’s. Every $1 will equate to a number so lets say we have $832 sitting there in donations and you decide you want to skip eating one lunch at some fast food joint and donate $10 that means you will be number 833-842. So in other words every $1 you donate will give you a “Number” because its Paypal we will have your email address!
Now when we hit the number that I have in my mind (Which I will never tell as we want to raise as much money as we can for this cause) We will ask Doxie to randomly pick a number 1 thru our magic number. She of course will have no idea who any of the numbers correspond to.
The generous soul who’s donation number is drawn will have won one of our Concave Saddle Rings© (http://www.ateliergothique.com/ggallery/concave-saddle-rings.html) The single black diamond Grooved Saddle in the upper left corner. Made to your size. This ring has a value of $1,400.00. Now we know that this may not be everyone’s thing maybe you are one of our Fet jewelry fans! So the winner may pick any other piece in our line and they will have a $1400 retail credit! That can be used for anything at anytime……. Did we entice you now?
So just because you do not live in Detroit or the United States for that matter does not mean that you cannot help! Even if you say AG I honestly don’t care about causes but I love your jewelry…. We say well then donate! $1, $5, $10,$20, $50, or even $1000 will put you in a position to have a wonderful piece of jewelry or one hell of a deposit towards the piece of your dreams!!!! We honestly don’t care what your motivation is behind the donation and remember the more you will give the greater your chances of winning are. You can donate once or you can donate multiple times…. So for all of you that have been wanting one of our pieces this is a perfect thing for you to be involved with.
I apologize for the lack of brevity folks but this is a very very important cause and for the price of a venti starbucks latte you can make such a big difference!
We thank you all and now we ask for your help! We need you to help get the fan page to 3500 so we may start this project. So please take 3 minutes from your day go to our fan page, click the suggest to friends and click away… the faster we get there the faster we can start bugging you for the donations to The Atelier Gothique Burners Without Borders Detroit Project
From the bottoms of our hearts we thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you in advance for your support with this very important cause!
Atelier Gothique & Seraphina Black
To that I responded;
Danielle Doxie Kaltz “you are so amazing..i am going to cry..that meeting with you still has my brain spinning and i am working on many of the things we talked about!..your suggestions are priceless and i am honored (and slightly embarrassed) by your accolades..thank you both so much...big love and hugs!!”
Today I am still humbled and awe struck that they have been so generous and amazing.
I am blessed to have the people in my life that I do! Aho!
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