this past week i was busy! so busy with great great great people.
soles4souls. they sent the shipment to haiti yesterday.
it was such a pleasure to be around such
giving people all week.
i don't think i stopped smiling. i think that is what service does to a person.
true happiness.
{there is a lot of generosity going on for haiti relief. it makes me believe that there are great people in the world instead of focusing on the bad, hatred and sad times. if you pre-order this almost silky-soft Help Haiti Rise tee from artist Mike Fretto and feel good knowing that 100% of all proceeds go directly to Partners in Health and their medical work in this ravaged country. i just thought it was worth mentioning since so many of us want to give but don't know how. also if you are a pack-rat and keep all of your shirts, this would be a wise one to keep to remember this time}
i had pretty incredible stories with each of the pick ups and i would like to share snippets from each.
elizabeth marnon
liz is a friend of mine from vanguard university here in newport beach. she gathered up her shoes from her home and boyfriend.
some of her shoes she gave were brand new.
these orange ones were our favorite!
erin collins and her son braden
she is a friend of mine from high school who is also a single mom.
when i got home from san francisco, i had 5 large bags on my porch.
her son was sick all week yet she managed to gather everything.
as i sorted to separate the bags from shoes and clothes, i noticed she gathered more clothes from others than just her and her son. she has always been so giving.
rocco from showroom services
my good friend rocco donated some shoes and clothes.
he was really giving and willing.
such a great person!
emily yao and corinthian colleges
emily yao and i were emailing each other about the shoe drive.
i went to her office to pick up the shoes. she had 3 bags of her own and helped me
bring them down to my car.
she asked me if it would be alright if she sent out a mass email to her corporate offices
(the 4 floors in santa ana)
the next morning after one of my meetings i went to the building.
these cute receptionist surprised me with over a dozen large bags filled with shoes!
the company came around to say hi and see me cart them down.
it was so sweet.
megan shirey
she is a friend of mine that i met a couple years ago.
she and i coordinated me to pick up her two large bags of her own shoes at her office.
she was so easy going and willing.
the shoes she gave were perfect for the haitians.
thank you megan!
najab from calnational bank
one of my friends from here gathered clothes and shoes from his neighbors and friends.
he had dozens and dozens where i didn't have room so i had him help me bring them.
his company had lots of bags that they were so willing to give.
yvonne, john sanchez and dr. diane
i went to a networking meeting a few weeks ago and met many great people who i kept in touch with. they all own businesses in the orange county area and are extremely professional and nice.
they invited me back to breakfast and gathered all their shoes to give to the haitians.
yvonne sent out the email to the group and coordinated john to present them.
it was such an honor to be there to accept them.
such great people.
arin scott and the friends
arin is such a sweetheart. she received my email i sent out and had melissa morales go with her that weekend to gather clothes from all of our huntington beach friends. she and i met at native foods and then she showed me how much she gathered...
my entire car was filled to the brim!
thank you so much arin and melissa as well as the 210 girls, kiele and some others i need to personally thank. you guys are amazing.
the haitians will look great in their true religion pants, nice pumps and thick sweaters!
-Emanuel Swedenborg
laurie tartie, alice and gensler inc.
laurie was so sweet to respond to my email so quickly.
she forwarded my email to her entire company in newport and santa monica and we organized a
time to do the pick up.
i went to the newport beach building
expecting a few bags.
no, she organized two large push carts (like the ones you see at costco) filled to the top and falling...
of SHOES!!! it was raining outside so we quickly stuffed my car to the brim again.
she told me there was an IT guy that comes out to newport once a week and stays at a local hotel.
that hotel provides him with a bottle of wine every time he stays.
he hasn't consumed those bottles so he has been keeping them in his office.
he auctioned off the bottles of wine at the company and they raised enough money to donate to haiti and buy new shoes to give to me.
truly inspiring.
alice - she sent out my email to her massive amounts of friends...
she dropped off about two dozen bags of shoes to my office!
i truly was choking back my tears after meeting these two women.
truly inspiring.
kelly nila and impco technologies
kelly is great! she received my email and wanted to help out immediately! she sent out my email to all of her company. we organized a time for me to pick them up.
when i walked into their offices in santa ana, i looked over the large quanities of bags and boxes because there were so many!
the receptionist told me people bought brand new shoes for the kids.
i found the bags of the new shoes.
i couldn't hold back my emotions.
i imagined all the babies and kids eyes when they see these brand new shoes.
thank you thank you thank you
lacey arave and quiksilver
lacey is a really good friend of mine! she is such a sweet sweet girl.
she received my email and was able to organize a box of brand new shoes from quiksilver!
she is also coordinating more boxes of shoes with their
warehouse and we will send more to haiti soon!
i love that she was able to give brand new shoes!
we voted these pair as the best!
i thought they looked like the matahorn ride from disneyland!
nate with yo gabba gabba
nate is also a friend of mine who wanted to give.
he went through his office and sorted through everything he could to give.
he gave a couple dozen brand new and nice nike, converse, vans etc shoes.
he also donated brand new clothes from paul frank, diesel and others.
my entire truck was filled with amazingly nice clothes and shoes that he was extremely generous to give. he kept saying, "i just feel this great need to give what i have."
thanks so much again.
my family, other friends, and other companies donated as well but i didn't get a chance to snag a photo.
thank you again to everyone who helped this drive be such a success.
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2 lovely notes:
This is so neat! You are all so wonderful to give of your time and possessions. It's easy to get stuck in our own lives and forget to help those around us. There is no better feeling than serving those you don't know and will never see the benefits from your labors. I love it. Thanks for sharing... and caring :)
how did you find time to do this with all you do? you're awesome!
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