My Life & Everything In Between: Etsy Angels

Have you heard of Etsy.com? It's a website deemed to be a "handmade marketplace" where you can buy or sell vintage and handmade items. Spend just a few minutes on the site and be prepared to find some pretty amazing artists. The best part is, most of the "sellers" are women who have AMAZING stories - they really care about their community and they are very passionate about their talents/work/products. (and rightfully so!)

Last week I emailed several "sellers" as sort of a last ditch effort to try and get some donated handmade items to in turn sell at a upcoming vendor boutique on campus. 100% of my sales will go to raise money for the Autism Speaks Walk at the Rose Bowl in L.A. which is scheduled for Saturday, April 24th, 2010. This is our second year walking as a team in support of my nephews, Xavier who has Aspergers Syndrome and Alexander who has Autism.

Our team has really struggled this year to able to raise money using our usual methods of sending emails to family and friends - no doubt the sign of current times. I was hoping to spark some interest but I was skeptical of the outcome. To my surprise, within minutes (literally!) I began to receive several responses from seller's who not only opened their hearts to share their own story of how autism has touched their lives, but their generosity was unmatched to anything I'd ever experienced.

We're not talking about large corporations here - most of them don't own a store front. They are hard-working individuals who create their "wares" to sell on etsy.com from their homes. They have full time day jobs, some with children. The first seller to contact me was Cindy Munoz. She shared with me that she recently went back to school for speech pathology and said, "autism awarness is very near and dear to my heart." She also offered to donate several of her adorable handmade retractable badge holders.

I was also contacted by Amy Crawford Dutsch from Mamas Little Monkeys who has a son with autism. She shares her story and the story of her son on her awe inspiring blog. She also was very generous and donated to the cause. All in total within 48 hours of my initial email, I received emails from 17 "sellers" who have generously offered to donate their handmade "wares" to support Autism Speaks.

If you are looking for a gift for any occasion or just looking for something for yourself in the future, I encourage you to spend your money with these ladies. I promise, you won't be disappointed.

If you are near the La Verne area this Friday, March 26th please be sure to stop by my booth between 8am and 2pm. The boutique will be located in the Johnson Family Plaza on the University of La Verne campus. In addition to raising money, I will also be spreading awareness by giving out Autism information brochures, L.A. Walk brochures and Autism Awareness stickers.