Thank you. The help is more than wonderful!

Just wanted to say thank you to Lissa and to Melanie who was the one who purchased the card for me.

It is great to be able to receive even when the guilt of it seems overwhelming. I didn't realize until I had such money problems how much I based my identity on being a GIVER and generous. So when I realized that I wasn't going to be able to do that, it throws my self esteem into that dark hole.

So thank you all for supporting me! My son will love his gift and know that it came from this loving and supportive group!
Jaime

Thanks pink ladies for opening my world up to giving. Its awesome and holds so much more meaning than christmas shopping. I think everyone who is able to give finacial help no matter how much the amount could benefit from changing tact on what they perceive as 'christmas shopping'.

Merry Christmas everybody!!

Rebecca

I want to take this opportunity to thank Lissa and Joy for facilitating this share-fest. Pressing the "send" button as I shared my gift felt so amazing. Big plug for anyone out there who hasn't given and wants to... It is the one of the best gift I have given...to myself!!!

I want to express my comfort and joy. With my gift I ordered a gift for both my husband and daughter. My first chakra is humming! in safety and bliss and I haven't felt this faithful in quite sometime.
It may seem like a small thing, but this is actually quite huge.
... and I agree with 'letting the walls down' and 'taking a deep breath' ... asking for help is hard and somehow speaks of ourselves as some sort of 'failure', which is never true ... but this, this Lissa is empowering on such a deep but level.
I have always been in love with Women for Women International and here, Lissa, you have brought it to the home scale.
Thank you so much. You are an inspiration and I will only move forward in and with this love.

Merry Christmas ... Merry Christmas :}

We've given away the 5 gift cards from Owning Pink and are now ready to hook up those of you who have offered to donate with those requests still coming in. So bear with us. Anyone receiving this who wants to provide for Jaime?

And bless you Jaime for asking for what you need.

To anyone who is in need this Christmas, please know that this is only temporary. My sincere belief is that you will be able to do this for someone else some year in the future. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

I have to comment on this because it is too amazing not to put something.

This last four months has been particularly hard for me, and I am learning the art of asking for help when I need it.

I went from being a student, mother, artist, blogger and generous giver of my time/energy/money to being in this jelly state where I don't know who I am any more. When my partner of 10 years moved to go to school 9 hours away from me, I fell into a deep depression as I had to figure out how to be a self-supporting "single" mother of my 14 year old son again.

This lack of support made it even harder to continue to go to my job as sickness took over my daily life. In October, I ran out of paid sick time, so I was $200 short on my bills. The November I was out sick again for almost the whole month so I was $1000 short on my bills, and started going negative on my bank. December came and I am at the point where I cannot pay my rent. I am maxed out on my credit cards, and now even the increase I got on my credit card has been used yesterday to fix my car's alternator that just went out. My last credit card money was spent on some food boxes so my family can eat. The stress of having to deal with all these money issues is so huge.

I have told my son that I have no money to buy any presents this year, but a gift card would make it where I could get something for my son. I know that my situation is temporary and that I will be able to back to "normal" by February. But in the spirit of LETTING DOWN MY WALLS and being wholly myself, I would be honored to receive gift card to help buy a present for my son. Either way, I am just grateful to share my story with this community.

Jaime Lyerly
jalyerly@hotmail.com

I'm living in low-income housing, fighting a terrible case of Endometriosis and going through surgeries. I have no job and no money. It would be great to have some help! This is beautiful and I hope I can be the one to give next year! Owning Pink has been such a blessing to me!

Gayle, you're SO welcome, from all of us.

And to those who are wanting to donate, please email joy@owningpink.com and she'll try to hook up those who want to donate with those who are in need.

BLESS YOU ALL!!!! (My heart runneth over)...

Will you please email joy@owningpink.com with your name & address? And may these gifts bring you peace...
With so much love
Lissa

I have been out of work for nearly 3 years [next April] I was 'pushed' out so as not to cost my employer any further money paying out benefits to me.
All this time I have received no benefits.
At first we lived off my credit cards. Then I received some help from my dad [until his pension was cut some] and had an 'off books' personal assistant job with a friend for a bit until her job was put into limbo.
All things being said, nothing has lasted forever due to everyone being in the same financial crunch boat.

I am working very hard to get the ball rolling on my personal Reiki and Flower Essence practice, but this is slow.

I had some money squirreled away to purchase gifts for my daughter and husband [only. everyone else agreed to phones calls and beaming love] and then the town decided to threaten arrest and suspending my license [!!!] if i didn't get my cats ... my cats ... licensed. I did this. But there went my Christmas gifting plus some ...

I spent yesterday heart broken and fighting with my Ego and shooing the thoughts of being useless and stupid away. [like freakin' gnats!!] I keep wondering if i have anything I can re-gift to them but they are both asking for such modest things it seems like grasping to give them just 'something'. I resolved that gifts will come late as it's more important that I buy food.

Then I woke to see the moon. I sat in my bed with my daughter and her cat. snuggled and whispering and just staring at the magic happening in the heavens. I lit a candle and sent out a prayer to Divine Order.

Woke up this morning and commenced my chores and planning for a Reiki Circle/Solstice Evening that I am uncertain anyone is coming to [part of a introductory offering thru Reiki Flower] ... it seems i am infusing tea lights and lighting them mostly on my own for all those invited but cannot attend. Which is fine ... I am a vessel for Source and it is my pleasure and grace to Love ... but still, my heart is heavy as the child within hurts for what doesn't feel like Christmas to me.

Having my coffee ... checking my Fb and emails ... I see this ... again. I saw it yesterday and decided I was not someone in need. Then the nudge came ... so here I am.

Nothing will happen if I don't try, right?

with love and thoughts of paying it forward as soon as I am able ...

Gayle

I would love to donate a $30 gift card to someone much in need at this time of year. I am based in the UK so how do I this?

Can someone email me please to offer some advice how I do this?

Thanks - sending much pinkness out there at this time of year.

I would love to help you. And the gift card is yours. But you didn't include your email so I can't reach you! Please email melanie.owningpink@gmail.com with your name, email, and address and we will make sure you get your gift card.

Bless you honey. And Merry Christmas.
With love and faith that things will get better,
Lissa