Take just 3 minutes to help sewers in Guatemala

PLEASE take just 3 minutes or less to go do this - PLEASE! It will really, really help the great charity that I support through my website - where they teach women to sew and SELL them sewing machines to improve their lives - in Guatemala. Londa


Dear Friends of Miracles in Action and Guatemala,

Most of you know, we are seeking votes from Facebook Friends to win $20,000 to build a school Guatemala that was destroyed by mudslides.
This morning, a generous donor offered to match the $20,000 winnings, but only if we win the Chase Community Giving contest.

Now your vote counts for $40,000!!!

We are at 217th position today, and need many more votes to move to the top 200, and stay there until voting ends on July 12th.

We can't do this without you and your friends. Please forward this email, and FB message all your contacts.

PLEASE VOTE!!!
Simple steps to vote:1. Go to our website www.MiraclesInAction.org 2. Click on the "Support Us" Vote box. 3. Click on: "Get Started to Vote" in Green4. Request for Permission to Access Basic information – click on "Allow" 5. Pop up window asks you to "Like" Chase Community Giving – click on "Like" 6. Verify you are still on the Chase Community Giving Miracles in Action page 7. Click on VOTE. If you are not on Miracles in Action's vote page, go up to "Search and Vote"
and enter our name in the search.

Thank you for your vote, and spreading the word, Penny

P.S. Please view our video with the "Story of Miracles in Action". Here is a YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvJNQho78H4&feature=email
Penny Rambacher, R.D.
Founder/PresidentMiracles In Action, a 501(c)(3) non-profitwww.MiraclesInAction.org239-348-0815Helping poor families to help themselves…Building our 28th school in rural Guatemala. Established 19 vocational workshops and libraries. Installed 20 water systems for remote villages. Join us, and support a sustainable development project, where 100% of donation dollars go directly to the project.
Dear Friends of Miracles in Action and Guatemala,

Most of you know, we are seeking votes from Facebook Friends to win $20,000 to build a school Guatemala that was destroyed by mudslides.
This morning, a generous donor offered to match the $20,000 winnings, but only if we win the Chase Community Giving contest.

Now your vote counts for $40,000!!!

We are at 217th position today, and need many more votes to move to the top 200, and stay there until voting ends on July 12th.

We can't do this without you and your friends. Please forward this email, and FB message all your contacts.

PLEASE VOTE!!!
Simple steps to vote:1. Go to our website www.MiraclesInAction.org 2. Click on the "Support Us" Vote box. 3. Click on: "Get Started to Vote" in Green4. Request for Permission to Access Basic information – click on "Allow" 5. Pop up window asks you to "Like" Chase Community Giving – click on "Like" 6. Verify you are still on the Chase Community Giving Miracles in Action page 7. Click on VOTE. If you are not on Miracles in Action's vote page, go up to "Search and Vote"
and enter our name in the search.

Thank you for your vote, and spreading the word, Penny

P.S. Please view our video with the "Story of Miracles in Action". Here is a YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvJNQho78H4&feature=email
Penny Rambacher, R.D.
Founder/PresidentMiracles In Action, a 501(c)(3) non-profitwww.MiraclesInAction.org239-348-0815Helping poor families to help themselves…Building our 28th school in rural Guatemala. Established 19 vocational workshops and libraries. Installed 20 water systems for remote villages. Join us, and support a sustainable development project, where 100% of donation dollars go directly to the project.

5 clicks to Help our charity: Miracles in Action

Dear Friend of Miracles in Action,

Chase is giving away millions of dollars and Miracles in Action is competing for a piece of the action. The top 200 organizations (who get the most votes) will all receive $20,000 or more. This would allow us to rebuild the destroyed school in San Antonio Polopo at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. The school was destroyed just recently by tropical storm Agatha. The voting takes place on Facebook. Here is how you can vote...

This takes about 1 minute -- just 5 clicks:

1. Click here and log-in to Facebook if you aren't already signed in:

http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/731728299-miracles-in-action-inc

2. Click on: Get Started to Vote

3. Request for Permission to Access Basic information – click on Allow (this isn't a real big deal. It allows them access to your public info on your profile page)

4. Pop up window asks you to Like Chase Community Giving – click on Like (they send out occasional reminders about their program -- you can "unlike" them after July 15 when the contest is over if you want -- but don't do it until then or they will take your vote away!)

5. Verify you are still on the Chase Community Giving Miracles in Action page and click on VOTE (if you lost the Miracles in Action page, come back to this link and click it again to shoot straight there).

PLEASE be sure to also post this on your Facebook wall to help us get enough votes! Without the referral effect we may not win! Click for a cause!! It is free and fun sharing Miracles in Action with your friends!

Miracles In Action Inc. is an all-volunteer charity. 100% of the prize money will go to fund the school building project. To learn more about us, visit www.MiraclesInAction.org

Even if you are not a Facebook user, you can view the Miracles in Action new video on YouTube. It is just a few minutes....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvJNQho78H4

Thank you for your vote, and spreading the word.

Penny Rambacher
Founder/President

---

Change email address / Leave mailing list
Powered by YMLP

Eman - World Vision girl writes

Received this letter from our sponsored girl, Eman, and wanted to share it with you all...
"I am very happy because you chose me. I want to tell you a little about me.
My name is Eman Muhammad Betelo and I live with my family in a small house in a village situated about 40 km from Jerusalem. In my village there are schools, mosques, and clinics, but there is no hospital. My hobby is basketbool. What about you? I hope to receive soon a letter from you. God bless you and your family. Your sponsored child, Eman Muhammed."

I've written to her and will keep you posted.
I believe it puts a 'real' face on the children in lands of unrest to sponsor and communicate. Thanks for your support of my website which helps me in turn support Eman.

Guatemala Disaster Relief Needed

Regarding the recent volcano eruption and flooding in Guatemala - where the school is located that I support through my website, I've received this update and appeal for assistance. I will be sending some funds, and I pray you will join me as well..:


Hi Londa,
We are raising funds for disaster relief, if people want to contribute to this need. We have gotten so many requests for help, and the stories are heartbreaking.
When I found out that a family of six people can buy the seeds to grow food for their family for one year for just $25, I was so surprised. Of course there is labor involved, but all the families pitch in and cultivate their own corn and beans. Many have to rent the land to plant, and fertilize, but for the most part, it is impressive that they can eat for a year on $25 worth of seeds. And, I can barely get 2 days worth of food at Publix for me and Dad for the same $25. Quite amazing.

The vocational school was our largest and most expensive project. They have had mud slides around the lake, but our school sits solid on the cliff overlooking the lake - glad we bought lots of rebar to hold it in place. It pays to not skimp on iron in an unstable zone. We had American engineers review the plans before we got started. I have not heard a report of the number of homes lost in Santa Cruz, but in nearby towns, there are many homeless people. They are living in the churches.

Must run,
Penny

Penny Rambacher, R.D.
Founder/PresidentMiracles In Action, a 501(c)(3) non-profitwww.MiraclesInAction.org

Miracles In Action Update

This will make you just weep, gals! Our efforts to support the vocational school in Guatemala where people learn to help themselves is awesome! Every time you place an order with me at www.londas-sewing.com you support this charity!
Here is what my contact - Penny just wrote:

"I have attached a poster that you can put on your website - the funds you sent us helped to buy those sewing machines. Miracles in Action gave Amigos de Santa Cruz $6,000 to buy them, the loom, and other supplies (thread, etc.) Pat asked me what type sewing machines to buy. I suggested treadle type, and to ask the sewing instructor at the other smaller project we support. She "went to town", and got the machines, and getting them to this village is no small task - it is located on the side walls of a crater lake, and only reachable by boat. You will see this from the photo. You can probably learn more from their website, and they have a newsletter online.

Thank you for your help in this. You have made a difference. Maybe someday, you would like to go see it for yourself.

Penny"
And this - from a person more personally involved with this project...

"Good Morning, Londa, Im Pat, Director of Amigos de Santa Cruz, Penny's partner organization in Santa Cruz. I wanted to thank you personally for your donation for our new sewing and weaving center. The CECAP center was inaugurated on April 26th and classes have already begun. Students in 5th through 9th grade are learning basic sewing skills. This is the first time ever that young people have had the opportunity to learn hands-0n skills as part of their school program. Adults will begin classes in June. We plan to teach basic sewing to begin with and develop a few different products that the women can sell locally including aprons and bags. As adults complete a full course, they will have the option to apply for a micro loan to purchase their own sewing machine and start their own mini-business. We are also having two looms built for weaving, another skill the people have expressed a strong interest in learning. Your donation is helping to make this all possible. The impact will be long term. Our goal is to give people the opportunity to learn hands on skills that will lead to jobs and a stronger economy for the villagers and the community. Please visit our website at amigosdesantacruz.org to read more about our visions for CECAP and learn more about what we do in Santa Cruz. Be sure to download our most currently newsletter. Feel free to ask any questions. Patricia Torpie Director, Amigos de Santa Cruz Foundation Santa Cruz la Laguna, Solola, Guatemala P.O. Box 148, Lopez Island, WA 98261 www.amigosdesantacruz.org "

Sewers...Help Drill a Well

OK - so I'm hard at work on my newest pattern, 'Living'. Formerly known as the 'Swirl Jacket' - it has proven so popular that I'm adding 2 jackets to it and making it a pattern - called 'LIVING'.
So named because the swirls remind me of water as it goes around stones - Christ is the 'Living Water'.... Sew...I think: let's join together to dig a well for a village in Africa!

This well costs $2600 to drill through World Vision.
According to their website, "In countries like Malawi, a well just 60' deep can bring health and life to a community of 150 people supplying more than 600 gallons of wafe ater a day for drinking, bathing, irrigating crops and watering livestock."

I will tithe 10% which is $1.50 of the sale of each of these patterns to this cause. However, that would take selling 1734 patterns! That's a LOT of patterns!

Sew...I need your help! At this website, you can help us reach this goal sooner - by donating to this cause directly!

http://www.firstgiving.com/londasdrillawell

This pattern to create a great jacket from a sweatshirt - with THREE related jacket styles - will be available by the end of March, but I'm taking pre-orders at this time.

Miracles In Action News & Thank You Note

What a great feeling it is to share! I recently received this nice thank you note from Penny Rambacher, Founder & President of the charity I focus on: Miracles in Action in Guatamela.

Penny writes that the donation I was able to make because of your support of my Creative Sweatshirt Jacket patterns will go a long way to set up the sewing training area of the new Vocational Center they are building in Santa Cruz. I've scanned the inside of that brochure so that you can read more about it. Their goal is to raise $150,000 to complete the construction of this 5000 sq foot building.



I'm proud to be a part of this effort - and, again, thank YOU for your support! Smile with me on what we are contributing...together!

9/11 Observance and Remembrance

Many thanks to my customers as represented below for sending in these glorious photos of our American Flag flying at their homes - especially in commemoration of those fellow Americans lost on 9/11/01. I'm confident that many of us both flew our flag and remembered these families in prayer especially that day. I am sending a check today to the Twin Towers Orphan Fund for $75 as pledged for 11% of all sales from 9/9 through 9/13.

American ONLY June 4-July 1

Just read this email and whole-heartedly agree!!!!!!! I"m supporting the BUY American for June 4 to July 1 - and hope you will heartedly and patriotically join me and many others...
pass it on.......

For my part - I'm reducing the price of the USA Comfort Color Sweatshirts - MADE IN THE USA $5 for the month of June 4-July 4. AND INCREASING the cost of the Authentic Pigment Sweatshirts made in CHINA $5. AND stating my reason both in my customer email AND on my website.

The additional $5 I make from any of the Authentic Pigment Sweatshirts will be added donated to a family that I've been involved with through my church through a local Christian benevolent organization, the Empty Tomb. I've been helping out at the house - organizing, teaching organization, and painting - and have told the lady of the house I"ll teach she and her daughter how to sew a bit as a help them 'decorate' the new kitchen with some curtains.



"I WAS BUYING FOOD THE OTHER DAY AT THE COUNTRY MARKET. ON THE LABEL OF SOME PRODUCTS IT SAID FROM CHINA.FOR EXAMPLE THE "OUR FAMILY" BRAND OF THE MANDARIN ORANGES SAYS RIGHT ON THE CAN FROM CHINA I WAS SHOCKED!! SO FOR A FEW MORE CENTS I BOUGHT THE LIBERTY GOLD BRAND OR THE DOLE IS FROM CAL. TAKES FOREVER JUST TO BUY FOOD AND DO LABEL READING ! ! Are we Americans as dumb as we appear --- or --- is it that we just do not think? While the Chinese, knowingly and intentionally, export inferior and even toxic products and dangerous toys and goods to be sold in American markets , the media wrings its hands and criticizes the Bush Administration for perceived errors. Yet 70% of Americans believe that the trading privileges afforded to the Chinese should be suspended. Well, duh..why do you need the government to suspend trading privileges? SIMPLY DO IT YOURSELF, AMERICA!! Simply look on the bottom of every product you buy, and if it says ' Made in China ' or 'PRC' (and that now includes Hong Kong ), simply choose another prod uct, or none at all. You will be amazed at how dependent you are on Chinese products, and you will be equally amazed at what you can do without. Who needs plastic eggs to celebrate Easter ? If you must have eggs, use real ones and benefit some American farmer. Easter is just an example, the point is do not wait for the government to act. Just go ahead and assume control on your own. THINK ABOUT THIS If 200 million Americans refuse to buy just $20 each of Chinese goods, that's a billion dollar trade imbalance resolved in our favor...fast!! The downside? Some American businesses will feel a temporary pinch from having foreign stockpiles of inventory. Wahhhhhhhhhhhh The solution? Let's give them fair warning and send our own message. Most of the people who have been reading about this matter are planning on implementing this on June 4, and continue it until July 4. That is only one month of trading losses, but it will hit the Chinese for 1/12th of the total, or 8%, of their American exports. Then they will at least have to ask themselves if the benefits of their arrogance and lawlessness were worth it. ! Remember, June 4 to July 4. EVEN BETTER. . . START NOW.

Send this to everybody you know. Let's show them that we are Americans and NOBODY can take us for granted. If we can't live without cheap Chinese goods for one month out of our lives, WE DESERVE WHAT WE GET! Pass it on, America"

Singer Featherweight Sewing Machine Auction

I don't know about the rest of you, but as I sit here in the dry, beautiful prairie of central Illinois with no catastrophe upon me from hurricanes, rain, flooding, trains colliding, or serious, pressing health issue for those I love, I'm feeling just very lucky and much blessed! My heart goes out to any of you affected by Ike and all the bad weather. To raise funds to donate to the American Red Cross for disaster relief, I've decided to let go of this wonderful little Singer Featherweight Machine that I found at an auction this summer. Though I've always wanted one - my soul knows I really don't NEED it, and that I should use it to the benefit of others.
Sew... Here's the deal: I will sell this machine to the highest bidder - with careful shipping arranged between us and at the expense of the bidder. The Auction will END at 10 pm Central Standard Time - Monday, September 22, 2008. I will send a check to the American Red Cross for all funds raised over $350. A machine like this sold for $625. See Below.
You place your bid this way:
1. Go to this link: http://webstore.quiltropolis.net/stores_app/Browse_Item_Details.asp?Store_id=398&page_id=23&Item_ID=6315
2. To 'Bid' - just put your bid in whole dollars (starting bid is $325) in the QUANTITY BOX
3. Check out - selecting 'FAX ORDER IN' for your payment method and submit your order
4. As 'bids' come in, I will update the current bid in the Description box.
5. If you have ANY questions, about the process, or the machine - just email or call me. Remember, the auction ends at 10 PM, Monday,September 22, 2008. I will be 'out' at a dental appointment most of Monday afternoon, so just know updates cannot be made from about 1 - 4 CST.
6. Please do not bid unless you intend to follow through with payment, which can be MC, Visa, Discover,or Pay Pal. Winner and I will determine safe shipping method, and shipping expense will be added to the winning bid.
I need to get this shipped out asap after the auction ends, as I leave for the Novi Show on Wednesday morning. If details can't be worked out before I leave, I will ship it after my return Sept. 30.

Super Condition 1951 Centennial Model Singer Featherweight 221 Sewing Machine Serial number: AK090870 which, when I looked up this serial number online, is given the January 29, 1951 manufacture date. It is in a condition that I read about at this link: http://www.patented-antiques.com/Backpages/All_Archives/SEW_ARCHIVE/fw_SM.htm
As the expert at this site says: "it is in a condition that is 'sought after but rarely found." The one I'm comparing it to sold for $625.00... it is the Centennial Model Featherweight, commemorating Singer's "Century of Sewing Service" and it is marked with Singer's oval-shaped gold with blue outline commemorative plaque bearing the dates 1851-1951. This machine has been well taken care of. The black paint is pretty shiny, the gold decals are bright, and there is no evidence of the "fabric wear path" on the bed that so many of the Featherweights exhibit. There are some minor surface "pin marks" in the clear coat finish that you see when it is held up to the light. The machine has been oiled and lubricated in the appropriate places and is ready to display or to sew with. It came with a repair tag attached to the case. I tested it out - and it stitches a beautiful stitch and the motor runs strong and quiet. The case for this Featherweight is in excellent condition both inside and out and it is evident it was stored in a nice dry environment, but I also have to say that it 'smells like I remember my Grandma's house smelling'. This machine comes with the original instruction booklet which seems to me to be in perfect condition. The little Singer oil tube is included as well as the following attachments (which I had fun identifying from the instruction booklet!): Foot hemmer, Adjustable Hemmer, Multiple Slotted Binder, Edge-Stitcher, Gatherer Foot, Ruffler, Seam Gauge that screws in, 2 screw dr ivers, and 2 keys to the case. - this is ALL of the that are mentioned in the book!

This machine is a beauty---one of those that just does not come along very often.