Hello friends,

I’m sure most of you have heard about the devastating flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As of June 16, damage estimates have exceeded ONE BILLION ($1,000,000,000) dollars. In a town of only 120,000 people, this is beyond catastrophic.

Thousands of animals have been left homeless by the flood. The Cedar Rapids animal shelter has been completely destroyed. Many people had to abandon their pets when they evacuated their homes, and it is unclear when–if ever–they will be reunited.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

The independent artisan community is coming together with an exciting auction to benefit the “Friends of the Animal Shelter” fund via the Kirkwood Foundation (tax ID 23-7076632), which is the fundraising division of the college currently serving as the evacuation center for abandoned animals. There are several hundred dogs, even more cats, and other companion animals being housed there, and many, many more animals are still stranded in the thousands of abandoned homes in Cedar Rapids. This auction will take place from June 25-July 2, and further details are available at http://www.iowafloodreliefauction.com.

In the meantime, you can support the Friends of the Animal Foundation for the Iowa City animal shelter (also affected by the flood) by donating at:

http://www.networkforgood.org/pca/Badge.aspx?BadgeId=111927

Please forward this message to your friends and join me in supporting the needs of the displaced animals in Iowa. Together, we can raise awareness and much-needed resources for a community currently in a state of despair.

Hey everybody!

I just got the info for the 4th annual on-line 2008 Diabetes Research Auction that Brenda Novak hosts each year. This is an amazing effort that has some truly generous and wonderful participants. The goal this year is to raise at least $300,000.00. With the first $150,000 going to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the remaining balance to the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami. Diabetes affects more than 18.2 MILLION people in the United States alone and is the 6th leading cause of death in our country. Chances are that you or somebody you know has a form of diabetes I, II or gestational (occurring during pregnancy). Juvenile Diabetes is on the rise and with statistics like these it is clearly in epidemic proportions.

Many of my family members and friends have type II diabetes, myself included. I urge you to check out and bid on some of the awesome auctions that are up for grabs today, please don’t wait. The great thing is that the auction lasts ALL month. There are daily auctions and others that last the entire 31 days. Some of the highlights or featured auctions are: Sony BDP Blue Ray Disc Player, Amazon Kindle Book Reader w/$100.00 Amazon Gift Certificate (this is MINE I tell you!), Dell Gaming Laptop, 46″ LCD Samsung TV, 6 day Hawaiian Vacation Package, XBox 360 Gaming System and MUCH much more!

While the big ticket items are really cool, there are some others that are just as neat to me. Many of them I have already bid on today (and have been beaten out of). My favorite is the Sisters of the Otherworld gift basket offered up by local Pacific Northwest author Yasmine Galenorn. I sooooo want this basket. I am watching it to the bitter end, who knows what will happen. he he he

Tons of authors from every genre including Christian to cowboy have put up books, advanced reading copies, jewelry, fine China, gift baskets with entire collections of their books. You name it, these authors have come together and made a fantastic show of support. I am currently in the lead on several books and gift baskets. I was amazed and appreciative of the diverse amount of items for this auction. There really IS something for everybody listed.

The other aspect to this auction is that the person who bids the MOST whether they win or not WINS a free brand new CAMCORDER! So, even if you don’t win the items you are bidding on, remember that every bid counts towards this prize.

What are you waiting for? Get on over and BID! Remember to check back everyday on the daily auctions, new things go up for grabs all the time over the next month. Be SURE to stop back by here and tell us what you bid on or what your favorite items are.