Time & Talent: Shelley Green's Scones

Shelley and our innovative team of leaders spent lots of time brainstorming ways to help generate donations after the postponement of our flagship fundraiser, Gems & Java due to the pandemic. Many of our programs in Ethiopia rely heavily, if not entirely, on our organization’s financial support. Shelley was thinking about the depth of our volunteers, and fully believes that each of them has something unique and meaningful to offer others. “We all have that special thing we could share — our talents, our time, our caring hearts,” Shelley said. The invitation to all of us is to find our special talent and ask friends and family to support our efforts to raise funds for our children in Ethiopia, where every dollar makes a huge difference. 

Putting thought to action during the COVID-19 “Stay at Home” orders, Shelley, like so many of us, began practicing her baking skills. She holds childhood memories of her mother and her legal guardian perfecting a recipe for scones.  Sweet soft breading and plump raisins, Shelley wanted to continue the tradition, pushed onward by warm and comforting memories.  She began baking scones and delivering them to friends and family during our lock-down to bring love and comfort to their homes. When the concept of Gems & Java . . . Time & Talent was created, Shelley thought back to the comments of her family and friends who told her "your scones are the best I have had.”

She realized that she had something to share, something people enjoy, and thought, why not turn this into something good for the children in Ethiopia who are at real risk of food shortages during the pandemic?
Fitting it in with full-time work and Hearts for Ethiopia volunteer work, she will set aside time on weekends to bake to order. 

Her fundraiser’s been dubbed "Shelley's Scones.” She will be sticking with a recipe that was shared by family, knowing practice makes perfect. As her list of friends and family wanting these tasty treats grows, her daughter, Julia, will be supporting the fundraising drive as the packager and assistant.  Who better to add some magic to the challenge!

If you would like to place an order for scones with Shelley, you can contact her at info@moms4ethiopia.ca. A dozen scones (which freeze beautifully) is $27.00. With Shelley's schedule, she will have a limit of 10 dozen available per week so don't wait, place your order now!!

Time & Talent: Patti McDonald's Bears

When Hearts for Ethiopia encouraged volunteers to ‘share our talents’ and to put a price on our homemade items, the first thing on Patti McDonald’s mind was how to re-activate the charm of those lovely theme bears she has been making since she retired two years ago.

It was the response of medical personnel across this great country during the COVID-19 pandemic that sparked her imagination. Enter the “LOVE The Front Line Worker Bears.” These bears are carefully designed to honour all our family and friends who have been caught in the thick of the crisis.

The bears are made with medical gowns, face masks and medical gloves, and a giant-sized heart. Each bear can be customized to a certain degree, but yarn costs can be required in these cases. Knowing the hours of work these bears can take to create, Patti looked for inspiration from another charity program, and using their doll format to inspire her creativity, she created a much smaller Medical Worker Doll to help absorb some of the order volume and get product out there quickly.

These adorable little dolls are only six to eight inches in height, and so squeezable and cute. They, too, come with a large-sized heart attached to the doll’s gown. The response has been fabulous. The campaign has already raised more than $630!

You can see the cool selection of dolls available by searching for “Bear Fundraiser” by Patti McDonald on Facebook. The large bears sell for $35.00 and can take up to two weeks to produce after they’re ordered. The smaller dolls are going for $10.00, and have a one week lead time, based on order volume.

All volunteers are invited to use their imaginations and find creative ways to sell a product or a service to your friends and family. You can then donate the money you raise to Gems & Java Home Edition, and receive a tax receipt! It’s a wonderful way to share your time, and your talents, and do good at the same time. As Patti has shown us, just a little bit of creative fun, and multiple purposes are served — our frontline healthcare workers are honoured, and Hearts for Ethiopia receives some much-needed funds to serve basic human needs in Ethiopia.

Time & Talent: Beth Phoenix's Quilts

Excitement and anticipation for the annual Gems & Java event was met with disappointment for Beth Phoenix when social gathering restrictions put a halt to the traditional annual fundraiser. When the call went out to our volunteers to imagine new ways to raise funds for programs in Ethiopia, Beth pulled out her sewing machine and began quilting.

Beth showing off a Harry Potter quilt.

After she retired eight years ago, Beth welcomed the chance to get back into the craft. She has always loved  to quilt, believing herself to be a quilter at heart. The art of making quilt tops and then machine quilting them has been a challenge for Beth, but the gorgeous finished product motivates her to keep honing her skills. And skilled she is, indeed.

Beth’s husband sits on the Hearts for Ethiopia board, and when the fundraising efforts of Gems & Java were threatened by COVID-19, he challenged his wife to use her skills to make something unique and beautiful to sell. Beth decided to donate two quilts with a Harry Potter theme. The Phoenix family has a deep a passion for all things Harry Potter. Wait until you see these quilts. They are amazing!

Beth, the magnificent quilter, tells us that “each of the quilts is machine pieced from 100% cotton fabric and they are both suitable for a double or single bed. The quilting was done on a longarm quilting machine so they are durable enough for frequent washings. Anyone who is a Harry Potter fan would love to add one of these quilts to their Harry Potter collection.”

Hearts for Ethiopia is near and dear to Beth’s heart and she has attended Gems & Java herself. Both Beth and her husband share a deep passion for our work funding programs to benefit women and children living in poverty in Ethiopia. Beth was excited to attend this year’s event and, like many of us, was saddened that the gathering had to be postponed. When news came out about the online auction, Beth knew it would be a great way to keep everyone involved as well as to raise much needed funds. 

We are anxious to see the excitement her Harry Potter quilts will generate!

Time & Talent: Jane Green's Baking

Jane Green loves to bake, and her friends and family love when she bakes, too.

When her church is raising funds for mission trips, people line up at the silent auction table just to get a bid in on Jane’s homemade pies. When she was first married, her aunt gave Jane a pastry cloth and a sock for her rolling pin, and that started her off. With a recipe for pastry handed down decades ago, Jane never worries if her pies will turn out well, and she has practiced and persevered through the years, making goodies that light up people’s eyes.

Her passion to support children and women, combined with her personal experiences in Ethiopia after three trips there with her daughter, Shelley, motivates Jane to use her home kitchen for a bake-to-order fundraiser. She has already raised $110 doing so. After all, there are people in Ethiopia who have held Jane’s hand, who have looked into her eyes. This is personal.  Jane knows that there are no social safety nets in Ethiopia like we have in Canada to keep people safe during a world pandemic. Food, shelter, medical care, all are in urgent need for people Jane knows and cares for.

It was hard to narrow down the selection of baked goods for friends and family who want to support her efforts, but Jane decided on these homemade offerings:

• Dinner Rolls (made with butter and milk), 6 for $6

• Gluten-free Relish (using a recipe handed down by her mother-in-law), 2 x 6 ounce jars for $10

• Pumpkin Pies (with her renowned pastry recipe), an 8-inch round pie for $15

So, now the word is out.  Friends and family of Jane Green have been challenged! Help this loving lady on her quest to raise some funds for Ethiopia. Give her a call, send her an email, or just give her a shout if you see her! Her kitchen is ready to fill your belly with yummy goodness! And, for the right price, she just might veer off the above list for special orders if you have one. If the price is right!!

Way to go, Jane Green.

Time & Talent: Jenne Todd's Retreat

Jenne Todd’s gift is to lead and guide women with positivity and passion.

She runs a personal coaching business, called Shift Collective, and describes herself as a “high performance business consultant for real (not perfect) women.” When social gatherings were restricted to protect the public during COVID-19, one would think that might put a damper on a business that specializes in “personal connection and community.” Not for Jenne. Like the title of her business implies, Jenne saw a chance to shift her coaching activities to online retreats.

The results have far exceeded her expectations. Rather than the experience becoming cold and isolating as she feared, it has created a place where women feel safe to open up and expose their hearts and truths. People feel supported and heard. And how cool is it that these experiences can now be an international gathering? People across the globe have been able to participate in these online retreats. Thank you COVID-19! One blessing Jenne didn’t see coming.

On Saturday, Sept. 26, from 9 until noon, Jenne is offering a retreat open to all women, with a focus on personal growth and goal setting. Her hope is to encourage people to release the idea that 2020 is “over” as far as reaching goals is concerned. Instead, her invitation to us all is to reflect, slow down, and get comfortable with changing targets, accepting failure and let-down in a positive way, and seeing the blessings that change has already brought us.

100% of the proceeds from this retreat will be donated to Hearts for Ethiopia.

Jenne has been involved in Hearts for Ethiopia almost since its inception. Her young daughter, Olivia, who has run many of her own fundraising activities for Hearts, has been a guest speaker at Gems & Java in the past, and has inspired many others along the way. As a parent, Jenne has a desire for her children to be able to recognize their good fortune in being born to the family and place in the world they belong to, and to use empathy and compassion when considering the hardships for many children that Hearts for Ethiopia supports. Jenne’s personal mission work in Haiti, along with her confidence about how the funds raised by Hearts for Ethiopia are distributed for maximum impact motivate Jenne to support this worthy cause. “A mother has a difficult time imagining being in a position where she can not provide food, shelter and protection for her children,” Jenne said.

Compassion, drive, open heart, open mind. That’s how Jenne will lead others.

Click here to join Jenne Todd as she guides women through the challenges of staying positive and healthy when the world seems upside down.

Stay tuned for more profiles of volunteers who are offering their time and talent as part of our Gems & Java . . . Time & Talent Campaign.

Surgical Success Stories - Adise & Alane (#337 & #338)

Adise states that she’s 35 and had six children, all of whom are alive. She had very severe prolapse that she had suffered with for three years. She’s still married and everyone lives together. Her surgery went very smoothly and she’s been given a new lease on life. Thank you!

From Dr. Nate on June 2, 2020: “I know it’s been a troubling time for so many people. With the pandemic and now all of the racial issues and riots throughout America, it’s just a very heavy time for us all.  That’s why I think everyone will immediately smile when they see the picture of Alane today! She was SO excited to come in yesterday to be evaluated for her prolapse and to find that we could help her with surgery!! She is 65 (at least) and has six children. Her marital story is a little complicated by the fact that her husband has 4 other wives and she is the 5th. She has great joy in the children and grandchildren that God has blessed her with. She’s suffered from her prolapse for the past 1.5 years and is now prolapse free! She’s recovering and should be traveling back home on Thursday. As you can tell from her photo she is a beautiful fun woman!”

Surgical Success Stories - Amarech & Ukume (#335 & #336)

Amarech is 55 and married. Incredibly, she has given birth to 11 children and eight are still alive. She’s had her prolapse for one year.  You probably noticed the large skin tag that she has on her forehead. The doctors asked if she would like it removed during the surgery and she said, “Yes!”  So they were able to take care of that as well during the case and she is recovering and doing nicely!

Ukume is 65 years old. She is widowed and have given birth to 10 children, eight of whom are still alive. She’s had her prolapse for one year and it had become very severe. Her surgery went very smoothly and she’s now recovering and should be able to return to her family very soon.

Surgical Success Stories - Gurushe & Danite (#333 & 334)

This is Gurushe who is a 65-year-old widow. She’s had her prolapse for one year and it had become very severe over that time. She has four children and they are all still alive and doing well. She was so happy to have her prolapse finally corrected!

Danite had been experiencing her symptoms for about five months before she saw the doctors. She has six children and all of them are still alive as well. She is doing well after surgery - thank you for your support!

Surgical Success Stories - Desalech & Azabech (#331 & 332)

This is Desalech who is 45 years old. She’s married and gave birth to nine children, six of whom are still alive. She’s been suffering from her prolapse over the past three years and is now prolapse free!

The doctors had the privilege of operating on Azabech. She’s only 35 but had developed fairly severe prolapse over a short period of time. She actually came in accompanied by her husband which was wonderful, but somewhat unusual for the prolapse patients. If they have a husband he usually stays at home and works while he awaits her return. They have five children together and they are all alive and healthy. Thank you for helping Azabech!

Surgical Success Stories - Almaz & Tadelech (#329 & 330)

Almaz is 50 years old. She is widowed and lives with one of her four living children after having given birth to seven. She also had severe prolapse that she’s had for two years and is now prolapse free!

Tadelech is 45 years of age. She came from a little further away than some of the other patients and arrived with her daughter who was able to translate into her tribal language. She has six children and they are all still living. She lives with her husband as well as some of the children. Even though she only noticed her prolapse 8 months ago, it became extremely severe in that short course of time. As of this afternoon she is prolapse free and a changed woman!