Still goin' strong!

Hey, Readers!

Here's a short update on the last few month's activity. In the beginning of April, Knead For Change made a donation to the nonprofit organization known as Save the Children, Inc. We opted to support this organization because it works to increase education opportunities and availability to food and health services, specifically for children, in about 180 countries. They represent themselves stating that 89% of all proceeds is distributed to their cause, and the remaining 11% is used to cover costs of operation within the organization.

After we researched some of the activities Save the Children is involved in, we decided to do a fundraiser for the organization and have pledged to raise $500. We have raised $200 so far and intend to host a garage sale and request help from local restaurants in the city of Salem, OR to raise the remainder.

In the beginning of May, we researched UNICEF, and contributed to its cause. It has been quite an uplifting experience to review varieties of non-profit organizations and learn all that they do to make a difference! We are so grateful for each of their focus!

Thanks for reading and giving us reason to write about these happenings!
Until next time,
Peace.

We've made donations!

Knead For Change made donations for the months of February and March! Though, the donations were small, Knead For Change achieved its goal to support those hungry and impoverished.

As it's been a while since I posted, much has changed again (they say change is constant, is it not?). The goal is still the same, but the method is different. As a massage therapist, I was becoming injured and was having difficulties performing the tasks of massage due to a repetitive strain injury (RSI). These types of injuries aren't uncommon or unheard of in the field of massage therapy, and even though I did my best to use proper body mechanics, I must have been over-exerting my joints.

Nonetheless, I kept with the idea that donations will be made with the money I earn, so now I work at the Salem Family YMCA as an attendant in Child Watch.

For the month of February, we made donations/loans to Kiva, a non-profit micro-financing organization. We will be recirculating all of the money that is paid back through Kiva into more donations with Kiva.

For the month of March, we made a donation to the Interfaith Hospitality Network here in Salem, OR, which supports homeless families.

Thanks for reading, today! =) Blessings!

Things are on the up!

The last two weeks, Knead For Change has certainly made progress! We've updated our facebook page, listed a few ads, given several massages, handed out some business cards, and obtained a headshot of our practitioner (thanks to our wonderful friends, Nathan and Tina Cribbs).

This headshot of Kareena, the practitioner, was taken this week by Tina Cribbs.

As scary as it is to spend money on marketing, it has proven profitable. For every ad we've posted, we've gained clientele and funds, and have therefore been able to move our way closer to profits for donations!

Knead For Change has already made back 29% of it's start-up costs. Thanks to all of the Knead For Change supporters! You make all the difference!

~ "We can all spend our lives going about doing good. Every time you meet a person, think of some encouraging thing to say -- a kind word, a helpful suggestion, an expression of admiration. Every time you come into a situation, think of some good thing to bring -- a thoughtful gift, a considerate attitude, a helping hand." ~ Peace Pilgrim from Steps Toward Inner Peace (p. 17)

Update (It's been a while)

Well, it has been quite a while since my last post and time changes life circumstances a great deal. Allow me to fill you in. Shortly after I came up with the original plan to open Knead For Change (a massage therapy business) in 2013, I was gifted with the life of our second child. His name is Arlo and he is now nearly one year old! He is a beautiful soul with a happy face.

In this photo Arlo is just a few days old, dreaming happy dreams.

Without delving into how much we love him (we think the world of him by the way, don't you?), I'd like to add that I was unable to actually start up Knead For Change... Until now! I should mention that the original vision for Knead For Change is still the same. For those of you reading this blog for the first time, Knead For Change was originally meant to be a non-profit organization that donates its profits to charities such as Oxfam International and The World Food Programme in order to help reconcile the circumstances of global hunger and poverty.

However, I have since had to alter a few of the logistical aspects of Knead For Change.
1) Instead of being non-profit, Knead For Change is a local massage therapy business.
2) In order to accommodate for the need to support my family, instead of donating a percentage of each massage, Knead For Change will budget for donations. (As soon as there are profits, there will be donations!)

To learn more about me and my family and how Knead For Change functions, please visit kneadforchange.massagetherapy.com. This business is alive and ready to make a difference! Let's go, everybody! :)

Thank you for reading! I look forward to posting again soon with an update on how Knead For Change is progressing.

We've finally arrived!

For years, our family has been trying to figure out how to live a simple life that enables us to make donations to charitable organizations. My husband graduated from college with a bachelor's in science and went straight to work as a mechanical engineer. I graduated from college with a bachelor's in music education and went straight to work as a teacher (soon after, I changed directions and started working at a vet clinic). We've moved together all over the United States; from Arizona to South Carolina; from South Carolina to California; and from California to Oregon. Our small family of three has just arrived in Salem. It seems like we've always wanted to be charitable but before now, we hadn't found the lifestyle that would allow us to do so.

In South Carolina, I went to school to become a massage therapist and opened up my own business. Before long, just as my business was picking up, we decided to head back to the west. Nonetheless, I remained a licensed massage therapist. I am moved to continue giving massage because it calms me and I know I am helping somebody feel better by the end of the session. In a discussion yesterday with my mom and and my husband we brainstormed a way for me to design a non-profit organization based off of massage. The main goal is to be able to send all the profits (all cash left over monthly or bimonthly after sustaining my family) to charitable organizations affiliated with the movement to end world hunger and poverty. In addition, we will set up a tent at a host site for free massage once a week and accept donations to a specified "charity of the week". One hundred percent of the donations that the non-profit organization accrues during these volunteer massage hours will go directly to the charity of the week. It is so exciting to have come up with a plan to make a difference. I'm thrilled! For once, we feel like our family is headed the best direction.

I'll tell you a story of when I really realized I wanted to change my lifestyle the most. This happened when Matt, Kaya and I left our Sacramento home to go and volunteer on a farm in Holiday Island, Arkansas.  The farm was ten miles outside of Eureka Springs, where a quaint little library kept us entertained.  We checked out several books during our short stay in Arkansas, one of which was called Living Simply with Children, written by Marie Sherlock. I loved the book for the most part. Well, one night, after getting into bed somewhat hungry even though I had already had a sufficient dinner, I spoke to Matt about how I was STARVING. The group of people we stayed with volunteering on the farm had cooked dinner, but not enough of it to fill us up. I told Matt I was dying for a cheeseburger or a giant pizza. I felt without. Sulking, I opened up my book and picked up reading where I had left off a few minutes earlier.  Just then, I read about a man who traveled to Africa and he had described what he saw of the life for many in Ethiopia. He passed a home where a woman whose child died a few days ago of starvation. As he passed, he saw the woman holding, rocking, and consoling her newest child in her arms, probably about to die of hunger, while just a few feet away from her was another of her children laying still, wrapped in a cloth that would most likely become its burial shroud. I then learned that at the time the book was copyrighted, in 2003, statistics showed that nearly fifteen million children a year in Africa die of starvation. I stopped reading at that moment because I had to tell Matt what I had just read. It wasn't news to me that people die of hunger in other parts of the world in mass numbers, but I had ignored the issue for many years. All the while, the problem still remains. This time, remembering the devastating facts, I'm going to take action. A while ago, somewhere between being a young teen and growing up, I decided to forget about anyone else's needs other than mine. I cried hard the night that I read about this man's experience in Africa. I internalized his experience as if it were my own and chose to finally give notice to the other people in the world. The travesty in developing worlds is so painful and unbelievable that it seems impossible to make a difference, especially from outside the country. But it's not impossible. With love and hope, we can make a big difference as individuals and as nations. As of now, I hardly make any money (compared to the average American, but compared to developing worlds I'm filthy rich). Yet, that's not going to stop me from taking what little extra money I can make and giving it to people who most certainly need it more than I do.

Thus, with the brainstorming help of my mom and my husband, I am starting a non-profit organization called Knead For Change with the tagline "Massage for Awareness". Knead For Change; as in massage for cash; a need for global change; and a need for an individual to change and gain physical and mental well-being through the benefits of massage. I'm giddy about the play on words in the title. I've always been a bit of a cheese, what can I say?