Hello friends! I hope you all devoured one piece of pumpkin pie too many, shared a good laugh with friends and family, and enjoyed time to reflect on the past year this Thanksgiving! It's been quite some time since you've found me on this blog. For various life reasons, I just haven't been able to spend as much time here as I'd like, but I wanted to pop in to talk to you about something that is so important to me.
Last year, I started a new yearly tradition in the spirit of giving and helping those around us. Triggered by my reflections of last year's Baltimore riots, I decided to forego a Black Friday sale and give back to my city instead. While I didn't know how you all would react, in the end I was overwhelmed by your support. And so, this year, I've chosen to continue this tradition.
In the spirit of giving, in lieu of a Black Friday or Cyber Monday sale, I will be donating 20% of my sales from Friday through Monday to two organizations that are really important to me and for Baltimore-- Banner Neighborhoods and Access Art. Below, you'll find more information about each organization in order to understand their value to our city.
Access Art is an after school arts and media center that empowers youth to use their artistic ability and their unique understanding of their environment as catalysts for social change in their communities.
Banner Neighborhoods is a community based non-profit organization dedicated to supporting residents in their efforts to enhance the quality of life throughout 10 southeast Baltimore communities. They offer a wide variety of programs designed to strengthen the community, ranging from youth activities, to senior home maintenance, to beautification projects.
From Friday, November 25 through Monday, November 28, I'll be donating 20% of all revenue towards these amazing programs. Please join me in giving back to Baltimore! Even if you don't plan to make a purchase, please consider donating to these programs in the coming days. For those of you that do make a purchase, I'll be sending a special thank you your way. Additionally, if you make a purchase of $50 or more and mention this blog post when you place your order, I'll be sending an extra surprise your way.
And, for those of you in Baltimore, I'll be participating in the Benefit Baltimore Market at Peabody Heights Brewery on Giving Tuesday from 5-10pm. This is a new event this year, which will feature beer (of course!), 22 amazing Baltimore-based arts and crafts vendors, and food trucks. All vendors will be donating 20% of revenue to local nonprofits and the brewery will be donating 15% of their revenue. It's a perfect opportunity to do some holiday shopping while supporting Baltimore and having fun.
And lastly, if I haven't already said it a thousand times, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for all that you do! I am incredibly grateful for each and every one of you. You enable me to do what I love doing each and every day.
I wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season!