Saturday, November 16, 2013

Ornaments to Aid Philippine Red Cross

We have all been saddened by the devastating typhoon that ravaged the Philippines last week. Though all our Elevita artisans are safe, there are still nearly 2,000,000 victims who have been displaced from their homes and are in desperate need of help. In an effort to assist, Elevita has committed to donate $1 to the Philippine Red Cross for every Christmas ornament sold between now and November 30th.  Decorate your tree in love this year!  Please visit www.Elevita.com to purchase as many ornaments as you can.


Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Elevita Artisans Safe After Typhoon

Elevita has been able to establish contact with all of its artisans, and we are grateful to report they are all safe and well.  Here are a few tidbits:

From Rosalie Blanza, creator of headbands and beaded coin purses:

Yes Maam,the damage was so terrible,especially in Visayas region,may province is not affected Maam,and thanks God,last time it was in our region.

From Margarita Cajumban, our 18-year-old painter:

i ll just need a little time to recover my materials and my studio,when the typoon come,ill prepared all.my parents got angry because ill protect my studio.even theres a typhoon i did not go to our home.even i know what happened.in the other stake almost 1000 got die. Now i retouch your painting..

From Arman Cagayat, woodcarver:

hello sister i got your money yesterday sorry for my late reply.because of the storm here in the philippines no electric power supply

From Francisco Cajumban, nativity artisan:

We are OK here in Southern part of Luzon though a Signal #2 has been warned. Thank you in remembering us here. Lets pray for all the families in Visaya regions.

From Florita Escandor, who manages the IReachOut cooperative and manages our relationships with the other Filipino artisans:

Our province just had hard rain.  people are safe.  artisans farm are still in good safe.  Our neighboring island are the most devastated.  this [photo below] happens to my neighboring island...just 1 hour away from my place...Please include as in your prayer.. Thank you for the american Soldiers for helping us.  Thank you again.



Friday, November 8, 2013

More On Why We Do What We Do

Today one of our jewelry artisans, Louela Nalzaro, went to the internet cafe in her village to send Elevita the following message:

"we had a very rainy day today due to the super typhoon but we are so blessed and lucky that our place is not the center of the super typhoon..but we still experiencing heavy rain that last night we started putting sea sand in the sack to prevent the water coming in inside the house..
i want to say thank you very much for your help, i will say this over and 0ver again because i was so happy that i was able to send my children to school without depending others to help me..and because of the elevita i have plenty of changes in our lives,before i was so dependent in my mothers help, since the father of my chidren was not supporting them..but now..i was the one helping my sibling and my mother,and other people who need help.I was so glad for the opportunity given to me to help others in a small and honest way..        

Yesterday, after i get the money,and after i set aside the tuition fee of my daughter for this month,then i went to the grocery store, i bought milk for the whole family,1 kilo of pork and 1 kilo of chicken..fish are very expensive because of the weather so i bought pork and chicken,vegetables and biscuits for the children..i also give my mother money to buy for rice..sorry if i tell you but i was just so happy again..
        And most of all i bought a christmas tree! its a white christmas tree, our first christmas tree ever..and everyone are so excited..after we hang christmas decor and put lights around it,we just sat there in front of our christmas tree for hours,admiring it..it really true..we set up the christmas tree at 6 pm,we sat around it then later we eat dinner then we all gather around then we just stare at it and feeling sooooooo happy! we sleep past midnight...and when we woke up early today, my brother then lighted the christmas tree..and we all so excited..while me doing the house chores would take a look at the tree and giggle i feel like a small child! 
        Thank you Elevita! ..That was a very memorable night we had..:)"

It is not uncommon for Elevita to receive messages like these, which highlight the importance of what we do, and also the ripple effect our efforts have within villages and communities.  A big thanks to all our customers for continued support!

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Holiday Boutiques

Elevita is excited to be hosting boutiques in three major metropolitan areas this year:  Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle.  Here is the exact info for our Humanitarian Holiday Boutiques:

21 November 10am-2pm
5270 West River Bend Drive
Libertyville, IL  60048

4 December 10am-1pm
309 Greenbrook Drive
Danville, CA 94526

6 December 1pm-4pm
9701 148th Street Court East
Puyallup, WA 98375

Please spread the word and bring friends if you are able!  It is an amazing experience to see and feel Elevita products firsthand.  You may never see the world in the same way again!





Monday, November 4, 2013

Our New Project

Now that sufficient funds have been raised and ground has been broken for our girl's hostel in India, we are turning our attention to educating youth in the Philippines.  To do this, we have partnered with BELIEVE International.  The BELIEVE mission is to "Help disadvantaged youth in the Philippines become people of integrity and leaders in their communities by providing them with the resources needed to attend school and by teaching them positive life-long values and leadership principles."  BELIEVE offers scholarships to students who are carefully selected based on their poverty, academic performance, moral character, and leadership potential.  The scholarships are to cover otherwise prohibitive expenses related to their education in public schools.  BELIEVE requires their students to also engage in additional values and leadership training, which will enable them to lift themselves out of poverty.  Trained scholars such as these will eventually help solve the deep-rooted problems of corruption in their communities and in their nation.  Elevita will now give scholarships to these needy Filipino students one by one, as funds are raised.  To donate, please click here.  Your generosity will make a tremendous difference for good!


In the photo above, Alida Camo stands with her mother and younger sibling in front of their home.  Alida's mother died about 6 months after this photo was taken, and without a scholarship from BELIEVE, it would have been impossible for her to attend school.  Now she is #1 in her academic class, is vice-president of the Supreme Student Government, is a top athlete, and is actively involved in service projects.  Elevita feels privileged to be a partner with BELIEVE in creating more success stories such as this one!