On the Eleventh Day of Christmas...

My true love gave to me:

Eleven Pipers Piping,

Ten Lords A-Leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,

Eight maids a-milking,

Seven swans a-swimming,

Six geese a-laying,

Fiiiive gooolden riiiings,

Fo-our calling birds,

Three french hens,

Two-ooo turtle doves,

and a partri-idge in a pear treeeeee!

The pipers represent either the faithful apostles, or more entertaining for the feast. Soooome feast, right?

I'm a bit behind, so we are going to extend our donations through the weekend. Our day eleven charity is Dove Lewis Emergency Animal Hospital. DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital was founded in 1973 by Mr. A.B. Lewis, in cooperation with the Portland Veterinary Medical Association, and in memory of Mr. Lewis' late wife, Dove.
Dove Lewis and A.B. were breeders of standard poodles, Yorkshire terriers, and shitzus.

If you've ever had an emergency with a pet in Portland, as I have, you've been to Dove Lewis. The people are wonderful and they take the very best care of animals.

If you would like 15% of your purchase at www.catinanapron.com to go to Dove Lewis, just email me at marne@catinanapron.com after you check out, and I'll take care of it.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas

My true love gave to me:

TEN Lords A-Leaping,

Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Fiiiive gooolden riiiings,
Fo-our calling birds,
Three french hens,
Two-ooo turtle doves,
and a partri-idge in a pear treeeeee!

Our leaping lords, can represent the 10 commandments, or point to the dances men did to whip themselves into a lather before war. Our true love is offering protection. OR, if we are keeping with the feasting theme, they jumping boys could be referring to Morris Dancers who would entertain between courses.

Today's charity is The Portland Rescue Mission. It was founded in 1949 they believe in taking care of all of God's people. This is more than a soup kitchen or a shelter; it is a new life for people. They offer classes and training to get people on their feet and to help them be self sufficient. These people are really doing this work for all the right reasons, and we should support them.

I will donate 15% of your order at http://www.catinanapron.com/ - just email me at marne@catinanapron.com after you check out, and i will take care of it.

On The Ninth Day of Christmas...

My true love gave to meeeee:

NINE ladies dancing,

Eight maids a-milking,

Seven swans a-swimming,

Six geese a-laying,

Fiiiive gooolden riiiings,

Fo-our calling birds,

Three french hens,

Two-ooo turtle doves,

and a partri-idge in a pear treeeeee!

The ladies represent the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit (although the Catholic Church lists 12...) or simply ladies dancing!

Today's charity is Shepherd's Door and is very close to my heart. When I was newly out of school, I was blessed enough to work on the Portland Rescue Mission's new venture called Shepherd's Door: a facility to house and care for single women and their children. Then years later, I was blessed to work on it again! This time it was built and it is gorgeous. It truly is a home, not just a shelter, for women who are in need. There are classrooms for the women and a full facility for the children on site. Women are taught life skills to be able to support their families while knowing their children are safe and learning themselves.

When I first moved to Portland and for the next almost 10 years, I worked downtown. I struggled with how many homeless people there are! I didn't know how to help, and I didn't understand why there were so many. You can learn ways to help here. And you can carry these coupons, and hand them to people you meet to offer them a way to get help.

I've only been lucky enough to have met a few people like Jan Marshall in my life. She is the Director of Women's Ministries, and is truly inspirational. So many of the things we hoped for the site, but thought wouldn't be possible due to financial constraints, were not only included but our hopes were FAR exceeded. She said "believe", we did, and it all came through. She has her arms wrapped around Shepherd's Door in a giant hug, and we are all the better for it.

Again, I'll send 15% of any purchases to the Shepherd's Door - just email me after checkout, and I'll take care of it.

On the Eighth Day of Christmas...

My true love gave to me:

Eight Maids A-Milking,

Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
fiiiive gooolden riiiings,
fo-our calling birds,
three french hens,
two-ooo turtle doves,
and a partri-idge in a pear treeeeee!

I am sure going to have this song down by the time these twelve days are over! Maids a-milking could refer to the eight beatitudes, romance, or proposals of marriage.

We are going to focus on St. Jude's Children's' Research Hospital for day eight of our Twelve Days of Christmas. St. Jude's is a medical center and it is a research hospital. Some of the greatest research in cancers, some acquired and inherited immunodeficiencies, sickle cell disease, infectious diseases and genetic disorders, is happening here. And every child is accepted for treatment with out regard to their ability to pay. I cry just thinking about it - how sad i am for those sick kids, how beautiful it is that they can be helped no matter how much money they have, how beautiful those people are who are accepting them and not caring about money. My mom is named after St. Jude - her mother was always very close to St. Jude. We can make a difference by donating to them. And of course, I will send 15% of any purchase to them - just email me if they are your choice after check out, and I will take care of it.

On The Seventh Day of Christmas...

My true love gave to me:
Seven Swans A-Swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Fiiiive goooolden riiiiings,
Fo-ur calling birds,
Three french hens,
Two turtle doves,
and a paaaartri-idge in a pear treeeee.

Our seven swans can represent the seven Blessed Sacraments, royalty, or, again, a tasty part of a feast, although in England, no one EATS the swans anymore, thank goodness. Today is the last of the birds from the song. If our true love were really to gift us this many birds, we'd have TWENTY EIGHT birds!! That is quite a feast!!

I had a table at two shows this weekend, and got some great donations to our charities! I'm going to be so happy to send off those checks! The shows wiped me out, and I took a long nap this morning (after not being able to sleep past 4 am, ugh) so I'm finally getting this up today.
Today's charity is Autism Society of America. Here is their statement:

• ASA, the nation’s leading grassroots autism organization, exists to improve the lives of all affected by autism. We do this by increasing public awareness about the day-to-day issues faced by people on the spectrum, advocating for appropriate services for individuals across the lifespan, and providing the latest information regarding treatment, education, research and advocacy.

Autism seems to be on such a rise today. Are there really more cases? Are the cases just document better? And the spectrum is SO huge! I've read articles about adults being diagnosed for the first time when their children were diagnosed. I think we all know people who are affected by autism. Let's support them. Here is a way to get involved. You can donate here.

And as always, with every purchase you make at http://www.catinanapron.com/, I'll donate 15% to the charity of your choice from our list. Just email me at marne@catinanapron.com and I'll take care of it.

On The Sixth Day of Christmas....

My true love gave to meeee:

SIX Geese a-laying

fiiiiive goooolden riiiiings,
fo-ur calling birds,
three french hens,
two-oo turtle doves,
and a partri-idge in a pear treeee....

Our gift of geese can either represent the 6 days of creation, or the fact that geese mate for life (although the males seem to mate with MANY girl geese for life - lifetime POLYgamy instead of monogamy...), or 6 sturdy egg laying domesticated animals providing us a good supply of food in eggs as well as potentially more males for eating, OR even protection as some considered them early security systems with all of their honking at strangers.
We celebrate day six with The Children's Aids Fund located in Washington DC. This group supports children and families living with AIDS. "Since the beginning of the epidemic, many have rightfully focused on research to find treatments, vaccines, and hopefully a cure. To complement that effort and provide tangible immediate assistance for those dealing with HIV, the Children's AIDS Fund (CAF) focuses on meeting practical needs of HIV-impacted children and families. Programs have emerged from working with families for more than 15 years that include:
Emergency financial assistance
Holiday gifts
Counseling regarding such issues as:
Treatment & care
Community support
Permanency planning
Bereavement
Technical assistance and networking with care providers
International partnerships addressing such needs as:
Education for orphaned children
Establishing group homes for orphaned children
Developing pilot programs for treatment & care
Providing technical assistance for indigenous care providers and support networks"

Here is the mission statement: "The Children's AIDS Fund works to limit suffering of children and their families caused by HIV disease by providing care, services, resources, referrals, and education."

Their website has tons of really great information on AIDS. If ever you have a question this is the place to look. Refresh the front page and every new page shows how many adults, women, children, and orphans are infected with AIDS in each country. Heavy. What can you do in your community? Check here.
As always, 15% of every sale will be donated to the charity from our list of your choice - just email me after check out at marne@catinanapron.com and I'll take care of it.

On the Fifth Day of Christmas...

My true love gave to me:
FIIIVE GOOOOLDEN RIIIIIINGS
Four calling birds,
Three french hens,
Two-oo turtle doves,
and a PARTRI-IDGE in a pear treeeee.

The theological translation is the first Five Books of the Old Testament which recounts the history of man’s fall from grace, or they can be MORE birds, namely ring necked pheasants. I'm beginning to think whoever wrote this was just really hungry and into poultry.

SO I was thinking five rings would be the five circles of the Olympics logo, but much closer to my heart is the Special Olympics. And wouldn't you know it, their logo is FIVE little guys, too!
When I was growing up in little Valdez, Alaska, my parents got me involved in volunteering with the Special Olympics. I remember being so overwhelmed by the pride and intensity of the athletes. They had so much determination and drive to win while at the same time being such good sports and supporting each other. I think we could learn a lot from them.

The Special Olympics provides training and athletic competition, year round, to over 2.5 million athletes in over 180 countries! But, according to their website, the movement is still affecting just a small percentage of the up to 190 million people worldwide with intellectual disabilities around the world.

I've been supporting them for years, just email me once you've checked out at marne@catinanapron.com, telling me they are your choice for donation, and I'll send 15% of your purchase to help support them, too.

On The Fourth Day of Christmas

My true love gave to me:
Four Calling Birds,
three french hens,
two-oo turtle doves,
and a PARtri-idge in a pear treeeeeee.

This can represent the four gospels, the four evangalists, 'colly' birds which were black birds (and eaten), or just really cute birds for the whole BIRD theme of the first part of the song. Okay, i have to interject here. I'm a total etymology nerd, and this series is just fascinating!! check it out here. I'm going to keep pointing to these post throughout these twelve days. Another interjection: I sing to my kids when we are done reading books at night and they are falling asleep. One of the songs in our rotation is Hush Little Baby. Every time I sing "papa's gonna buy you a mocking bird", my daughter corrects me and says, "no mama. it is ROCKING bird!" She just won't believe me when I try to explain what a mocking bird is, and why that is part of the song. Why do 3 year olds and 6 year old argue about things like this? I'm sure I have NO idea where they get it - must be their father...

ON TO OUR CHARITY of the day. World Vision - www.worldvision.org - does so much, there is no way I can get it all into one post. Through World Vision, you can sponsor a child, buy supplies for emergency relief, even buy things like goats and ducks and clothing for families in need.

We can help them with as little as $10.

On The Third Day of Christmas....

My true love gave to me:

Three French Hens,

Two Turtle Doves,

and a Partridge in a Pear Treeeeeeeeee.

Once again, this can mean either the three theological virtues: faith, hope and charity, or it can just be ANOTHER reference to all of the eating people used to do during the celebration from Christmas to Epiphany. Or, I guess it could just sound really great with the short syllables and conjure images of nice fat little chickens.

So today, since we've been talking about feasts, our most deserving charity is Loaves and Fishes / Meals on Wheels. The name is obviously taken from the miracle of the loaves and fish where Jesus fed the masses with one boy's lunch. There seem to be a Loaves and Fishes groups all over the country. Here in Portland the focus is on seniors and disabled people who live independently. When I was pregnant with my daughter, my son and I delivered Meals on Wheels. It was such a profound experience. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. Little H charmed everyone he met, and we would stay and chat a little with most of the people. It doesn't seem like a big deal, delivering meals to people, but what it is really providing them is independence. They are able to live on their own and not have to worry about fixing three meals a day.

As always, during our 12 Days of Christmas, donate 15% of any sales from Cat in an Apron to the Portland Loaves and Fishes - just email me at marne@catinanapron.com and I will take care of it. If you would like to do more, check out these options.

On the Second Day of Christmas...

My true love gave to me:

Two Turtle Doves
and a partridge in a pear tree.

The doves are supposed to represent the old and new testament, or as doves mate for life, fidelity, faithfulness, and forever love. Pretty nice.

Today's charity is Habitat for Humanity

"Habitat for Humanity seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action."

Habitat has built nearly 300,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1.5 million people in more than 3,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter. That is just amazing. They are a "teach a man to fish" kind of organization. People who are blessed with a Habitat home must work a certain number of hours on the construction and take classes on home ownership. They aren't just handed a free house.

If you would like to know more, go to their website. You can donate money or volunteer your time. How lucky are we who own our own homes - let's help those who need it.

On The First Day of Christmas....

Oh! This makes me so happy! I am SO glad to be researching and discussing charities! Cat in an Apron will donate 15% of every sale to one of the charities I'll be profiling - you choose which one - for the first 12 days of December.

Now, the whole twelve days of Christmas song seems to have all kinds of history associated with it - it seems no one can agree. One truth for sure, is that it counts down the days from Christmas to Epiphany. We are going to visit them BEFORE Christmas, so we can get lovely gifts to you in time for gift giving, and so the money we are donating gets in the right hands before Christmas.

On the FIRST day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: A partridge in a pear tree!

This should not conjure an image of a redheaded little boy in bell bottoms climbing a fruit tree, but peace, or Jesus, or MUCH more you can find here if you are so inclined. Very interesting!

Our first charity I'll be profiling is Casa Cards. Casa cards produces cards featuring artwork by children. They are just beautiful. (click on the image above to order the cards.) They contain that purity and heart that we adults are always trying to get back to. The sale of these cards funds their goal: "to raise awareness and funding for Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) programs, which provide individual advocacy for children who have been abused." Here is their statement:

• Founded in 1989 by board members of then Multnomah County CASA, the project is currently operated by CASA for Children, serving Multnomah and Washington Counties in Oregon. Over the past 1 9 years, more than 5. 5 million CASA Cards have been sold from our office in Portland and through participating CASA programs nationwide. Proceeds from the sale of our products directly fund the training and support of volunteers who advocate within the juvenile court and child welfare systems. In Multnomah and Washington Counties, every $1500 that CASA Cards generates provides a full year of advocacy for one child. The more cards we sell, the more kids we can help.

This started here in Portland, but there is a national casa, too.

You can also help by buying cards, or by becoming a volunteer advocate. If every child had an advocate looking out for them, I'm sure the system would work so much better! I really want to do this when my kids are a little older.

Remember, we'll give 15% of every sale during these first 12 days of December to one of our 12 charities. If you'd like it to be Casa for Children / Casa Cards, just email me at marne@catinanapron.com and I will take care of it.

If we are feeling this economy as much as we are, I can only imagine the charities are feeling it more, let's support them. I wish you the very best this season!

Coming Soon! Twelve Days of Christmas

Starting December 1st, I am going to be showcasing a different charity a day for 12 days. If you make a purchase at catinanapron.com, I will donate 15% of your purchase to the charity you choose from my list. I know this holiday season is difficult for many of us, and I'm afraid the charities will also be taking a hit. This way, you can buy a great gift for someone you love (or yourself!) and know that you are supporting a wonderful charity during this difficult time. However you celebrate this season, I hope it is warm and filled with people you love!