Mercy Ships Providing Help

With our support, we can change the lives of women who lack access to healthcare and much more Mercy Ships. 

Ships which operate as hospitals, help developing nations around the world through the help of talented volunteers Mercy Ships.

Please visit Mercy Ships to see how our help can provide urgently needed surgeries for those who have no other hope.  Saving and transforming lives through surgeons and medical staff who volunteer their time.  They have helped over 2.5 million people.  

Mercy Ships is a 501(c)(3) organization.

A Way To Give Back

For all the blessings in my life, a way I have found to give back is by donating a portion of the sales from each of my stores to various charities.  There is so much need in the world and although I know I am not even fulfilling a small portion of that need, in my heart, I want to do whatever I can to help others.  Although I must note, this article is not at all about me or what I do, it is about others.  It is about the struggling single mother who has been disadvantaged in more ways than one can imagine Dress for Success San Diego. The parents who are grief-stricken at watching helplessly their child fight cancer St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The serviceman or woman who has gone to battle only to return home injured never to be the same Wounded Warrior Project.  The countless children and adults who go to bed, work or school hungry or are at risk of drinking unclean water No Kid Hungry, UNICEF Tap Project, Feeding America.  Those men, women and children who have no pillow to lay their head at night Friends of Boston's Homeless and the countless, countless need that has found its way to every corner of our world.

Rain in December

As I write this post on December 14th, it is raining.  For a December day it's not quite what one would expect especially in the Midwest.  The Christmas tree is lit, the decorations are up and Christmas cookies are about to go in the oven.  It hardly seems like it is nearing Christmas let alone December with temperatures in the upper 50's and the rain falling down.  Despite the weather, it is the holiday season,  A time for hope.  As we move through our days, hustling and bustling to complete the shopping and make our preparations, let us not forgot what Christmas and the season is all about. It is so easy to get caught up in the commercialization of Christmas and forget why we celebrate this season in the first place.  Let us do what we can to bring the spirit of Christmas, the spirit of the season, to others not just at this time but throughout our entire year.  In a world so desperate for love and mercy, it starts right inside each and every one of us. We must be the light in the darkness and Christmas, this joyous holiday season, is the perfect time to be filled with the spirit and do just that.

Sharing God's Message of Mercy

Divine Mercy

Featuring Wounded Warrior Project

One day while watching TV, I saw an ad for Wounded Warrior Project.  Having family members in the military, it caught my attention.  Their mission is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors.  I found myself immediately making the decision to be a monthly supporter of Wounded Warrior Project simply because of their mission, honoring and empowering our wounded veterans.  These men and women selflessly & bravely walk into unknown territory just to keep us, the United States of America, safe.  We must do all we can to honor them, thank them, empower them and help them for putting themselves in harms way to defend the freedom we sometimes take for granted.

Economic Independence For Women

Around the Nation as well as in the San Diego, California community, thousands of underserved women aspire to economic independence and a better quality of life for their families.  As a single mother who struggles for economic independence herself, I can empathize with these women. For this reason, Dress for Success and most specifically, Dress for Success San Diego has found a special place in my heart.  Despite not having a college degree, I have managed to educate myself through a couple of years of college, on-the-job training and a peppering of miscellaneous online courses. Much of what I have learned has been self-taught.  I am here to say that we all have gifts and talents and with some imagination, desire and determination anything is possible whether securing a college degree or not.  Women have so much to offer and sometimes when life wears us down, it's difficult to feel empowered to make a real and lasting change.  Dress for Success San Diego is the perfect place for women to take refuge and feel empowered.  From interview coaching to career-building programs, a woman can take advantage of the multitude of resources available to create lasting change for themselves and their families.

A Thought to Ponder

Why is it so hard to be kind?  What is it about human nature that makes us sometimes respond to another human being in any kind of manner other than love?  God calls for love of our neighbor. He is a merciful God so why do we not emulate the same?  We come from Him.  We are created by Him. So if God is love, why are we sometimes not?  By the gift God has given us of Free will, we have a choice whether we will lash out or respond with love and kindness when someone offends us.  We are constantly bombarded by news of violence, murder, rage and just seemingly unimaginable offenses to our fellow human beings we share this world with.  What is it going to take for us to wake up and realize we only get one shot?  When our time is up, our time is up. There are no "do-overs" or second chances in life.  Life is hard enough, we do we make it harder than it needs to be?