Tweet Divas For Haiti Thanks Our Sponsors!

Posted by Lisa Sullivan, 6 months, 3 weeks ago at 3:51 pm. 1 comment

Tweet Divas For Haiti, our fundraiser for the Horne Memorial United Methodist Church Haitian Relief efforts, is just one week away and I would be remiss if I didn’t take the time to thank our sponsors for the raffle that same evening. To:

Mountain Cabin NC (@MountaincabinNC) for donating an April 2010 weekend getaway to one lucky winner and her many guests!

The Loving Heart Collection for donating a signature jewelry piece (note: item shown may not be the exact item donated)

@julierosemk for donating a facial complete with the very best in Mary Kay products.

@learnpleasure, @sienahotel, @avamuseum, @sewicked, and of course, our hosts -

@hi5nc for not only providing the location but also two $25 gift certificates (to be redeemed at a later date)

If your business would like to donate an item to this very worthy cause, please contact me at lisa@lisasullivanpr.com to arrange. 

Been thinking about attending this unique ladies-only fundraiser, register here – http://tweetdivas4haiti.eventbrite.com.  Even if you’re not on Twitter but are interested in networking with a terrific group of Triangle-area ladies, you are most welcome!

Thanks again to all of our sponsors.  We appreciate ya!

See YOU on the 23rd at “Tweet Divas For Haiti”.  Don’t miss it!

All images courtesy of Mountain Cabin NC, The Loving Heart Collection, the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield NC, and Lisa Sullivan.

Attending “Tweet Divas For Haiti” Will Make a Difference

Posted by Lisa Sullivan, 6 months, 3 weeks ago at 2:36 pm. 2 comments

The other day I had the chance to sit down for coffee with Helen Little of Horne Memorial United Methodist Church.  I wanted to meet her in person and talk to her first-hand about what Tweet Divas is doing on behalf of their Haiti Relief efforts.  What I ended up getting was an inspirational message from Helen herself.  What was supposed to be one hour quickly turned into two and truth be told, if I could’ve stayed longer, I would’ve been happy to share lunch with Helen to hear more.  There is no end to the stories of devastation, the relief efforts, and the spirit of the Haitian people. 

There was one story that really stood out for me, though.  While we talked of the efforts the team at the Ryan Epps Orphanage are making, Helen told me other stories of her many trips to Hait in the last 40 years.  Slightly paraphrased from memory this was the gist of the conversation from the one story that resonated with me:

Helen: I was in a clinic one time and there was this woman, a woman who had nine children.  While they live in mud huts, these children were well cared for and very clean.  The woman had come to the clinic not because she was sick.  She kept touching her arm vigorously.  Through the enterpreter on site, she was trying to tell the nurse that she wanted birth control…on her arm.  She had heard a rumor that birth control could be a shot in the arm.  She wanted a shot.  She wanted to stop having babies.

Me: That’s awful.  Sad.  Why doesn’t she just tell her husband that she doesn’t want to have sex.  I mean, not never having it again but during that time of the month?

Helen: Because in their society, it’s considered a sin against your husband if you refuse to.  So, they have to and they don’t really understand how not to continue to engage in marital intercourse without getting pregnant.  That’s the reality. 

Isn’t that sad?  Now, add the magnitude of what the Earthquake has done for the families that are alive or for the thousands of children left homeless, without parents, not knowing if their own parents are dead or alive.  The Ryan Epps Orphanage provides a safe haven for as many children as they can take in.  Right now their numbers are very small but in the future, with our help and the help of our local community, we can assist them in their efforts.  That’s why it’s so important to be a part of “Tweet Divas For Haiti”.

Helen told me the children recently received tents to live in.  Since the initial Quake, the staff, families, and children have been living in the least protective of conditions.  Think bed sheets stringed together as covering over mostly sandy grounds between two walls and a building, about a 20 x 40 foot space.  It’ll still take roughly $40k to at least erect a building with four walls and a roof on a concrete slab, which for the rainy season that hits beginning around April, that would be a major blessing for them.

If you haven’t registered for our event – “Tweet Divas For Haiti” – please do so.  Go here: http://tweetdivas4haiti.eventbrite.com.  If you can’t make it but you would still like to contribute to the event, please contact me directly at lisa@lisasullivanpr.com and I will get the proper information to you. 

But, I really hope the attendance is high.  This is for a really good cause AND Helen herself will be there to mix & mingle with the Ladies as well as she spend just a few minutes telling her story of what it was like to be there during the Quake, what she felt, saw, & how her heart continues to lie with the Haitian people.  Helen is an inspiration.  Come listen for yourself.

Thank you.

(Note: all images courtesy of Horne Memorial United Methodist Church.  Thank you!)

Tweet Divas for Haiti

Posted by Lisa Sullivan, 7 months ago at 8:10 pm. 3 comments

a fundraiser for Haiti relief

Nearly three weeks have passed since that devastating Earthquake hit the poverty stricken country of Haiti killing an estimated 150,000 innocent lives.  Amid aftershocks that were still being felt (some strong) last week, the people left behind continue to struggle with such daily activities as the ability to bathe, wash or drink clean water, eat, receive adequate medical attention.  Let’s not forget the thousands of children that are now left without parents, some without relatives even.  The magnitude of the problems the Haitian people are experiencing are so vast that in some ways it’s hard to comprehend it all.

We, the Triangle Tweet Divas are going to make a difference.

Much effort has been made & achieved through nationally known charities – the Red Cross, UNICEF, the Bush/Clinton Foundation, etc.  However, our own locally-tied organizations also need the assistance.  That is why the Horne United Methodist Church’s Haitian Disaster Relief effort has been chosen for this fundraiser.

Courtesy of Horne UMC

Prior to the Quake, Horne UMC built and ran an orphanage for abandoned Haitian children and it was a ministry of the heart for them.  Many years went into the planning & much money was raised to build, staff, and maintain the orphanage.  The Quake destroyed all that.  Now, Horne’s mission is to provide medical assistance where the need is most dire.  With the help of local Rotarians, community members, and the team from the nonprofit organization, Bahamas Habitat, which is flying supplies & medical personnel to the reegion, Horne UMC continues their efforts despite the loss of their beloved orphanage.

Tweet Divas want to help!

Therefore, for the first time since the inception of Tweet Divas (aka “Triangle Ladies Who Tweet”), we will be charging an admission charge of only $5 with ALL proceeds* going to Horne United Methodist Church’s Haiti Disaster Relief Fund.

A raffle filled with varioius prizes is also in the works, again with the money raised also solely going to the Fund.

Join us on Tuesday, February 23rd from 7-9pm for a night of networking at Hi5 in Downtown Raleigh.  Meet the Ladies with which you Tweet, get reaquainted with those you have already met, and give back to this very worthy cause.

To purchase tickets, please click this link – http://tweetdivas4haiti.eventbrite.com

Hope to see YOU on the 23rd!

*Please be advised Eventbrite charges a $1.11 processing fee for tickets purchased online OR at the door.

ACCEPTING DONATIONS FOR THE RAFFLE

If you know someone or your company would like to donate an item for the raffle, please have them contact me at lisa@lisasullivanpr.com.  Thank you very much!