Here's the article. Enjoy!
Monday, March 19, 2012
FTH featured in a Magazine!!!
His Life Magazine has included a feature article on From The Heart Auctions in their Spring 2012 issue. You can purchase the magazine here. The article includes an overview of two of our successful past auctions, and a couple from participating vendors and a bidder.
Here's the article. Enjoy!
Here's the article. Enjoy!
Friday, February 10, 2012
For Our Soldiers: Letter from Soldier
I received a letter in the mail today from SPC Rachel Moore.
In a little note card, she also expressed that we can share her address with anyone who would like to write. All of her soldiers in her platoon are female and many of them are mothers. So if you have children that would like to write to them or send drawings, this will really cheer them up. Please email me at fromtheheartauctions@gmail.com if you would like their address.
Dear Mrs. Sawyer,
Thank you so much for the wonderful gifts and letters. I love receiving letters from children since I am so far away from mine. It was wonderful that you have such good hearts that yall would cheer up soldiers who yall don't even know. Thank you for being such wonderful people. God will bless you in the end. I hope to hear from yall again! Do you have any questions for me? I'll be happy to answer them to my fullest ability.
Thank You,
Rachel
In a little note card, she also expressed that we can share her address with anyone who would like to write. All of her soldiers in her platoon are female and many of them are mothers. So if you have children that would like to write to them or send drawings, this will really cheer them up. Please email me at fromtheheartauctions@gmail.com if you would like their address.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Frequently Asked Questions
General:
Q: What is From The Heart Auctions?
A: From The Heart Auctions is a page on Facebook dedicated to hosting auctions where ALL proceeds go to various persons and causes in need. Our efforts from our vendors and bidders is worldwide.
Q: Who created FTH and why?
A: FTH is the brain-child of two friends, Trisha Meyers of Completely Wired and Taylor Sawyer of HunnyBunny Designs. A cause was brought to our attention by another vendor. Upon discussing the cause and its validity, we all were wishing there was a way to be sure that 1) the cause was real, and 2) the money raised would indeed go to the person who needed it. The two of us began talking about it separately and decided to make a neutral ground with verification of the cause and validation of the receipt of the funds being transferred to the beneficiaries. No specific vendor gets glorification (such as more fans) for the auction. No one receives any profit. Its ALL about the beneficiary and making you, our bidders, vendors, and supporters, feel comfortable helping those who need it most!
Q: Who admins the page? And what are their jobs?
A: Your admins are Taylor Sawyer, Trisha Meyers, and Kristina Kennedy. Taylor sets up our auctions--accepting donations and displaying them in the album. She does most of our communications, such as talking to reporters and bloggers, answering emails, etc, as well. Trisha does all of our accounting--closing down the auctions, invoicing for the items, transferring shipping credits to the vendors, getting the funds transferred to the beneficiary after they are collected, and anything else having to do with money. Kristina helps us during the auctions with un-marking spam bids, answering questions, promoting the auction, and the like. All three of us are always working to verify causes, recruit more vendors, spreading the word about the page and what we do, and anything else in between. You may also notice we have an admin named "Trish Taylor". That's our Facebook admin page. It's just used by Trisha and Taylor so that we do not get comment blocked.
Q: How do you verify causes?
A: When causes are brought to our attention, we do research on them. We will look for more information on individuals, contact them ourselves, talk to others that know them, find articles/blogs/care pages related to them. We work hard to make sure you don't have any questions as to whether or not our cause is a real one. If for any reason, we do not feel "right" about a cause, it will not be brought to auction, and if it is after an auction that we find out that it was a sham, we will take legal action to rectify the situation. Just like you, we do not want to be ripped off for having generous hearts.
Q: How do you prove that you are not keeping any funds for yourself?
A: After each auction, we transfer the funds in one lump sum to the beneficiary. We post the receipt of the transfer for public viewing. The only deficit in the receipt will be for Paypal fees. When we raise funds to do a service project (for example, our For the Soldiers Auction which raised funds to send care packages to deployed soldiers), we document the project in photographs as well as provide the receipts for all to view.
Q: How much do the admins make from each auction?
A: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!! This is not about us at all. We are not here to make a profit. Everything we do is purely as volunteers. All money is accounted for in our receipts so you definitely know we are not making a profit at all.
Q: What is the "Vendor Appreciation" auction? Do you make a profit from that?
A: Every 4th auction is held to thank the vendors who have donated items and time to our charitable auctions. Vendors earn slots into this auction, and they do gain profit as the highest bid goes back to them. We specify many times during the auction that this is held to thank our vendors and make sure you, as bidders, know that they do make profit and that it is not a charitable auction. As for your admins, we do not make a profit at all from the vendors' items in this auction. The only profit we make is for our own items added to the auction. We, like all the other vendors, earn slots into this auction through donating items and time. Please feel free to inquire about this further.
About our Beneficiaries:
Q: How do you choose your beneficiary (cause/person that will receive the funds raised)?
A: We begin by asking our vendors to nominate anyone or a specific cause that they feel need our help to raise funds. Once we have a list of nominations, we ask our vendors to then vote on those at hand. If we are having a hard time deciding with a vote, we will open it up to the public to help us choose. We do try to have various causes, so many of us will choose a beneficiary different than our previous auction. However, all nominations stay on our list, so if one is passed over this time, it may be chosen next time!
Q: Can a bidder nominate a beneficiary?
A: We ask that only our vendors participate in choosing our beneficiaries at this time unless we open up the voting to the public. This endeavor has grown so much that we are overwhelmed with requests.
Q: Will you accept beneficiary nominations that are not US based?
A: Yes indeed!
Q: What is From The Heart Auctions?
A: From The Heart Auctions is a page on Facebook dedicated to hosting auctions where ALL proceeds go to various persons and causes in need. Our efforts from our vendors and bidders is worldwide.
Q: Who created FTH and why?
A: FTH is the brain-child of two friends, Trisha Meyers of Completely Wired and Taylor Sawyer of HunnyBunny Designs. A cause was brought to our attention by another vendor. Upon discussing the cause and its validity, we all were wishing there was a way to be sure that 1) the cause was real, and 2) the money raised would indeed go to the person who needed it. The two of us began talking about it separately and decided to make a neutral ground with verification of the cause and validation of the receipt of the funds being transferred to the beneficiaries. No specific vendor gets glorification (such as more fans) for the auction. No one receives any profit. Its ALL about the beneficiary and making you, our bidders, vendors, and supporters, feel comfortable helping those who need it most!
Q: Who admins the page? And what are their jobs?
A: Your admins are Taylor Sawyer, Trisha Meyers, and Kristina Kennedy. Taylor sets up our auctions--accepting donations and displaying them in the album. She does most of our communications, such as talking to reporters and bloggers, answering emails, etc, as well. Trisha does all of our accounting--closing down the auctions, invoicing for the items, transferring shipping credits to the vendors, getting the funds transferred to the beneficiary after they are collected, and anything else having to do with money. Kristina helps us during the auctions with un-marking spam bids, answering questions, promoting the auction, and the like. All three of us are always working to verify causes, recruit more vendors, spreading the word about the page and what we do, and anything else in between. You may also notice we have an admin named "Trish Taylor". That's our Facebook admin page. It's just used by Trisha and Taylor so that we do not get comment blocked.
Q: How do you verify causes?
A: When causes are brought to our attention, we do research on them. We will look for more information on individuals, contact them ourselves, talk to others that know them, find articles/blogs/care pages related to them. We work hard to make sure you don't have any questions as to whether or not our cause is a real one. If for any reason, we do not feel "right" about a cause, it will not be brought to auction, and if it is after an auction that we find out that it was a sham, we will take legal action to rectify the situation. Just like you, we do not want to be ripped off for having generous hearts.
Q: How do you prove that you are not keeping any funds for yourself?
A: After each auction, we transfer the funds in one lump sum to the beneficiary. We post the receipt of the transfer for public viewing. The only deficit in the receipt will be for Paypal fees. When we raise funds to do a service project (for example, our For the Soldiers Auction which raised funds to send care packages to deployed soldiers), we document the project in photographs as well as provide the receipts for all to view.
Q: How much do the admins make from each auction?
A: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!! This is not about us at all. We are not here to make a profit. Everything we do is purely as volunteers. All money is accounted for in our receipts so you definitely know we are not making a profit at all.
Q: What is the "Vendor Appreciation" auction? Do you make a profit from that?
A: Every 4th auction is held to thank the vendors who have donated items and time to our charitable auctions. Vendors earn slots into this auction, and they do gain profit as the highest bid goes back to them. We specify many times during the auction that this is held to thank our vendors and make sure you, as bidders, know that they do make profit and that it is not a charitable auction. As for your admins, we do not make a profit at all from the vendors' items in this auction. The only profit we make is for our own items added to the auction. We, like all the other vendors, earn slots into this auction through donating items and time. Please feel free to inquire about this further.
About our Beneficiaries:
Q: How do you choose your beneficiary (cause/person that will receive the funds raised)?
A: We begin by asking our vendors to nominate anyone or a specific cause that they feel need our help to raise funds. Once we have a list of nominations, we ask our vendors to then vote on those at hand. If we are having a hard time deciding with a vote, we will open it up to the public to help us choose. We do try to have various causes, so many of us will choose a beneficiary different than our previous auction. However, all nominations stay on our list, so if one is passed over this time, it may be chosen next time!
Q: Can a bidder nominate a beneficiary?
A: We ask that only our vendors participate in choosing our beneficiaries at this time unless we open up the voting to the public. This endeavor has grown so much that we are overwhelmed with requests.
Q: Will you accept beneficiary nominations that are not US based?
A: Yes indeed!
About Donations:
Q: If I decide to join your efforts, do I have to donate to every auctions?
A: Nope. Donate when you can or when the cause is something close to your heart. But even when you don't donate, it's your support that gets us through. So sharing the current auction on your page and/or just cheering us along is very helpful and much appreciated.
A: Nope. Donate when you can or when the cause is something close to your heart. But even when you don't donate, it's your support that gets us through. So sharing the current auction on your page and/or just cheering us along is very helpful and much appreciated.
Q: I don't feel like my item will bring in much money. Should I still donate it?
A: YES! The littlest bit helps when we work together! So yes, a few dollars here and there add up exponentially! If you still feel like your item isn't "good enough", consider donating a "lot" such as three hair bows or two beaded bracelets. But don't feel like you have to! Just the fact that you want to help is enough, so give what you can!
Q: Can I donate a service?
A: Of course! Services including but not limited to photography, graphic design, salon packages, handiwork, etc, are ALWAYS accepted! When donating a service, please specify your location if the winning bidder will have to be in your area to receive the service. Also, it helps if you advertise your offer on your page to pull more interest from your area.
A: Of course! Services including but not limited to photography, graphic design, salon packages, handiwork, etc, are ALWAYS accepted! When donating a service, please specify your location if the winning bidder will have to be in your area to receive the service. Also, it helps if you advertise your offer on your page to pull more interest from your area.
Q: Do you accept international vendors/bidders?
A: Absolutely! We are worldwide! Please specify shipping costs to the US, Canada, and International when donating your items. We will automatically assume shipping is for the US if there is no specification.
Q: Can I help FTH without donating an item or money?
A: Yes, you can! The more people that see our page and what we are doing, the more we can bring in for the cause at hand. The best way to bring more vendors and more bidders is by word of mouth. Tell your friends and family about us. Ask a vendor you know to consider donating. Go on a "liking" or "tagging" page and tag us. Share our blog. Share our causes.
Q: Can I donate an item from a company that I am an independent consultant for (ie Scentsy, thirty one, Tastefully Simple, Avon, Wrap It, etc)?
A: As opposed to auctions where you profit from the winning bid, these companies do indeed allow you to donate an item to our auctions as they are charitable auctions. We have confirmed this, so if you are confronted by your superior about this matter, you may direct them to us. The only restriction that you might have is that you cannot add items to our vendor appreciation auction as those are held for profit. However, we would be happy to hold a "party" with you as the consultant in order to help you earn a profit. All items "earned" as hostesses of these parties will be donated back into our charitable auctions.
About Bidding:
Q: How do I bid on an item?
A: To bid, comment under the item you are bidding for with a US dollar amount exceeding the previous bid. If your bid is the first, you may start the bidding off where you would like. All bids should be accompanied by your Paypal email address. All transactions are done using Paypal, so please before bidding make sure you have a valid and active Paypal account.
Q: Can vendors bid?
A: Yes! In fact, most of our bidders ARE vendors! Just one more reason to thank your vendors!
A: Yes, you can! The more people that see our page and what we are doing, the more we can bring in for the cause at hand. The best way to bring more vendors and more bidders is by word of mouth. Tell your friends and family about us. Ask a vendor you know to consider donating. Go on a "liking" or "tagging" page and tag us. Share our blog. Share our causes.
Q: Can I donate an item from a company that I am an independent consultant for (ie Scentsy, thirty one, Tastefully Simple, Avon, Wrap It, etc)?
A: As opposed to auctions where you profit from the winning bid, these companies do indeed allow you to donate an item to our auctions as they are charitable auctions. We have confirmed this, so if you are confronted by your superior about this matter, you may direct them to us. The only restriction that you might have is that you cannot add items to our vendor appreciation auction as those are held for profit. However, we would be happy to hold a "party" with you as the consultant in order to help you earn a profit. All items "earned" as hostesses of these parties will be donated back into our charitable auctions.
About Bidding:
Q: How do I bid on an item?
A: To bid, comment under the item you are bidding for with a US dollar amount exceeding the previous bid. If your bid is the first, you may start the bidding off where you would like. All bids should be accompanied by your Paypal email address. All transactions are done using Paypal, so please before bidding make sure you have a valid and active Paypal account.
Q: Can vendors bid?
A: Yes! In fact, most of our bidders ARE vendors! Just one more reason to thank your vendors!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
For The Soldiers: Email from an Airman!
I just got this email this evening from one of the recipients of our care packages and wanted to share it with you!
Just for the record, I am female although my name is Taylor. Airman Goff was mistaken in calling me "sir" but that's fine! I'm just so excited to hear from one of them knowing that our package got there safely and brought smiles to their faces! Also, I "censored" the name of the teacher who had the kids write letters, just to be safe.
Just for the record, I am female although my name is Taylor. Airman Goff was mistaken in calling me "sir" but that's fine! I'm just so excited to hear from one of them knowing that our package got there safely and brought smiles to their faces! Also, I "censored" the name of the teacher who had the kids write letters, just to be safe.
Sir,
I would like to thank you for the package that you sent us. I really means a lot to receive letters and package from the people that care about what we do. We are doing well over here, just hit our 4 month mark the other day, not really sure how much longer we have left, it’s up in the air right now. Sir, please give out sincere thanks to the other small business owners who helped make all of this possible.
Sincerely,
Matthew Goff, SrA. USAF
P.S. If you could I would like Miss. ***’s email address if possible, it is a lot easier than sending letters to the kids, but I would like to send them an email to thank them as well.
Allison Nielsen Auction: Accepting Donations
Collecting donations until Feb 4
Bidding Begins Feb 5
Auction Closes on Feb 15 at 7pm EST
On March 19, 2011, the Nielsen family's lives changed forever. It was any other day, Jacki was preparing lunch, and Allison said "Mommy, my throat hurts".Jacki felt her neck, and found a golfball-sized lymph node. She knew right away something was wrong. Allison was diagnosed with Stage IV high-risk Neuroblastoma, undifferentiated with unfavorable histology on March 24, 2011. She is currently in treatment on the COG protocol. We believe with all of our hearts that Allie will BEAT THIS CANCER!
Verification:Allison's Care Page
Allison's FB Support Page
Bidding Begins Feb 5
Auction Closes on Feb 15 at 7pm EST
On March 19, 2011, the Nielsen family's lives changed forever. It was any other day, Jacki was preparing lunch, and Allison said "Mommy, my throat hurts".Jacki felt her neck, and found a golfball-sized lymph node. She knew right away something was wrong. Allison was diagnosed with Stage IV high-risk Neuroblastoma, undifferentiated with unfavorable histology on March 24, 2011. She is currently in treatment on the COG protocol. We believe with all of our hearts that Allie will BEAT THIS CANCER!
Verification:Allison's Care Page
Allison's FB Support Page
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Next Beneficiary: Allison Nielsen and Family
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Help Us Choose Our Next Beneficiary!
Thanks for all the votes. The decision has been made! Please follow us at From The Heart Auctions to be a part of our community to help others!
We're having a hard time choosing our next beneficiary, so we're enlisting the help of YOU (our bidders as well as vendors). Pick from one of the following. We'll tallying these up this week and we can start collecting items for the next auction!
We're having a hard time choosing our next beneficiary, so we're enlisting the help of YOU (our bidders as well as vendors). Pick from one of the following. We'll tallying these up this week and we can start collecting items for the next auction!
- Good Shepherd Manor (http://www.goodshepherdmanor.org/index.htm) - Good Shepherd Manor's Mission is to serve the needs of men with developmental disabilities who are not capable of earning their own livelihood or meeting their basic needs in a non-structured environment. In doing so, Good Shepherd Manor also seeks to serve the needs of the families of these handicapped residents who, in their great concern for their loved ones, are anxious for their happiness and physical and social well-being, especially when the family will no longer be here to provide for them.
- Research for Rosie (http://research4rosie.com/AboutRosie.html): In spite of living with many chronic and life threatening conditions for over half her life Rosie's enthusiasm for living and sharing have never waned. Her contagious smile, infectious laugh and incredible spirit make her who she is today.
- Nichole McGillis and Nick Main (https://www.facebook.com/nicknicholeandhaiti ) I have known Nick and Nichole for about 9 years now. They are a young engaged couple who have traveled to Haiti the last two years to help with an orphanage and some other projects. The two of them are such remarkable people. They are full of passion and love for helping others in need. They are planning their next trip for Haiti for February or March next year. All their funds to go to Haiti are through fund raisers and donations. Since our last few auctions have been helping others with medical costs and whatnot due to sad incidences, I thought this might be a nice pick-me-up auction where the money goes towards a happy cause.
- Rich South High School Band to the Olympics (www.richsouthband.org) The Rich South High School band had been chosen to perform at the Olympics in London, but they have to raise a LOT of money to get there. The trip is estimated to cost around $4,500 per student, so every donation or sponsorship helps the students achieve this once in a life time dream.
- Nielsen Family: (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sweet-Allison-vs-Neuroblastoma/192853114108038) Their 3 year old was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma cancer earlier this year (just before her 3rd brithday) - so far, she is doing very well - and I know they could use the extra help. Thanks! Here is their facebook page to find out more information about the family and updates on Allison
- Riker Dresser (http://rikerstardresser.blogspot.com/p/about.html) Riker Star Dresser was born to Tory and Jon Dresser on February 16, 2011 in Lewiston, Maine. Riker had it rough early on when she was born three weeks premature and required to stay for observation for several days following her birth. Shortly after, she was diagnosed with colic and gastrointestinal complaints, but no one imagined that the real underlying cause of Riker's first difficult days may have been a diagnosis she received on June 5, 2011. Riker had a cough. Everyone assumed it was a common cold, but when her cough seemed to get worse, the Dressers brought little Riker to the Emergency Room. It was there that the doctors picked up on some peculiarities in the infant's condition. At the tender age of three months old, Riker was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a condition rarely diagnosed in infants. Now, Riker is staying at a hospital in New England dedicated to helping this child succeed during the long and difficult road ahead. Her parents are doing everything they can to be with this little girl and to nurse her back to health, but their resources are limited and time off work means their needs are mounting. Meanwhile, Riker's older sibling, 2-year-old Valentine Echo Dresser, keeps asking where her baby
- Sancta Maria House (http://www.sanctamariahouse.org/) Staffed entirely by volunteers, Sancta Maria House is a ten-bed shelter for homeless women situated in the South End of Boston.
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