HFH Volunteer Sunny

Hi, my name is Sunny and I'm a member of the Etsy handmade arts and crafts community and the Blog writer Volunteer here for Etsy Hearts for Haiti.

Although I can't be there in Haiti to lift bricks or to distribute food and water, I wish I could, every minute that I spend helping Etsy Hearts for Haiti makes me glad that I can help in this way.

My part in all of this has been behind the scenes. I saw a volunteer niche and assigned it to myself as the "night-watch" volunteer for the HFH forum thread the week following the earthquake. After the rest of the volunteers had signed off for the night to catch some sleep after hours of listing items and replying to emails (sometimes up to 700 emails in a day), I would set-up my computer by the fireplace, make a cup of tea, grab a book, and check the thread every 20 minutes between the hours of 1 am and 4 am Pacific Time. The thread was usually silent at those hours. I wanted to be there, just in case someone had a question about donating or needed information.

We had some terrific rain and thunder storms here in California during that week and the power went out a couple of times. During those quiet hours of the night, listening to the rain, I felt like I was in some way there with the people in Haiti because my heart was with them. And my prayers.

When the art that I donated sold it dawned on me that what has transpired here during the last 2 weeks was historical. It wouldn't have been possible 30 years ago. Through the power of the internet, a global community of artists and crafters (vintage sellers as well) were able to unite and in a matter of days raise an extraordinary amount of funds for immediate help to the victims of a disaster. In my case, the people who bought my art gave me the opportunity to give even if I didn't have the money to give. They could have given directly to Doctors Without Borders but instead their donations allowed me to give as well.

To me, the cheerful giving of so many people has been awe-inspiring. Hundreds of us have formed a chain of hearts which will end in substantial medical supplies and services that will help many people in Haiti.

To all of those who have donated, I want to say with all my heart, thank you very much. -Sunny 

"Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." - Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Africa) 2007 Gandhi Peace Prize.