This has been a very busy year. We set a goal of giving away 100 bags a month.This was quite a challenge and we
had to make adjustments along the way. a few times because of Jessie's health issues. Major changes have occurred
in our lives and adjustments are ongoing.
Though this his year has had its ups & downs. Through it all we are happy to say we still hand made and donated most of our bags. Most of the bags were given to breast cancer
survivors; some were donated to volunteer ministers and some to nursing home
residents.
In 2014 we did not charge for our bags, when non survivors wanted our bags we accepted donations. This at times caused us stress as funds were always limited. Our expenses are low but there are ongoing items needed to keep Jessie’s bags afloat. We appreciate all of the donations, large and small. And you always supported us which we appreciate.
We also want to say how grateful we are for the supportive volunteers
who sewed, created & tied tags, worked on fabrics and listened when we
needed advice.
We need help to continue to grow and keep moving Jessie’s
bags forward. We think what we are doing is encouraging to all who participate
and we enjoy doing good deeds. We have met so many wonderful people along the
way who support us in a variety of ways.
So as we begin 2015 we
hope we will be able to expand to get more people involved in what we do , we
want to give more surviving ladies Jessie's Bags. We hope you will continue to support
us and we pray for god’s direction in this effort. The bible at Luke 14;28-29
says “For example, who of you wanting to build a
tower does not first sit down and calculate the expense to see if he has enough
to complete it? Otherwise, he might lay its
foundation but not be able to finish it, and all the onlookers would start to
ridicule him, saying: ‘This man started to build
but was not able to finish.’”
In our counting the cost we find that we will need to pay
for some of the things happening here at Jessie’s bags, for example we see the need for consistent sewers to
do finishing work for us. . At this juncture we need to shift the bulk of the
sewing from Jessie to others. We want to make this shift so that Jessie will
still sew some items whenever she wants to. We do not want her to feel obligated to sew
every day. To date she is still the primary seamstress.We do have others who sew when they can.
In 2014 we were very
creative in getting volunteers as well as funds to carry on our project. We got
young and old to volunteer, we go into schools, senior centers, and nursing
homes assisted living locations all to find willing volunteers. We had monthly
groups of family and friends in our home working right alongside
Jessie & me. I’m her daughter as many of you know, Jessie and I both have
been at many of these events, but I’m noticing a slows down, as she has more pain she is
missing from the majority of them now. And
so many of you ask for her know this, Jessie always wants to go with me but I know
it is not possible. This is another reason we need funding we need to hire a
few people to handle these events when we are unable to attend them personally.
We travel a great
deal to pick up supplies which cost time and gas. On the last trip I took
Jessie with me to Lewes Delaware the trip I can make in one day had to be made
in two so she could rest. We made it a mini vacation you can see the shots of Jessie
on the board walk on Instagram. The pain
in her leg kept her in the bed for a week when we came home so that may have been her last road trip.
Follow our events see the places we visit look at the bags we
create. Volunteer to join us, Helps us along the way. Spread the word to others
about what we are doing or make a donation using pay pal on our website.
If you Instagram you can see the sites and follow our
journey. Look for Jessie’s bags around town…. Drop us a line..
Read about our experiences and see some of the people we
meet along the way...... #jessiesbagsontheroad
#jessiesbags
Jessiesbags.com
Jesbags.blogspot.com
Jessie's Bags can't wait to see what happens next.......looking forward to 2015.....
