I should have written this entry a long time ago. But as seems to always happen, I got caught up in my own life. I talked and worked behind the scenes, but this topic should have graced my blog a long time ago.

Some friends of mine have a friend who is gravely ill. They've started The Laurie Project to help her out. From the site:

The Laurie Project is a true labor of love.

It started as an idea to raise money for a sick friend. I wanted to help Laurie afford her medication and have a little extra money to do fun things, and I knew that simply asking people to donate money to a stranger was not going to work well in the long term. That’s when it occurred to me that I knew so many journallers that enjoyed doing “crafty” things like knitting, jewelry-making, and photography, and maybe these journallers would be willing to donate their products to be sold on a website dedicated to Laurie. And that’s the gist of The Laurie Project.

I initially discussed the idea with my dear friend Kathy Handley, and later she included the very experienced fundraiser, and our good friend, Caryn Seippel into the mix. Each of us had our own strengths and we used that to the best advantage to bring our little vision into reality. E-mails were sent, this website was created, the project was publicized on Facebook and MySpace, and the donations began rolling in. We’re not swimming in money quite yet, mind you, but we are off to a decent start.

Every cent donated–and that PayPal doesn’t take away–goes to Laurie. And everything we make from selling donated products, with a little taken out strictly for shipping costs, will also go to Laurie. It all goes to Laurie. We get to keep some of the karmic goodness that comes with doing something with this much love, but at the heart of it all is our friend Laurie. We’re trying to tell her story, we’re trying to save her life, we’re trying to be the best friends we can possibly be.

(And our capacity to love is endless. As is yours.)

- Rasee Govindani

Please. Visit The Laurie Project. Make a donation. Buy something from the store. Help in any way you can, if you can. If nothing else, there is now a contest for a $25 Amazon gift card. All you have to do is link to the site on your own blog, MySpace, or Facebook. Let them know in the comments where to find your link.

To earn two additional entries (for a total of three entries if you link to them too), make a purchase from the store or make a donation of $5 or more to Laurie before 7:00 PM Central Time on Saturday, April 12.