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The latest and greatest

Last months deliveries went great. We ended up delivering to 2 different single dads and 1 lady who depended on oxygen, making it super difficult for her to get around her house. In all we delivered to 24 families.

As for what's going on with us NOW: By the end of the afternoon the website will be updated with March's statement, I am still trying to get in touch with Carver's about hosting that fundraiser, and I've made a great connection with someone who wants to help not only deliver food, but also help us with fundraising. What a blessing!! Also, our Etsy store is up and running, so share share share!!

God is still working here, but we can't lose momentum!!

We still need your support!!

What we need

Here is the current list of things we need:

Business cards- I have the design and it's ready to go, but I don't want the cheap, flimsy store-bought print-it-yourself ones. I'd like to start looking professional.

Door hangers- I'd like to be able to reach even the people we miss on delivery day. A door hanger is a great way to let them know we stopped by and give them information about who we are.

A mail box- Right now we're using our families mailing box, but we should really have one of our own.

shopping bags- plain plastic or paper bags to hand out the food in. Makes it easier than carrying arm-loads of frozen food.

So there it is.

If you know anyone who can help out by donating services or funds, send them to our website!!!

Project Fellowship

Up and Running

Okay, now that our website is up and running, I seriously need your help to start spreading the word.

This month we are blessed to be able to order $228.00 worth of food, but I'm nervous for next month so please please please tell your friends!!

Up until now our orders have been placed through Bayfield Christian Church but from here on out we'll be ordering our food independently. This being said, if you wish to make a donation to PF by buying a box of food, you MUST PAY PROJECT FELLOWSHIP AND LET US MAKE THE ORDER. The money has to go through our account or we CANNOT accept the donation.

Also, I have a friend who is going to sit down with me and help me fill out the 1023 Tax form for tax exempt status, the nightmare that it is. We probably won't get approved (or at least get our letter of determination) until next years, so it's a long process followed by a long wait. Yuck. Prayers on this matter are much appreciated.

We are still hoping to get a fundraiser going with a local eatery downtown, and we'll keep you up to date on that info as we get it. Check in often to keep up with more info as we progress!!

Are you READY?!

Okay, folks!! It's finally here!

OUR NEW WEBSITE!!

{screams and shouts while jumping up and down in a circle}

That's right, www.foodforinspiration.com is now up and running.

I've spent the majority of the last two days working on it, so be gentle and patient when making your first assessments, but I'm SO open to any ideas or suggestions you all may have, so go check it out and leave a comment!!

making Progress

We are really hoping to be launching a website this week.

I know... I know... We've heard this all before, but really, I am anxious to get this done. I would love to have one less thing to worry about.

In other aspects, I printed out the form to file for tax-exempt status and after just 5 pages I wanted to cry. Who speaks this language and how do they expect the rest of the human populous to have any idea what they're supposed to do with it?! To say the least, it's super confusing and even more intimidating, so I am asking a friend to look over it with me, and then I may have to hire someone to do it for me because....I'm lost. I certainly don't want to make an error on something as scary are IRS forms. {can you tell what a major fear in my life is?}

So onward and upward we go. Slowly but surely.

Don't forget that until the site gets up, you can still make donations here, on the left upper sidebar. The more the merrier!!

it works!

Well we have good news!!

The donate button works!

we received our first donation today!! We cannot begin to tell how grateful and excited we are, so THANK YOU!!

also, KEEP IT UP!! Tell your friends, your churches, your family. One day maybe we'll spread this concept to your part of the U.S.

By supporting us you're a part of something huge, even in its smallness.

currently at PF....

So you'll notice that to the left
<--------
There is a handy dandy button that allows you to donate to Project Fellowship!! We are very excited to finally be at this point so please, make sure to donate as much or as little as you can budget, every penny counts.

Also, we now have an "official" Facebook page, you can find the Like Box to the left as well, below the "my button". Head on over and like us and show your support!!

In other news, we are waiting to get our bank cards before we can open an Etsy store, so that will take another week or so, and we are still trying to raise enough money to launch a website.

Today I am scheduled to have a phone chat with Brenda from Brenda's Cafe here in town about hosting a fundraiser for us. Ideally we would have a breakfast shift in which the restaurant would donate a percentage of the shifts profits. We will pray and see what God wants in this.

That being said, now that we are a Non-Profit, I need to make sure that everything is up to standard. This website would allow a secure place for you all to access our financial reports, minute meetings, make donations and purchase bags all in one place. We'll still keep up with this blog, and there will be a link to this on the site, but We need to be professional, and having everything on a free blog rather than a site is not my ideal situation, although I am grateful for the ability to have anything at all.

One last thing, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE sign up to follow this blog. The link to do that is on the left. Once we get up and running we'll be posting specials and other news on here and we don't want you to miss out on the exciting growth of this ministry!!

The Ball is Rolling

This week I opened a business account for Project Fellowship which means my second-to-last task is to open an Etsy Store. My final task is to sell bags.

I'm so close!

I'll set up the store in the next couple of days, will you tell your friends? Will you buy a bag or two?

I'll post a link here as soon as it's ready to go.

We've done it!

Okay, folks, we've done it! We are officially a Non-Profit Organization with an EIN!! I have enough money to open a bank account, so tomorrow after doing my grocery shopping {yay food} I'll stop at the bank and set it up!!

I cannot tell you how excited I am!! THANK YOU for all of your prayers and please continue to share Project Fellowship with your friends and family. We still need your support.

We have had 2 independent Angel Food orders for March, which is WAY awesome, and I'm hoping to build up even more than that.

Last week we delivered food to around 20 homes, amen!!

Keep up the good work and let's feed even more this month!!

currently at PF....

Well, we have lots of bags, and I'm one document away from becoming incorporated, which means I'm one document away from opening a bank account for this ministry, but I'm in a predicament.

Because I made a food order this month, I no longer have enough money to open an account once I file my paperwork, so I desperately need to sell these bags. However, in order to sell the bags online, I need a bank account!!!!

Do you see how I'm stuck, here?

So what I need is this:

I need you to spread the word, poeples!! I need you to help me sell this stuff. Even if you can't purchase one yourself, or donate money for PF, you can tell your friends and family about this and ask them to participate and help by buying a bag or two!!

I'm counting on you all!!

We have the potential of being huge, and helping hundreds of families, but we need your help!!

Share this post with everyone you know and let's see how many of these bags we can sell!!

Sole Proprietorship here we come!!

I just got done filing for Sole Proprietorship!!

I finally discovered a great site www.business.com and eFiled.

I decided to do this after visiting the bank today to get info, and finding out that I can open a business account there with just my certificate of Sole Proprietorship or registered Trade Name, so I did both!!

I don't know how long before I will get a response or how long until I get the certificate, but my wonderful husband spotted me the $20.00 to get it done.

I am so excited, guys!! This means we're like, official!!

Ok, well, almost, but still, things are moving right along and I can't be happier!!!!

first step

I applied for an account at our local bank today. I did it all online {totally convenient} so I guess I'm supposed to hear back sometime today on if I was approved or not.

We'll see. It would be pretty awesome  to get everything set up today, but I would still stop in tomorrow to double check everything.

Wish us luck!!

goals/wish list

There are several goals that I desire for PF, and several of those goals could be considered wishlist items, as well. I know this may not turn into much more than me and my family giving food to people once a month, but it's healthy to look towards a bigger picture. Here is my current list:

Bank Account - this is happening on Thursday, if all goes according to plan
Online store - to sell bags
Sell 100 bags -  a small goal to start with is always better
GET 100 shirts - to make the bags that I am going to sell
Get real sponsors - It would be great to have someone help us out
Go State-wide - La Plata County isn't the only place in Colorado that needs help
Go Nation-wide - Colorado isn't the only state that needs help

No too much, right?

Through God all things are possible

open for business!

okay, I have enough product to say that I am officially open for business. If you would PLEASE help us out and spread the word, maybe we can start moving some of these bags!!

Once again, T-bags are 5 dollars each or 3 for 12, T-totes are 10 dollars or 2 for 15. I'm holding off on the jean stuff for right now, because they take more time, I want to focus on making the T-bags, but if requested, I will make a jean bag.

Prices do not include shipping, so keep that in mind, but shipping won't be much.

Tell your friends!! ALL proceeds go toward PF.

How to market these Tees

I've been working hard to perfect my sewing skills so I can start selling these bags I've been working on, and I'm finally to the place where I feel comfortable asking for money for them!!

Right now I have about 7 T-bags, and 1 T-tote. I asking $5.00 each for the T-bags, or 3 for $10.00, and $8.00 for the T-totes, since a lot more work goes into them.

I can't open an Etsy store until I have a bank account, and I can't get a bank account without a business license, but I'm not ready to get a business license until I know this is going actually go somewhere, so I have to find other ways of marketing and selling the bags. Right now all I can do is use Facebook and good old fashioned word-of-mouth.

I've also thought about recruiting some kids from my church to sit in front of Albertsons or City Market to sell them.

I've come up with a very productive and efficient way of making the  bags, I'm just waiting to get more shirts. Once I have enough, I'll be able to be more proactive in selling, but to start off with, I'm having to grasp at straws.

I know that if this is His will, then God will provide the means to sell the bags, but I have to do my part, too.

day 1: mission success

Today was my first day of deliveries.

I've had some major struggles the last couple of weeks, and I had times of wondering if maybe I was biting off more than I can chew, but God is good and He has provided not just resources of materials and money, but in courage and strength.

I was very nervous walking up to the first house. I still hadn't fully decided what to say, but I just let God do the talking, and Laura made me realize that it doesn't matter how I feel or what I'm struggling with, because this was for her. She put me at ease with her smile and her love. After hugs, tears, thank you's and love you's, I looked at my husband and said, "This is why I needed to do this."

I delivered food to a total of 9 homes, giving each 3-4 food items, basically enough for a cohesive meal. I originally was going to give each home 2 food items, but Dominick thought maybe I should start smaller and get a feel for it, get my feet wet as it were.

After all of it, I have a renewed enthusiasm and motivation. This is Gods work, and man was He working today!! I am grateful for Him giving me the courage to follow through, and honored to allow Him to show Himself to others through me.

If you are reading this and are one of the people that received food today, Thank you. Thank you for your smiles and your love and your openness. You made my day, really.

I hope you saw a glimpse of God and His grace today, because I sure did!

The Lord provides

I was a little discouraged this past week when only one person came forward and made donations after all my imploring, but after some prayer I got my heart back in the right place, and boy did God ever go above and beyond!!

All in one day we got a $50.00 donation, an extra food box, and fabrics donated!!

I am so happy! I have been working on a custom Amazon Kindle sleeve this week, and it came out so much better than I expected. I will be making one more for stock to sell, then taking them as requests. I'm also in line to get some more shirts this week so I'll be making more T-bags, and possibly some Jeans-bags as well. I'm hoping to start selling by the end of next week, is all goes well.

I can't open an Etsy store online without a bank account, but I want to have a business account for PF. So this coming week my mission is to apply for my DBA, so I can get a business license to open an account with. Then I'll have one place for everything.

If we continue to grow, I'd like to get an official website with a "donate" link, and a link to both this blog and our online store.

One step at a time though. {but it's so hard not to get excited}

Thank you everyone, for your support and your help and your prayers.

The More the Merrier!!

I've made two more bags! These two were not made from shirts, though. One was from fleece and one from old jeans.

I'm am learning that my sewing skills need much improving, and that I have a lot to learn about using a sewing machine, but I am determined, and when I am determined NOTHING gets in my way...ask my husband.

On another note, I made an announcement at church on Sunday inviting the rest of the congregation to join in on my mission, and one of the ladies is so very excited! She is going to be donating T-shirts, jeans, and money!! I can't wait!! I'm spending a bit of time finding new patterns and ideas on how to make these nags, and I may even try a hat or two {gasp}.

All in due time, though. Right now I am just trying to get enough raised so I can place a bigger order next month.

Here's to hoping!!

To the "celebrities"

I just sent out a dozen requests via Twitter to "celebrities" asking them to donate Tees for PF.

This post is addressed to them.

Project Fellowship is about people giving what they have to people who need it. I make Tees into bags and sell them, and ALL the proceeds go to buying food to put on the tables of EVERYONE in La Plata County, Colorado.

I'm not aiming for the sob stories, although they are included. I'm aiming for the "everyone else" category. The middle. The people that aren't getting their houses repossessed, but are still struggling to make ends meet. The families that are generally overlooked.

All I'm asking for is ONE T-shirt. ONE. How much time, energy and money does it take to get a shirt, sign it, and mail it? I understand your lives are busy and schedules are full, but there are a LOT of families who are struggling, and SO MANY can benefit from the funds made by selling your shirts.

Let me give you an example.

for $31.00 I can give food to 9 families. NINE. That's pretty significant. I'm asking you for your help.

Fellowship is people helping people....will you help me help others??

The address and any further information you would need is on the page labeled "PF info" above....please consider helping.

Your respectful friend,
Rebecca