Yes,
it's true. Thank you to all of our supporters
for continuing to encourage this effort as we grow step
by step. To those who have been waiting oh
so very long for your bracelets, we haven't forgotten
you. It is our daily struggle to keep our
doors open, seek funding, update our resources and still
send out bracelets.
Our project and mission gain assistance everyday in
the form of corporate grants and private donors as well
as those offering helping hands. We thank you.
We're overwhelmed with the response, the e-mails and
requests. Our operation is still small and Carrie's
time is very much taken with Zaya our not so little
2 year old son. It is our goal to keep accepting
requests and sending out your bracelets, we thank you
for your patience and understanding. There are
many exciting things in the works and we hope to have
new updates up before six months pass again.
There are a few bracelets that we have sent out and
that have returned through the mail. We hope to
soon find a solution for seeking out those who may have
moved since requesting a bracelet. So keep spreading
the word, we pray that this 2007 will provide an opportunity
to fulfill more of our mission to further reach out
to hurting mothers and families.
09/21/06
October
is upon us once again and we are in full preparations
for Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month. All
families are invited to join us on Saturday October
14th for the 2nd Annual Pass the Light memorial service.
Please help us spread the word to any Southern California
families who may be interested in attending. Click
here for more information.
The Shining Light Fund is excited to announce that
earlier this year, the mother’s bracelet program
received a grant from Alcoa Fastening Systems. We
extend our sincere thanks to Darlene Bush and everyone
at Alcoa for their support of grieving moms and families.
We are continuing to take bracelet requests and process
them as funding allows. Wait time can be substantial,
as we are working with limited resources. Be assured
that we do keep all requests on file and we are actively
seeking grants and funding sources to continue this
outreach to families in need.
Thank
you to all who keep us encouraged with letters and
e-mails. Your support means so much.
03/21/06
There's
lots of news to report here at The Shining Light Fund.
Here are some updates:
1) We realize that there are many of you who have been
waiting for quite some time to receive your bracelet.
Thank you for being so patient. We are actively seeking
financial support from various sources, including foundation
grants and corporate sponsorship, so that we can meet
the current demand. Rest assured that you will remain
on our waiting list and orders are fulfilled in the
order they are received as funding allows.
2) It has come to our attention that The Shining Light
Fund's website has been posted on several sites advertising
free products and services. This has generated a large
number of new requests, some of which may not fit our
mission to specifically support families experiencing
pregnancy and/or infant loss. While we would like to
extend compassion to everyone who has experienced any
type of loss, we must remain within the guidelines of
our giving and focus on providing much needed services
to the infant loss community.
3) Our Resources & Links
section is newly organized and updated with much more
helpful information.
4) The Shining Light Fund has recently been added as
an Associate Member of First Candle/SIDS Alliance and
will be participating in this year's Summits for Survival
campaign. Click
here for more information. Stay tuned for new details
to come.
5) We are planning our 2nd Annual Pass the Light Candlelight
Memorial for Saturday, October 14, 2006. If you will
be in the Southern California area and are interested
in sharing your story during the service or volunteering
to help, please email us.
6) Also in the works are plans to participate again
with Make a Difference Day, a national day of doing
good. This year the event will take place on Saturday,
October 28th. Again, if you are interested in being
a part of this volunteer effort, let us know. For more
information about Make a Difference Day, click
here.
Our continuing thanks go out to all of you who are so
supportive of The Shining Light Fund and the families
we serve.
Thank
you to all who attended our volunteer day in cooperation
with Make A Difference Day.
A new goal was reached as 200 bracelets were produced
in only an hour and a half. We are so appreciative
to everyone who hears our message and joins in our mission.
10/20/05
We
have started a new media
page which now contains a special news piece produced
and aired by Fox 11 Los Angeles. Thank you to all who
continue to spread the mission and message of The Shining
Light Fund.
9/1/05
Many
exciting things are happening here at the Fund. During
the month of October, we are partnering with several
businesses on a fundraising campaign to ensure that
our Mother's Bracelet program continues. We
are also planning a candlelight memorial service on
October 15th. You can read more about our efforts
for Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month on
the homepage.
We are
also implementing a few changes to the bracelet program.
We are excited to introduce a new mother's bracelet
design. It is equally delicate and meaningful
in its representation of life and more durable than
our original mother's bracelet. The new bracelets
are still made using quality sterling silver and Swarovski
crystal beads, and are now strung on sterling silver
Soft Flex. This change makes each bracelet much
easier to put together and will open up volunteer
opportunities to those who have no experience with
beadwork. We think you'll love our new bracelets
as much as we do. You can view photos of the new bracelet
design here.
Again,
we want to thank you all for supporting our efforts.
Thank you for sharing your stories. Thank you
for sharing your children. You make it possible for
our organization to move forward, giving our children
a voice in this world.
8/1/05
Elena,
today is your day. You've done so much. We
love you and Thank you for being a voice for so many.
7/31/05
We've
uploaded our latest brochure.
Please feel free to download it, share it and
help us spread our message and mission. With your
help we've reached all 50 states and 5 of 7 continents.
Thank you.
7/14/05
Carrie
has begun a blog here,
to share her thoughts regarding The Shining Light Fund
and the increasing relevancy of our babies within today's
society.
7/11/05
As
of June 13, 2005, The Shining Light Fund is
officially a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity. Thanks
to all who have made this part of the vision a reality.
We are rapidly taking measures to ensure the strength
and longevity of The Shining Light Fund and our programs.
We look forward to bringing you exciting news
regarding the furthering of this project.
Additionally we have posted a short
film displaying the history of the fund thus far.
5/18/05
We
are currently developing additional content for the
website and would love your participation. Send
us your photos of you wearing your bracelet. Please,
let us know if we may have permission to use the photo(s)
on our website, in printed materials and in our future
presentations. If you have questions or
would like to send us a photo, contact carrie@shininglightfund.org.
Also, Elena's daddy has posted a note here,
which is also linked from his fund
bio.
New
Brochure - 4/24/05
We
have just posted a new brochure
for you to download and print. It is in an Adobe
.pdf format so you will need Acrobat Reader. If
you don't already have this free software, you can download
it here.
Isaiah
is 6 months- 4/18/05
Thank
you to all who have offered their prayers and encouraging
words for Isaiah. As you can see he is a
strong and healthy boy today. April 15th
marked his 6 month birthday. We know that Elena
watches over her little brother every day.
Moving
Forward - 4/18/05
On
April 2, 2005, The Shining Light Fund held its inaugural
meeting of the Board of Directors. We are so fortunate
to have such supportive members on our board who have
assisted in establishing this organization. To read
more about our Board of Directors, click
here.
After securing our status as a non-profit corporation
with the state of California, we have started a new
bank account and are now able to accept donations
payable to The Shining Light Fund. Once our tax-exempt
status has been secured through the IRS, donations
made to the Shining Light Fund will be tax deductible.
When we receive our determination letter from the
IRS, we will be issuing tax deductible contribution
receipts to everyone who has made a donation since
January 1, 2005. Once again, thank you to all of our
generous supporters.
We’re
also pleased to announce that we have added a page
to the website with photos of the birthstone colors
that we use on the Mother’s Bracelets to represent
each month. Click here to view
this new page.
Fund
Update - 1/27/05
2005
has begun with many exciting new developments for The
Shining Light Fund. We've recently secured our
status as a California Non-profit Corporation and are
awaiting our approval for 501(c)(3) status through the
IRS. Thank you to all who continue to request
bracelets and especially to those who are patiently
waiting for their bracelets. Our volunteers are
currently working through all the requests that we have
received. If you would like to inquire about a
bracelet request, e-mail Carrie directly at carrie@shininglightfund.org.
Please continue to tell others about The Shining Light
Fund and our effort to support all of our mothers and
children.
NEW
YEAR, NEW SITE - 12/15/04
As
the new year approaches we're hoping to present a cleaner
and more functional website for The Shining Light
Fund. In order to do this we are currently
moving all information concerning the fund from Elenasinspiration.com
to Shininglightfund.org. Additionally we've
been experiencing some difficulty with our autoresponder
system. We apologize to anyone that may have been
inconvenienced by these problems. Thanks to all once
again.
HAPPY
HOLIDAYS - 12/12/04
Baby
Zaya, "Elena's little brother", would like
to extend a very special Season's Greetings to everyone
around the world that make The Shining Light Fund
live and breathe. Thanks to every volunteer,
donor and all the bracelet recipients that make each
day a gift.
As always we appreciate your generosity in supporting
this project as well as your patience as Carrie juggles
being a new mom, furthering The Shining Light Fund,
and making sure bracelets are continually reaching
those in need.
We extend
prayers of health, healing and prosperity to you and
yours. We know that 2005 will be a prosperous
and exciting New Year.
Jonathan, Carrie, Elena, and Isaiah
ISAIAH
JONATHAN PASCUAL IS HERE!!! - 10/16/04
Here
are the particulars: Isaiah Jonathan Pascual was born
on Friday, October 15, 2004 at around 9:15pm.
4lbs 7oz., 17 inches long.
Carrie is doing amazingly well and Isaiah is doing even
better. He is in the NICU but is cryin' and
kickin' away. More updates to follow. In lieu
of flowers and gifts you may make a donation to The
Shining Light Fundhere.
Baby
Zaya, "Elena's little brother", would like
to extend a very special Season's Greetings to everyone
around the world that make The Shining Light Fund
live and breathe. Thanks to every volunteer,
donor and all the bracelet recipients that make each
day a gift. 
Here
are the particulars: Isaiah Jonathan Pascual was born
on Friday, October 15, 2004 at around 9:15pm.