Keys for the Cure.....

As many of you have seen me post on facebook or instagram, my keys for the cure...and today I want to share my story behind them. As you all know my mom is battling Lupus, and that has become a huge part of our lives. We are beyond blessed that she remains strong and healthy, but what most of you don't see is in the morning her hands don't work too great and this makes her morning routine difficult, or the fact that my mom is extremely tired, but doesn't get the amount of rest that she needs, and the look on her face when she becomes cold, because it is literally causing her pain. 

My mom was diagnosed a few years back, and when I found out....I was devastated. Before her diagnosis my mom had a very bumpy road with her health, so bumpy, that in 2003 I almost lost her. I prayed and prayed.....I begged God to help my mom. She is the only parent I have and I couldn't do this without her. My miracle came true and my mom pulled through and is still here with me today. For the most part she is relatively healthy and her numbers continue to improve....we are beyond blessed!

However, when my mom was diagnosed I decided that I was going to take the time I was spending being sad and angry and focus that time on something positive. Since many have never heard of Lupus, I decided that I was going to spend my time educating others and fighting for a cure.

This past May my mom and I held a tricky tray and raised close to $4,000. All of the proceeds were donated to the Alliance for Lupus Research. It was a great success and I could not have asked for a better day. 

 Amazing friends and family offering their help

My mom and I wanted to further our fund raiser efforts, but wanted to do more than just ask for donations. I came up with THE KEY FOR THE CURE. My mom and I have been working very hard on making key jewelry, which we will sell, and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Alliance for Lupus Research.

 As many of you know, my mom is extremely creative and crafty. When I told her my idea, she was immediately on board. I figured I could maybe help with the making of them, but mostly work on the marketing end, well I have to say, that my mom and I have spent hours working on these together. To my surprise I can be pretty crafty when I want to be. We have both been involved in making them, and together we are having such a good time. It is truly a blessing to be able to work on projects together.

Each key is uniquely different, no two are the same. They range in color and design and really reflect our different tastes. My mom tends to like more vintage and old fashion pieces, where I tend to like more modern looking jewelry with motivational sayings and bright colors.

I believe our pieces will sell between $10 and $20 depending on the amount of supplies it took to create it. We are using a range of keys, and are beyond grateful to everyone who donated unused keys to our project.

We have completed about 20 pieces to date, and my goal is release them on facebook and instagram this week, and have them in our Etsy store, early next week.  Please keep in mind that each key is different from one another, and not all related to Lupus. While the awareness ribbon for lupus is purple, not every key is purple. Each key could stand for whatever cause you are passionate about, we are just donating the profits to the Alliance for Lupus Research!

I am super excited about this project and hope it will be a great success! We would just like to thank everyone for your continued love, support, and prayers! We are beyond blessed to have each and every one of you in our lives.

We are very excited that our fund raising efforts are leading the way for us to start our very own non-profit, Lupus, Lynns, & Hope. It is a lengthy process, but a super exciting one!

My mom being diagnosed with a disease that people die from each and every day, was one of the toughest challenges I have faced, but I truly think it was a blessing in disguise. I believe it has made me a better person, and brought my mom and I even closer together. We are able to raise money while spending quality time together! What more could I ask for?

I hope you all love these pieces as much as we do! It is going to be hard to part with them, because I literally love each and every one we make!

From the bottom of our hearts we THANK YOU!!!

WE WILL FIND A CURE!!!

XOXO

Lupus, Lynns, & Hope