Modern Wedding & Lifestyle Blog - Maihar Design » Philanthropy

Think Pink: Race for the Cure

Ashleigh — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 01:35:58 +0000

It’s very likely you know someone who has battled with breast cancer. In fact, according to the Susan G. Komen website, in 2010 it was estimated there would be:

207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer
54,010 new cases of in situ breast cancer
39,840 breast cancer deaths

It’s time to THINK PINK! In support of the upcoming Race for the Cure on April 30th in San Antonio, we are donating 15% of ALL ONLINE SALES to support breast cancer research. Whether you are getting married and want to support the cause, or have an upcoming race and want to wear a pink hair petal or headband, we’re donating on your behalf.

Join us in supporting the cause. Shop online between now and April 30th, and we’ll donate 15% of your purchase. Together, we can make a difference!

Donate the Cost of Dinner

Ashleigh — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:00:35 +0000

For nearly a year, I have been working with the non-profit organization Gulu Hope. The organization was started by family friends in an effort to provide assistance in Africa to individuals returning home from IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons Camps). After decades of war, individuals are returning home to nothing, with no means of providing for themselves. Recognizing the need, Gulu Hope has reached out to these destitute villagers through the gift of education.

Men and women are now able to enter a vocational training center to learn a trade – from sewing to bamboo bicycle making, these individuals learn a trade, learn English and learn the basics in business skills. For once they have the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families, helping to raise the economy in their villages.

In an effort to raise funds to help more individuals attend the vocational center, this Friday, September 10th marks the first annual Dine-in for Gulu.

How often do we eat out at a restaurant without a second thought of from where our next meal will come? We are all afforded the luxury of options as well. For one night, Gulu Hope is encouraging you to stay in. Rather than eat out, donate the money you would have spent and make a huge difference to the lives of people in Gulu, Uganda Africa.

Children in Uganda are not permitted to attend school without this mandatory uniform, and many families cannot afford it! Yet with your small donation of $25, you truly can give the gift of education by not dining out just once.

I encourage you to join this effort and make a donation this week!

Bubbles & Baubles

Ashleigh — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:00:18 +0000

We are so excited to be part of Bubbles and Baubles, a shopping event to benefit the March of Dimes Foundation. The event, headed up by Babs and Joe Haller is one of the many ways they are raising funds and awareness about this phenomenal cause.

When: Sunday, April 11th – 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: 26 Doors Shopping in Austin, Texas
What: Mimosas, brunch & shopping for charity
Who: Delysia Chocolatier, BOND Boutique, Silpada, Baby Bugaloo, Earthly Presents, Rae Cosmetics (of NY Fashion Week and the Rachael Ray Show), Maihar Design and many more!

A portion of all sales will be donated back to the March of Dimes Foundation.

RSVP on Facebook
Follow Babs on Twitter
Learn about Babs & Joe’s story on YouTube

Purses, Pumps & Pearls

Melanie — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:59:59 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of visiting San Antonio’s local branch of Dress for Success, a nationwide non-profit organization. I had heard of the program prior to the visit, but was not fully aware of just how much this organization does to assist women in need. My heart goes out to this wonderful cause.

The mission of Dress for Success is to provide interview suiting and attire coupled with career training and support to women who are struggling to support themselves and their families. The way in which this mission is achieved is truly remarkable.

Dress for Success receives recommendations from other non-profit organizations with which they are affiliated, including local homeless and battered women’s shelters. Each with a different story, the women who enter the Dress for Success program all have one thing in common – they are all striving to overcome difficult, and often heartbreaking, life situations.

Through the Dress for Success career center, each woman is not only provided clothing and training, but most importantly, she is given the encouragement to believe in herself and her ability to be strong and independent. I can’t express enough the importance of supporting and encouraging those around us, especially those who truly need it most.

Business suiting is an essential donation, but there are three items for which the need is great: purses, pearls and pumps. While each interviewee is gifted a pair of pearl earrings and necklace for her big day, what good is an outfit without a confident handbag and pair of pumps?

I therefore challenge all of you ladies (and gentlemen) out there to search your closets and pocketbooks. While acquiring and maintaining a job is a fabulous thing, the confidence and self-worth that comes along with the ability to do so is irreplaceable.

You can locate your local Dress for Success through their website to read about all of the wonderful success stories made possible by this phenomenal organization.

For all of you ladies in South Central Texas, the Plaza Club is hosting a bridal soiree for you and yours. Jim Hjelm bridal gown designer Francesa Pitera will be there along with Maihar Design. What’s more, the proceeds will benefit Dress for Success.

BDG Provides a Home for the Homeless

Melanie — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:38:35 +0000

I find that so often it is the simplest things in life that are easily taken for granted.

In addition to my designs with Maihar Design, I work in the Interior Design business at Baxter Design Group where I spend five days a week (and often more) picking fabrics, furnishings and accessories to complete and “make beautiful” various environments in hopes of giving clients their ideal “home.” In other words, a place where people feel safe, encouraged and comfortable at the end of the day, surrounded by the things that make them happy.

About a year and a half ago, BDG was provided with the opportunity to create a space for a group of individuals who need this comfort the most; individuals who do not have the blessing of their own home.

Along with my BDG co-worker Zoe Reilly, we decided to “adopt and redecorate” several community spaces at the San Antonio residence for homeless families, SAMMinistries Transitional Living and Learning Center (TLLC).

TLLC is an incredible facility that provides shelter and housing for up to 40 families at a time. Families are permitted to stay for two years while receiving afterschool childcare, family healthcare and life skills classes that train and aid in their transition back into an independent lifestyle.

With the ultimate goal of creating warm and inspirational living spaces, we ended up raising more than $60,000 in monetary and in-kind donations and completing five of the many community and family gathering areas. With these generous donations, we were able to add fresh paint, new furnishings, artwork and fabric.

After spending only a small amount of time with the residents and children who live at TLLC, I cannot speak highly enough for their positive outlook. It was an honor to have this opportunity and I am hopeful we were able to provide not only a warm and kind place to land, but also a place in which to smile and call home.

Please visit SAMMinistries website or BDG for more information.

(Below) Living Space #1

(Below) Child Play Therapy Room

(Below) Living Space #2

(Below) Living Space #3/Work Station

(Below) Meditation Room