its World Animal Day !

Written by Marjorie of WHSKR

Today is World Animal Day - the day we show how much we value the animals that surround us, the pets in our homes and the wildlife we support through our Etsy for Animal donations and endeavours. WAD transcends the borders of race, religion and country, it celebrates and honours all animals around the world.

Every day we at EFA carry forward the work of World Animal Day, we celebrate animals, donating from sales, promoting charities as wide ranging as sea otters, kittens and tapirs. Join us on this day to celebrate and love all the animals of the world.

The World Animal Day Mission Statement :-

* To celebrate animal life in all its forms.

* To celebrate humankind’s relationship with the animal kingdom.

* To acknowledge the diverse roles that animals play in our lives – from being our companions, supporting and helping us, to bringing a sense of wonder into our lives.

* To acknowledge and be thankful for the way in which animals enrich our lives.

World Animal Day was started in 1931 at a convention of ecologists in Florence as a way of highlighting the plight of endangered species. Since then it has grown to encompass all kinds of animal life and is widely celebrated in countries throughout the world.

October 4 was chosen as World Animal Day as it is the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

It is intended as a day of celebration for anyone in the world who cares about animals. It is not restricted to any one nationality, creed, religion, political belief or ideology.

HAPPY WORD ANiMAL DAY !

EFA and Etsy veg members are raising money to help the animals of the Gulf Coast.

From Heather of http://aktie9.etsy.com


Thank you to Cari of Loveluca for lending me this lovely photo.

Ever since the BP oil spill happened, I've been spinning my wheels. Wondering what to do to help, I have two kids and it's a full time job, so heading down there to actively participate in the cleanup process isn't going to happen, at least right now. I might get my chance of course, doesn't look like cleanup is going to happen overnight.

When Lisa of Pandawithcookie told the Etsyveg street team her plans. I jumped right up onto the bandwagon and helped myself to the reins. ;)

She posted her donation idea: "***20% of all sales go to the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary who are preparing to clean and care for animals affected by the horrible oil disaster happening in the Gulf Coast: seabirdsanctuary. ****"

I decided I'd do the same thing & asked around on the other street teams I'm on & the one I help facilitate, if others would like to help too. The response was immediate! People out there are concerned and looking to do something, anything to help out.


Heather from the Thebluewindmill is donating 30% of this item to

Jesse from GingerCardCo is donating 10% from her shop.


My shop is donating 20% of all sales till July 8th to Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary.


Krugsecologic is donating 30% of sales till July 8th also to Suncoast.


Heather's shop Anthropomorphisis is doing 10% donation from her gemstone jewelery.

Pippi's shop is donating ALL proceeds to Sea Shepherd. She has also opened up an a Online Thrift Store that is donating proceeds as well to Sea Shepherd.


Twigandleafbotanical is also helping out. By donating 20% of our sales to the National Wildlife Federation's Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Fund.

Athena said:
I will donate 30% of the sale of this frame to the relief effort.


Jade said: I'll happily donate 20% of sales from my shop, Mumbot.

Kimba of KimbasCritters said:

I would love to help out here! I will gladly donate 20% of any items sold till July 8th to the Sanctuary.

15% of all sales from SmileBernice through July 11th will go to the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary.

Maggie from M's Knits and Things is also joining us till the 8th with 20% of her sales.

Yvonne from Karramandi, Collarmegorgeous, kakirra, and Juniperjournals has also stepped up to donate 20% from any of her shops to the Seacoast Sanctuary.

Lucy of luniquejewellery is also donating 20% of her sales, check her etsy shop for more information.

This shop here has also joined us. From June 3 through June 20, 20% of every sale in my Etsy shop will go to the National Audubon Society to aid in the Gulf oil spill cleanup.

This shop here also joined us, she is donating 10% of her sales to support the Gulf oil spill disaster cause with Defenders of Wildlife.

I will edit this page as time goes on & others join forces. Please check individual shop announcements for end dates on this sale. This shop on Etsy has been dedicated to selling items to help the Gulf Coast also.


Thanks for checking this out & helping! Heather :)

Some of the teams involved are: The Vegan Etsy Team. Check their blog here. The EFA team, their blog is here and also the Etsyveg street team here.

From Sarah of http://whimsystore.etsy.com;

From Sarah of http://whimsystore.etsy.com;

Team EFA

Sarah Woodcock, the owner of CustomJewelryTags.com, cares deeply for animals. In addition to CustomJewelryTags.com, Sarah Woodcock has an online jewelry shop, The Whimsy Store. The Whimsy Store is a proud member of Etsy Team EFA and donates 10% of its online sales to help animals. Donations go to Southwest Metro Animal Rescue and Adoption Society (SWMARAS), an all-volunteer non-profit 501 © (3) organization that works tirelessly to help animals in the Southwest Metro area of Minnesota.

Etsy Team EFA members are eligible for 10% OFF at CustomJewelryTags.com by simply entering coupon code ‘TEAMEFA’ during checkout. In addition, CustomJewelryTags.com offers earring cards, jewelry tags, and business cards (below) to help Etsy Team EFA members promote the fact that they too care deeply for animals. A special thank you to Etsy Team EFA member Eva of A Lil Sumptin Sumptin for the Etsy Team EFA designs we used to make the earring cards, jewelry tags, and business cards below.

If artists would like another design from CustomJewelryTags.com, we are happy to add the Etsy Team EFA square (below) to their earring cards, jewelry tags, and business cards.

Etsy Team EFA Earring Cards, Jewelry Tags, and Business Cards

2 inch by 2 inch Earring Cards in the Etsy Team EFA Design

Click here to order these earring cards.

2 inch by 3 inch Earring Cards in the Etsy Team EFA Design

Click here to order these earring cards.

1.5 inch by 1 inch Jewelry Tags in the Etsy Team EFA Design

Click here to order these jewelry tags.

3.5 inch by 2 inch Business Cards in the Etsy Team EFA Design

Click here to order these business cards.

Etsy Team EFA Square (which we are happy to add to another design from CustomJewelryTags.com)

EFA Treasury West

Did you see this EFA treasury? It's a treasury of the January Challenge entries made vy http://lolalynn.etsy.com, our challenge leader.

Dogs Examiner Feature

Dogs Examiner feature:

EFA feature

We've been featured!

EFA Treasury

EFA Treasury made by http://stylinstuff.etsy.com on the Front Page of Etsy!

EFA mention :-)

You can see the mention here. And below is a screenshot.

Tombola (raffle) Fundraiser for Animals!

EFA is sponsoring a Tombola (raffle) Fundraiser for Animals with To Happy Vegans http://tohappyvegans.com The event will be on the 6th of February in Bath, England. EFA will be donating at least 30 prizes for the raffle, and we get to choose which charity will receive the funds raised! Please leave a comment on this blog entry by Jan. 10 with your charity suggestion and letting me know if you can donate an animal product free item(s).

I will send the address to those who can donate. Let's make this event a success for EFA, To Happy Vegans, and the animals!!!

From Mitsu To Happy Vegans: "The event is organised by VIVA! an organisation that campaigns for a vegan/vegetarian world. They are supported by celebs such as Paul Mccartney, Heather Mills and Chrissie Hyndes. This is their website.

Everything at the event must be vegan and it is a not-for-profit educational initiative organised by Viva! which is held every year. More information on the Roadshow is here.

Sasha and I started the website this year after both turning vegan at the same time. We wanted to share everything we have learned and make it easier for other people who are conisdering becoming vegan make the change. We have recipes, fashion, blogs, nutrition and all sorts of other information on the website. In addition to this we also make vegan cakes and are hoping to branch out further with this, everything we make is vegan and we use organic and fair trade ingredients.

In addition to our cakes, when we have stalls at vegan fayres and festivals such as the VIVA! one we also have a tombola (a raffle) [100% goes to a specific charity]. All the prizes are generously donated by vegan companies or other companies we feel share our ethics. The current procedure is quite lengthy and involves contacting every company individually as we come across them, so a sponsored tombola seems to make sense and will help save our time so we can concentrate on the million and one other things we have ideas for! This year we have managed to raise money for Marine Connection, VegFam, and HIPPO Charity.

This is our tombola from the last fayre we did.

We are both in full time employment and maintain our non profit website and prepare for all the vegan festivals in our spare time."

Please donate an item(s) to help and suggest an animal charity to benefit by leaving a comment below. Thanks, Michele

Christmas is coming.... It's time for a book raffle!

from our gingercatpress:


Winter is on it's way. It's time to snuggle up with a good book in front of a cozy fire and I have the puuurfect pussycat tale! That Stripy Cat!

For the month of December and November every $15.00 purchase from gingercatpress.etsy.com will enter your name in a raffle for a signed hardcover copy of my book, That Stripy Cat! Wow!

To earn a bonus entry in my raffle simply purchase an item from my etsyforanimals section in addition to your 15.00 dollar purchase.

1 raffle entry = One $15.00 purchase

2 raffle entries =One $15.00 purchase + An etsyforanimals donation item( $5.00 Donation).

Enter my raffle as many times as you like. Five dollars of every donation item will be donated to etsyforanimals.com's charity of the month in January 2010.

For more info about my book please visit: thatstripycat.blogspot.com

To Learn and discover all the talented artists that support etsyforanimals please visit: etsyforanimals

Hello to All the Wonderful and Creative Artists who help to support the animals at EFA by donating some or all of the proceeds of sales to Charity and Rescue Groups.

My name is Carol and I'm the creator of Faeriegood's Shop here at Etsy: http://www.faeriegood.etsy.com,
and also my newest shop, http://www.chicadolly.etsy.com.

I'm a new member here at efa and was greatly surprised and extremely grateful that my submission for the Charity of the month S*N*O was chosen for April. You can see them at: http://www.siberiansneedingowners.org



I wanted to introduce myself a little and share some of my background and love for animals. I was born and raised in the NYC area and because of severe allergies as a child, was never allowed to have pets or play with animals other than to look from a distance, other than fish or turtles. This was in my opinion tantamount to torture, and as soon as I was old enough, I started sneaking little critters into the house, and befriending the neighborhood squirrels whom I got to eat from my hand. I guess you could say the animal loving gene was bound to become dominant, no matter what.

I started rescuing alley cats as soon as I got my first apartment in the village, while still in high school. I seemed to be a cat magnet and people where quick to discover the quirky kid who always had space for one more. Several of my acquisitions came pregnant so I soon adopted a policy for spay/neuter and found homes for as many as I could, leaving several with my parents out on the island and taking 3 with me when I made the move out to CA in the late 60's.

While living in the Santa Cruz mountains I saw the rapidly growing ferrule cat problem that had developed when a colony had established their territory under and around the local grocery store , barely surviving on rodents and handouts form well meaning patrons. I organized a spay/neuter catch and release and/or adopt out if possible, and a feeding station so the problem was eventually resolved.

My house was always home to a dozen or so rescued cats from various sources, along with a rescued "Easter bunny" that they kinda handed over to me as I was in the checkout line at the Nob Hill in Los Gatos (I guess word travels far), some geese and ducks also abandoned, a very old chicken that just came one day, two rescued dogs and for a while it seemed like animals had this idea that I was an underground railroad of sorts because they somehow magically appeared at my gate waiting to be cared for.

As time passed and my kids grew up, and the older dogs crossed over the rainbow bridge I found myself with my first Malamute and then within a month adopted my first rescued Husky. It didn't take long before I was asked to become a board member of the local Siberian rescue club in that area and was active for several years helping raise funds and promote responsible dog ownership principles through volunteering at adoption clinics, as well as becoming a foster home for the breed. It was during this period in my life that I first met Janet, the wonderful lady that founded and runs the kennels at S*N*O's main headquarters and is the backbone of the organization. I have since moved up to live next door and as her neighbor, continue to admire her for all the hard work and effort, that she puts in to making this rescue such a success. If you haven't gone to look at their site, please do at: http://www.siberiansneedingowners.org.

Since then I have had to retire because of a disability and have moved up to NE WA where I now reside with my 5 also retired Huskies and Mals, the newest family member is a rescue adopted from S*N*O . I'm hoping that together we can raise a great amount of donations this month for this worthy cause, because for every dog that gets taken in, there are aways more that still need help. I hope to do everything I can toward this goal and appreciate all your help and support.



Also hope to have more rescue tails for future posts, Thanks and let's all shop for the dogs!!, Carol

A Note from Nakisha

From Nakisha, EFA's former webmaster, a wonderful rabbit/animal artist helping animals; http://bluedogrose.etsy.com;



"Last month because of a generous purchase I was able to donate to my favorite charity, Rabbit Haven. Rabbit Haven is a non profit in Washington state that cares for abandoned and neglected rabbits. They have a huge barn where the bunnies are housed and survive entirely on generous donations. Like many rabbit rescues they are promoting the "make mine chocolate" campaign for Easter, reminding potential rabbit buyers that rabbits are a 10 year commitment, not a gift that can be discarded after the holidays."



You can read more about them on this website- www.rabbithaven.org
and the make mine chocolate campaign- http://www.makeminechocolate.org/

DebbieB's Cat Rescue Story

Hi Michele:

I have a little story I’d like to share with you, and you can post it on the site if you wish. I donate a fair amount of money to the SPCA and the Humane Society, but recently I had a chance to do something more concrete.

I have five beautiful ferrets, so I always thought it would be difficult for me to adopt a stray cat or dog. But for three nights in a row, a little black and white cat cried at my back door. I fed her, but I was afraid to let her inside in case she brought disease or harmed the ferrets. But the weather was well below freezing, and I finally decided I had to invite her inside.

Sadly, she was already pregnant, so I made the difficult decision to have her spayed, aborting the kittens, because there are already far too many unwanted cats in the world.

But she immediately settled in and was deliriously happy to be here, and I love having her. And one of the most fun things is watching as she learns to play with the ferrets.

Fortunately, ferrets cannot catch feline distemper, so I didn’t have to worry about that; she didn’t have fleas or ear mites, but she did have skin mites, so everybody got treated for that.

Her name is Camille (Cami for short), and she purrs every time I go near her. At night she sleeps on my bed, and during the day, when the ferrets are sleeping in a drawer, she sleeps next to them.

It is such a joy to know that I rescued this sweet little cat from cold and hunger, loneliness, and repeated unwanted pregnancies. And she has brought so much laughter and affection into my life.

I’ll attach a couple of photos of Cami with the ferrets.

Best wishes,
Debbie
www.debbieb.etsy.com

From EFA member, Ruby and Bee Boutique

From EFA member, http://rubyandbeeboutique.etsy.com

My pal Casper is in desperate need of help. Casper is a one year old Pomeranian who was born with a heart condition called Severe Pulmonic Stenosis. This can only be treated with a successful surgery. Casper had this surgery in September 2008, but it was a failure. The surgery costs $3500 and Casper’s family needs help raising the money. As of today, we are about $2000 away. The hospital will not even schedule the surgery until the money is there. I am donating ALL profits from my Etsy site to Casper: http://AngelGirl07.Etsy.com. Other stores helping are http://ClaireAmore.Etsy.com and http://RubyandBeeBoutique.Etsy.com.

If you are interested in donating, please do so by contacting the hospital:
FL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
352- 294- 9894 (make sure to tell them that the donation is for CASPER SANTOS Account number- 241807)
or if you like you can make a check to
FVMFA
P.O. BOX 100121
GAINESVILLE FL 32610
(make sure that on the check it says that it's for ACCOUNT NUMBER 241807 and its for CASPER SANTOS)
Check out Casper’s blog at: http://www.haveaheartforcasper.blogspot.com/
Check out Casper’s Dogster page at: http://www.dogster.com/dogs/743188

EFA Chat - Help!

Gena needs help from sellers who attend the popular weekly chat in the Etsy Virtual Labs.

Gena says:

I need someone to help with with the weekly chats in gathering information together

I also need someone who can fill in every once and a while like this .... 27th August 08 I have a company meeting at work.

If you can help Gena out it would be a big help and also count as 'participation' for submitting your EFA Charity of the Month nomination. Gena will fill you in on the details but I don't think it's rocket science. A Northern Hemisphere EFA member would be most helpful as those of us in Australia and NZ are, I think, asleep then :-))

Convo. Gena at her store (link above) if you can help.

Birthday Bash Extravaganza Raffle Winners

Please see the new website: http://efaartistshelpinganimals.org/index.php/promotions/27-bday-bash/283-birthday-bash-kickoff-raffle-winners

A cat in need

This is a story of love, a kitty and the lengths to which a loving family will go to help their beloved family member, a kitty called Isabel, live a healthy life.

If you think a cut paw, a small bite or a trip to the vets for an injection is scary for you and your pet, think again. What started out as a straightforward operation to remove a 'foreign body' from her turned into a nightmare of blood transfusions (yes pets DO have them), couriers in the middle of the night and nail biting days of stress and worry.

You can read Isabel's story here but wait - read on here for a moment - please........

Her human Carers are seriously in need of help themselves. Want to guess how much the bill was for pulling Isabel, who they dearly love, back from the brink of death? Go on - guess.... OK How does $6.021.24 sound? Yes, that's it $6,021,25. In UK pounds that's 3,086.28, in Indian Rupees 252,711.36 or New Zealand dollars $8,382.17.

They need help, and here's how YOU can reach out the helping hand one of us might need someday.



Make a donation (click through to Isabel's page for the HOW TO and click the Chip-In button. I did.

If you want to get something back for your hard-earned dollar, buy something from the Etsy shops Isabel's Mum and Dad run Art Riot which does art books, notebooks and fun stuff, and Secret Nerd Brigade - which does really useful pocket tissue holders and needle holder books. If you want to commission a special note book; or buy something useful and help a kitty - NOW would be a good time.

If you are broke, or are simply too desperate yourself to be able to part with any money, send an email message of support HERE. Sometimes, when things look bleak, a few friendly words of encouragement and love make a big difference, they can help you get through a bad day and ease the worries that wake you up in the night.

I hope to have a picture of Isabel to put here soon, in the meantime - check out Isabel's story and her page here. She is doing well.

It's Meow or Never - the Auction

An appeal went out some time ago for EFA members to offer contributions for ItsMeoworNever the animal rescue and sanctuary. EFA members responded and make up a good proportion of the quality auction items. Ebay is hosting the official charity auction here and it is WELL worth checking out.

This is not an auction of cast off knick knacks - It is full of practical and useful items. It has a selection of (mostly) EFA donated jewellery, vouchers, tickets, a wonderful selection of dried mixes including restful Lavender, CATNIP! and Dog biscuit mix. There are chances to bid on a professional web page design, candles, bird houses and tropical tans! There is, literally something for everyone and something to suit even the most modest of pockets.

EFA members contributing include, after a quick glance, NanjoDogz, Whskr, DesignbySunzeri.

I would love to credit more EFA sellers who contributed - so if you did - let us know and I will shine the spotlight on you!

OK what are you waiting for Get over HERE and bid!!

Headsup for Endlesswhimsy!

Congratulations to EFA member Endlesswhimsy for making the front page at www.etsy.com.

In case you catch this too late here's a still!



Well done to one of our talented members!

Etsy Angels

A group of generous spirited and big hearted Etsians who hide under the mantel of Etsy Angels have adopted as their August charity our very own AWBAR! They have a thread on the promotions forum that will need constant help and attention. If you have a moment just drop by and say thank you.

If you want to check out the thread closely you will find a host of sellers giving upwards of 10% off items or even more to raise funds for AWBAR.

Click here to get to the thread and give everyone a wave. Any time, day or night is just fine.