Etsy Recyclers Guild : 2 Years Recycled and Fundraising for FIre Victim in Ames Iowa

The Etsy Recyclers Guild Team has been upcycled for about two years now, and they've grown in leaps and bounds. The small but lively group often raises money for their team advertising, promoting each others shops, and talking about Eco-friendly, green projects, or recycling. Their blog has turned into a "meet this member" or "do it yourself" green blog, read by many, so today when shockingly gruesome photos went up of a burnt up home in Ames, Iowa, some of the members were shocked. A far cry from a recycled bowl, or hand crochet afghan.

The team decided to launch it's first ever "real" fundraiser to make a difference in someones life, the life of a man they've never even met. This man, Ronald Craig, is a fire victim whose home burnt to the ground last August. Having had former employment with giant company 3M, he felt the economic impacts of the recession several years ago when he lost his job. After that, it was struggling which bills to pay, having let his homeowners insurance lapse. Who would have known his home, a once picturesque home on an Iowa Farm full of horses and cats, would have burnt to the ground last August.

The story originally broke just a week ago, when Marie, a friend of Ron's from Iowa, began trying to sell some used farm relics she found on his farm, and talked about it on March 9th on her blog. One seller told another, until the Recyclers Guild, decided to launch a fund-raising challenge, to the sum of $5000.00.

In the first hour, they raised $1000. As of now, they are up to $1049.00, and the post just went up a few hours ago.

Their goal is to spread the word via social networking sites like facebook, twitter, and blogs. Vintage Hillbilly says, "We won't stop until everyone that reads stuffs $1 in an envelope and sends it to Ron, raising a total of $5000, in hopes that Ron can fix up one of the small sheds on his property to more livable conditions. It isn't much when you are talking he lost his whole darn house, but it sure is something."

Retro Chalet is printing the photos and sending and official application to Extreme Makeover Home Edition, and other large companies, with hopes and dreams that someone with real means can help Ron. She says, "This is a time of economic downturn, we feel it in our own lives juggling which bills to pay. Not to mention there is so much going on now horrifically with natural disasters, flooding and fighting and chaos all over the world. It's a very tough time to ask people for money. So many causes you don't know what to do first, however, this man's story really touched me. He lives in the middle of nowhere--he's off the grid and the map so to speak. Possibly forgotten about, no one knowing he's there. It's not like he can go apply to the Walmart around the corner, he's in the middle of a farm field and has been living without a house since August. How on earth did he make it through winter? We can only hope that we can reach someone out there who has the means to do something to help this man rebuild his home, and his life."

The farm is complete with four horses, and a few stray cats, which Ron would rather feed and nourish than himself. Neighbors like Marie have been kind enough to take Ron food and cat food for animals.

The Etsy Recyclers are taking collections on their blog, and selling items in their shops to help raise money for Ron. They are encouraging donations of shoes, clothing, cat food, and Trac phone replenishment in addition to sending money to Ron. If you don't want to stuff money in an envelope, you can donate securely on their blog, and your name will be added to a secure spreadsheet.

This is just one fundraiser that the team hopes to raise their goal. How ironic that all of this will be for someone they've never even met. One of the motto's on their group is "We encourage random acts of Kindness." This possibly speaks to the kindness of the type of people who sell their wares on Etsy.

Etsy is a handmade marketplace that allows it's sellers to sell their handmade wares, vintage items over 20 years old, or art and crafting supplies. Within Etsy, Teams of like minded shops have formed together for causes, or for location. The Etsy Recyclers is a small global group of shops, teetering somewhere under 160 stores strong who was upcycled themselves in December 2009. Etsy currently has over 1600 active teams on Etsy. These range from people who went to the same college, live in the same area, enjoy the same craft, believe in the same religion, or just want to have fun and network.