SugarPea Designs: Card drive and fundraiser for NICU parents!

Hey guys! I have a very special post to share with you today. One of my design team colleagues at SugarPea Designs, Lea Lawson, has organized a Card Drive & Fundraiser in honor of her son, Layton Caleb. Layton came into this world 11 weeks early on June 9th, 2016 with 2 serious health conditions. He endured more medically on a daily basis than most adults face in an entire lifetime. And on November 17, 2016 he joined his big sister in Heaven.

Lea & her husband Josh were given those 5 months with Layton thanks to the level 4 NICU & amazing medical staff at The University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital. There are 50 beds in that NICU, and it is ALWAYS full. In honor of Layton's birthday, Lea is raising money to purchase substantial Starbucks gift cards that can be given to these parents as they find themselves thrust into NICU life.

Why Starbucks? There is one just across the street from the hospital, and Lea will tell you that some days you just need to step out of the hospital for a moment. Get a breath of fresh air, see some natural light & regroup.

Lea can only do so much as one person, but together we can accomplish SO much more! Plus - we are making it fun! We have a huge Card Drive blog hop going on in Layton's honor, with tons of amazing inspiration! We also have a fundraising effort, where every $5 donated gets you an entry into the prize drawing. There are over $2000 in prizes, sponsored by some of the most amazing stamping & papercrafting companies in the industry! {You can also see all the prizes HERE.}

WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

1. DONATE! - directly to Layton's Legacy YouCaring Fundraiser. For every $5 donated, you will be entered into the drawing for one of the prizes above!! All winners will be drawn from donations made thru the YouCaring Site. **Prizes will be drawn and announced on Lea's blog on Saturday, May 19th.**

2. SHARE! - We know that not everyone is able to donate, but sharing about the fundraiser gives it more visibility! Please feel free to share the YouCaring Link or Lea's post on all your social media outlets!

3. CREATE! - this is also a card drive, and if you'd like to create a card using the theme/moodboard below, we would love that!  Lea will be including these handmade treasures with the giftcards when she hand them over to the NICU social worker, and her dream is that the NICU will be covered in beautiful creations inspired by Layton!! Link them up HERE, and then please email Lea (lea@lealawsoncreates.com) to get the address for sending - and note that she will need them to arrive by May 31st.

HOW TO STAY UPDATED:

There are two ways to stay updated on the fundraising progress, and to see photos as Lea drop items off at the NICU.

1. Subscribe to the Lea Lawson Creates blog via email using the prompt in the upper right corner - then you will get email notifications when Lea adds a new post.

2. Follow Lea Lawson Creates on Instagram. She will add photos & videos to her IG Stories, and likely go LIVE a few times throughout the fundraising effort and as she drops everything off at the NICU!

Anything you can do can help a mom or dad thrust into NICU life feel like someone out there cares about them as they go through a time that is very scary and very hard. THANK YOU from the very bottom of our hearts for helping Lea do this!

BLOG HOP

Not only is this a fundraiser, but also a super inspiring blog hop with MANY stops along the way! As you hop along, you will see amazing cards created with a very special theme. Lea created this moodboard when she started planning Layton's nursery, and it is her very heart poured into a graphic.

So here is my card using SugarPea Designs products, inspired by all her joy, and beliefs in this world of ours. I'm truly grateful to be able to help someone out there feel a bit better.

I hope you hop along and donate, if you can!