giving back

cupid strikes again

January 18, 2013
By

We are happy to be partnering with Children’s Hospital of Michigan again for our 4th annual Valentine Card Campaign.

dmc valentines

So we invite you to put your crafty hat on & whip up some sweet sentiments for kids who could use a smile on February 14th.

We’ll be collecting your handcrafted cards at our Berkley & Rochester locations until February 8.  And if you don’t live near by and want to participate, please send your cards to: catching fireflies 3117 W 12 Mile Berkley, MI 48072.

A note from The Children’s Hospital:

When making your cards, please consider not signing the cards so family members and/or staff could personalize the cards themselves and give them to the patients. It means more to the patients to receive a card from someone familiar vs. a stranger. The patients also like to be able to give cards to their family members or the nurses and staff caring for them.

Also if you could avoid messages like “Get Well” or “Feel Better Soon,”  as well as anything with a religious connotation. Some of the patients here, unfortunately, have life long illnesses like cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, etc. that they won’t necessarily be “getting well.” We service so many different cultures and religions that we try not to offend any of our patients/customers.

dmc valentines

As a thank you for bringing in 3 or more cards, we’ll give you 10% off your purchase that day.  We may not be doctors or nurses, but we can still prescribe the best medicine around… LOVE.

Thanks again for helping us spread JOY & LOVE to those in our community!

letting our light shine

January 8, 2013
By

I know the new year is all about making resolutions for the future, but I like to take this time to look back.  I’ve never been a big resolution or goal gal, but one thing I strive to do is live with intention.  In recent years, I’ve looked for ways catching fireflies could make days brighter for those outside of our store doors and with your help we really shined in 2012.

handmade valentine cards

 

1,100 handmade Valentine cards were delivered to kids who had to spend February 14th at DMC.

Over $1,200 of our Rochester & Berkley birthday sales went to The Pink Fund & Cass Community… two great non-profits who are making tangible differences in our city.

school supply drive

Loads of school supplies helped local kids in need get a smart start to the school year!

For our holiday open house, we collected many pounds of food for families in Oakland County who need a little help filling their pantry.

ddr drive

 

Gus could hardly believe his ears when we piled up all the donations to Detroit Dog Rescue!  Plus we also gave DDR a $1000 check since we gained 1000 facebook fans during Adopt a Shelter Dog Month.

During the holidays we wrapped oodles of packages for our firefly fans and were able to collect over $1,100 in tips for the THAW fund.

mudlove and charity water

In the spring we started selling these handmade mudlove bracelets and donated $4 from every one to charitywater.org.   I’m thrilled to say we’ve given over $1500 to them which means 75 more people have been blessed with clean water this year!

Thanks again for partnering with us in these great projects.  We look forward to adding new non-profits to this list in 2013!

making days brighter for dogs in detroit

October 1, 2012
By

We’re big animal lovers at catching fireflies so in celebration of Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, we’re partnering with Detroit Dog Rescue to raise money & collect supplies for the many dogs in our city that need forever homes.  Detroit Dog Rescue is focused on raising awareness for the plight of the forgotten, homeless and stray dogs of Detroit.

There are more than 50,000 homeless and stray dogs running loose on the streets of Detroit. With only twenty-three City of Detroit Animal Control Officers to perform rescue operations, nearly 90% of dogs picked up by the city are euthanized. With limited resources and funding allocations to humane animal rescue operations, Detroit Dog Rescue is a small group of highly committed individuals dedicated to help make a difference in the city, one dog at a time.

We’re invite you to help us make days brighter for our four legged friends a couple different ways.

First, you can help us spread the word that we’re donating a dollar for every new  facebook like we get in the month of October to Detroit Dog Rescue.   Our goal is to get 2,000 likes so we can write a check for $2,000 that will go to helping DDR build a state-of-the-art no kill animal shelter in Detroit.

Our rescued Basset Hound, Gus is already on the job spreading the word.  You can help him out by clicking some of those social share buttons at the bottom of this post too!

Second, we’re also collecting supplies at our Berkley & Rochester locations all month long.  DDR’s wish list includes: dog food, used towels, paper towels, used blankets, large dog bowls, durable dog toys, chewy dog treats, gas cards, large dog collars and leashes

And when you bring in 5 or more supplies, we’ll even throw in this great sign with any purchase.

Like to see how you can help us make days brighter for those in need? Stay in the loop by signing up to receive these inspiring updates in your email inbox!

mudlove bracelets make a difference

September 20, 2012
By

Earlier this year Steve & I read a powerful book by Richard Stearns, president of World Vision titled Hole in our Gospel.  After soaking in his story & incredible experiences it’s hard not to be challenged by his call to action.  Of course it’s easy to get charged up and write a check to make a difference, but the hard part is continuing to live with intention.

One way I try to keep things in perspective is by wearing this handmade bracelet by a very cool company called Mudlove.  I chose this word to remind me that I’m anchored to part of a much larger story.  The cool thing about Mudlove is they have loads of words to choose from & can create custom bracelets too.  Plus they donate a percentage of their sales to help bring clean water to the Central African Republic.

This inspired me to bring these bracelets to catching fireflies and donate 100% of the profits from them to charity water.  This organization is amazing on so many levels (love their birthday pledge campaign) and the founder’s story is definitely worth a read.

So far we’ve sold 210 of these bracelets which means we’ve given charity water $840 so 42 more people can have access to clean water!

I must admit when I first came up with this plan, I felt it wasn’t that big of a deal… just another ‘buy this for charity‘ promotion…. another drop in the bucket.  But as I’m writing this today I’m reminded that drops add up and before you know it the pail is full and ready to be a blessing to someone who is thirsty.

You can purchase select Mudlove bracelets online and find even more styles at our Berkley & Rochester locations.

Thank you for partnering with us to make days brighter for people far beyond our store doors.

help us choose our birthday charity

August 26, 2012
By

We’re looking to celebrate 12 years of making days brighter at our Berkley store this fall.  Because of our birthday, we’ll be offering 20% off EVERYTHING at both our locations and online Saturday, September 22 + donating 7% of all our sales that day to a Detroit charity. There are so many fantastic non-profits making a difference in our city, it’s hard to choose just one.

So we need your help! We’ve selected 3 charities and would love for you to vote for your pick.

Alternatives For Girls delivers three key services to homeless and high-risk girls and young women: AFG Prevention; the AFG Shelter and Transition to Independent Living  Program; and AFG Outreach.  AFG programming is designed to address both the immediate and long-term needs of the young women we serve, empower them to seek and make positive choices, and affect lasting and meaningful change in their lives.

The Pink Fund has been formed to help women and men suffering from breast cancer focus on healing, raising their families and returning to the workplace. The Pink Fund will provide short-term financial aid during the brief period of active treatment and recovery.

“Wish I knew who said, “When Life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” The Pink Fund is the lemonade I made, only, in pink, of course, when I learned I had breast cancer.”  – Molly MacDonald, 7 Year SurThrivor & founder

Camp Casey is a 501c3 nonprofit horseback riding program for children with cancer headquartered in Michigan. Through generous donations and amazing volunteers, Camp Casey has spread the healing power of horses for over eight years.

We’re looking forward to blessing one of these amazing groups this September.  And don’t you agree… it’s soooo hard to choose!  Help us decide with your vote below.  Thank YOU for helping us make days brighter for those in our community.

Voting ends September 9, 2012

Online Surveys & Market Research


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choose our birthday charity

February 12, 2012
By

Can you believe our Rochester location will be 6 spankin’ years old this March? To celebrate we’ll be offering 20% off EVERYTHING at both our locations on Saturday, March 10 + donating 7% of all our sales that day to a Detroit charity. There are so many fantastic non-profits making a difference in our city, it’s hard to choose just one.

So we need your help! We’ve selected 3 charities and would love for you to vote for your pick.

The Focus:Hope mission: Recognizing the dignity and beauty of every person, we pledge intelligent and practical action to overcome racism, poverty and injustice. And to build a metropolitan community where all people may live in freedom, harmony, trust and affection. Black and white, yellow, brown and red from Detroit and its suburbs of every economic status, national origin and religious persuasion we join in this covenant.

They’re changing Detroit by educating for the future, transforming communities & fighting hunger.

The Detroit Free Press Summer Dreams program is all about one thing: helping kids. Helping kids make new friends, learn new skills, dream new dreams and enjoy a summer they will always remember, no matter where life takes them.  These programs provide hope, change lives and grow character. This is your chance to make a difference in a child’s life.

For more than 19 years, the readers of the Detroit Free Press have supported metro Detroit camps with donations to Summer Dreams. The 53 camps benefiting from this year’s program serve more than 20,000 children, 57% of whom are minorities. Of the camps, 36 serve children of low-income families, 14 serve children from middle- and low-income families and three serve children of all economic backgrounds.

Cass Community Social Services is dedicated to making a profound difference in the diverse populations it serves by providing for basic needs, including affordable housing, promoting self reliance and encouraging community inclusion and improvement.

Some of the many creative ways they’re fighting poverty & creating opportunity is through green industries & micro-enterprises.

We’re looking forward to blessing one of these amazing groups this March.  And don’t you agree… it’s soooo hard to choose!  Help us decide with your vote below.  Thank YOU for helping us make days brighter for those in our community.

Like to see how we’re making days brighter? Stay in the loop by signing up to receive these inspiring updates in your email inbox!

volumes of valentines!

February 11, 2012
By

I spent my Saturday afternoon sorting & organizing hundreds of your creative Valentine cards that will be traveling to Children’s Hospital of Michigan on Monday.  This is our 3rd year playing cupid & I’m always impressed with your crafty talent.

Ever wondered what 1,100 Valentine cards look like?  And this isn’t even all of them!  No doubt the kids are going to be showered with love all day long on Tuesday.

I couldn’t help to share some of my favorites with you…

There are LOTS of way to say ‘I love you’.  Can’t help to be  a bit partial to the basset hound in the beret sticker ;-)

Awwwe… look at those fun love bugs.  Plus this gets the GINORMOUS CARD award!

Thank YOU Thank YOU Thank  YOU for helping us make this Valentine’s Day one to remember for kids that could really use a smile.  We have the best firefly fans and they have definitely mastered the art of sharing some serious love.  You make us PROUD!

Like to see how we’re making days brighter? Stay in the loop by signing up to receive these inspiring updates in your email inbox!

Rochester Post Feature 2.1.12

February 5, 2012
By

Handmade valentines spread joy to sick kids

Catching Fireflies collects cards from the public through Feb. 12

By Mary Beth Almond
C & G Staff Writer

ROCHESTER — As a child, April McCrumb loved getting out her construction paper, scissors, doilies, glue and crayons to make homemade valentines for family and friends.

Now the owner of Catching Fireflies gift shop in Rochester and Berkley, McCrumb still loves to use her creativity to craft valentines for those in need of a smile.

For the second year in a row, Catching Fireflies — at 203 E. University Drive in Rochester and 3117 W. 12 Mile Road in Berkley — is collecting blank handmade Valentine’s Day cards, which will be delivered to sick children at DMC Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

“I grew up loving to make valentines. … They are a fun way to spread love, so I thought it would be fun to encourage our customers — adults and kids alike — to get out their scissors, construction paper, and make some old-school valentines to help bring a smile to kids who really could use it, because who wants to be at a hospital on Valentine’s Day?” McCrumb said.

Last year, approximately 1,500 valentines were collected and donated, and McCrumb hopes to collect even more this year.

Catching Fireflies is asking the public to get involved by donating a blank handmade card or two through Feb. 12.

Deanna Scanlon, child life projects specialist at DMC Children’s Hospital, said the blank cards are made available to all staff and the children at the hospital Feb. 14.

“The staff sign the cards, and if they have any interaction with the children on Valentine’s Day, then they can give them a card. It’s really kind of neat because it gets the staff involved, and the kids are getting personalized cards from the staff members and people that they know and are involved in their care,” she said. “We also give the children these blank cards so they can sign them and give them to the staff.”

The project really has a big impact on the staff and the kids, Scanlon said, especially those in the cardiology unit.

“It does really make a big difference to the kids that are in the hospital because it normalizes hospitalization and brings something familiar to them that they can do on Valentine’s Day that they would be doing at school,” she added.

As a thank you to those who bring in three or more handcrafted cards and make a purchase, Catching Fireflies will offer a “joyful heart” necklace.

“To sweeten the deal and make it a little more fun, we have these lovely little necklaces that are handmade by an artist out in California. They are really simple. They have the shape of a heart and they have a little word, ‘joy.’ Joy comes from giving to people, so it’s just a nice little token to remember that they are spreading joy by taking time out and making a lovely valentine,” McCrumb said.

Scanlon said the Valentine’s Day project, which is one of her favorites, wouldn’t be possible without support from the community.

“We wouldn’t be able to do something like this without Catching Fireflies and support from the community because we’re a 228 bed hospital — that’s a lot of kids that could potentially be here on Valentine’s Day,” she said.

wanna help us play cupid?

January 19, 2012
By

It’s that time of year again where we like to share some love by giving Valentine cards to the kids at The Children’s Hospital of Michigan.  So we invite you to put your crafty hat on & whip up some sweet sentiments for kids who could use a smile on February 14th.

Here’s a few clever card ideas we found that were TOADally awesome…

Print these quirky cards at Crap I Made

Buy a book of Mad Libs & tear out sheets for these very funny cards ~from Family Fun

Like to play with clay?  How about these salt dough hearts from The Long Thread?

Google eyes always makes things more fun don’t they? ~from Family Fun

Hey matie… aren’t these some grrrreat cards? ~print them at mer mag

Pretty pencil toppers from Alpha Mom

Whooo do you love? ~from Family Fun

Valentine cards from the hardware store?  Who knew paint samples could make such brilliant bookmarks?! ~from Lu Bird Baby


And for those of you who like to color, you can print this cheerful coloring sheet HERE  (if link doesn’t automatically open try hitting the refresh button)

We’ll be collecting and displaying your handcrafted cards at our Berkley & Rochester locations until February 12.  And if you don’t live near by and want to participate, please send your cards to: catching fireflies 3117 W 12 Mile Berkley, MI 48072.

A note from The Children’s Hospital:

When making your cards, please consider not signing the cards so family members and/or staff could personalize the cards themselves and give them to the patients. It means more to the patients to receive a card from someone familiar vs. a stranger. The patients also like to be able to give cards to their family members or the nurses and staff caring for them.

Also if you could avoid messages like “Get Well” or “Feel Better Soon,”  as well as anything with a religious connotation. Some of the patients here, unfortunately, have life long illnesses like cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, etc. that they won’t necessarily be “getting well.” We service so many different cultures and religions that we try not to offend any of our patients/customers.

As a thank you for bringing or sending in 3 or more cards, we’ll give you this joyful heart necklace with any purchase to thank you for helping us send smiles to kids who aren’t feeling too well.  We may not be doctors or nurses, but we can still prescribe the best medicine around… LOVE.

Thanks again for helping us spread JOY & LOVE to those in our community!

(for online orders, please mention your participation in this project so we can include the free sign in your shipment.) *1 free necklace per family

Like seeing what we’ve been up to at catching fireflies? Stay in the loop by signing up to receive these happy posts in your email inbox!

planting seeds of happiness

January 5, 2012
By

Come January, I always feel a bit overwhelmed.

Things floating around in my head at the moment… the need to create a new & exciting 2012 event schedule for catching fireflies & yellow door, selecting new artists moving into yellow door next month, creating a new a.i. paper design trade show display for the New York Gift Show, launching 50 new a.i. paper design goods on the web & in the studio, get the wheels rolling again for the 11th Annual Berkley Art Bash, finding fresh & new goods for catching fireflies, creating new & interesting facebook material & blog entries.

New, new, new, new, new… isn’t that how the world seems to work?

I needed to hit pause on the ‘new’ & take some time to embrace the old.

What seeds of happiness have we planted in 2011?  How have we made days brighter?  I’m not big on resolutions but this is one challenge I continue to strive for every year.  After trolling through our facebook photo albums & past blog entries, turns out we are farmers of joy.

Our managers, Danielle & Dena & web diva, Stephanie are smile experts.  Their humor & joy keeps our whimsical world a very happy place.

With your help we were able to give loads of Valentine cards to kids who spent the day at the hospital.

Child Life Projects Specialist, Deanna Scanlon shared, “Just wanted to let you know that Valentine’s Day here at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan was a HUGE success! Thank you so much! We have managed to give away most of the cards so far! So many patients, families and the staff had made positive comments! It’s just awesome!  It would not have been possible without your efforts! You are truly appreciated! Happy Valentine’s day to you!”

Our Rochester location celebrated it’s 5th birthday by offering sweet discounts & donating a portion of the proceeds to Care House.

We love selling whimsical wares, however giving them away to our firefly fans is even more fun!

Our Berkley store cat has her own fan club & is very fond of pets & compliments.

Knowing that Detroiters love our little shops makes us very~very happy & also encourages us to strive to earn that awesome title next year.

Lots of kids got snazzy new back packs, pencils, crayons, notebooks & more because or your generosity.

Our Berkley location celebrated it’s 11th birthday by offering sweet discounts & donating a portion of the proceeds to Camp Casey.

We gained over 600 new animal loving facebook fans & collected goods for our furry friends at Almost Home Animal Rescue.

Crazy good times for gals & guys who like Twilight, margarita cup cakes, Halloween & festive German-style Christmas markets.

Because of your generosity, families in Oakland county had food in their pantry.

We wrapped a LOT of gifts this December & were thrilled with the donation we can give to THAW this January.

Plus we gave out 36 gift card books valued at $60 each to local non-profits & schools to be auctioned for fundraisers.

Thank YOU firefly fans for helping us plant these seeds.  They’re all small things, just like flowers… but when grouped together, don’t they make our world a stunning & beautiful place to live?

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hello there

April McCrumb

I'm April McCrumb ~ a creative gal from Michigan that loves to share clever gift ideas, simple recipes, my favorite tunes & all things crafty.  Thanks for stopping by my whimsical world. I hope you enjoy your visit.

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