#AftonStrong for the Malala Fund

Some days it's the day for a blog post with more sheepy pictures...and some days it's the day for a blog post about something else.

Yesterday the world lost a strong, beautiful, courageous young woman named Afton Wallace. Her story can be found on Facebook, as well as in the Huffington Post:

aftonwallacemymissionisremission

Life Lessons I Learned from #AftonStrong

Once I learned that Afton's treatments were no longer working, I decided I wanted to do a t-shirt fundraiser through Booster by Custom Ink. Having done fundraisers for Lumos through Booster in the past, I knew they would do a tremendous job in helping me set this up. Initially I thought about having the funds go to a cancer research charity, but a dear friend of mine reminded me of how important education was to Afton - how her goal was to live long enough to graduate from high school, and she did it with honors, despite a harrowing year of pain and illness and countless chemotherapy and radiation treatments (Afton passed away two days after her commencement). Her suggestion was the Malala Fund, and after the loss of Afton yesterday, I realized that this was the perfect way to honor the memory of this lovely girl:

The Malala Fund

Both of these ladies are and were fighters - both of them cared tremendously for the value of education and hard work - I think supporting the Malala Fund's efforts to make sure every girl in the world can receive an education in Afton's memory is the perfect fit.

If you are able, I hope you will consider ordering a Blaine Fleece and Fiber t-shirt - all funds raised will go to the Malala Fund.  Ordering shirts is easy through Booster:

BFFs are #AftonStrong for Malala

Blaine Fleece and Fiber is the name I have given my fledgling fiber farm, and I've referred to it as "a fiber farm with a heart." I want that to mean something - I want to try to help the world be a better place, even if it is just one t-shirt at a time. I know that my sheep would approve, and I appreciate you reading this so very much!

**NOTE** - Unfortunately, the fundraiser was not a success - after meeting the printing minimum of 23 shirts (15 of those were purchased myself), we had only raised a little over $9.00 for the Malala Fund. I'll give this another try in the future - thanks for your understanding!