Dear Friends,

Creative Girl and much of my work is offered using a gift economy philosophy… basically this means I let go of whether or not I personally make profit and trust that if what I bring is of value to my community together we will find a way. It’s not that I don’t need or use money, it’s that I am choosing to focus most of my energy on how I can contribute to children and creativity, without placing a specific financial requirement.

Creative Girl has been going for THREE years now and through our playshops and camps we have celebrated more than 30 girls! I do NOT do this alone. Using gift economy has led me to explore and invest in multiple alternative forms currency: I use my personal energy to solicit supply donations and discounts from companies, receive used supply donations, shop thrift stores, and upcycle as we can.

Instead of investing financially in marketing, I depend on friends who know me and what we are doing to spread the word. Many families gift financially, some are not in a position to. No girl is ever turned away. Our children are the ultimate currency: their creativity, self expression and unique spirits SHINE! I will never know the “value” of celebrating girls, except to say that what I experience with them and see in them is priceless and beautiful.

Next week we have our summer playshop in Raleigh. If you’re in a position to support this work for girls, I would be so grateful to receive any amount financial contribution towards the program, specifically you could be a PAINT sponsor, as we ran out of paint at our last playshop doing the above drum painting creation. We’d be so grateful…. we’ll even make you a surprise colorful gift to express our appreciation. 🙂 Paypal me creativegirlnet@gmail.com or email me for other ways.

We have ONE more opening, so if you know a girl in Raleigh, Wake Forest North Carolina, aged 9 to 14 please share our web site www.creativegirl.net

Thank you for reading and thank you so much for the countless ways you support me!

creatiful blessings,
❤ becky

p.s. I thinking about writing much more about gift economy here. In five years I’ve learned about what this means (at least to me) and would love your feedback and questions to help me articulate it better. What do you think?

p.p.s and yes, I smell the pungent irony that I’m writing about gift economy and asking for financial support. The fact is, running a business using the gift economy still finds me on a spectrum, and dependent on financial resources, but I must say I’ve learned how to use a powerful dollar with greater love, awareness and intention. ❤