How my Vistaprint business cards raise money for charity

It's time to order business cards from my favorite online store again. I have always managed to find the best prices at Vistaprint. They have a wide range of print options available. My favorite is a mountain scene with a flat finish. Gloss is also offered. You can have the back left blank or have a calendar or something else printed on the back.

Vistaprint Yard Sign for Hope for Healing.Org

Some of you may recall reading my previous article. If not, here's another vistaprint review that you may want to read.

There are two other great things about Visitaprint that people may not know. Among the other items that the carry are yard signs and banners. Whenever I set up a display or when I'm in the office at church I like to put the yard sign. This helps with our visibility and it lets others know that the church supports us.

The other point is (to me) the best thing going for Vistaprint. When you place an order through iGive a tiny portion of the proceeds automatically goes to the charity of your choice. In my case that means making a few extra pennies for Hope for Healing.Org.

Even the tiniest amount raised from orders that are placed online add up. The organization has raised over $300 so far and they are still going.

Nonprofits have to save money wherever they can. Ordering business cards, yard signs and even banners online help. If your order can raise money for your favorite charity there is no reason not to try it.  

Silsbee High School tries to force victim to pay legal fees

Silsbee High School in Texas should be ashamed of themselves. They want the parents of a sexual assault victim to pay for the school's legal fees.

It's in this ABC News report. Really, how ridiculous can you get? I thought this was 2011. Apparently folks, we have been transported right back into the stone age. Or at least it seems this way by the actions of Silsbee High School in Texas.

Student H.S. (name protected ) only wanted what a lot of high school students dream about. She wanted to help cheer her high school sports teams on to victory. Like most other high school students she worked hard academically and physically to stay on the cheerleading team and to prepare herself for college.

Becoming a rape victim could have destroyed that for her.  What was left of her life after the sexual assault seems to have been destroyed by the Silsbee High School and District in Texas. How did they do that? By trying to force the victim of sexual assault to cheer for the perpetrator when he continued his athletic life at Silsbee High School.


The report says that this perpetrator was indicted by a grand jury of felony sexual assault of a minor. He pleaded it down to a charge of misdemeanor assault sentenced to:

The news report says that school officials did the right thing by expelling the perpetrator after the indictment. He received a one-year suspended prison term and he gets to perform community service. Two years probation and a $2,500 fine are also part of his judicial system punishment. 


Oh yeah, and the Silsbee High School expelled him for awhile. When the perpetrator returned they let him back on the athletics team. Then they tried to force the victim he assaulted to continue to cheer for him, by name. 


Ah! But Silsbee High School didn't seem to be finished with the cheerleader. When she refused to cheer for the scumbag who assaulted her the school kicked her off of the cheerleading team. 


Her parents sued the school. They felt that the school's position violated their daughter's freedom of speech rights. Guess what the legal system did? They said that a cheerleader is only a mouthpiece for the school and sided with Silsbee High School. 


Yes, folks. Cheerleaders are required to be smart and keep their grades up to stay on the cheerleading team. Apparently, they aren't allowed to use those brains. 


You would think that officials at Silsbee High School would be happy with the messages they are sending. Shouldn't this have been enough for the school to heap upon the victim? Nope. 


In a final act of meanness, the school system has heaped more insult onto the victim and her family. They want her parents to pay thousands of dollars in the school's legal fees. By losing the battle to protect their daughter's freedom of speech it opened the parents up to having to pay. 


But wait, there's more. This online petition has more details. It's probably a good thing that I took my blood pressure medicine before reading and signing the petition.


This is one school system that I won't be cheering for. How about you?

Good news. Hope for Healing.Org has now gone print. This is their very first edition of the copyrighted Healing News Magazine. There aren't many pages to it yet. Future issues will definitely be thicker! This issue is pretty inexpensive too. They are using MagCloud to print the publication and it looks really good.

As you know, I am the founder and executive director of Hope for Healing.Org. As such, I had a lot of input into the creation of this magazine. The vision for the Healing News Magazine to no only speak to issues of healing but to also acknowledge the more common aspects of life.

Surviving sexual and domestic violence isn't the only thing that we face. At the end of the day we still have to cook, feed our families (or ourselves!), do the laundry and other mundane tasks. If we entertain we may want to decorate the house or use a new recipe. Getting tips and ideas for those things plus information on healing is what we need.

This issue of Healing News Magazine contains a poster of positive affirmations. It is suitable to cut out of the magazine and frame. Readers will also appreciate the information on domestic violence awareness month and  home decorating tips for fall.

Like I said, it's not the thickest magazine on rack but it is the first that is geared to the unique needs of survivors of sexual and domestic violence. As such, Healing News Magazine on MagCloud is worth a try.