how if you're looking for something nice to do for the holidays, here's something worthwhile

my friend stacie has started a humanitarian cause called "the see and sprout project". she just landed in thailand, and is already doing her magic.

in case you're too lazy to click through, here's what it's about:

The See and Sprout Project is a creative collective, international exchange art workshop launched by Stacie Krajchir for youth in Khao Lak Thailand affected by the 2004 Asian tsunami.

Village children will be guided to create visual and written images about their feelings and perceptions about themselves, their family and their community and to explore ways of translating these feelings to people who live outside their community.

Photographs combined with stories, captions and personal journal entries will be edited into a group exhibition to share their experiences and explore the challenges they faced before the disaster, and continue to face in their daily lives.

The workshop includes children who have lost their family, friends, homes and community schools during the tsunami and beyond. How their lives are now and how they move forward having lost so much. We are launching our charter project at the incredible Baan Tham Namchai Orphanage which is a true honor.

Last year we painted classrooms, this year we are going to green a classroom... the paint will be eco-friendly as well as lighting and as many itty bitty other eco ideas I can fit in my suitcase!

there's more on the website about this, and you really should check it out. there are organizations feeding and housing people in need, and that's great. but what stacie is trying to do is to take their mind off things, doing something creative, putting smiles on faces. and, most of all, it's fun. and that's something great too.

it's too late to donate old digicameras, but they do need money to pay for printouts and shipping and all that. e-mail stacie@thebungalowpr.com for more information.