I’m currently writing this blog post on the eve of my 26th birthday, and to be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever dreaded a birthday. It’s not because I feel like I’m getting old, or because I don’t want all the fuss.
It’s because it’s my first birthday I’ve ever had without my brother, Hunter.
I remember on my birthday last year, I was lounging on a roll-out bed next to him in his hospital room. We had spent the whole day transferring him from the hospital in St.Louis (where he had been receiving treatment) to the hospital back in our hometown. I had doughnuts instead of cake, and we spent the evening watching Spongebob reruns.
That might sound like a pretty lame birthday to some people, but I would trade any celebration in the world to go back to that night.
(Hunter & I on my birthday, 2017)
Maybe one day I’ll write another, more lengthy blog post about Hunter’s many health battles, medical history, and what a hero he was to so many. But for this post, I’m going to try to stay as focused as I can on this wild idea I came up with to honor him this year.
So for now, I’ll simply tell you this about my brother: He overcame more odds in his 27 years on this earth than most people could even imagine. Everyone who knew him smiles and laughs when they think of him. Anything good that I do stems from something he taught me. He is my purpose and my home.
Okay, now I have to tell you about this crazy idea that I came up with just a few weeks ago.
Like most big ideas, it came to me late at night while I was tossing and turning in bed.
It was the night of June 4th, and it had just dawned on me that the one year anniversary of Hunter’s passing was just a month away (4th of July). So many questions were running through my mind like, “How could it have possibly been a year already?” and “What have I been doing for a whole year?”. With my birthday also quickly approaching, I knew I couldn’t just sit back and let these two hard dates pass by without acknowledging them.
I’m not sure if anyone else reading can relate to this, but for whatever reason, distraction and diversion are a bit of a coping mechanism for me. Meaning, for example, if a tragedy or something bad happens to me, I automatically want to plan a birthday party for a friend, or cook a big dinner for someone that’s sick, or in this case…plan a wild, month-long fundraiser!
So, although this is a fundraiser for an awesome charity, it’s honestly a selfish act of distraction for myself during this tough month.
Now that I’ve explained a little bit about where this idea came from, let me dive into how it’s going to work!
I really wanted to come up with a fundraiser that would be unique, different, and fun for everyone involved. I wanted people to get something in return if they chose to participate (besides just a warm fuzzy feeling, of course).
After brainstorming several different paths, I came to the conclusion that I should play to my strengths, and just do what I do with clients every week, but on a bigger scale! As a personal shopper and stylist, it’s part of my job to find pieces that my clients love and get a ton of use out of. So, how to I scale up personal shopping?
That’s where the LiketoKnow.it app comes into play!
I have a profile on an app called LiketoKnow.it, and if you don’t know what LiketoKnow.it is by now, then you need to play catch up! Basically, this free app is an easy way to shop looks or products that I post on Instagram. If you buy something that I post through the LiketoKnow.it app, I make a small commission from that purchase.
So, for the next month, I’m going to be posting a TON of my favorite products through the LiketoKnow.it app- I’m going to make it my job to find something for everyone to love!
I’ll be posting my current favorite fashion deals, home decor items, pantry staples that I use everyday, must-have beauty products, closet organization items… you get the idea! Basically, I’m going to try and put my personal shopping services out there for everyone, in hopes that people will want to shop and buy what I post. This campaign kicks off on my birthday, June 21st, and ends on July 21st. I’m calling it LiketoKnowaCure.
All the commission I earn during this month of mega-posting will be donated to the Sarcoma Foundation of America.
Sarcoma is the rare type of cancer that my brother had; it effects about 1% of adult cancer patients, but is fairly prevalent in children cancer patients (about 20%). I chose the Sarcoma Foundation of America as my charity of choice for this campaign because they not only support and educate patients, but they also raise funds for important research. When it comes to rare diseases, research funding is what we need more of if we want to find better treatments and outcomes for patients. I’ll link the foundation’s website here if you want to learn more.
Wanna hear something really exciting about this campaign?
I reached out to other bloggers/influencers who’s style inspires me, and I’m so grateful that they’ve wanted to get involved! There will be some awesome “guest posts” from some of my favorite bloggers, and they’ll be sharing some of their favorite products on my LiketoKnow.it profile to contribute to this fundraiser. I can’t wait to see what they pick out, and I know I’ll be shopping off of those posts!
Don’t have or use the LiketoKnow.it app? No worries!
There’s still a couple ways you can shop and support the campaign!
All the products that I link on my blog posts for the next month will be clickable and shoppable! So, if you see something on a blog post that you like- simply click on it, purchase it, a percentage of that purchase will go to the fundraiser. It’s like online shopping that you can feel really good about!
I’ll also have a GoFundMe page up and running for this campaign, just in case you want to give more than what you’re purchase’s percentage equates to (it’s normally around 5%, by the way)!
So, here we go!
Let’s get this fundraising-party started!
If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email or direct message on Instragram. My handle for both Instagram and LiketoKnow.it is @carsonmlove.
Also, be sure to check out the video I posted to my Instagram feed- it explains the fundraiser in about 60 seconds. Share it with your mama, your friends, or anyone that you think might be interested in this campaign!
I want to give a special thank you to Jessica Amerson who filmed and produced that video, and Hannah Kik who is my amazing photographer throughout this journey.
Let’s do this,
Carson
