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This holiday season we are launching Gifts of Hope. It’s simple. There are five ways to help Hope for Hearts provide an education and a hand-up to an orphaned child.

Cheers to Life

Raise a glass and toast education. One Hope Wine offers charities a way to fundraise through hosting an online ‘party’ for Hope for Hearts, and we receive 10 percent of the orders. Email me at donations@hope4hearts.org and I will connect you with our fabulous cause entrepreneur, Danielle.

To order some vino or bubbles for the holidays, we currently have a party set up here. I recommend the etched sparkling wine options for all occasion gifting including birthday, wedding / engagement, new home and fun holiday bottles. You don’t have to join the wine club to order, shipping is only $10 and bulk orders save with 10 percent on 6-packs and 20 percent on 12-packs of wine. Cheers!

Foster a Future

Every day, children in Uganda struggle to survive. Every day, a young orphan fights for life’s basic necessities because they lack the skills needed to thrive through no fault of their own. This is where we step in. Hope for Hearts fosters and promotes the growth and development of hundreds of children year after year. The children who attend our schools have been left parentless. We take them in, and we provide an education and training program. By supporting Hope for Hearts, you can help us foster a future through donation, and that will give them an opportunity to educate up from poverty to prosperity. View our training programs, and foster a future through donation here.

Handmade Necklace

What if I could provide you with a great gift idea that spreads the love two-fold? Hope for Hearts sells handmade necklaces that make a perfect gift for the philanthropic person in your life. From friends and family to teachers, to your book club gift exchanges, our paper necklaces make a big impact. Every purchase not only provides a gift to the recipient, but also gives the gift of opportunity and education to an orphan in Uganda. The recipient is bound to love it even more knowing that the purchase went to a great cause. View our inventory here.

AmazonSmile

Every little bit is a blessing. If you are a shopper at Amazon and have not signed up to shop through AmazonSmile, you are missing an easy way to support our mission. I had one donor reach out with her stats of 218 orders totaling $87.45 in donations. That may not seem like a lot, but if four more people signed up, and another four, and another…the group action raises the donation vibrations. So, with the holiday season approaching, consider activating support in the Amazon Shopping app or smile.amazon.com. We are listed under our first school, Saint Elizabeth Girl’s Academy Foundation. Click here for more details.

Hope for Hearts is a charity I started many moons ago. The girls are resilient. They have overcome many obstacles, yet keep going and making a path for themselves. I could say the same for myself. I started Graceful Spaces to help others own their life. The fifth gift of hope can help you and our girls.

Coach Cristen Lyn – Graceful Spaces, a Health and Lifestyle Balancing Company

As your coach, I provide a private safe space without judgment, along with the tools to start leading the abundant life you deserve. Book a session with me and I will donate 10 percent back for every new client booking by December 31, 2021. We will explore what it takes for you to THRIVE and UP LEVEL – mind, body and spirit. Together we develop strategies to navigate daily life, and achieve your goals. We do this with our girls. The best part, you and I will have fun strategizing how you can own and live your best life! Book here.

I am so blessed to have you all in my life. Your support provides kindness and love. It’s a beautiful gift of hope.

From my family to yours, cheers!
Cristen Lyn

My backyard is a lush magical place (think Narnia) that I have created as a Feng Shui consultant to be my own special paradise. I spend time out there every day! As I sit, sip and reflect this week my thoughts are with the girls in Uganda. This past week – 10 years ago – I met the children at St. Elizabeth Girls Academy for the first time.  ♥

Oh my, I blinked and 10 years went by. It seems like yesterday, I laid eyes on their smiling faces. My heart sang and parts of me began to heal. When I heard their stories and toured the slums, I hurt. Children were housed in unbearably cramped quarters, no clean water, crumbs for food, rags for clothes that barely fit and no parents to help them. But knowing that we could offer them a place to smile, have fun and be a kid again along with an education to support themselves for the rest of their life kept me going. During my stay, I cried, I laughed, I learned new things and I drew inspiration. I held a baby girl. I held a baby goat. I hugged a graduate of our training program.

The moment I boarded the plane for my return home, I left my heart in Uganda. The country may be facing a lot of societal and political issues; but underneath all of the turmoil is a country of beautiful souls. 

It doesn’t matter what’s against you when you know what’s within you. ♥

The children in our schools did not choose to be born into poverty or see their parents die to illness, civil war etc…Yet, they still have smiling faces and a deep drive to better their lives. They work hard every day to change their life outcome. Our schools provide a chance to lift a child from poverty to prosperity. Their smiles of resiliency melt my heart, and inspire me to continue my path with Hope for Hearts. They have overcome many obstacles, yet keep going and making a path for themselves. They know what’s within them.

Every time we train and educate another youth, we gift them and everyone they touch in their life hope. The memories and smiles from that first trip will last a lifetime. I would not even be in my back yard happy place reflecting on this joyous path without your donations, words of encouragement and support. I can’t ever thank you enough for truly making the difference between life and death for our kids and helping them thrive for a lifetime! 
 
Hugs and Love
Cristen Lyn

I would love your support.

This year is ten years since I traveled to Uganda. Ten years ago something changed me. I meet my Ugandan family, the children in the orphanage at St. Elizabeth Girls Academy. When I laid eyes on their smiling faces my heart sang and parts of me began to heal. When I heard their stories and toured the slums, I hurt.

It’s easy to get so absorbed in our own world that we completely miss the way the rest of the world lives. But what I am going to say next is reality: your normal isn’t the world’s normal, and the greatest failure is that we believe that it is. That is why I continue to share theses beautiful children and their stories of hope. Every time we train and educate another youth, we gift them and everyone they touch in their life hope.

I want you to have a safe and happy July 4th with your loved ones.

AND YES, I would burst, sparkle and shine just like a firecracker with your support because they need your your support. Donate and sponsor a child/teens education goals.

One memory that always stays with me from my travels to Uganda, the teens at St. Elizabeth’s Girls Academy. They were so cheerful and grateful. They were blessed to have a roof over their heads. They no longer had to sleep on the streets, and were receiving vocational training so they never have to go back to the streets.

I absolutely loved seeing the girls take daily prayer and moments of silent reflection. Besides founding Hope for Hearts, I opened Graceful Spaces to help people with strategies to navigate their daily lives. I provide one-on-one plans of action for people who want to see a new side of themselves, just like our girls.

One of the areas I cover is meditation to creating space. It’s a tool for growth. Meditation should be the top priority in your mental health routine. It quiets the busy highway called our mind. Meditation teaches us to detach from the mind and tap into the stillness that lies beneath all those busy thoughts.

Meditation

1. Reduces stress
2. Controls anxiety
3. Enhances self-awareness
4. Lengthens attention span
5. Can generate kindness (my favorite benefit!)

Friday, May 21 is World Meditation Day and I challenge you to start a meditation practice or like our girls, quiet time to sit in silent reflection. I challenge you to 10 days so you can build a sustainable routine.

Are you new to meditation? Start with five minutes and gradually up the time by one minute each day. On day 11 you have a 15-minute practice goal to maintain. You might say “Oh, Cristen Lyn I don’t even have 15 minutes in my schedule. YES, YOU DO! Those 15 minutes will come back threefold in your daily productivity (see bullet # 4 above).

Do you prefer guided meditation?

If you have a hard time with quiet thought meditation, a great alternative is guided meditation. You will receive my guided meditation Healing Limiting Beliefs, Emotions and Programs for free when you sign up for my newsletter (no spam only good stuff two times a month). If you already downloaded it once and would like another copy, email me.

Meditation Tips

Create a space.

• A quiet, welcoming room
• A cushion or a bolster to sit on

Bring in comfort.

• Wear clothes that make you feel at ease
• Keep a blanket near if you feel chilly
• Have a cup of tea or water by your side

Time to check in with yourself.

• Pick a time to meditate, and stick to that time daily
• Go into your meditation practice without expectations
• Take a couple of moments to wind down and clear your mind
• Start with a few deep breaths to calm the body
• Don’t stop or judge your thoughts, simply observe

I would love nothing more than to have you blaze a path to peace of mind. I will leave you with one final thought. You will improve your focus with time. The important thing is to become aware of when you have been distracted and train your mind to come back to the breath again and again.

Happy meditating,
Cristen Lyn

P.S. If you would like to sponsor a girl for one year click here. $20 a month provides her with the tools to learn a vocational trade and support herself when it’s time to leave the orphanage and blaze her own path.

Let’s talk about nourishment for the soul. Children need plenty of good fresh food to nourish them, but time taken to help their mental wellbeing is a must.

The nuns, teachers and caretakers do everything they can to nourish and protect the children who attend our schools. They come to us after living on the street where they have been abused, prostituted, and begging for food and shelter. The parents have died, abused them or simply left them.

We know nourish your body and it will grow. But, nourishing your soul opens a whole new world of potential. First, one must love themselves unconditionally and wholeheartedly to do this. The children in our schools are provided daily therapeutic support. As they enter our care, we begin to nourish them through a series of socialization and trauma processing programs. This continues throughout their time with us. They’ve been steeped in the dark gloom, and we provide the tools for them to catch a glimpse of light, providing the nourishment to transform their lives.

Often, the children just want to feel as though they are being heard and that they are loved, no matter what. We provide them with a safe space without judgment. There are systems in place to nourish the children as they bloom and grow year after year.

Equally as important, we shift children into the proper education program. In order to find a path to survive on their own, the teens typically move into one of the vocational training programs offered. The younger children are sent to school and eventually the university or into a vocational program.

By the end of their time with us, the children display confidence and the willingness to lead an independent life. Letting them know they matter is the upmost importance. We give every last child what they deserve: a chance to shine.

Father Mugagga visited the children in Uganda in March and reports that even in this pandemic, the children are fairing well with their mental health. We thank our on-site team for being there to nourish the children that remained in our care.

Won’t you help us nourish a child today? Sponsor a child for $20 a month, and you will help them discover the spirit, courage and strength in life to prosper.

Nothing makes me smile more when I see their small steps lead to larger steps, and eventually emotional resilience and happiness.

With a loving and nourished heart,
Cristen Lyn