OVERVIEW:
Deadline/Shipment Date: December 10th.
Purpose: Make a stocking for a child in the Arctic.
Please submit to Contests & Projects>Events>Charitable Events>2007>Christmas Stockings
You can use one of these stocking templates: [link]
Project Coordinator: ^cooley




STOCKINGS FOR THE ARCTIC
This year we are proud to present a new kind of community project here on DeviantART: Stockings for the Arctic. This project is designed around the idea of giving. There are no contests, no awards, this is simply an opportunity to do something generous for the sake of others. Between now and December 10th, you all have an opportunity to create a stocking and fill it with treats for under-privileged children in the arctic circle.




WHERE IN THE ARCTIC?
For this project, we are concentrating on children in the Nana region of Alaska: [link] This is a relatively remote area with a small population. The largest of these villages is Kotzebue, with just over 3000 people. Kotzebue is our home-base, where we will be shipping all of our stockings and/or stocking stuffers. Our contact in Kotzebue is prepared to fly stockings via bush plane to smaller villages such as Kiana, Ambler, Shungnak, Noorvik, and Kobuk. The smallest of these villages is Kobuk, with a population of less than 150.




WHY THESE CHILDREN?
Unlike the rest of the United States, the arctic is rather desolate. There is no question that mother nature rules in this region. Supplies are very hard to come by and are expensive as well. Smaller villages are composed of nothing more than homes huddled around a sustenance hot-spot. There is only one type of store, the “Native Store,” which generally contains the essentials and by no means offers a variety of toys. The children here often live in poor conditions and rely on hand-me-down toys that have long past their expiration. By sending these stockings, we are reminding the people here that they are not forgotten, and that even in the darkest of times (winter in the Arctic sheds little sunlight), there is hope and happiness to spread.




WHO’S OUR CONTACT?
On December 10th stockings should be sent to the following address:

John and Terri Forrester
PO Box 795
Kotzebue, Alaska 99752
907-442-2680

John and Terri run the First Baptist Church of Kotzebue. Nothing can sum up his role in the arctic better than this biography: [link] We urge that you read this because not only will it offer insight on our contact, but also insight on the struggles the Inupiaq natives face on a daily basis.




STOCKING DETAILS

Here are a collection of different stocking templates: [link]

However, you have more than one option:
You may use the aforementioned template and create your own stocking.
You can create your own template and stocking from scratch.
You can buy a stocking from a local store and choose to decorate it.
You can choose to send supplies to fill the stockings.

Submit your stocking to "Contests & Projects>Events>Charitable Events."




STOCKING DO’S & DON’TS

DO make your stocking unique so that when it is given to a child they can treasure it.

DO feel free to make more than one stocking.

DO feel free to send stocking stuffers in place of a stocking, or consider filling your stocking before you ship it.

DO include a note to John expressing what you have sent. For example: “Dear John, These are a collection of Beanie Babies that we would like to give to you in order to fill some of the stockings. –Jane Doe.” In this way he knows what is in the package and why it was sent.

DO NOT send junk. There is very little room in the church of Kotzebue so they cannot store items unusable in the stockings.

DO NOT send clothes. It would be too difficult to organize stockings according to clothing size.

DO NOT send candy. Most children in these parts are already suffering from tooth decay and there are no dentists in the smaller villages. We also prefer you do not send any form of food b/c it can go bad. This is not a food-drive.

DO NOT send toys inappropriate for children between the ages of 5 and 10. Toys should be new and or safe/clean.

DO NOT send items of ethical question. If the item is not appropriate for your children, it is certainly not appropriate for someone else’s.



QUESTIONS?

If the links in the above menu are not of help to you, you may contact one of the following gallery directors:

If you have questions concerning John Forrester, the children, or how the stockings will be handled and what you should put in them, please contact ^cooley. She is project coordinator and also the anthro gallery director.

If your questions concern the creation process of your stocking, please contact ^dedredhed or ^Myana. These two are the artisan crafts gallery directors.

If your questions concern anthro-related themes, please contact ^skifi. He is also an anthro gallery director.


Thank you for your participation!
Please feel free to use this stamp by *sidh09 :

_Thanks!