Tag Archives: donation

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Toss the Bouquet Charity Event and Giveaway

Happy June, my friends!

June is the most popular month for weddings, and a celebrated wedding tradition is the tossing of the bouquet. The bride, overflowing with love and happiness, tosses her bouquet in a symbolic gesture of sharing her good fortune with others.

How blessed are we with our good fortune? Warm Bed. Hot meals. A safe home. Those who love us. … Freedom.

We are all the bride. (Men, if you can be the groom…if you insist.) 😉 This amazing life we live with loved ones and choices is our wedding celebration. {whispers} Yes I know, Uncle Ned is making a spectacle of himself on the dance floor, but oh…what great stories we’ll have to tell later. {nods} The budget nearly popped a seam, but we’ve been showered with gifts and we’re about to pay it forward…

Let’s all Toss the Bouquet this June. Join me in making a beautiful bouquet of the abundant blessings we have and toss it out to the world.

Our flowers will burst into millions of petals, raining love onto those who need it the most. Thoughts, prayers, dreams, and donations all transform into something wonderful for another…all because we tossed a bouquet filled with love.

Bouquet Toss

Toss the Bouquet Charity Event

The Toss the Bouquet Charity Event is to raise awareness and help support charities who fight against human trafficking, a pervasive worldwide tragedy that must be stopped. The problem is enormous. And it’s not “over there” … It’s everywhere.

How can you participate in Toss the Bouquet?

Donate any amount to any of the charities listed on the Charity Support and Awareness page from May 31st through June 15th, 2013. Some of the charities, like Not For Sale and International Princess Project, have stores where you can purchase products to support them. You can do that too!

During the event, I’ve also reduced the price of Kindle and paperback versions Utterly Loved. The romantic book of poetry is shared with the world for charity, its proceeds supporting Covenant House and World Vision. Sylvain Reynard, a humanitarian who inspired me to use my author platform in conjunction with charitable causes, wrote the brilliant and inspiring foreword to Utterly Loved. Be sure to pick up a copy…and perhaps a few to share with others.

Toss the Bouquet Giveaway

The Toss the Bouquet Charity Event is all about helping the charities to help those in need. Mr. Bastion and I also wanted to give everyone participating in the Toss the Bouquet Charity Event a chance to win something special.

We are giving away three items to three lucky winners. One e-book copy of Utterly Loved, one signed paperback copy of Utterly Loved…

Utterly Loved Book Cover

And…one special gift of jewelry from Pandora as a keepsake from the Toss the Bouquet event: Pandora’s sterling silver with 14k gold Love Bouquet charm on Pandora’s sterling silver bracelet.

Pandora Bouquet Charm

To enter the giveaway, email me at giveaways@katbastion.com with your donation receipt of any amount (or a purchase receipt from one of their stores) for any of the charities listed on the Charity Support and Awareness page by midnight June 15th, 2013 and click on the below link to enter the below Rafflecopter giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Other Authors Supporting The Charities

I would like to mention two authors I met through Twitter who also support charities fighting against human trafficking:

  • Heather Huffman weaves the issue of human trafficking into her stories, is an activist in the cause, and a portion of book proceeds goes toward charities fighting against human trafficking. Read more about her books and human trafficking on Heather’s website.
  • Sylvain Reynard utilizes his author platform to bring awareness and support to many amazing charities, including those fighting against human trafficking. SR wrote a wonderful post a few days ago on his website… “Why Charity?”

Your purchase of their incredible books supports the authors, who in turn support the charities.

Please share this blog post and/or news of the Toss the Bouquet Charity Event and Giveaway with your social media. Encourage your friends and followers to join us in supporting those charities that fight against human trafficking. Let’s set every one of those lost souls free and show them they are utterly loved.

Thank you for your generous hearts, my friends.

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat

© 2013 by Kat Bastion

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Hold On In The Night

Hello, everyone.

Utterly Loved, the book of romantic poetry for charity, with a brilliant foreword by Sylvain Reynard on humanitarianism, has been out almost three weeks.  It’s doing well in paperback sales, but we need to do more.  Within days, it will also be out in a Kindle version.  I hope you buy both and encourage everyone you know to do the same.

Not long ago, I mentioned that after I completed the romantic poems of Utterly Loved, two more poems of a different sort flowed hot and furious onto the page.  The additional heartfelt words were not love poems.

They were a battle cry.

They are about those lost.
They are about the fight.

 

Hold On In The Night

Can you remember?
Unencumbered fresh air into your lungs
Racing barefoot on cool grass in the park
Blue-sky days before a bright world turned stark

Do you still have dreams?
Fearsome warriors destroy stone prison walls
Alone stand beautiful forgotten
Disbelieving flee heart’s desolation

Will you hear the cry?
Across the globe on every continent
Invincible gather armed for righteous
Fury flows deep at human injustice

Have you seen our light?
Fiery rising sun scorching harsh landscape
A million wild horses charge unbridled
Dark captors meet their maker reconciled

Are you ready to fight?
Blind faith fiercely grasps boldly outstretched hand
Devastation laid to rest from plunder
Frightening history ripped asunder

Hold on in the night.
In every shallow ragged breath you take
With each hard swallow, eyes pinched in mourning
Never lose hope… a new dawn is coming

 

Please join me in the fight. There are millions of lost children who need our help, need us to care, need our love.  Buy Utterly Loved. 

Tell two friends.  Tell twenty. 

Only through awareness, donation, and activism will we make a better place in this world for those who, without the actions of those like us, would never have a chance.

Buy Utterly Loved on Amazon

With 23 inspirational quotes, 21 love poems, incredible 5 star reviews, an amazing foreword by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Sylvain Reynard, and the endeavor all about supporting the very worthwhile charities, World Vision and Covenant House, there is something in Utterly Loved for everyone.

Contact me if you need links to European Channels for Amazon, as it’s also available now through Amazon in Great Britain, Spain, Deutschland, France and Italy.

Thank you for all your support, my friends.  Together, we are making a difference in lives.  We are making the lost feel… Utterly Loved.

Your humble shoe,

Kat Bastion

 

© 2012 by Kat Bastion

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Poetic Warrior ~ Power As One ~ Book Title Reveal

Poetic Warrior

© 2012 by Kat Bastion

 

A poetic warrior is what I have become. I awoke on another early morning with fire flowing from my heart, scorching my veins, and commanding my thumbs as they rapidly typed on my iPhone. In my dark bedroom under warm covers, the compelling story ricocheting through my mind and haunting my thoughts had to be released.

I blinked unbelieving at the latest poetry creation. It had become my second riotous tribute in a row waging war to save the fallen that, in ignorant bliss, I never knew existed.

After twenty-one poems of love and countless uplifting quotes, my sword rang out as I withdrew it from a scabbard that, unbeknownst to me, had always been strapped to my back.

A deep lungful of fresh air filled a newly risen warrior with purpose, ready to do battle for the greater good.

{smiles slowly}

In three weeks, a book of poetry will be released that has the ability to change the world.

Do you believe you can make a difference?

Do you have faith that a single book, through love, can reach those in desperate need of it?

I do.

In the perfect marriage of the haves and have-nots, the purchase of a book about love shares our love with the world. In a truly serendipitous chain of events, I’ve been given the inspiration and ability to write poetry and an internal need to share my unexpected gift to help others.

No dollar from the sales of the book will ever line my pockets. All proceeds, less costs and taxes, will go directly to help selected charities. So far, the charities I have chosen are World Vision and Covenant House.

The book title?

It is how one feels when they’ve willingly lost themselves to another.

It is the words you express to the one who captured your heart.

It is how every soul in this world should feel.

Utterly Loved.

How great of an impact can one person have?

Infinite… when you stand strongly together among millions.

Next week, I plan to share more exciting information about the book, as well as the book cover. Meanwhile, please enjoy the first poem I’ve written post Utterly Loved that expresses how I feel in my heart.

 

Power As One

Echoes ripple
Resonate through the heart
Cries from fallen
Helpless souls torn apart

Lightning pierces
Urgent fire fueled from need
Warrior rises
Beckoned to act in deed

Hero searches
Charting land of the lost
Soldier battles
Pays exorbitant cost

Mountain towers
Danger etched in granite
Climber conquers
Needing to tame a planet

Leaders follow
Shoulders forming a wall
Weapons unsheathe
Saviors answer the call

Together we have an amazing power to make a worldwide difference. Stay tuned for more exciting announcements regarding Utterly Loved, and please share news about it with your social worlds.

 

Your favorite shoe,

Kat Bastion

© 2012 by Kat Bastion