All In The Family

It's been a long time, and I've been trying to write this post for a few weeks - but I have to admit that I tear-up whenever I have started to.

Last month the General Manager of the Australian branch of Stampin' Up!, Dave Abbott (41), lost his life after a battle with a rare blood disorder. It has hit the Stampin' Up! family quite hard, they are a company that truly values and loves their employees. It has also hit the Australian demos hard since Dave has been there for us since the arrival of SU! to our shores, and he was very much a 'hands-on' manager. I had many opportunities to talk with him, both on the phone and in person and he was always lovely, attentive and caring - with an astonishing memory for details, and always with our (the demos) best interests at heart. He had seemed to be on the mend - managing to be there for our first convention in May just gone, even though he did look frail he always had a smile on his face. And then he and his wife were able to join the 8 lucky (and hard working) Australian demonstrators that earned the Incentive Trip in August - I'm so glad that they were able to spend this time together.

Proving that Stampin' Up! is more than just a company, it truly is a family - they have released a stamp set for this month only here in Aus/NZ called All In The Family. This is already available to our US and Canadian cousins, and will be in our Idea Book & Catalogue next year.
The special thing with this, and with Stampin' Up!, is that they are donating ALL proceeds worldwide from sales of this set during November to a fund set up for Dave's widow Cathy and their 3 young children. That's correct, 100% of the sales worldwide - not just profit, every cent spent on this set will go directly to benefit Dave's family.
Price for our market has been set at $73.95 (plus P&H), but for the month of November I'm offering this set to anyone that would like to purchase it and help out a worthy young family for my demo price of $65 - this includes P&H to anywhere in Australia. Contact me to order this set. If you would prefer to contribute directly to the fund, again email me and I'll send you the details of the account that Stampin' Up! have set up specifically for the "Dave Abbott Family Fund".

Something that Stampin' Up! head office wrote recently regarding this has really resonated with me lately, and I'd like to share it with you:

"At times like this, we are reminded of what truly matters in life-relationships with family, friends, associates, and others who influence us and make us better people. Dave certainly fits that description. He developed many meaningful relationships, with both Stampin' Up! employees and demonstrators, and we are thankful we knew Dave. He will be deeply missed in many ways.

Life is much too short to lose sight of the things that matter most. One of our Eight Principles is balance. When we lose those we love, we are reminded how important it is to live a life with balance, prioritising our demands in a way that preserves time for people and things that bring us the greatest happiness and joy."

So go.... hug your kids and tell your husband/wife/partner that you love them dearly.