In early March I’ll have taken another turn around the sun, which means it’s time for my annual birthday fundraiser! This year, I’m asking you to help me celebrate my birthday by donating to an organization close to my heart—The Highlights Foundation. The Highlights Foundation’s mission is to “to positively impact children by amplifying the voices of storytellers who inform, educate, and inspire children to become their best selves”. They help creators of stories and art for kids get to the next level and grow.

How the Fundraiser Works

I’ve set up three ways to donate—use whatever works best for you!

1. Donate through the Facebook fundraiser page
2. Donate through the Instagram fundraiser page (viewable in the Instagram app)
3. Donate directly through the Highlights Foundation Website

For everyone who donates at least $10, you can be entered into a raffle to win one of my art prints and an art greeting card! I’ll pick 2 winners once the fundraiser ends. 

Here’s how to get entered:

1. Make your donation of $10 or more
2. Save or take a screenshot of your donation receipt
3. Share this fundraiser with friends and family through email or social media for an extra entry!
4. Fill out this Google form to let me know you donated, share your receipt, and let me know if you shared this fundraiser
5. NOTE: The fundraiser ends after March 16, 2024!

Once the fundraiser has ended, I’ll pick two winners and reach out via email to let you know if you’re a winner! You can pick your choice of certain prints. I’ll ask for your address so I can mail you your print and card.

NOTE: You don’t have to enter the raffle. You can just donate too. But, if you’d like to enter the raffle, please follow the steps above so I can include you.

More About My Experience with Highlights and Why I Want to Support Them

You all know Highlights for Children magazine, right? Well, the Highlights Foundation is those same amazing people, but from the side of working with the people who actually make stories for kids. Highlights has been an inspiring and life-changing place for me. I first visited the Highlights Foundation retreat center in Pennsylvania in 2022 for their illustration summer camp. If I can, I plan to return every year. The experience was that great!

At Highlights, I was able to connect with other authors and illustrators and industry professionals, work on improving my craft through critiques and workshops, and find the encouragement and inspiration I needed to keep going. Creating books for children isn’t just sunshine and rainbows. It’s a long, grueling process, with a lot of rejection and work before your stories even make it out into the world. Having a supportive community at a place like Highlights has been so transformational for me.

I would love to raise money for Highlights to give other creators the opportunity to go there. Highlights has some amazing scholarship opportunities for those who can’t afford to go on their own, and for those from underrepresented groups. Helping storytellers from all sorts of backgrounds get their stories into the world is so important for our children and families. And being able to go to Highlights is an amazing way to help make that happen for these creators.

Whatever you can donate, I appreciate it! And if you can’t, sharing is amazing too!  Thanks for making my birthday awesome by donating and sharing this fundraiser!