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Children's creativity needed to bedazzle charity

When in need of a fresh infusion of enthusiasm and creativity go to the children.
Behind the table from left, Joy-Lyn Stickel and Andrea Wilton-Clark attend to some potential jewelry buyers Feb. 6 at the Okotoks Recreation Centre. The pair are encouraging
Behind the table from left, Joy-Lyn Stickel and Andrea Wilton-Clark attend to some potential jewelry buyers Feb. 6 at the Okotoks Recreation Centre. The pair are encouraging children to enter a contest to design the next generation of Not 4 Sale pendants in support of oppressed kids in Thailand and Cambodia.

When in need of a fresh infusion of enthusiasm and creativity go to the children. That’s the philosophy adopted by the local Not 4 Sale campaign, which is raising funds to build safe houses in Thailand and Cambodia for the victims of slavery and sex trade.

The charitable effort, which is based in Okotoks, has brought in more than $14,000 in just over two months through the sale of decorative glass pendants. The initial run of the fundraising jewelry featured 50 different designs incorporating photographic images from Cambodia and Thailand.

Not 4 Sale facilitator Andrea Wilton-Clark said they are looking for an influx of youthful artistic talent to drive the next generation of pendants.

“We want to revamp the designs,” she said. “So we decided to go to the kids and get them to come up with the next batch of designs.”

What Not 4 Sale has come up with are two different design contests for the month of February. There’s the “Elementary Kids for Kids” competition as well as the “Kids for Kids” contest for junior high students ages 12 to 17. Four finalists from the elementary group of entries and 10 or more from the older category will be chosen to have their designs go into production.

Many of the local Okotoks area schools are getting on board in promoting the contests and urging their students to enter. Students who participate will not only be aiding the cause of rescuing children from a life of slavery, but Wilton-Clark said they will be getting their shot at winning prizes as well.

“The older children can win a gift card of up to $200,” she said. “The phenomenal thing is somebody locally, from the town donated $500 worth of Future Shop gift cards so we can bring these contests to the kids in Okotoks.”

Giving local children an outlet for their artistic creativity and a chance to win a gift card they can turn into a new iPod, video game, or some DVDs is a great promotion, but for the people involved in Not 4 Sale it’s all about the cause.

Joy-Lyn Stickel, who along with her husband Kelly are pastors at the Foothills Victory Church, has been a driving force behind the local anti slavery initiative.

“I didn’t really know about the sex trade until a few years ago,” she said. “Once I knew I really wanted to do something about it. I went over to Thailand and Cambodia last year just to kind of scout out what was going on there.”

Once back she quickly assembled a local group of ladies, some from her church and others not. They put their heads together to come up with ways to raise funds to prevent Asian children, particularly young girls, from being swallowed up into a world of slavery and forced prostitution.

Stickel confirmed all the money raised by the Not 4 Sale pendants goes to providing a safe haven for these children.

“It goes through our Victory Churches to the missions fund and designated to Cambodia orphanages,” she said. “So it all goes straight into the safe houses were working to start up there.”

Wilton-Clark was the one who came up with the idea for the pendants. She identified them as an effective awareness-building tool.

“The pendants serve as a means for people to spread to the word,” she said. “They illicit questions so when you wear them and people ask, ‘what is that?’ It’s a chance to talk about the cause rather than a brochure we hand out, you put it on the kitchen counter and from there it goes into the recycling box.”

For details on the design contests and information on ordering pendants go to www.not4sale.ca

Pendants are also available in Okotoks at the Merle Norman store in the Cornerstone Mall on Southridge Drive. E-mail any questions to [email protected]

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