Monday, September 29, 2008

Where to Ship Your Flips

Hello All,
Thank you for being patient while we get our bearings. Or shall I say our "footing" :)
There are still two options for you. Ship or store. If you choose to ship, we do not have a fund to assist you with these expenses, please understand.
There is an organization in Kansas City called C3 Missions that is filling a semi RIGHT NOW for Haiti. They will drive the semi to Miami and then it goes over to Haiti on a ship. The semi is about 3/4 the way full. If you choose to ship your shoes please send them to:

C3 Missions International
Attn: Cathie Simpson
3000 NW 50th Street
Kansas City, MO 64150

Cathie asked us to have the shipments there by October 15. If by chance the semi is full before that date and/or shoes arrive after, they have several teams traveling in the near future. PLEASE do the following when shipping your shoes.

1) For flip flops, if there is already an elastic or plastic ring holding the flips together, please remove the little plastic hanger.
2) Please email me when you ship your shoes and let me know the amount of shoes sent.
3) Please enclose a note with your shoes saying that you are with the Flip Flop Fleet

If you don't have all your shoes yet or don't want to spend the money on shipping, feel free to to just wait for now.

Here is a video of Mike Fox, Founder of C3 Missions on his recent visit to Haiti. They are very short videos:



Here is the link to the orphanage (not a C3 Orphanage)that was destroyed that is referred to in the first story:



Please continue to keep Haiti in your prayers! Before any raindrops fell, any storm hit, and before any flooding occurred this was already a destitute and desperate country. I am so glad we can help in some way. Thank you Flip Flop Friends and Fans.

We are just getting started!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Profile on a Peapod!

I was surfing around from blog to blog the other night looking at some new blogs. I found a few that caught my eye and I left comments. I decided to leave the address for the Flip Flop Blog on them, as who knows? Maybe someone will be moved to go check it out and see what we are all about. Sure enough, someone did! A new (and very efficient) Flip Flop Friend! Cris Peters and her girls from Sorrento, FL. She tells it better than I ever could, so please FLIP on over to her BLOG Thank you Cris and thank you to your sweet girls! We are going to have your shoes go to Haiti via C3 Missions International. They are in the process of filling a semi in Kansas City with items for those affected by the storms and we are happy to work with them.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Flip Flop Friends and Fans!!

First of all, we have more FANS than I can even list so THANK YOU so much for supporting us with your prayers! You are a blessing to us, and we can feel your prayers as we have gone from 203 pairs of shoes to 774 pairs in just one week! We feel like things will slow down a bit as the summer shoes are being clearanced out (my brother chuckled when I told him this, saying, "You never know!" ) Now we will just shift our focus to tennies! Don't forget to stop in at local thrift stores for quality, gently-used sandals, flips and tennies! If we have more southerners sign on, I am sure you can purchase summery shoes all year 'round, but here in Minnesota, the well is running dry!


Here are the FRIENDS I already posted:

The Flynn Family - Boulder City (Las Vegas), Nevada
Denise Runde and family - Omaha, NE
Chuck Hujet - Appleton/Green Bay, WI
Nichole Cheeney - Phoenix, AZ
Holly Kindbom - Denver, CO
Mindy Fitzgerald - Houston, TX

Here are the FRIENDS that have joined us in the past few weeks:

Margie Broman - Eagan, MN
Laurie Best - Columbia Hts, MN
Laura Hayden - Troy, MI
Jennifer Miles - Fallsington, PA
Donna Henderson - St. Louis, MO
Heather Walvoord - Austin, TX
Carlee Russell - Riverside, CA
Charity White - Lenexa, KS

That is 14 FRIENDS in 13 states.

If I missed anyone (oooh, I am sorry!) please email me at flipflopfleet@gmail.com
I was also contacted by some that I didn't list as a FRIEND as I wasn't sure if that is what they wanted, so if you fall into that category, let me know.

I know it isn't an accident that people have "found" the blog. This is yet another blessing!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Woo Hoo!

Photobucket

We just flipped over the 500 pair mark!

Our First Bit of Publicity!

Thanks to BeCentsAble for posting about the Flip Flop Fleet and thanks to Emily who let them know and thanks to Jenny for posting the blog that Emily read!

AND Whitney, who also posted on her blog after reading Jenny's blog!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Please Flip Flop On Over...

...to this blog. What a lovely post, Jenny, thank you!

Profile on...Denise Runde and her Walgreens Adventures!

Denise Runde is a co-worker of mine from Omaha, NE. We have worked together for nearly 10 years and she is a GEM!! She is DEFINITELY the most enthusiastic Flip Flopper out there! She has personally collected 158 pairs of shoes! She makes nothing seem impossible. I could try to explain the GREAT idea that Denise had but here she is in her own words -

OK, I just got the best deal on some flip flops. I called around to my local Walgreens to see who still had some left! Well, I went to one and I talked to the manager to see if she wanted to "make a deal" well she did. They have flip flops that are $1.99 and are 75% off that price. I told her I would buy all the $1.99 shoes if she would sell them to me for $.25 a pair she said "YES". I was soooo excited. I purchased 43 pairs for $11.00. I would suggest calling around to your local Walgreens to see if they have any summer shoes left. They are just wanting to get rid of them!!!!! Good luck and I'll be going to a few more Walgreens tomorrow "to make a deal" Happy shoe hunting :


So I followed her lead and stopped by a Walgreens over lunch. I was able to buy 67 pairs of flip flops for .25 each. I also asked about the crocs. The manager said she could only go as low as $1.50. I said that we really needed to keep it to $1.00 and she said ok! So I got 27 pairs of crocs, too!

If you are willing, please stop by your local Walgreens (or two). Ask for the manager and explain that we are collecting shoes for kids in need. Then tell them we have worked with Walgreens locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado. The woman today told me I was helping her out, too. They need to get the rest of their Halloween stuff out! BUT, as Denise told me, THE TIME IS NOW! THE FLIP FLOPS ARE ON CLEARANCE NOW!

Denise is also excited about what her boys, Jackson and Sam, are learning from this. Aren't they adorable?

Her husband had to get on the roof to take this picture, and this isn't even all the shoes! You rock, Rundes!! Way to go making this a family affair!!