Important Announcements for People Struggling with Drinking, AND The People Who Love Them

I have two important bits of business/announcements today.

I know not everyone who reads One Crafty Mother struggles with addiction, but many people read who are touched by addiction in some way, through a loved one or friend or parent.

I'm looking for help spreading the word about my new site, Shining Strong, which for now is operating as an umbrella organization for Crying Out Now, The Bubble Hour and One Crafty Mother.  The proceeds from my two jewelry stores: Shining Stones and Two Little Birds already go to fund to the mission of Shining Strong, and they are part of this umbrella organization as well.

I am in the process of creating a not-for-profit organization - Shining Strong - to make the collective missions of all these websites and companies an official not-for-profit that can hopefully seek additional sources of funding, down the road, to help maintain and grow Shining Strong, and as a result reach more women who are struggling from this disease and think they are alone and stuck.

So, there is a method to all my creative madness, lately.  That's the grand plan.

I made an information/promotional video for Shining Strong. The intended audience is women who are still struggling with drinking and need the support these communities can provide, and I'm hoping some of you will share this video.

Even if you don't struggle with addition, or never have, you really and truly never know who you may be helping. It could be someone you know well who is suffering in silence. Did you know that 15% of people in the US alone are considered "problem drinkers"?  That is more than 1 in 10.  It's a chronic, progressive and fatal disease (if left untreated) that very few people want to talk about. Shining Strong's mission is to chip away at that stigma and fear, and create communities for healthy, open and judgment free discourse and support.

Actually, people who don't struggle with drinking are probably better candidates to share the video, because people who do are too scared to share and reveal their secret, because of the effing stigma. You all know how I feel about the stigma.

I get a lot of feedback from people who love an alcoholic who tell me the posts and pod casts on Crying Out Now and The Bubble Hour (and here) help them understand addiction better as well.

So if you'd share this video, I'd be very grateful (and keep reading after the video, because I have one last announcement). Just share the link to this post, or click on the "share" button on the video itself - super easy and fast!  Also - I know it looks from the preview like Crying Out Now's anniversary video, and you will see some familiar faces, but it's a brand new video:



My second announcement is an important Bubble Hour episode that will air this Monday, January 14th at 5:30pm EST, 4:30pm Central and 2:30pm PST.  If you can't listen at this time, it will be available in iTunes and The Bubble Hour's website right after the show airs. You can find a link to this episode (and more information about our featured guest)  by clicking here.

The Bubble Hour is honored to have Sarah Allen Benton, author of "Understand the High Functioning Alcoholic" as a featured guest.  She is a tremendous resource to people struggling with drinking - especially people who haven't experienced many (if any) losses from their drinking.  She is ALSO a tremendous resource to loved ones who are concerned about someone's drinking, so this is a show that I encourage anyone who is worried about a loved one or friend to listen to.  We hope to have the live call-in function available for this show (we're testing this capability tonight) and the number to call is at the top of the show page, which you can find by clicking here.   There is also a chat function (at the bottom of the show page; obviously both the chat and call-in function only apply while the show is live), and you need to register with BlogTalkRadio to participate in the chat (quick and easy and you can use any username you want).

As always, the show will also be available on The Bubble Hour's web page and on iTunes immediately after it airs.  To subscribe to the Bubble Hour on iTunes, click this link here.  

To learn more about Sarah and her incredible work, please visit her website by clicking here.

Please help me spread the word about these valuable resources, by sharing this post, the video, or the link to the BlogTalkRadio show page for Sarah's show (again, you can find that by clicking here).

You will be helping more people than you can possibly imagine, with just a few clicks and shares on your Facebook or Twitter pages, and I appreciate it so much.

Thank you!