Wood-Bookmarks.com sells handmade bookmarks to raise money for United Way
Art Against Homelessness
Luis Eduardo Salazar may be just ten years old, but he's started something that many of us find inspiring - He's 'enjoying himself, paying himself, and most importantly, giving back'.
That's what his dad, Luis J. Salazar, a Microsoft employee told him to do when Luis asked for a Wii gaming console. To help his son understand how money is earned, Salazar told him he'd have to buy the Wii on his own. "Find a product you'll enjoy working on, pay yourself, and give something back", he told his son.
A budding artist, Luis decided to hand-craft and hand-paint wooden bookmarks. He shares his profits with two charities: United Way of King County, and The Olympic Park Institute. So far, he's given two hundred dollars to United Way and another hundred to he The Olympic Park Institute. His dad and Microsoft have both matched his contributions, tripling the sum donated.
Handcrafted, Limited Edition Series
No two of Luis' handcrafted bookmarks are exactly alike. That, after all, is the beauty of handcrafting. So far, he's run two Limited Edition Series, the first one featured three themes, Wisdom, Dream, Hope, and Red Star. You can see the whole series here. That series is now no longer for sale.
The Wisdom theme is simple and elegant, lots of white, clean lines, and a nifty Japanese symbol. The Dream theme is bolder and more colorful, while the Hope bookmark has the simple aesthetics of the Wisdom series coupled with the color and vibrancy of the Dream theme. The red star is the boldest and most vibrant of the whole series, and has an additional unique characteristic: it is the only bookmark in the series not to feature writing.
Current Series
The series he's currently working on is the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees. Luis is trying to see which of the two bookmarks (and thus teams) is more popular. So far, he's sold twice as many Yankee bookmarks as he has Mariners.
Buying the Bookmarks
You can buy Luis bookmarks for $9.99 via a PayPal secure payment site. The site accepts Visa, Master Card, American Express, and DiscoverCard. You can also pay directly from your PayPal account if you happen to have one.
Luis only ships to the Continental US, and there are additional disclosed shipping charges.
Payment Options
Contact Luis
Languages
English / Spanish
