Tag Archives: whytewing

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We Support The Trevor Project

Posted on by Allison Whyte
The Trevor Project
29
Jul

WhyteWing.com supports The Trevor Project with a portion of every sale made on this website. We are happy to be able to contribute in whatever measure we can to protect LGBTQIA+ youth. This is a population so young and so vulnerable that most can’t even defend themselves with their own vote yet.

With many thanks the the Wiki Community, this is the Trevor Project origin story:

1994 Academy Award–winning short film Trevor is a dramedy about Trevor, a gay thirteen-year-old boy who, when rejected by friends because of his sexuality, makes an attempt to take his life. When the film was scheduled to air on HBO television in 1998, the filmmakers realized that some of the program’s young viewers might be facing the same kind of crisis as Trevor, and began to search for a support line to be broadcast during the airing. They discovered that no such helpline existed, and decided to dedicate themselves to forming the resource: an organization to promote acceptance of LGBTQ youth, and to aid in crisis and suicide prevention among that group.

The Trevor Lifeline was established with seed funds provided by The Colin Higgins Foundation and HBO’s license fee. As a result, it became the first nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for LGBTQ youth. The project also provides online support to young people through the project’s website, as well as guidance and resources to educators and parents.

WhyteWing Contributions

A percentage (currently 8%) of each sale made on WhyteWing.com will be donated to The Trevor Project. Once per quarter (every 3 months), we will make the donation using The Trevor Project website donation page. The plan is to make a TikTok and/or YouTube video of the donation process so our customers can see the confirmation and feel secure that their support is actually reaching the community they want to help.

At the moment, we have many people using the links we provide to click through and make their purchase on Etsy. You are welcome to continue to do that if you’re more comfortable making your purchase on Etsy, but those sales will NOT generate donations for The Trevor Project. Only purchases made here on WhyteWing.com generate the donation.

Our reason for choosing to donate through WhyteWing.com is twofold. Obviously, we’re proud of our website and we want to encourage people to stay here to make their purchase. Hopefully, knowing that the same percentage that normally goes to Etsy for fees and commissions will go to The Trevor Project instead will be a powerful motivator to stay, and perhaps to come visit us again!

By choosing to donate through WhyteWing.com, but keeping the link to Etsy in each listing, anyone who prefers not to benefit LGBTQIA+ youth is free to follow the link to Etsy. The same items are available in our shop there.

It has taken a while to be able to post this blog (website learning curve) and even though it’s late, we want to say: From the bottom of our hearts and the top of our voices, WhyteWing wishes you Happy Pride, and the joy of every day to come!

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Magnolia: Enduring Symbol

Posted on by Allison Whyte
Magnolia: Enduring Symbol
03
May

Magnolia: Symbol of Beauty and Strength

What do you think of when Magnolia comes to mind? We think of delicate white that teeters on the edge of a pink kiss. We think of the warm blush and deep rose, and flowers shaped like petal-soft goblets. We think of Spring when the world is bursting with promise. But what does the Magnolia truly symbolize in art, in people whose faith connects them to nature, and to all of us in our daily lives?

With one quick search, you’ll find people trying to describe the meaning of Magnolia according to it’s color: Pink for innocence, red for passion, white for purity… Color association is all well and good, but the true meaning of Magnolia is so much deeper.

The fossil record shows Magnolia species are among the most ancient flowering plant families. They flourished before bees evolved as pollinators, depending on beetles for their bloom. Magnolias developed tough tepals in the place of petals to protect against their hard-winged and gnawing pollinators. It’s origin reflects it’s true nature: Deep and delicate beauty made of tough, enduring stuff. Magnolia is a symbol of beauty and strength united inextricably as one.

Magnolia: Symbol of Nobility in China

The Yulan Magnolia is native to central and eastern China. It has been cultivated in Chinese Buddhist temple gardens since 600 AD. During the early Tang Dynasty, only the Emperor himself was allowed to grow magnolias. Later, cuttings and permission to grow were offered only to his closest confidants, which was an enormous honor to their households. The Yulan Magnolia blooms in late winter/early spring, and it’s pure white blossoms are symbols of nobility. Though once the symbol was applied as a matter of exclusivity, today it applies to nobility of spirit in us all.

Magnolia: Symbol of the Ordinarily Sacred

In 1829, President Andrew Jackson, brought a magnolia sprout from his home in Tennessee to the White House. He planted it in memory of his late wife. The magnificent thing about this tree is that over the course of 200 years, it went from being sacred to Andrew Jackson to being sacred to all of us.

It was a favorite place for President Truman, Jackie Kennedy, and other White House residents over the years. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill sat “underneath that old magnolia tree” the days before the world was plunged into war. The tree earned a place on the back of the 20 dollar bill from 1928 to 1978, and a place on the White House china pattern under First Lady Laura Bush. So well known and well loved is the Jackson Magnolia that President Obama gave cuttings from the tree as gifts of State to both Israel and Cuba.

The idea of the ordinarily sacred is that the object itself is not inherently sacred, but our experience of it makes it sacred to us. The Jackson Magnolia is just a tree, grown from a cutting from another tree. It is our experience of the strength and beauty found in a tribute from a grieving husband that lead us to care for it so tenderly. Our recognition of it’s noble spirit has helped it to dig its roots deep into our history. Even now, as the Jackson Magnolia nears the end of its life cycle, cuttings from the tree are tended by the White House gardening staff to ensure that a part of that actual magnolia will live on.

In the end, the most important question is: What does magnolia mean to you?

Crummles MAGNOLIA Soulangiana Enamel Box
Crummles Magnolia Soulangiana Enamel Box

Please enjoy a wander through WhyteWing for this Crummles Magnolia Soulangiana Enamel Box and a host of other botanical items!