Louis Vuitton Handbag Giveaway Winner! *Updated*

Thank you so much to all of my caring readers who shared their stories of empathy and compassion for those of us who are less fortunate. I received over 100 submissions for my Louis Vuitton handbag giveaway! I wish I could award a LV bag to everyone who entered, but there can only be one winner.

Despite the fact that only one of you will win the bag, just know that you are ALL WINNERS in the hearts of the people and loved ones that you have touched with your kindness and generosity!

The submissions for the Louis Vuitton handbag giveaway were the most enlightening and heartwarming I’ve ever received. Some of the emails broke my heart.

It was difficult to choose just one winner from the many great entries, but I decided to give the handbag to Keysha Willis!

Keysha’s heartwarming story of unselfish compassion for her adopted sons touched my heart, and I hope it touches yours as well! I have included her letter after the break.

Keysha will have 24 hours to claim her prize by emailing sandra @ sandrarose.com! If we don’t hear from Keysha, a new winner will be announced tomorrow.

Thanks again to everyone who entered and may you continue to enrich others through the joy of giving! There will be another giveaway in the coming months, so please check back!

Special thanks to Tavius Elder at Louis Vuitton!

Update: We we were contacted by our winner yesterday. Here’s an excerpt of what she wrote:

It was great reading all of the well wishes from your readers! One of them even sent me a facebook message to tell me I’d won and to hurry up and contact you! LOL!!

Keysha Willis

Hello Sandra,

My name is Keysha Willis. I’m writing to tell you about my incredible blended family. Two years ago, I became the guardian of two young men who were ages 16 and 14 at the time. They had been in foster care for 7 years. I met them during my previous employment with DFCS where I served as their case manager for 2 years.

The boys have 4 siblings – 1 brother and 3 sisters. The children had all been in foster care for several years and were in need of a stable home. Eventually the girls moved in with a relative while the boys remained in care for years.

A chance encounter with the eldest brother brought me back in contact with the family after I left employment with DFCS. While assisting him with obtaining admission to college, he mentioned that he and his brothers were living in marginal conditions even while being under the care of DFCS. So I made a decision that would tremendously change my life; I decided to become the guardian to the two younger boys, Prience and Charles.

This was huge adjustment for me. I was 31 years old and single with no children. I moved from my one bedroom apartment to a two bedroom apartment to accommodate them. They’ve been living with me for almost 2 years now and have transitioned well. They’re on honor roll and play on their school’s basketball team.

At the time of my decision I didn’t realize the financial, logistical and physical challenges that becoming a single parent with no support system would bring to my life. However, they are awesome young men and have really added value to my life. Sometimes I think they’ve taught me more about life than I could ever teach them.

Last September I allowed another young man, Torrence, to move into our home. He’s a foster brother of Prience and Charles’ who was no longer in foster care but didn’t have a stable place to live due to his mom’s drug use. Now my family of 3 has become a family of 4! His addition has brought challenges as he brings another element into our home! When Torrence moved in he was on the verge of dropping out of high school due to the instability in his life. However, I’m proud to say he graduated this past May and will begin college this Fall! Thank you Jesus.

I feel the seeds I’ve planted in these young men’s lives will change generations to come. They will accomplish many firsts in their families: first to graduate from high school and/or college, own a home or a car, and raise a family drug free! I’m so glad God has blessed me to facilitate these changes in their lives! Along with caring for the boys I work for the TRiO program at Clark Atlanta University. I serve first generation, low income children in the Atlanta Public School System; I teach students different skills necessary to help them matriculate through high school and lead to college.

I wanted to share what I believe to be an enlightening story. In the midst of all the negative things happening in the world, it’s good to sometimes hear a story that is uplifting and positive!
Warm Regards,

Keysha Willis

A special thank you to the following readers for all that you have done for the least of us:

Valencia King (Founder of MissFancyPants)
Tameika Williams
Nichelle Walker
Dawn Burns
Nicole McCray
Desiree Burton
Rocsheen Holston
Simone Yancy
Akilah Dunn
Monique McGee
Shetera Benton
Carole Frye
Alecia Coleman
Tanisha Taylor
Brittany King
Aniyah Tounsley
Shaniqua Johnson
Debby Gonzales
Chavon Smith (A Jeweled Life)
Keyana Ray
Denise Freeman
Nikki Brown
Cherrea Butler
Michelle Kargbo
K Boynton
Jenelle Wilson
Joretta Heard