New Fundraiser Coming Soon!

Like most people, we've been busy with the Christmas season upon us. I will be hosting another fundraiser starting January 1st. This one is not so big, but still a nice fundraiser, especially for adoptive, post adoptive, pre-adoptive parents. I have some books and a cd set I am going to be raffling off. The titles of the books are as follows:

1. Toddler Adoption - The Weaver's Craft by Mary Hopkins-Best
2. Help for the Hopeless Child - A Guide for Families by Dr. Ronald S. Federici
3. Born in Our Hearts - Stories of Adoption by Filis Casey and Marisa Catalina Casey

And also a Russian cd language and parenting guide set titled: Adopting from Russia. There are 2 cds, a set of several sheets of paper w/ pictures and words/phrases on them, and a language and parenting guide booklet.

All of these are from my personal collection. I read each book once or twice and listened to the cd maybe once. We adopted a Deaf child so we didn't need to know Russian b/c she didn't know Russian. But I got it to be able to talk with the other children at the orphanage and the caregivers and other people there. I didn't end up learning the language more than to say hello, goodbye, see you later, and thank you. Everything is in great almost new condition. 

I am raffling them off for $1.00 per chance to win one of them. There will be 4 winners in this drawing. It will start on January 1, 2011. It will be to raise funds for an orphan child from Reece's Rainbow. I have not decided which one, as the one I am thinking of doing it for may get adopted (or get a committed family) before then. So I will wait and see which one will get the funds when the time draws near. 

Check back on 1/1/11 for more details!

Another iPad Giveaway!!

I just found out about an iPad giveaway, actually TWO iPad Giveaways!! This time it's not my fundraiser, but I want to spread the word.

HERE is blog of a family in the process of adopting an adorable little girl with Down Syndrome. They are giving away an iPad to help raise funds to pay the ransom for their new daughter. CLICK HERE to visit their donation page on Reece's Rainbow. Any amount donated to their account will enter you into their iPad drawing. The winner will be drawn on December 15, 2010. 

A wonderful family adopted a little boy named Aaron a short time ago. He was living in an institution for a year when they adopted him and rescued him out of that place. They have been praying hard and advocating for 2 other little boys that became available for adoption when they adopted their son. There are only 2 boys available for adoption out of 100 "Lost Boys" as they call them. I have shared about these boys (Brady and Heath) HERE previously. For the past several weeks, this family has been a Reece's Rainbow "Christmas Warrior" for a little boy named Gavin. This is who the fundraiser is for. Someone donated an iPad for this family to giveaway to raise funds for Gavin. The winner will be drawn on December 19, 2010.

CLICK HERE to read more about this iPad fundraiser and to donate!

$5 = 1 entry
$10 = 2 entries
$20 = 5 entries
$35 = 9 entries
$50 = 13 entries
$75 = 19 entries
$100 = 25 entries
$150 = 40 entries

Pie in the Face Challenge

John Wright (from Act of Kindness blog) is a missionary to Kyrgyzstan (the country we adopted our daughter from). For the past 3 years, there has existed a Christmas time challenge called "Pie in the Face Challenge". It is a fundraiser to collect funds to bring Christmas to orphans and underprivileged children in Kyrgyzstan. $5 will bring Christmas to 1 child this Christmas. Their goal is to bring Christmas to over 2000 children in Kyrgyzstan this Christmas. So far $3,480 has been raised. That means 696 children will feel special this Christmas. They will feel like someone in this world actually cares about them. That they are not alone in this world. That they matter! Now, how can we tell the other 1,304 children they aren't important? They aren't special? For only $5, you can help "bring Christmas" to an orphaned child.


I personally know a missionary in Kyrgyzstan that is involved in helping to bring Christmas to a special needs orphanage. We stayed with her during our time in Kyrgyzstan. She has a huge heart for the orphan! Thanks to the Pie in the Face Challenge, she can help bring a smile to these kids faces. She can "bring Christmas" to children that otherwise would not get such a treat. 


There are many terrific people who have taken up the challenge to raise $500 and get a pie thrown in their face! Cindy LaJoy's family, Hilary Marques, Rebekah & Julie Wright (John Wright's daughter & wife), Jengish & Talant (Kyrgyzstan), and the "waiting families*". All of these people and more. You can choose which one you would like to see get a pie in the face! I was a challenger in this fundraiser last year. Though I did raise the $500, I somehow didn't ever get around to getting a pie thrown in my face! I will have to do that b/c that was the deal. When I do, I will post up the pictures here. It will be fun! 


Thanksgiving started up the Christmas pie Challenge. It was started 3 years ago when Cindy LaJoy on a whim suggested that if her friends donated $1000 for us to bring Christmas to the orphanage, then her boys could throw a pie in her face... Every year now since, others have stepped up to the plate along with Cindy to raise funds to "bring Christmas" to the orphans. 


This year is by far the most ambitious goal: $10,000 to bring Christmas to over 2000!


They had some exciting news...they have a donor that recognizes the need for not just a one  day celebration, but recognizes the need for on going advocacy for the children that LAMB International provides, so here is the deal...  for every $ donated this year, they will match $ for $ to the LAMb fund... What a blessing... all the more reason to be thankful...


So what are you waiting for? Skip the latte today and  CLICK HERE to donate $5 to help "bring Christmas" to orphans!


For anyone out there looking for ways to give to the needy, to the orphans, to the helpless, here is another great website to find ways to give: iam1ru

Update on Madelene

Remember the 24 hour challenge that I posted about on Wednesday, December 1st?

I just checked the Real Hope For Haiti blog and found out that $9897.00 was raised in 24 hours! Check it out! It's a great reminder about God's love for the "least of these".

This little 5 year old girl, Madelene, is struggling to survive. She only weighs 26 lbs at 5 years old. Her mom died giving birth to her younger sibling when Madelene was only 2. Her father works the fields every day to try to provide for his 10 children. He doesn't make enough money to provide food for his kids. Three of his children have died since his wife's passing. He is a Christian and loves his children dearly but can not provide for them, though he tries. Madelene has been passed around from relative to relative b/c of this. She has been severely neglected. She is in bad shape. She is lucky to be alive. She is struggling. But God has used His children to donate to raise almost $10,000 in 24 hours to help her and another family like hers.

Praise God for He is good!

Adoption Fundraisers

I will be doing a post to highlight some fundraisers that are going on. If you are in the process of adopting and raising funds for your adoption, or if you are doing a fundraiser to raise funds for orphans, let me know. Send me an email at mrsholly@hotmail.com to let me know who you are and what your fundraiser is all about. Don't forget to send a link to your post about your fundraiser on your blog as well.

You need to be a follower of this blog to be included. If you are not currently one of the followers, just click "follow" and type in your name and email address to become a follower. It's quick and painless. Then you can be included in this fundraisers post.

So there are 2 easy steps to be included to spread the word about your fundraiser:

1. Become a follower of this blog (if you're not already)

2. Send me an email (mrsholly@hotmail.com) with a link to your blog post about your fundraiser, and let me know who you are (name & "follower" name), and what your fundraiser is about.

God bless!

NEW TOTALS!!

I now have a final tally of the funds God raised for the orphans through this fundraiser!

The donations made through the Chip In's on this blog were as follows:


$895 for the Older Boys with DS


$990 for the Older Girls with DS


$1,135 for the Older Other Angels!

There were 2 $5 donations for the Older Boys with DS sent directly to Reece's Rainbow (not through Chip In), and our biggest donation of the entire fundraiser was actually sent out by check to Reece's Rainbow in the amount of $450!! So now the final total is

$3,480!!

Maxim (Older Boy w/ DS)

That's $1,285 for the Older Boys with Down Syndrome Adoption Grant!

Shawna (Older Girl w/ DS)

That's $1,140 for the Older Girls with Down Syndrome Adoption Grant!

Inna (Older Other Angel)

Evan (Older Other Angel)

And that's $1,285 for the Older Other Angel Adoption Grant!

 Praise God!! Yippee Jesus!! Thank you Lord for your love for these little children!


Here is a video clip for Reece's Rainbow. It's the annual Christmas "Angel Tree" for 2010. I wish the sound worked but You Tube disabled it. It's a nice video clip either way though.

24 hour Challenge....are you in?

I know it may be a little too soon to start up another challenge, but I feel led to post about this challenge I just found out about.

It's a 24 hour challenge. It started at 8:20 p.m. Haiti time. So that means the challenge will end on 12/02/10 at 7:20 CST (Texas time).


There is a wonderful organization called the "Haiti Rescue Center" and their blog is "Real Hope for Haiti". These people help save lives every day. Many of the lives they save are malnourished and neglected children. These children come into the rescue center very sick, some at death's doorstep. Their families sometimes walk for days to get to the rescue center. The great people at the rescue center take these children in and nurse them back to health so they can be reunited with their family. They have also been helping people who are sick with Cholera ever since the Cholera outbreak. People can't make it all the way to the town where the hospital is. So the Rescue Center set up tents and treats patients outside in tents. You have to check out this blog and see the pictures, read the stories. It will break your heart, and hopefully move your heart to help.

This is a great opportunity to see your small offerings be multiplied (and quickly at that!) by our God who loves His children! There is a family in Texas that wrote to them today and told them they would match up to $1,000 to help these families that struggle so tremendously just to provide for their children. However, the funds must be raised within 24 hours! If you are reading this, and it's not yet 7:20 CST on 12/02 then you can help out too!

I've seen my Almighty God move in mighty ways over the past couple of days! I know He can raise the $1,000 in 24 hours time! A 24 hour challenge......are you in?

Join in on what God is doing over at Real Hope For Haiti!

Who Won??

We used an online random number generator

to select the winners. I say winners with an "S" b/c

we have a winner for the $10 ice cream gift card,

a winner for the $25 Amazon gift card, 

AND of course, the winner of the iPad! 

The winner of the $10 Cold Stone Creamery Gift Card is:

Brandy Freeman (bnnzion)!  Congratulations Brandy on 

your free ice cream! Yum!

The winner of the $25 Amazon gift card is:

one of my "followers", LISA from findingrealityinhim 

Congratulations Lisa on your $25 Amazon gift card!  

Using a random number generator online,

we input all 953 entries! 

And the winner of the brand new Apple iPad is.....

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

.........

JAYME BAXTER!!!

CONGRATULATIONS JAYME on winning the iPad!!! 

I have sent you an email, please respond

so I can get the iPad sent out to you!