First let me say that fundraising for adoption is hard and humbling. We are are trying to put together the money to bring Caitlyn home through babysitting (call me if you are local and need help this holiday season), saving, garage sales, etc. We are SO thankful to those who have helped us, prayed for us and loved us to this point and who will continue to support us over the next few months.
Now we are asking our friends, church and community to help us with the mandatory donation of $5500 to help the children left behind at Caitlyn's orphanage in China. This is a state run orphanage of ten floors in a heavily polluted, very poor area of China. They, quite literally, do not have heat, enough food to eat, enough clothing to share, enough cribs for the babies, etc. Yet this is where our Caitlyn, for the first two months of her life, was syringe fed by a willing angel, because she would not eat from a bottle due to her large cleft lip and palate. They could have left her to perish, as many orphans with cleft lip and palate do, but they chose to save her. We are so thankful.
So even if we didn't have to (this is a mandatory donation, as part of the adoption process) we would want to donate to this orphanage that saved our daughter and so many more. They know her. We do not yet. We love her, but do not know her. We want to help them care for all those orphans that do not yet know a mother's love.
Soooo, for this gift giving season, we are partnering with another great organization, The Apparent Project. The Apparent Project is a not for profit organization in Haiti, that my friend Valerie introduced me to. They are wonderful. They hire local people and teach them a craft and pay them double minimum wage, so that they can break the cycle of poverty. (The minimum wage in Haiti, like so many other countries, is just enough to survive. It is not enough to ever break the cycle of needing help.)
We are selling bracelets as a holiday fundraiser that The Apparent Project artisans have made. Part of the money from each sale will go to our adoption and part will go to the Apparent Project. To learn more about the Apparent Project, go to http://apparentproject.org/mission.html.
The picture above and below are examples of the beautiful bracelets we are selling.
I will have these available throughout the holiday season. They are $8 a piece and each one comes with a tag that tells a little about the Haitian artisan that made the bracelet. Colors vary. You can see what I have or tell me some basic colors you are looking for. These will make great teacher gifts, stocking stuffers, etc. If you are local, I can get them to you. If you are long distance, just add the actual shipping price.
Thanks so much for considering helping us and this great ministry at the same time!!
