Growing Snowflowers

The holidays are coming...what are you thankful for?



...how will you show it?

Mike & I are still furiously fundraising for our next adoption, we are still more than $10,000 short, but we are working on it! Because we feel so grateful for being able to adopt we also know that it is important to give back as we recieve and have picked our current charity project for the Fall, together we decided to raise money for OCDF. Today I emailed Our Chinese Daughters Foundation, they are a wonderful group that has many projects to help raise money and awareness for orphaned and abandoned children, I asked "how can we help?"

I am hoping that in the next month or so our family can raise a few hundred dollars for the orphans in the colder climates in China. Living in Minnesota has taught me how cold it can be, and yet we have the luxury of warm coats, blankets, mittens and HEAT! Many orphanages in the rural provinces have little resources if any to keep the children warm. That is why we are going to set aside our personal fundraising for the next month and try to raise $250 for OCDF's coal for children fund.

Please join with us and donate the cost of a large latte at your local coffee shop...about $5. Or the cost of a movie ticket $10. Just click on the link in this post and donate!

feel good this winter...know that you are helping children who have nothing, not even life's barest essentials.

p.s. even though it's Piper's daycare's monthly parents night out on Friday, we are going to skip it and save the $50-60 we would spend on PNO and a movie & burger and put it in our OCDF fund.


from Jane at OCDF

The international adoption program does not include Tibet nor the orphanages in western Sichuan at this time (where the children are also Tibetan). There are two orphanages we started to work with through See the Stars project - the goal is to get fund for a full-time pediatrician and surgeries for the children with eye care needs. They also need school supplies and teachers as presently 1 monk teaches 150 kids in one room with no desks!

Any fundraising efforts will be much appreciated by OCDF and Dorje, the group making the medical arrangements in Tibet. The trip to the orphanages is 3 days by jeep on mountain roads from Chengdu so it's pretty remote. I suspect that is one reason the children are not included in the international adoption system. The region has the highest infant/mother mortality rate in the world so a lot of the children are orphaned at the time of birth. It's quite sad.

Kids in that region need vitamins, winter clothing, UV sun protective eye wear, hats, etc.

Thanks so much for your willingness to help!

The Tibetan orphanage fund is also a wonderful way to give...the photo of the child above was taken in Tibet, abandoned on a step, clearly loved...but sadly lost.

I have created a chipin for the OCDF fund. Please donate through the chipin, when we reach $250 we will donate the entire amount to OCDF AND we will get a matching donation from Mike's employer!!!! So $250 will become $500!!!!