Just before we received our PA for Hadley, I joined a yahoo group of families that have adopted from her orphanage to learn more about where she is living, the process, the children that are there and to get to know the people who have adopted from Poyang. In the process I learned that in the past these families have done fundraisers for important items that the Poyang orphanage is in need of. The orphanage needed a hot water heater and the group successfully raised money to get them the hot water heater. They've also done a fundraiser for winter clothing and summer clothing. They are always in need of these items. When a child is adopted by a family, the outfit they are wearing stays with the child and in turn leaves less and less clothing for the children remaining at the orphanage. I’ve included some pictures from last summers clothing fundraiser so you can see the impact. So it got me thinking over the last month...I think alot about how, “we need to do more, we’re required to do more” to come to the aid of the poor, orphans and widows. So I contacted Love Without Boundaries; an organization based in China that works with Hadley’s orphanage. I also contacted the moderator of our Poyang Yahoo group. In doing this I found out that Hadley’s orphanage has more children right now than they are accustomed to having. To be precise, they have 80+ children under the age of 1 year (on average they typically have 35-40 at most). That absolutely blew me away! I can’t imagine what it must be like to manage 90 little ones that are Wyatt’s age and younger! I also found out that they are in great need of clothing right now due to the number of children. So my thought is not do something unique but just to get the word out, in hopes that people will respond to the need. My goal is to raise $1000.00. This money will ONLY go toward the clothing that the orphanage has requested or additional orphanage needs that are made known. In doing this I also wanted to find a way for people to make a donation to this specific cause anonymously. I don’t want anyone to feel like they need to respond to me for this fundraiser, to let me know they have donated or chosen not to donate. I genuinely want it to be something that you’ve made the decision to do without feeling pressured. In the end, the only information I will receive is the dollar amount that was raised...I will not know who contributed. At the end of the fundraiser we’ll get an update from LWB on how the fundraiser went, what specifically was purchased and photos which I'll take great joy in sharing with you all!!!
So how do you contribute?
This is the response I received from the Orphanage Assistance Coordinator with LWB:
The way that the orphanage assistance program works is that, once a fund-raiser has raised sufficient funds, LWB has a facilitator in China who will purchase the items and ship them to the orphanage. This is much cheaper than shipping from the US or Europe and allows each donation to go that much further toward providing the orphanage with supplies. As the coordinator, I will keep you regularly updated via email, to let you know as the supplies are purchased and shipped to Poyang. In addition, after the orphanage receives your donation, we will receive pictures of everything (which I would forward on to you). This way, you can see exactly what you bought.
With all of the little ones currently at Poyang, a joint effort could go a long way at providing them with summer clothing for this year! Every penny counts and every contribution makes a difference!
Last but not least, we believe that the very first baby girl in the photos below is likely our Hadley. We have no way to confirm that but when I saw her, I immediately had the sense that she was ours. After blowing the photo up and studying the picture next to her newborn picture, the features of this baby girl are additional confirmation that she could be our daughter. So we are doing this fundraiser in honor of Hadley. She obviously saw the benefits of other peoples generosity and now we hope as a group we can return that to other children that remain at the Poyang orphanage.
Teamwork divides the task and multiplies the success. ~Author Unknown
Psalm 82:3 and 4- Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!!! HUGS AND LOVE, Brandon, Robin, Wyatt & Hadley
SUMMER 2009 CLOTHING FUNDRAISER PHOTOS
A baby gets a bath at Poyang
