Gifts that Give this Season and a Link UP!

Tis' the season for folks to gather round the table and exchange gifts. If you are among those scratching your heads trying to find gifts for that hard to buy person (*coughmotherinlawcough*) then consider giving them something that they WEREN'T expecting.

A gift that keeps on giving!

Here are few gifts that give back this holiday season to adoptive families and waiting children...........

147 Million Orphans Gear

Head on over to www.147millionorphans.com to check out super soft tshirts, sweats, necklaces, bracelets, water bottles, and coffee mugs. Profits from the sales of 147 gear go back to programs that assist children in Honduras, Uganda, Haiti, Ethiopia, and China. In addition, the founders Gwen and Suzanne  (also adoptive parents) assist families with fundraising for their adoptions by partnering and selling gear to families at a discounted rate for resale to raise money for their adoptions. 

Personally, I own the tee below as well as almost all of their other tees. They are the softest in my entire wardrobe and I basically live in a 147 tee every weekend. Love them.

147 pink Henley - price $34.99

comes in small, med, large, and xl

Just Love Coffee

Founder Rob Webb understands adoption and the need for orphan care - he is an adoptive parent himself. He came up with the idea of pairing struggling coffee farmers in Ethiopia with families needing to raise funds for their adoptions by creating a company called Just Love Coffee. Families are able to sell coffees wholesale to help raise money for their adoptions and farmers in Ethiopia receive fair wages for their beans. Profits from Just Love Coffees go back to supporting families in the adoption process, families adopting special needs children, as well as orphan support programs. Just Love sells various gourmet coffee beans, mugs, tshirts, and other items.

Bags of coffee start at $12.95/13oz

Gifts of Hope

Show Hope is a Christian non-profit that helps provide financial and spiritual support for families in the adoption process as well as support for children who need care in country. This year they have an online catalog called Gifts of Hope in which you can choose to donate towards the program of your choice in someone's name for the holidays. Causes include supporting families who are in the process of adopting domestically or internationally, post-adoption support programs, providing medical care for orphaned children with special needs, or choosing to send money to the cause with the most urgent need. The recipient of your gift will receive a card outlining the cause in which your donation supported.

Donations start at $15

Lifesong Gifts of Purpose 

Along the same line as the last program, the organization Lifesong for Orphans also has a catalog out titled Gifts of Purpose to help sponsor programs in someone's name for the holidays. Gifts include donations towards families adopting domestically and internationally, coffee mugs and tshirts, donations towards feeding and school programs in Honduras and Ethiopia, and many more. You can choose to either purchase a shirt or mug to give, or make a donation in someone's name and present them with a card outlining where the money will go.

Donations vary by cause and program

Now it's YOUR TURN. If you are an adoptive family or a family who is raising money to support orphaned children this holiday season, LINK UP your fundraiser below. It doesn't matter if you are adopting domestically, internationally, or if you are raising money for a feeding program or school uniforms....LINK IT UP! We'd love to see what others are doing this holiday season and get as many gift ideas as we can. Let's continue the season of giving!

*Remember also to share this page with others who are looking for ways to give back this holiday season!

Link up your adoption fundraiser below and share with others!

Raising Funds to Create Your Family Pt.2

The other month, we took some time to highlight ways those who are pursing a domestic adoption (or ANY adoption) can raise funds needed to pay for adoption expenses.

This month we are highlighting 5 new ways you can raise the funds needed to help create your family.

First up is one I just found out about called the Sparrow Fund. The sparrow fund is a non profit that is committed to encouraging and supporting families in the adoption process. The sparrow fund has an application for grants for families who need medical reviews for children given for referrals. In order to best prepare parents for receiving their child, the Sparrow Fund wants to provide grants for families for comprehensive medical reviews which can often be costly because they aren't provided under insurance.

Sonscope is a smaller, less likely known grant for those who are pursing adoption. A few friends of mine who have adopted internationally have received a grant through this organization. Sonscope is unique in that they are one of the only places you might find that do not require that you have completed a homestudy before you apply. That means those who are trying to pull together the funds for their homestudy can go ahead and apply to help cover that cost. Sonscope is a branch of the Abba Fund.

The Abba Fund is a Christian organization that offers financial solutions for families to make it possible for adoption to happen. You must already have your homestudy completed to apply with the Abba Fund. The Abba Fund offers opportunities to receive interest free loans to help with adoption costs.

Just Love Coffee was started by a family who has adopted themselves. Together this family of coffee roasters has created an online business of helping families with their adoption costs. Just Love lets families set up an online storefront in which buyers can purchase gourmet coffees, mugs, and t shirts and a percent of the proceeds goes towards your adoption fund. To find out more click here.

Something "out of the box" we did when we were fundraising both our adoptions was flower sales. Through their website, Flower Power Fundraising, you can set up an online flower sales for in season plants that come straight to the buyers door. 50% of the proceeds from each sale goes toward your adoption fund. Instead of your friends and family going to Lowes or Home Depot for their flowers in the spring, they can buy straight from Flower Power and create their garden while helping create your family.