Feature Family of the Week: The Foster's

The Fosters are a great family full of giggles and fun!  They have five children, and are excited to add more love into the mix with a new baby!  The Foster's have a great video showing the love and fun that you can find under their roof. 




They have some neat fundraisers on their blog too, go check them out at http://frogmama.blogspot.com/. 

 

As we kick summer off, lets KICK START their fundraising!  You know what to do!! Click the link below to back their adoption fund, send them $1!

Featured Family of the Week: The Schoenecke Family

We would like to introduce to you our new featured family of the week, Bryan and Samantha Schoenecke.  

I'll let Samantha tell you a little about their story:

In the fall of 2011 when we had been married for about a year and a half, we both felt like God was speaking to us that it was time to begin having a family.  The timing didn't make complete sense as I had been having some health problems, and we thought that a move might be in our near future, but we trusted God that His timing was/is perfect.  By the summer of 2012, we had had 3 miscarriages and really began to pray about where God would have us go from there.  We saw a specialist wondering if maybe we should do some medical testing, but God made it really evident that we were not to pursue any further testing, at least for right now.  About this same time, a friend of a friend asked us to adopt her beautiful newborn son.  We said, "Yes!" and were so excited to welcome him into our family!  Sadly, after we had loved this sweet boy as our son for 11 days, his mom changed her mind and decided to parent him.  We were heartbroken.  Our time with him did really stir our hearts for domestic adoption though, and after much prayer, we began the home study process officially.  In November 2012, we were matched with a birth mom who was expecting a baby girl.  We spent many long hours getting to know her over the phone and over Skype.  We even made two trips across the country to visit her in person.  After two months, she let us know that she too had changed her mind about her decision.  Now we are waiting to be matched again, and hopeful that our next match will be our precious firstborn baby!  

Even though it has not been an easy journey, God has been so faithful!  This process has really strengthened our marriage and united us as teammates.  We've also both grown so much in our relationships with the Lord and are learning to place our hope in Him rather than in the hope of growing our family.

As the Schoenecke's wait for their match, let's show them love, dollar by dollar.

Fundraiser Idea: Adoption Parties

I know that as you begin the adoption process, finances is one of the main aspects of the conversation.  Every family raises the funds differently.  We have several friends currently in the process of adopting and I have loved the many different ideas that they have come up with.

I have been invited to several house parties (direct sells organizations), where the proceeds go to the families adoption fund.

If you know someone that sells Pampered Chef, Scentsy, Jamberry, Thirty-One, or any one of the other many different types of parties talk to them about fundraising, and see if they would be interested.  From what I've found, many times, they are willing to give up part or all of their commission from the party and donate it back to the families adoption fund.

A good thing to remember though- that is often a major source of income, so make sure you are conscience of it.  Often the closer the product representative is to your family (and familiar with your adoption plans) the more likely they are to jump at the opportunity so check with extended family and close friends!

As you are inviting people to the party, make sure they are aware that you are treating this as an adoption fundraiser.  I know I get invited to at least one a month, focusing on some sort of product or another... and I often decline.  However, when hearing that one was a fundraiser for a friends adoption, I went, and found items that I could buy for gifts, so I was able to support them, but also cross off some birthday/Christmas shopping.

Have any of you done something like this as you were fundraising for your adoption? How did it go?  Any tips that I can add to this post to help others have successful parties?

Featured Family of the Week: The McMillian's

                I'm happy to introduce to you our first family of 2013, Brittany and Christian McMillan.  This amazing couple has been married for 8 years, and cannot wait to grow their family through a private domestic adoption.  They struggled with both male and female factor infertility, but through all the struggles, their desire to parents only burned stronger.  Brittany and Christian were in the process of starting the foster care process when they were lead to this adoption through a relative.   They are currently matched with an expectant mother due in February.  This was a very quick match for them, so they didn't have much time to prepare.  As they wait the final month before delivery, they are working on raising money to pay off the final lawyer bills.  Let's kick off this new year with a bang and show Brittany and Christian how awesome this group of supporters are!

For the next two weeks we will be featuring The McMillian's and we ask that our Give1 community donate $1 (or more) towards their adoption costs. You can donate to the McMillian Adoption Fund by clicking the donate button below. Thanks so much!

Featured Family of the Week: The Robison Family

Together over the past week, our Featured Family, the Caulks raised over $1,000 with the help of the give 1 community towards their adoption expenses! We have a new family we will be featuring from now until Christmas. In the meantime, if you would like to be one of Featured Families of the Week, please drop an email to Bonnie at onesweetworld67(at)gmail(dot)com for an application. We will be back after Christmas to feature some new families who need a little boost to bring their children home. In the meantime.....

Meet our new Featured Family of the Week....The Robison Family!

For the next two weeks, I'd like to introduce the Robison Family to you. This amazing family is hoping to complete a second embryo adoption. This is our first family we have featured that is in the process of completing an embryo adoption, so if you are confused about what exactly this is or why a family would choose this route to create their family.....check out Shannon Robison's info page here.

Rhea and Shannon Robison have been married for over twenty years and are parents to five children. The Robisons have known that adding children to their family through adoption was something they wanted to do. They first pursued domestic infant adoption and international adoption before moving to embryo adoption. Their daughter, Sarah, who was adopted through embryo adoption, was born in 2011. Now the Robison Family is hoping to add one more to their family through a second attempt at embryo adoption.

Like domestic and international adoption, embryo adoption requires a homestudy and background checks. It requires a "match" with birthparents. The journey to adopt an embryo requires much waiting, paperwork, and financing. At Give1, we'd like to help the Robison's move a little closer to the reality of adding their newest little one to their loving family by raising funds during the Christmas season.

Please take a minute to check out the Robison's amazing AMAZING video below that they put great work into. In their video they explain additionally why they have chose to advocate for those pursuing an embryo adoption.

"Well, a couple of months ago, our teenaged boys and their friends from church decided they wanted to produce a video as a gift to their family and to their future adopted brothers and sisters. They spent weeks planning and many hours filming, editing, composing, recording, eating not so healthy munchies, editing some more, and though they did not procrastinate, worked on the project until just hours before the deadline. Always smiling, even through sagging eyelids, these young men came with their Christmas offering. 

We pray that you are blessed by their efforts." ~ The Robison's

Robison Adoption Give 1 Save 1 from R&S Robison on Vimeo.

For the next two weeks we will be featuring The Robisons and we ask that our Give1 community donate $1 (or more) towards their adoption costs. You can donate to the Robison Adoption Fund by clicking the donate button below. Additionally, the Robison Family asks for prayer in this process as well as your social donation of sharing their message.

To find out more about the Robison Family and embryo adoption, you can check out their blog, Room for More Kiddos as well as their info page, What is EA?

Featured Family of the Week: The Caulk Family

Welcome back! I hope that everyone had a restful and relaxing Thanksgiving holiday with their family. I am excited to let you know that I have gotten many emails from those interested in Featured Family applications over the last few weeks. Through word out mouth, Give1 Domestic is starting to grow, which is very exciting! Now that we are off our short break, we will be introducing two new families between now and Christmas as well as some other opportunities for giving this holiday season. First up.........

The Caulk Family

Scott and Dessie Caulk are waiting to adopt an infant domestically. They have adopted once before, bringing home their first son through international adoption from Kazakhstan in October of 2012 after pursing different routes to bring home a brother for their son Roman, the Caulks got word of a domestic match. The child they were matched with is due 1/23/13!!! The family has been feverishly pulling together the funds to pay off their remaining adoption fees. The Caulks still have $15,000 remaining to raise between now and January.

Roman is excited about the newest addition of a little brother and he would like to share with you some ways you can help below....

Let's help Roman out by sharing this link to the Caulk Family Fundraiser!

You can help the Caulk Family by donating $1 to their adoption fund by clicking below, giving a "social donation" by sharing this post through Twitter and Facebook, and praying for the Caulk Family during this last leg of their adoption process.

Click here to donate to the Caulk Family Adoption Fund.

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!

Pumpkin Bread Fundraiser Follow-up :)

Several of our readers were curious how our current fundraising efforts were going.  I posted to our blog with all the details in THIS post. I encourage those of you who are thinking of adopting, but don't possibly see how you will EVER afford it, to focus on the Lord who will provide, focus on the child(ren) you are to adopt, and press on! I hope each of you are enjoying decorating and preparing to celebrate this CHRISTmas season!!

I am determined to include this centerpiece this year at our home I found the other day online. I love it! Well, I must get everyone in gear...We are off to do family photos today. ; )

  Shannon

Fundraising for Adoption Is Possible in Our Current Economic Climate!

Beth asked if I would do a post about fundraising ideas. I told her I would love to share with you what we have done in the past to help raise money for our past and current adoptions!

In our country's current state of debt, unemployment, and uncertainty on so many issues, one might ask, "Why adopt under these current domestic conditions?" In the book of Jeremiah, God told his people who had been taken into exile by the Babylonian king what He called them to do. "Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." Jer. 29:4-7 ESV

(our Sarah who was adopted as an embryo. She had been frozen since 1999)

We as Americans have not been taken away into exile, but as Christians, we see things happening in our country that we have never seen before in our lifetime. We see in this passage that God call us to "multiply there, and do not decrease". Well, adoption fulfills that command. 

The next question I hear is, "How are we supposed to raise $15,ooo, $25,000, or $40,000 to adopt a child in this economic situation? How did you do it?"

Our first response is that we trust our Lord that He will provide every last dime that we need in His timing alone. I have learned a lot through fundraising. I have grown in my faith and as we saw the quarters, dollars, donations, and gifts trickle in during our last adoption, we as a family, grew in our trust, we learned how wrong it is to be anxious, we learned patience,  and we found immense joy in seeing God work through our entire adoption. 

Do not be anxious, do not doubt. These are His children He is entrusting into your care to raise to know Him. Trust in that truth. That should excite you to get up, gather your friends and family and see how He will bless your efforts. 

Now, not every fundraiser brought "grand" numbers and one fundraiser may bring in a small amount for one, but a generous amount for another. Do not be discouraged if your fundraiser only brings a few dollars. God will honor your efforts!  One season during our last adoption, we hosted a garage sale, we made only a couple of hundred dollars I believe. I admit, I was discouraged. Through other fundraising and donations, we had all that we needed in the end, or so we thought. Then, an unexpected adoption expense of $3,000 came up. My husband suggested a garage sale. Might I say, that I was NOT AT ALL excited about this. However, my husband was, our children were, our friends were, and in turn the Lord grew me so much in those few weeks preparing for the sale. The total you ask? In 3 days our garage sale brought in $3,000! So, do not dismay. Do not be afraid to try something again you have tried in the past. Be diligent & be joyful. It is contagious!

Here is a list of fundraisers, in no particular order, we have done in the past, are in the process of doing currently, or plan to do in the near future. 

• Garage & Yard Sales 
• Homemade Pumpkin Bread Sales & Delivery
• Homemade Cookie Dough Sales & Delivery
• Buying things at garage sales or donations from friends and sell on eBay
• Selling items for others on eBay/Craigslist- fee to me 25% of sales price
• Just Love Coffee eStore
• Pampered Chef online Catalog Show 20-20% of sales donated
• Giveaway Raffle with donated items and gift cards bought with credit card rewards points
• Entering a video to Give1Save1 to be the featured family of the week
• Finding items at garage sales that will sell for a good profit on eBay

Now these are fundraisers that like I said, are things we have tried or will be trying. I know there are many others and we would love for you to share links and comments to share your ideas. Once of my embryo adoption friends hosted a Parents' Night Out with movies, snacks and games. They charged a flat fee per child. It was a great success! I will list many other ideas in a future post.  

The final question? "How do I do "x" fundraiser? I want it to be successful as it can be?" I plan on sharing with you how to do just that. I will give you details on making the most of each fundraiser you do in future posts. 

If money is the only thing keeping you from moving forward with adopting a child or children, may I encourage you to trust the Lord will provide and find a fundraiser or two that you can get excited about and go for it!

Would you like to see what we are currently doing to raise money to bring our 8 little babies to our clinic for a Frozen Embryo Transfer this spring? Here you go. I look forward to hearing ideas from all of you!

Love,

Shannon  

our blog: Room for More

Our FB Page

The Fundraising Question

Adoption is expensive. Ask anyone that has done one. They will go into figures that they spent on homestudies, expenses for background checks, how they gathered together funds for submitting their profiles, or how they scratched up money for agency fees.

In a non scientific poll I've taken since 2009, which basically includes talking to random people about adoption, I find that many people say they would like to adopt....but don't have the funds to begin. OR they state that they'd love to adopt, but it's too expensive.

In the meantime we have children across the country and the world aging out of foster care. We have children going without food and adequate healthcare. We have children who will transition from foster care to foster care, or orphanage, or group home....who will never know what it's like to have a mother or a father.

And we're worried about the cost.

.
.
.
.
.

There's something wrong with this picture.



After our failed match which was our first, and only, attempt at adopting domestically my husband and I began pursuing international adoption. In doing so we did a few fundraisers. We sold off some items on ebay we didn't really need. We sold coffee. We sold a few flowers. We did some fundraising things here and there...

In the meantime, we took a loan out against our car. Those checks that come in the mail which you can take loans out on your credit card? We maxed out not one but two of our credit cards. All of these things in the attempt to stay on top of agency bills which, in the end, totaled up over $32,000.

Our daughter came home, and we were finally a family of 3. After the adoption we could submit for the tax refund with the IRS to help with the adoption costs. Luckily, my husband also had a small adoption benefit at his work to also support our bills.

But the bills......the bills were large. They were no longer bills from our adoption agency. They were now bills from credit card companies.



I tell you this not to discourage you from adoption. Adoption is how our family was created and for that I am eternally grateful. I tell you this to encourage you to look beyond the expenses. I tell you this because, for the majority of people, there is no stuffed mattress of money or savings accounts to deplete to bring a child into your family and adopt. For the great majority of us in the USA, we are just trying to pay our bills.

It's for those reasons that I tell potential adoptive parents, whether they are adopting from foster care, international adoption, or domestic adoption - to jump in HEAD FIRST into fund raising and adoption grants.

My husband and I, we felt guilty asking others to contribute to our adoption fund. We asked ourselves, should we even fund raise at all? We shuddered at sending out letters of support to our family and friends. We had some people we knew contributed to our adoption fund, and some that didn't contribute at all. Those that couldn't contribute financially, we asked them to provide "social" donations by telling their friends about our fundraisers via twitter, email, or facebook. We had some people participate with that.....and others who didn't. Did we feel guilty? Yes. Did we feel as if we were a burden to others? Yes.

Then I had an awakening. I watched this video by Eric Ludy. The quote that resonated with me is this....

"I was doing some study on Liberia  If you want to be disturbed, start studying Liberia  This four year old boy sitting on the side of a road. No one to comfort. No one to take him in. No shelter. No food. Nothing. So in the middle of that night, I wake up. It's like God had already deposited a question that was waiting to meet me when I popped awake at 2 in the morning. I had this picture of this little boy in Liberia in front of me. And God asked me a question..........'What if that was Hudson, my four year old. Eric what if that was Hudson?"

"You don't mess with the father's heart. What if that was Hudson?!"

"If my boy was sitting on the side of a road across the world from me. Suffering. Totally alone. Not knowing what's happening. He's not old enough to comprehend this. He's abandoned. He has no one to fight for his cause. He can't even articulate his circumstances. He's hungry and no one is feeding him. He's starving to death."

"If my son is in that situation, stick a concrete wall in front of me and I will claw through it with my bare hands. This is MY SON we are talking about. If I couldn't get there, I would call up EVERY friend I have and say 'I have a son over in Liberia and you call yourself my friend? I need you to get on a plane and I need you to get to him. I'll give you the coordinates and I'll do whatever it takes, but I need you to get to him and be a father to him."

"God's response? "Eric, that's MY Hudson."
.
.
.
.
,
My child. My child was over in Congo. My child was over in Congo starving without a mother. Without a father. My child was an orphan and I would claw through a concrete wall to get to her. I would call up every friend I had, I would shout it on Facebook. I would send out letters asking for donations and say.....This is my child and I need your help to get to her. My child is starving. My child is sick...and if you call yourself my friend you will help me get to her. Are you willing to help me get to my child?" 

If my friend, you wrote to me. You called me up and told me you had a child waiting for you.....in the hospital..... or in Congo......or in the foster care system. You had a child and you would do anything to get to him I would ask you....."How can I help you get to him?"  And if I couldn't contribute financially, I would pass on the word. I would buy your coffee or your flowers in your fundraiser. I would do anything I could do to bring home your child because I know that's your son.

And with that my friends, never feel sorry for asking for help. Never feel sorry about the stress in meeting adoption expenses or worrying about making it work. It will work out. With all the stress involved in adoption, worrying about money should be the least of our worries.

After piles of adoption paperwork and raising over $10,000 towards our adoption bills, this is a photo of me getting on an airplane in March of 2012 to go to the Democratic Republic of Congo to finalize the adoption of our twins.

If you need help in fundraising for your domestic adoption, please email me and ask for an application to be a featured family of the week. Currently, we have had many applicants but not many completed applications. Together we will help bring your child home. 

Any Families Out there???

Just a quick check in since it has been a bit quiet around here lately.

We have so far featured 4 domestic families on our site since we launched over the summer. Together, we have raised over $3,000 for these families combined!

We are still looking for families to feature as Family of the Week. If you would like an application to be featured, please email me at onesweetworld67 at gmail dot com. We have had a lot of interested families ask for applications, but not so many returning them. So if you are waiting to turn yours in - now is a great time!

We are also looking for contributors for guest posts. If you would like to write a guest post, or you have a blog and would like to add a previous post that you think relates to our audience, please let me know. Some great topics include........

• How to choose an adoption agency
• Older child adoption
• Adoption from foster care
• Tips for transitioning
• How you were lead to adoption
• Birthparent support and resources
• Birthparent perspective
• Adoptee perspective
• How to prepare extended family for adoption
• Unique perspectives from transracial families
• Adoptions of special needs children

Your Partner in the Process,

Featured Family of the Week: Meet the Bolingers!

Please join us in welcoming the Bolinger Family to Give1Save1 as the newest Featured Family of the Week!!!!

Chris and Misty have been married 11 years and have a son and a daughter. Although they are a happy family of four, they still felt that someone was missing. As an adoptee, Chris and his wife Misty felt that adoption was a special part of their family that they wanted to continue. The Bolinger's are fellow BSU alumns (Go Cards!) and live in Zionsville, Indiana.

The Bolinger's have a completed home study with a local adoption agency and are hoping to raise the last funds needed in order to move forward. Their next step is to present their profile to potential birth mothers to see if they might be able to find a match for their family.

Check out Chris and Misty, and the two littlest Bolinger's, Max and Whitney below.....

\

Let's help get the Bolinger Family a bit closer to adding the 5th member to their family by donating $1 or more at the link below.

From all of us here at Give1Save1, thank you Bolinger Family for sharing your adoption story with us this week!

The Bolinger Family is waiting for a match with a potential birth mother. If you are looking to make an adoption plan and are interested in contacting the Bolinger Family, you can contact their agency, ABL Adoptions c/o Cheryl Reed at 317-507-7628 for more information on their profile.

New Week, New Family! Meet the Sharpe Family!

Meet Dan and Katherine Sharpe who are an adorable and faith filled couple who are waiting on a son or a daughter to add to their family through adoption.

Dan and Katherine have just renewed their homestudy, which means that they have been waiting for over a year to be selected and matched with an expectant mother who would like to make a domestic adoption plan. Waiting is always hard, but Dan and Katherine have been faithful and are prepared to welcome a little boy or girl into their home in His time.

To learn more about Dan and Katherine, check out their cute little video below or their blog over at Waiting For Baby.

We'd love to help the Sharpe Family move a little closer to meeting their child by sharing their story and asking our readers to donate $1 this week, or more, to their adoption fund.

The current running total raise for the Sharpes is $107.31

If you are an expectant mother and would like additional information about the Sharpe Family or to view their personal profile, please contact Kristie Hall via Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota at tel:320 251-7700

The Kindness Snowball

I am guessing that you have probably seen the movie, Pay it Forward? It's one of my favorite movies. Mostly because of Kevin Spacey (love me some Spacey). But also because of the message. One person helping another who helps another etc etc until we all feel all mushy inside from all the helping and the kind and the smoosh.

Peace. Love. Happiness.

It all sounded great when I was watching that movie. I'd love to do more. Be more. Be better than I am. It's something to strive for, to try and connect with others on a deeper level. To give back not because you are getting something in return, but because you need to. It's a calling.

When we were in the process of adopting our first time, I was contacted out of the blue by a friend who had read our story. At the time, I was blogging about our journey through infertility as well as domestic adoption. She had read about all our ups and downs, which I had put bravely out on the page as a release.

She had read it all and, being a parent through domestic adoption herself, sat down and began writing us checks. Although she didn't know us at all and we've never met in person, this lady began writing checks to our family's adoption fund to help bring our daughter home.

Not only that, but we also began getting check in her mother's name, which meant she had shared our story and her mother had begun helping us fund raise as well. From across the miles, two women in Florida now began contributing to our adoption fund. From Florida a few hundred dollars turned into a few thousand dollars donated by this family we had never met.

When it came time for our daughter to arrive, we were surprised to find things bought off of our baby registry and delivered to our house. A stroller frame. A luxury diaper bag. All things we were not expecting in the least and most certainly not from a family we had never met!

A large part of our daughter's story was that this family helped us bring her home. Not because they knew us but because we had never met at all. They knew what it was like to sit and wait and be completely helpless during the grey period between when the hope of a child enters your heart until the time they are placed in your arms. We were exhausted and completely overwhelmed financially, emotionally, spiritually, and this family took it upon themselves to make themselves a blessing to us.

Their kindness snowballed after that. I remembered that family when I began working on our first ever Run for Congo Women here in our home city in 2011. Together with other runners and volunteers, we raised over 6K for Congo by putting on a 5K. During that time I thought of our friends in Florida who had helped us bring our daughter home and I thought the kindness they showed to us I MUST keep it going. I felt driven to bless others the way we had been blessed, and raising the 6K was just one way we could.

So we went on and sponsored a woman through Women for Women International for a year. And this was ANOTHER way we felt we could extend the kindness and blessings shown to us...................

We helped kids at a local school raise over $500 to donate to a homeless family for Christmas so they could have essentials and gifts under a tree.................

I began working with my friend Beth in creating a Give1Save1 site for domestic families to raise money for their own adoptions.....................

We pulled together a truck full of donations when a tornado hit our friends' hometown of Henryville, Indiana so that families could have the essential they needed when their homes were destroyed............

We began sponsoring a child through Tunaimi, a 1 year old, who was abandoned due to her family being unable to feed her due to extreme poverty. Our family began helping to make sure she was fed and taken care of on the other side of the world in Goma, DRC.................

When my husband was given a choice to take a bonus at his job, or to donate the money to a charity of his choice, for his 10 year anniversary at his company we decided to donate it to Tunaimi to pay for the tuition for children to attend school in eastern Congo...............

These are just a few things that we have been working on paying this kindness forward. This family in Florida, who we have never even met, has pushed us into new territory to actively seek out new ways to be present and willing to help others in their needs as well.

Featured Family of the Week: The Hahn Family!

Meet our new featured family of the week, the Hahn Family!

Luke and Angie are from Iowa and have always felt lead to adoption. Luke and Angie have been married 8 years and have been through a lot in just that short time. After Luke was involved in an auto accident, they decided with each other that they would choose adoption to create their family. Little did they know that God had another idea in store! They were soon blessed with a beautiful son and daughter but they never forgot their promise to continue to pursue adoption.

This cute little family of four is now waiting to be matched with an expectant mother who chooses their profile. They have been waiting for a match almost for one year to be selected and they are ready and prepared to welcome a new son or daughter into their home.

Check out their video below and learn more about their lovely family.....



This week we can support the Hahn Family in two ways. First, prayer for them as they wait to be selected by an expectant mother and for God to give them strength and wisdom in that process. Second, consider donating just $1 this week to help the Hahn Family with the expenses that come with adoption which will also help ease their wait.

Let's help the Hahn's get a little bit closer to completing their adoption dreams. :)


If you are an expectant mother interested in contacting the Hahn Family, you can do so through their adoption agency, Abba Adoption at 866-721-1551 http://www.abbaadoption.com/birth-mother.html

New Family of the Week: The O'Brien Family

Greetings friends! We start our new Family of the Week on Sundays here at Give1Save1 Domestic! We are overjoyed to introduce you to this week's family, the O'Briens!




This cute little couple is patiently waiting to be chosen and matched with an expectant mother who would like to make an adoption plan. They are "paper ready", which means they have taken many classes, had their home study completed, and their profile is ready to be seen. This amazing couple is ready to become a mommy and daddy. Go ahead and check out their video!





Not to mention, this week some friends of the O'Brien family are throwing in some sweeeeeeeeet giveaways for those that donate this week. Check it out!

• Their friend Aubrey giving away a dozen cookies from her Etsy shop at http://www.facebook.com/#!/ParadiseSweetsHawaii. Her cookies ARE AMAZING!  Seriously, they are addicting & she is so talented. For every five dollars donated your name will be put into the raffle & at the end of next week we'll pull a name and ship to the winner!
• We also have Stacey at Hope Handmade  http://www.facebook.com/#!/hopehandmade giving away a $15 credit to her shop.  Her products are beautiful. Also, the proceeds from her shop go to help raise money for their adoption costs, too!  Nice!  She will be doing the same thing as well, for every $5 donated your name will be put in for this prize & at the end of the week, we'll pick a separate winner for this giveaway!
• aaannnd...finally, a $20 Starbucks giftcard has been donated for a giveaway.  Yay!  We'd like to do something different with this one....for everybody who SHARES their video via twitter, Facebook or their blog, they will be entered in.  Share all three & they will have three entries.  All they have to do is leave a comment for Ashley on her blog under any post how they shared & the link and they have a chance to win. =)

To help support Ashley and Matthew on their adoption journey, please take a minute and click here to donate $1 this week towards their adoption fund. Please share their story and video with others in order to get the word out to support this couple and their adoption dreams.

Ashley and Matthew, we hope that you have an amazing week!


Current Update 7/30 - Total Donated So Far is $592.81!!! Go go go go O'Brien Family and Friends!

Family of the Week Update and Totals

Hi all! Thank you once again for being here for our first official week on Give1Save1 Domestic! We have kicked off our new fundraising sites for Asia and the Caribbean as well.  Click on the interactive world map to access the other sides of Give1Save1.

Now an update on our family of the week. If you or someone in your family has adopted domestically, you know what a roller coaster of a ride it can be at times. Our family of the week, the Saubers Family, has had a hard time this week with some personal issues within their adoption plan. Although we won't share details, they could use prayers currently during their adoption wait. You can drop by their blog here and tell them you are sending prayers and positive thoughts their way.

The Saubers Family is passionate about the adoption of children with special needs, specifically Downs Syndrome as well, and we are happy that we have been able to raise over $1,186 with your help this week for just that! This will hopefully help the Saubers with their adoption fund towards a child with special needs.

Stay tuned for tonight's post on our new domestic family of the week. As always, if you would like to be featured as a family of the week please drop an email to onesweetworld67 at gmail dot com for an application! We'd love to help you get the word out about your adoption and help support you!

Raising the Funds to Create Your Family

Thanks to those who are spreading the word, praying for, and donating for our first domestic family of the week, the Saubers. The last total so far is $827.00 raised!!! Let's keep it up!

Since we have gone live with our first adoptive family of the week, we have gotten quite a few emails asking for applications. Each person applying for fundraising assistance with Give1Save1 has story to tell. As I browse my emails I hear a variety of stories.

We have exhausted all of our funds..............

We have no savings for adoption after spending all we had on infertility treatments............

We have refinanced our home and taken out loans for this adoption..........

It's heartbreaking to me to read these because I too am an adoptive parent and I too have been in this position where your bills are bigger than your dreams of a family. After going through one failed domestic adoption and then on to three successful international adoptions after years worth of infertility treatments, I cannot give you an exact total of just HOW much we spent overall in creating our own family. I do know that all costs for just our adoption expenses totaled, at the end, over $90,000. 

So I wanted to take a second and let you know of some additional fundraising opportunities in addition to Give1Save1. Some you might have heard of. Some you might not have.

This will be the first of many posts about resources available to help you raise the funds needed to complete your adoption and create your family. I am passionate that if I could raise a large amount of money for our own adoptions, then you can too! Check out the different opportunities below for additional resources to help make your adoption dreams come true. 


And as always please send me an email at onesweetworld67 (at) gmail (dot) com to be considered as a family of the week for Give1Save1 domestic.

• Lifesong for Orphans - offers grant opportunities and matching grants as well as help with fundraising through their nonprofit organization for Christian Families. Lifesong offers information for prospective parents wanting to adopt and are advocates for children in need. 



• Both Hands - a branch of Lifesong for Orphans, Both Hands is a sponsorship program in which Christian families apply and are accepted to participate. Families then are mentored on how to successfully fundraising by going out into the community to partner with a local widow. The family spends a day fixing up the widow's home and caring for her needs. The adoptive family asks for sponsorships for their day of work and the proceeds go to help their adoption. 

Show Hope - Created by the Chapman Family, this non profit awards grants to Christian families for their adoption as well provides the Shirts for Hope program with Adoption Bug to help families raise funds for adoption. Show Hope provides many resources for families interested in adoption as well as care for orphans in country, child sponsorships, and facilitates a national adoption conference each year.

Parenthood for Me - Started by adoptive mom Erica, Parenthood for me is a non profit organization that helps build families through awarding grants for those pursuing expensive infertility treatments as well as domestic and international adoption. 

147 Million Orphans - 147 started with a team of two moms who decided to help other families raise funds to complete their adoptions through the sales of tshirts. 147 offers unique tshirts, apparel, and jewelry for adoptive families to sell to help raise funds to complete their adoptions. The money paid to 147 helps with feeding programs for the hungry.

Simply Love - Kari is an adoptive mom who wanted to make fundraising easier for other adoptive families as well. Her family has created the Simply Love kits in which families pick the designs they would like and are given all the materials needed to take the tshirt images to local printshops where they can purchase shirts to sell at cost. Check out Kari's website as well for tons of information about adoption and other resources.

These are just a few of the resources available to help adoptive parents fund their adoptions. Stay tuned, we will be continually featuring different organizations and grants to help alleviate the stress from the costs of adoption.