Newt's Goals for YOUR child !!

Here we go !!   The Reece's Rainbow Miracle of Adoption Christmas Campaign (MACC) has officially begun, and I am now on a quest to raise $1000 for my chosen Christmas Child, Walter, between now and New Year's Eve !!

 Next weekend (Nov 12th -13th), my son "Newt" and his U14 soccer team will be traveling to their last outdoor soccer tournament of the season, in Kansas City.

For a few years now, I have combined my love of soccer, my son and children with special needs, to raise funds for waiting children and families in the process of adopting.  

It's a simple concept - I ask people to sponsor my son's teams goals - for any dollar amount - and after the tournament, they multiply their pledge by the number of goals, and donate that amount to the child or family.

For this tournament, I am changing things a little.

I am asking for a donation of just $5 to Walter's adoption grant.

What do YOU get out of this, you may ask ?

Well - here's the fun part.

Everyone who donates $5 to Walter's grant will get their name put into a drawing.

Just before the tournament, I will draw ONE name.

That person can then nominate ANY child who is part of the Christmas Campaign OR any family who is in the process of adopting through Reece's Rainbow.

I will then donate $10 to that child or family for every goal that Newt's team scores next weekend.  

So - you donate $5 to Walter, then I donate $10 per goal to the Christmas child/family of your choice (and yes, it can be your own FSP if you are in the process of adopting).

Newt's team will play three games, with the possibility of a 4th if they get to the Championship game - so lots of goal scoring opportunities !!

You can donate to Walter by clicking on his name anywhere in this post - then please let me know you donated by commenting below, on any Facebook post where this blog is linked, or you can also e-mail me at pieapple@aol.com  (this is correct, their is NO "n").

THANK YOU !!

Another thing I'm doing to raise money for Walter is making personalized Christmas gift tags - you can read all about them and how to order them right HERE !!

Tags for Walter

Walter. 

 A little boy aged about 6, with cerebral palsy.

A little boy without a family, living in an orphanage in Eastern Europe.

Walter, a little boy looking for a family to see him, adopt him, and give him a life worth living. A family to see his worth and to help him be the best that he can be.

Walter, a little boy listed for adoption on Reece's Rainbow, with just $4.50 in his adoption grant.

Walter, who I have pledged to help. 

As part of the Reece's Rainbow Miracle of Adoption Christmas Campaign (MACC), I have pledged to try and raise $1000 for Walter's adoption grant this holiday season.

I have been part of this holiday campaign (previously known as the Angel Tree) for several years now, and every year I have somehow managed to raise $1000 for "my" child !!

One year, I shaved my head for Buddy (and so did my son !)

 Another year, I got my first ever tattoo - Reece's Rainbow inspired !

 

Other years, I have sold stuff,  both in online auctions and on Ebay.

This year, I am trying something different.

    I am also using my only crafting skill - cross stitch - to make Christmas monogram gift tags.

These gift tags serve two purposes - they are a gift tag - AND they can then be used as a Christmas Tree ornament ! 

Each monogram is hand stitched by me, then glued to a hand painted wooden gift tag that measures about 2 1/4" long.

Each letter takes me between 30-45 minutes to stitch - and every stitch is filled with love - for Walter and all of the other children waiting for a family.

Every letter of the alphabet is available.

They are all different, each one crafted with love.

I will, hopefully, be spending every free moment between now and Christmas painting gift tags and stitching letters.

I have already stitched one of each letter of the alphabet, so you can see what I have to offer.

However - every gift tag YOU order will be stitched just for you - each tag will be made to order.

Each tag will come with a length of candy cane striped twine, so it is ready to be used as soon as you get it.

 

Did I mention that very letter of the alphabet is available ??

I am currently taking orders - but PLEASE DO NOT PAY YET !!

While I am confident that I will be able to keep up with the orders, I ask that you do not pay until I let you know that your order is ready for shipping - I would hate to not be able to complete orders due to unseen circumstances.

Each gift tag will be $5 (or more, if you so choose !), and payment will go directly to Walter's adoption grant with Reece's Rainbow.  

Again - please DO NOT PAY YET !!

Once I have received your order, I will let you know when it is completed, and at that time you can donate to Walter's grant, and I will then ship your gift tags to you.

ORDERING INFORMATION

You can order in 3 ways.

1) Leave a comment below, with the letters you need, your name, e-mail address and shipping address.

2)  E-mail me at pieapple@aol.com  (this is correct - there is NO "n"), with the required letters and your name and shipping address.

3) Message me on Facebook with the letters you need, and your shipping address - I am "Jenny Scrupps Pohl"on Facebook.

Again - DO NOT PAY YET !!!!! 

Once I have received your order, I will get the tags made, then contact you via Facebook or e-mail with payment information.

Please be patient - these take time to make, and I will work on them in the order that orders are received.  

Thank you so much for reading - and caring !!

Are YOU a World Champion Kid Wrangler ??

THESE SHIRTS ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE !!!!

However, I am still raising funds for Walter's adoption grant so feel free to either donate directly to him, or you can also go to THIS post to see how to buy Christmas gift tag ornaments !!

 If you are new to the world of international adoption and/or Reece's Rainbow, please read the following paragraph.  If you are already familiar, please feel free to skip ahead.

The children of Reece's Rainbow are in desperate need of adoptive families. They all have special needs, and all live in countries where those with disabilities are seen as being less worthy than others.  Parents are encouraged to leave their babies at the hospital, told that they would be better off in an orphanage. Some children are abandoned at a young age once families realize they have a disability.  As these children age, they move from the baby orphanage to an institution. Here, their chances of survival are pretty slim, thanks to a combination of lack of staff, poor living conditions, and lack of funding. Physically disabled children spend their days in cribs, with no education, therapies, toys - or love.  All of these children truly need rescuing, and thankfully there are people out there who are willing to step forward and adopt them !!  The only obstacle is, sadly, money.  Most families who are financially able to provide for a child don't have the $30,000, or more, readily available to fund an adoption.

This is where Reece's Rainbow comes in.  They help raise both awareness AND adoption grants for these children !!  In 10 years, Reece's Rainbow has helped over 1600 children find homes - and they have many more who have wonderful individual grants to help out with the cost of their adoption.  

Walter is a 6 year old little boy with cerebral palsy, living in an orphanage in Eastern Europe, and he currently has just $4.50 in his adoption grant.  

I am honored to be Walter's "Christmas Miracle Maker" this year !!  This means that I have committed to try and raise $1000 for his adoption grant this holiday season (November 1st - December 31st).  Once a family steps forward to adopt Walter, they will be able to use the money in his adoption grant to help pay for his adoption expenses.

I am making an early start, by selling t-shirts I have had specially designed - I will be selling these during the month of October.  

There are a variety of colors available.

Lime

 

                                            Purple                                   Carolina Blue                                       

Heliconia

 

  

 Turf Green                           Maroon

 Gold

Sizes available - adult Small, Medium, Large, XL, XXL and XXXL

 

 ORDERING INFORMATION

Sizes S, M, L and XL - $20

Sizes XXL and XXXL - $22

Colors are as shown above - if there is another color you would like, just ask, and I'll see what I can do !

If you would like to add a couple of extra dollars to help with shipping costs, that would be great !

INTERNATIONAL ORDERS - unfortunately I will need to charge more for shipping outside of the USA - please ask for a shipping quote before ordering.

Please send payment via Paypal to my e-mail

pieapple@aol.com  (this is correct, there in NO "n" in the word !!).

Please be sure to include the following in the the notes section of Paypal 

- color and size of shirt(s) you would like

-  your name and shipping address. 

If you forget to add this info, you can also e-mail it to me at the same e-mail address, or message me on Facebook (Jenny Scrupps Pohl).

I will place the order for the shirts at the end of this month (October), so they should be with you mid-November.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this - I hope this shirt sells amazingly well, and I am able to raise lots of $$ for Walter's adoption grant !!

 

For Cameron.

 

 

Can you do me a favor ? 

 

It's really easy - take a look at the photos below, and tell me what you think all the children pictured have in common.

 

        

        

 

Any ideas ?

 

 

Here's a clue - they are aged between the ages of 1 and 11 years - and they all have special needs of one kind or another.

 

Still don't know ?

 

 

Need more clues ?

 

 

 

OK - all of these children were listed on Reece's Rainbow as available for international adoption.

 

  

 

Look at them again - try and see through their adorable little faces, their beautiful smiles and their all round cuteness.

 

 

Did you figure it out ?

 

No ?

 

The sad fact is that these children are all dead.

 

All of these children passed away recently.

 

They all died living in orphanages and institutions.

 

Some of them had families committed to adopting them, but, tragically, they didn't get them out in time.

 

Most of them had no-one.

 

They all died alone, with no mommy or daddy to hold their hands, no-one to comfort them as they lay dying, no-one to tell them how very much they were loved. 

 

They never had a chance.

 

Had they been adopted in time, chances are they would still be alive - they would have had access to adequate food and medical care - they would have had families able to get them to the doctor when sick, instead of languishing in a crib until it was too late.

 

As mentioned above - some of these children had families who were in the process to adopt them.  I cannot imagine the pain they are going through right now, mourning the loss of a child they had yet to meet. 

Please, if you are a praying person, cover these families in prayer ?

 

These children are the ones we know about - children that we learned had passed away just this year.

 

In all, Reece's Rainbow have lost 69 waiting children in the past 10 years.

 

If you are prepared for your heart to be broken, go HERE to see them all.

 

As an advocate, it is sometimes so very hard to know WHO to shout for.

The children listed for adoption on Reece's Rainbow are ALL desperate for a family - death is waiting around the corner for each and every child.

 

While it's too late to shout for Cameron, Judah, Cristoff, Beckett, Kolya, Seth and Ginny, there are so many more children just like them.

Children living in orphanages and institutions who need YOU.

They need you to keep on shouting, to share their need, to donate to their adoption fund, to get them SEEN.

 

I'll be honest.

 

I've been quiet recently.  Every now and then, I become disheartened - I share on Facebook, I write my blogs, I fundraiser for adoption grants - and yet, it seems, that no-one is listening. 

 

I get to the point where I feel that it's all a huge waste of my time, that nothing I can do or say can possibly make a difference.

 

Then I read about a child dying.  Then another.  Then today, yet another.

 

Cameron was just 5 years old, and had multiple special needs.

 

 

He was recently transferred from the baby orphanage to an institution.

Sadly, once transferred, many children don't survive - they receive less care - there are more children and less staff - they just don't have a chance.

This blog is dedicated to advocating for the older children, aged 10 and above.

Most children are transferred to an institution around the age of 4 or 5 - so the children I shout for have been living in desperate conditions for at least half of their lives.

These children are truly living on borrowed time - and while there are some institutions that are better than others, these kids still need out - they still need families, friends, LOVE, medical care, education and therapies.

ALL of the children aged over the age of 10 listed on Reece's Rainbow are eligible for a $10,000 adoption grant !!

You can see all of the children with Down Syndrome HERE.

HERE are all the children with disabilities other than Down Syndrome - the "Other Angels" of Reece's Rainbow.

If you have managed to read this far, I thank you - I know I tend to ramble at times - but today, in Cameron's honor, I want to share a few more children with you. 
These children have cerebral palsy, like Cameron, but are several years older. 

Please see these children - share them - consider them for adoption - pray for them - do something, today, for these children who have waited far, far too long for a family of their own. 

You can click on their name to read their profile at Reece's Rainbow.

Phoenix


Liam


Noel


Daphne


Denis


Sealey

 

Camden

 

Anton

 

These are just a few of the children listed - please go to Reece's Rainbow to see many many more.

 

Please pick a child today, and shout for that child as much as possible.

 

Please don't let Cameron's death be in vain - please help me get these children seen, let's get them found, let's get them HOME !!

 

For Cameron.