Sealey's Summer of '17

If you've read this blog before you've probably read about Sealey. I have been advocating for Sealey for several years now, and obviously have not done a very good job, as he is still waiting for a family. 

Sealey is 12 years old - he will turn 13 in October of this year. He has cerebral palsy - he cannot walk, and requires total care. He has been listed as available for adoption with Reece's Rainbow for almost SEVEN years. 

If you don't know anything about Reece's Rainbow - read on !  They basically raise awareness and adoption grants for children with special needs, children who live in various countries around the world. Many of these countries see no worth in the lives of children with disabilities, so they are left to exist in orphanages and institutions.  To learn more, please go HERE. 

Sealey lives in an institution in Eastern Europe, and by all accounts spends his days in a crib, with no toys, no stimulation, no education or therapies, and most definitely no love.

As Sealey is over the age of 10, he is eligible for an adoption grant of up to $10,000 through Reece's Rainbow's Older Child grant !!

However, this grant is fluid, and is in constant need of replenishing - and so I am trying to kill two birds with one stone - I want to raise awareness of Sealey, so his family can find him - AND I want to raise funds for the Older Child Grant.

I am hoping that, with your help, I can get Sealey seen far and wide - I just know that somewhere out there is a family for him to call his own - we just need to find them !  After a lot of thought, I have come up with a way to get him seen and shared - I just need a little (OK, a lot) of help !

All I ask of you is a $5 donation to the Older Child grant HERE.

Once you have donated, please then send me a copy of your receipt (you can e-mail to me HERE, or message me on Facebook HERE). 

I will also need your mailing address.

I will then mail you a 10" by 8" laminated photo of Sealey, along with his info on the back.

This is where the fun begins !

Once you have his photo in hand, you can take him out and about and take pictures of you, with Sealey, in various locations. 

You can take your pictures on vacation, in your back yard, at the dinner table, at a local landmark - with you, with your family members, with total strangers - the sky is the limit !!

THEN you can post your Sealey pictures on your own social media, and on Sealey's Facebook page, which you can find HERE.

Once you post your photos, please use #Sealey2017 so we can see them all in one place !

Here are some photos I took of Sealey and his old Reece's Rainbow profile picture, just to give you some ideas.

You will have plenty of time to get your photos taken, as this fundraiser/awareness campaign will run until Sealey's 13th birthday, on October 26th of this year !

Oh - and there will be PRIZES !!

I'm not too sure of the details yet, but I do know that there will be a prize of a $100 donation to the Reece's Rainbow waiting child or adopting family of your choice OR $100 cash !!  This will be awarded to the best overall picture.

I will be working on prizes for other categories (most creative, cutest etc etc) in the next few weeks - please bear with me.

Remember - the aim is to get Sealey seen AND raise $$ for the Older Child grant pool.

Let's find his family for him !!

Once a family finds him,, and he is home with them, I will use all the photos of him that you have taken, and make a book for him, so he and his family will know how much he was loved, even before they found him.