The current Nam Dinh orphanage

This is where my son came from. This orphanage is only for babies. It is very small and very poor, but the caregivers seem to do a good job with what they have.

The new Nam Dinh orphanage

This is the building that will soon be the Nam Dinh orphanage for babies and for older kids. More than 1/2 of the funds raised here will contribute to making that happen. France and Italy have also given large contributions. According to my coordinator in Vietnam, the Nam Dinh orphanages are very poor because they are so far away from Hanoi and tourists and those that donate rarely go there.

Remaining Donations

I didn't get to visit the orphanages in and near Hanoi. We were on our way there and then got a last minute cancellation. After that, each day was taken up by some adoption activity and surviving first-time parenting. But, I've decided to donate the remaining funds of around $1300 to the new Nam Dinh orphanage. Nam Dinh is where my son was adopted from and the orphanage currently holds only infants. It is quite small and poor. It is a 4 hour drive from Hanoi, so not many people visit. Hence, donations are hard to come by. They are building a new orphanage which we were able to visit. It is a warehouse now, but soon will house children of all ages as well as a work area that will be used to raise funds for the orphanage. If I remember correctly, the work area will be used to make clothing and textiles. I'd have to check on that though. My brain got kind of fried after receiving my son. I have photos of the future orphanage, but I can't access them right now. I'll post them later along with the final total of money raised and what it was spent on.

Picking up the formula

Formula for Nam Dinh

On Sunday we bought 8 cases of formula for Nam Dinh, the orphanage my son is from. Henry, our coordinator, helped me get it wholesale price - $100 per case. The 8 cases won't last long with 20 or so babies, but it will definitely help. Your contributions got us there and it was fun going to get the formula and bringing it to the orphanage. I also brought a bag full of blankets for the babies, but I'm not sure they will use them.

I'm trying to upload photos, but the internet connection is so bad that it stalls out.

Latest updates

I'm sorry to say that Baby Sinh is not going to make it. The medical team decided that she would never survive the surgery, so she is left to live out her remaining days with good care. I'll still send the money to John to help in that.

As for the water treatment tank, I spoke to John about that today and he said formula is a higher priority. They boil the water to make the formula and other baby foods, so it is safe. Instead of buying the tank, I'll be buying formula and other foods as needed. I'll also go talk to the orphanage director to see what else is needed. John said it might be good to buy some space heaters for the cold winter.

Total collected to date = $2400! Way more than the $300 I had hoped to raise. Thank you all!

Dropping off the donations

My car full of donations; mostly clothing


Bringing the donations into the shop. The ladies there were very friendly and helpful


The Baby Boutique shop. The families that can shop here are either homeless or transitioning out of it. They get a list of items they can select and they get to choose which ones they want. All items are free to the families and are a tremendous help to them.

Thank you to the North Seattle Families of Multiples sale for donating your unsold items and for allowing me to be a part of this. It was truly uplifting and I look forward to working with this organization again.

Local donations

I finally found the time to research a good place to take the donations of clothing from the consignment sale. I've been sharing my living room with 5 large boxes, so it will be nice to move those out tomorrow. The lucky recipient is Baby Boutique! I got a tip on this place from someone I know, but I couldn't find the info she gave me. Fortunately, a quick Google search turned it up. Baby Boutique is a program to help local homeless families cope by providing clothing, toys and other necessities for the children. I'm very happy to be helping the orphans in Vietnam, but I also wanted to do something to help families stay together. This seemed like a perfect opportunity. I can't wait to take everything down there. Follow the link below for more information. They take gently used clothing, high chairs, cribs, toys, etc.

http://www.family-services.org/get_help/homeless/kids_clothing.php

Deadline for Donations

If you haven't done it yet, now is the time to get the checks to me. If you prefer clicking, just use your online billing. I'm setting the deadline to receive checks as Sunday, Oct 14th. This will give me enough time to get the check to Faith who will in return send it back to me so we can record the total raised for tax purposes. I'll be sure to get receipts out to those that donated by the end of the year.

Update on Baby Sinh - I talked to John on her a week ago and it was not looking good, but the agency and the orphanage are still hopeful. I've been a bit preoccupied with my own donation, but will try to get more info about her soon.

Updated Total

The total raised now is $2320, which is fantastic! I'm now feeling pretty comfortable about getting the water treatment tank. It will change the percentage spent on each orphanage, but it is such an important investment that will last. They'll also be able to move this tank when they build the new orphanage in a couple of years. The additional help has come from friends of friends. A few of my friends who have donated shared the email with their friends who wanted to donate, so now I'm getting checks from people I don't even know. I'm really honored that people have so much faith in my donation drive and I really appreciate you spreading the word. Not much time left though. If you wanted to donate, but haven't yet, do it now.

Fundraising Update

The running total is now up to $1980. Only $20 more to go until I reach my goal of $2000. But, of course, I have a new goal. I'd like to spend a large portion of the cash on the older children, but also I heard about the need for a water treatment tank at Nam Dinh (the orphanage where my son is). A tank costs $1200, but is a great project for us to do. That means I need to raise more money to help out the older kids as well.

Birla Children's Village is the orphanage in Hanoi that I plan to work with. I've seen a lot of write ups online about them. It is a large orphanage that has 70-120 children ages 3 and up that live there permanently. My plan, as John advised, is to go there to meet the director and ask them what is most needed. I hear the biggest need is food and school supplies.

Yesterday I got a huge donation of clothes and blankets from the Families with Multiples bi-annual consignment sale. I took a chance and asked what happened to the items that don't sell and before I knew it, I had a car full of clothes, shoes and blankets. My living room is full of boxes now; way more than we can carry to Vietnam, so the rest will be donated locally.

Total Raised

The total now stands at $1615! Only $385 needed to get to the new goal of $2000. I kinda feel like Jerry on the MDA telethon. But you have a bit more time to donate. Just don't hesitate too long. The earlier I have the total, the better we can plan for the trip. Thanks to all of you who have donated so far and thanks for the supportive emails and comments even when you couldn't donate.

Funds collected so far

Current total stands at $1305 and I have a few outstanding promises and checks in the mail. Will I make it to $2000? I don't know, but I'd sure love your help to make it there.

I'm trying to get more details on the orphanage in Hanoi that I will work with, but the agency director is busy in Panama right now. I'm also trying to find out how much things cost in Vietnam, so I can figure out how much to spend on purchases like clothing and food and what I can contribute to facility improvements. I'd like to select a much needed project to either fund or contribute to. More details will be coming.

We made the goal!

Thanks to all of you we've made the $1000 goal and I still have promises of more money. I might just make it to $2000, which is my new goal. This is great news for the kids in Hanoi and Nam Dinh. It also means we might be able to do some facilities improvements along with the donations of the kid and nutritional necessities.

Paying with Paypal

There was a question on whether you could donate via Paypal. I did not set up an account since Paypal charges a fee per transaction. I wanted as much money to go towards the children, so it's better to send me a check. If people think I will get more donations having a Paypal account, I still can set one up, but I would prefer all of the donation be used for what it was intended for.

Comments appreciated.

Fundraising Status

I've raised $605 from 11 very generous contributors. Unfortunately that is only 6% of the total number of people I've emailed. Whatever you contribute is much appreciated and does add up. Skip coffee for a day or collect the change out of your change jar. That's what I did. The children can use your help.

Baby Sinh

This is the baby that needs heart surgery. She has already been flown to Singapore for the operation.

Nam Dinh Orphanage

Fundraiser Goals

My goal is to raise $1000 and to spend it as follows, with the focus being on the older children who are less likely to be adopted.

55% of the funds will go towards the older children at the Hanoi orphanage. The focus is to provide them with books, clothes and food.

33% will go towards the Nam Dinh orphanage to purchase diapers, onesies, formula, food, and toys.

12% will go towards a life saving operation for Baby Sinh, who was flown to Singapore last week.

The Fund Drive Begins

A friend told me recently, when I turned down a referral, that I can’t save all of the babies. Maybe not, but I can make the lives of those left at the orphanage a little better by providing things that they need. Some people call this paying it forward. I was inspired recently by an Oprah Winfrey show on doing just that. She gave each member of the audience $1000 to pay it forward to someone in need. Some people used up the $1000 and were done, but others used that as a starting point to raise tens of thousands of dollars for the cause of their choice. They were not able to do this without the help of their communities, but they acted as coordinators and moved way beyond anyone’s expectations. I was inspired. I don’t have $1000 from Oprah and I don’t have Oprah’s name behind me to help in getting donations, but I do have $53 from my change jar and, more importantly, I have a cause. I also have a pretty large community of caring friends and family that I believe would be interested.

My goal is to help the children that live out their lives in the Vietnamese orphanages. When I go to Vietnam to meet and bring home my baby, I’d like to spend some time to shop for whatever the children need. This may include food, formula, diapers, clothes, toys, books and possibly medicine or vitamins. My hope is that I will have time to do the shopping, with the help of the locals, and deliver the items myself so I can see their smiling faces. That way I not only get to see the end result, but I can also (hopefully) bring back photos, videos and stories to share with all of you. I don’t have the details worked out yet, but I wanted to get this letter out, since there is not much time until I head to Vietnam. I hope to work with the director of my agency and our contact in Vietnam to organize this effort and to ensure we are buying what the children really need. If this fundraising effort goes beyond what I can spend while in Vietnam, then I will continue to make children’s lives better in other ways, such as donating to the agency’s humanitarian efforts to improve orphanages, working with local foster children or possibly even starting a foundation to continue the effort long term.

If you are interested, please send any donation you deem appropriate, and if you can’t afford what you want to give, even $2 will make a difference. Please send donations as soon as possible, since I may leave for Vietnam as early as October.

If you would like to send a donation, but don't know my address, please email me at orphan_funds@yahoo.com. And if you are adopting yourself, maybe you will think of doing your own fund drive. If so, I'd love to hear about it.