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.