Craft For China Fundraiser

MOVED!

Craft For China — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:40:29 +0000

we have moved! please visit:

craftforchina.com

dot com

Craft For China — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 03:00:55 +0000

edit: I found a host to get a domain name registered & get web hosting for only $2.78 a month! It has everything needed to run the site. I’m not sure how soon I’ll be able to purchase it and get it ready, but you can expect it sometime in the future!

I really want to register craftforchina.com and make a proper site for our fundraiser. I like wordpress, and will keep using it, but the free services are very limited. If anyone has any connections and can get some super cheap web hosting please let me know. All I really need is PHP 4.2 or higher and My SQL 4 or higher. Hopefully in the next few weeks we’ll have a proper site!

The Package Arrived!

Craft For China — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:13:15 +0000

I got the sweetest email today. I got an email from the manager of the Believe in Me III school where Gracie attends preschool. The package I sent full of books arrived. She took a lot of photographs of Gracie with the books and some little hand drums I put in there. The smile on her face was worth every minute searching for books in thrift stores, standing in line at the post office, and paying a small fortune to ship the books all the way to China. All worth it. I like the photos of her reading the book and holding the drums in each hand haha. I still have two more packages to send that are full of toys & art supplies. I’ll be sending them later next month or so.

Go here to see the rest of the photos, there are 16 total.

How Much?

Craft For China — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:04:49 +0000

If you are wondering how much money we need to raise, I have the answers! I would like to raise about $900. This is how it is broken down:

Gracie: her sponsorship sends her to preschool. It currently cost $20 a month, so we need to raise $240 (her’s may be more this time but we’ll see)
Emma: her sponsorship gives her a foster family. It cost $35 a month, so we need to raise $420
I would love to sponsor another child for school. I really love LWB’s education programs and with me becoming a teacher, education holds a special place in my heart. To sponsor a child for school it cost $20-$25 a month, so we need to raise $240- $300
If we raise more than $900 then the extra will go towards a child’s medical care.
If we don’t raise enough money Emma & Gracie will get as many months of sponsorship as possible. But lets not allow that to happen!!

I put a new section in the side bar that will keep track of the amount of money donated. You can donate any amount via PayPal or buy a Gracie Bag and $10 goes to the fundraiser. Paypal donations of any amount are appreciated. I’m sure the amount raised section won’t change too much until the end of May when we have the auction on eBay.

Spread the Word!

Craft For China — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:29:21 +0000

To make this fundraiser a success two things need to happen. The first is to have people donate their products. The second is to have people bid & buy on their products. For this to happen, I’ve been emailing artists, crafters, bloggers, etc. and pretty much begging them to blog about the fundraiser or to add a button to their sites. It is very important that more attention is raised about the fundraiser. So now I am asking all of you to write a blog entry about the fundraiser and/or add a button to your site. I have made many new pretty buttons for you to use. They are all here. If you blog about the fundraiser leave a comment so I can see it & add your website to the press section of the site. Thank You!

Emma’s New Update

Craft For China — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 22:14:47 +0000

This is a bit long so click the “read more” to see her report.

This is the email I got from the coordinator of the foster care.

Dear Melissa,

I am attaching your February report on little Emma.
Even though she was asleep when Li Jia visited this
month, he did get some great stories about her life
with the foster family. I love that her brothers are
so protective of her!

I hope you all had a wonderful Chinese New Year
celebration with your families. Our Xinxiang monitor,
Li Jia, visited the families this month over his
Chinese New Year trip to visit his own family. So all
of these reports were done over the Chinese New Year
holiday, which explains why so many of the children
are sporting their new clothing they received for just
this occasion.

The children all seem to be doing well this month,
except for a few minor illnesses. Several of the
children who were not strong enough to walk or stand
are now showing great progress in their families.
They are supporting themselves, and walking with
assistance! Such progress comes with the one-on-one
attention they are getting, and it is music to my ears
to know they are achieving these developmental
milestones.

I am leaving in exactly one week to begin my trip to
China. We will start our trip in the Henan Province,
where we will conduct a Special Needs Training in
partnership with the provincial Civil Affairs, and
twenty-nine orphanages are planning on attending.
Local officials will be there to facilitate
international adoption paperwork, and Chinese doctors
will present the most common special needs and the
care needed for them. When the training is complete,
we will visit all of the Foster Care programs in the
province that Love Without Boundaries facilitates.

I just cannot wait to visit the children in the
Xinxiang program, and I will have firsthand reports
for each of you when I return. We will provide a gift
to each of the foster families when we visit, but if
you have a special request for your child while we are
there I will do my best to complete it on your behalf.

Let me know as soon as possible as I will be leaving
March 6.

As always, your support is making a huge difference in
your child’s life!

Here are some excerpts from the report:

Emma is active, smart and beautiful. This time I did the visit, the foster parent
told me something interesting about her. She can call “Dad and Mum”, and she
can also tell man and woman. What makes me laugh to tears is that she calls
every male “Dad”, including her brother. And she calls every female “Mum”,
including her sister. What a lovely girl! And when she plays outside, her brothers
are always on guard, not allowing others to do bad to her. Little Emma is a
princess here!

The photo is precious of her napping. I emailed Nancy, the coordinator, to see if I could mail her something small that she could take to Emma when she visits. I hope so!

Ready for Donations!

Craft For China — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:35:49 +0000

I am now ready to start the second Craft for China fundraiser!

This fundraiser’s main goal is to raise money to keep Gracie in school and Emma in foster care. I am having high hopes and another goal of this fundraiser is to sponsor another child for school. Of course, this will all be done through Love Without Boundaries. If this is your first time at this blog and hearing about our fundraiser I suggest you go here and read about everything the fundraiser does.

The current fundraiser will be an eBay auction like last time. The deadline to donate items is May 24, 2008. This should be plenty of time to get things together or make new items. If you are interested in donating one of your products please go here to read about everything and donate. If you decide to donate please go to the form and fill it out. Everyone must fill out the form. It keeps things organized and lets me know who is serious about donating.

To see who is donating to the fundraiser visit the links under “Current Donors” in the sidebar.

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment or email me at craftforchina@gmail.com

Care Package Update

Craft For China — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 23:28:19 +0000

Just wanted to let everyone know, especially those who donated, that the care package (or half of it) will be mailed this week. I requested they take photos when the children get the package, so we should see those in a few weeks!

Emma’s new Update

Craft For China — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 23:24:04 +0000

I received updated information and photos of little Emma. The photos show her in her new coat & pants, with the man that checks on the children and does the updates, and her eating cake. You’ll also notice her shaved head, this is common in Chinese orphanages so I guess the foster family continues it. Click the photos for larger sizes.

Here are some highlights from her update:

“Emma is active, smart and beautiful. She has been smiling all the time when receiving the New Year’s present and she always holds the precious gift in her hands. The moment she sees you, she is always smiling at you! I hugged her unbearably! What a good lambkin!”

“Emma has almost full teeth and can speak and run. She can eat by herself. This time she gave me another surprise. When I wanted to help her put on the coat, she stretched out her arms. The moment I left, she waved goodbye to me. What an intelligent girl!”

It also said she had a cold and was taken to the SWI (doctor/clinic) but shes all better now. Her birthday is next month! I don’t know what day but she will be turning two next month. She sure is doing well, thanks to all your donations.

Gracie Bags

Craft For China — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:42:30 +0000

I want to continue sponsoring Gracie for school so I am trying to raise money for her next sponsorship. I have made these Gracie bags to sell on my Etsy shop. The bags are $25, which includes shipping to anywhere in the US, and when they sell $10 will go towards her next sponsorship. Right now there are seven very different bags in the shop. If you want one but don’t see one you like, I will be happy to make a custom bag. Go here to see the bags!