So, this post is for those of you who are tired of seeing all my fund-raising blogs and posts on facebook. (Disclaimer: This post results from my over-active caffeinated brain. It's not a result of anything anyone has said or done. If anything, you have all been way more supportive than I ever thought possible.)
*Maybe you're sick of seeing them because you don't think I shouldn't be fundraising. (I'm going to address that!)
*Or, maybe you're tired of them because you wish you could help and finances are just tight. I completely understand. There are so many amazing families that I would LOVE to help. I just can't right now. It frustrates me. So, in light of those feelings, I'm writing this post to give you a few ideas of ways you can help without ever spending a dime.
First of all, let me address people that don't think I should be fundraising or think that I am just asking for too much:
While you might not realize it, I am very sensitive to this position. If I could produce or earn all the money I need to adopt Sara, I would. In a heart beat. I hate asking for help. It's hard for me. I don't like to do it. AT ALL! I also know that none of my friends have a spare $30,000 sitting around to fund this adoption. I respect that.
Here are the measures I have taken to be respectful of my friends and family in this process:
*I am paying as much as possible with my own funds. Summer school starts tomorrow. I hate teaching summer school but I will be there this summer. Sara is more important than my summer vacation. I have also cut way back on my spending in order to add what I can to my adoption account.
*I am only holding one major fundraiser at a time. April was the Give Away. May was the 31 fundraiser. June is Avon. July will be the auction. The coffee and puzzle pieces are incidental and on-going.
*I am trying really hard to find fundraisers that give you a return for your donation. While out-right donations are great, and wonderful, and very appreciated, I understand that you only have so much money to spend in a month. So, if you can get a birthday gift or a bottle of shampoo that you already needed and help Sara at the same time, it's a win-win for all of us. That's why July's fundraiser will be an auction and not a Give Away. I want people to walk away with a product that they wanted for their donation.
If after all this, you still think I'm wrong to be fundraising or you just don't care to hear about it any more, that's fine! Seriously. Feel free to defriend me on facebook, hide me from your news feed, stop reading my blog. Honestly, it's ok. Not everyone has a passion for orphans or kids with special needs. I have friends that are very passionate about animal rescues. That's not something that gets me excited. I just skip those posts on facebook. It's all good!
So, back to those of you who want to help but just don't have any money....Here are some ways that I've come up with that you can still help.
*Repost my blog on your blog, facebook or twitter. I have 40 followers on my blog. I don't actually know most of them. Spreading the word helps!
*Invite your facebook friends to the fundraising events and pages. I intentionally leave them as public events or pages so that you can invite friends. You never know when someone might be looking for a way to help others or just needs a bottle of nail polish from Avon.
*Tag your friends in pictures of auction items that you think they might be interested in. The auction will begin July 1st. If each of my friends tagged 5 of their friends, almost 1,500 people would see the auction items!
*Donate an item to the auction. If you are crafty, you could make something. Maybe your employer has something they can donate. Do you know anyone that owns an etsy shop and would like free publicity? Do you have a random gift card in your wallet that you are never going to use? About 60 people a day read this blog. If all of you donated an item that sold for $5, Sara would be $300 closer to coming home!
*Join Swagbucks using my referral link. This one takes a little more effort but would still help me immensely. Swagbucks is a website that allows you to earn gift cards by doing a variety of things. One of the ways to earn is by searching. If you make their search engine your default, you can earn points randomly throughout the day. Every time you earn points for a search, I also earn those points. This site is totally legitimate! I used it to earn enough Amazon gift cards to get a Kindle Fire. Now, I am using my points to get Pay Pal gift cards which I deposit into my adoption fund. If even 10 of you signed up with my link and used their search engine regularly, I could earn gift cards more quickly. (If you install their Swagbucks Mobile TV app on your android device, you can earn enough in a month to get almost $15 in Amazon gift cards. That's without doing anything else!)
Anyone else have ideas on how to help? Leave me a comment and let me know your ideas!
I wrote a similiar post www.loveforallchildren.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeleteIt is seriously sad that you feel you have to defend fundraising for an adoption. I know first hand that there are people who do scoff at us...and I know it is SO hard to have to humble ourselves, and surrender all our finances into the Lords hands. There are people who "get it" and understand the mission of adoption and there are those who don't and are prideful that they have never had to ask for help or depend on anyone ever. I pity those people because they are missing out on so much. I like to think of it as an invitation to be a part of the exciting work that God is doing in yours and Sara's life!..not a pathetic appeal for money. I have been humbled and overwhelmed by some peoples efforts to help us with our adoption and instead they thanked US for letting them be a part of it. Crazy kingdom math and servant hearted Jesus people ;) Those who are filled with pride and think it's annoying that you are fundraising/ dependent on others and the provision of God may find themselves humbled in a less exciting way than by an adoption.
ReplyDeleteI would be one of those who would love to help but just dont have the money. Unfortunatly, with shipping and gc/sites that dont work in canada, many of your 'more practical' fundraisers have not been very accessible to me, but know that I am praying to a God who can and will provide for your (and Sara's) every need, be it the finances to get her to you, or the emotional journey both of you are taking and especially for the transition period which I know as both an adoptee and a supporter of adoption is not always easy stuff. God will provide and its awesome to see how he provides through both fundraising, gifts and miraculous ways.
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