Hello Friends!
We have had our first meeting with the woman who is likely to be our social worker. We learned a lot about different types of adoption (here I was thinking that there were only two - domestic and international. Not so). We turned in our inquiry form and are currently working on the applications. After that will be home study time. Which is weird, because it means we're actually going to start setting up where a crib will go, or where a changing table will go. We will have to start making decisions about our baby. Isn't that weird? Weird, but awesome. You should see the pins I have on Pintrest for a nursery :)
Along with application time and home study time comes check writing time. That part isn't as exciting. Jonathan and I have really been struggling with the idea of fundraising. Some friends and family asked when and what we were planning to do in this area so they could help, and that started the conversation. We have gone back and forth a couple of times - and we agreed that we were very uncomfortable with the idea of asking people for money for nothing in return.
I then had a great conversation with my cousin's wife (shout out to the lovely Pricilla!) and she talked to me about fundraisers and gave me a few places to start. The first one that we talked about is Owls for Orphans (I've included a link to this organization under the "Helpful Links" tab). This group is awesome. Here's what they're all about:
"The Owls for Orphans boutique is where you’ll find our handcrafted crochet animals, patterns, and latch hook rugs. Items are designed and crafted by Amy and Nichol and make the perfect unique gift for a baby shower or birthday party. A portion of every sale in our shop goes to help adopting families bring home their children. We have currently raised over $1300 for adopting families."
I really loved reading about this group - and fully intend on purchasing an owl to help an adopting family. We sadly cannot be one of their featured families because they currently only feature families who are adopting internationally.
The next one that I looked into is called Angel Bins. They are also linked under the tab "Helpful Links".
"Raising money for your favorite organization can be environmentally friendly. Angel Bins offers you and your team or charity the opportunity to make money while recycling gently used clothing and shoes.
Angel Bins is committed to reducing our impact on the environment. By collecting your used clothing and footwear, we are reducing the amount of waste that goes into our landfills, while recycling some of your items into other materials and re-using the rest in third world countries. Did you know that according to EPA studies, only 15% of all textile waste is currently being recycled?"
They have several different types of fundraisers. The one I was looking at specifically was the shoe fundraiser. But then, when do I not like shoes? So this one is in the works for us, not quite there yet.
The one we have chosen to start at the moment is this:
"When Just Love Coffee Founder Rob Webb and his wife, Emily, were going through the adoption process, they found that many adopting families were frustrated by the lack of a good fundraising model. The Just Love Coffee Roasters fundraising program was born as a result. Our program is unique in that we don’t require you to purchase anything. What you do need to do is tell others about it ...
We handle everything on the back end, from roasting the coffees to order fulfillment and customer service.
All you have to do is get the word out about your store. Send the link to your Just Love web page to as many people as possible to generate sales for your account."
Why? Because COFFEE!! I'm the first to admit that I drink too much coffee (I average about four cups a day). And we really love this fundraiser because it's something that people typically buy anyway. If you are interested, the link to our shop is: https://justlovecoffee.com/kozikadoption. I'll keep everybody updated on the progress of that as time goes on.
I hope everybody is having a great week! One week from today, Jonathan and I will be married for a year!
Nikisha
We have had our first meeting with the woman who is likely to be our social worker. We learned a lot about different types of adoption (here I was thinking that there were only two - domestic and international. Not so). We turned in our inquiry form and are currently working on the applications. After that will be home study time. Which is weird, because it means we're actually going to start setting up where a crib will go, or where a changing table will go. We will have to start making decisions about our baby. Isn't that weird? Weird, but awesome. You should see the pins I have on Pintrest for a nursery :)
Along with application time and home study time comes check writing time. That part isn't as exciting. Jonathan and I have really been struggling with the idea of fundraising. Some friends and family asked when and what we were planning to do in this area so they could help, and that started the conversation. We have gone back and forth a couple of times - and we agreed that we were very uncomfortable with the idea of asking people for money for nothing in return.
I then had a great conversation with my cousin's wife (shout out to the lovely Pricilla!) and she talked to me about fundraisers and gave me a few places to start. The first one that we talked about is Owls for Orphans (I've included a link to this organization under the "Helpful Links" tab). This group is awesome. Here's what they're all about:
"The Owls for Orphans boutique is where you’ll find our handcrafted crochet animals, patterns, and latch hook rugs. Items are designed and crafted by Amy and Nichol and make the perfect unique gift for a baby shower or birthday party. A portion of every sale in our shop goes to help adopting families bring home their children. We have currently raised over $1300 for adopting families."
I really loved reading about this group - and fully intend on purchasing an owl to help an adopting family. We sadly cannot be one of their featured families because they currently only feature families who are adopting internationally.
The next one that I looked into is called Angel Bins. They are also linked under the tab "Helpful Links".
"Raising money for your favorite organization can be environmentally friendly. Angel Bins offers you and your team or charity the opportunity to make money while recycling gently used clothing and shoes.
Angel Bins is committed to reducing our impact on the environment. By collecting your used clothing and footwear, we are reducing the amount of waste that goes into our landfills, while recycling some of your items into other materials and re-using the rest in third world countries. Did you know that according to EPA studies, only 15% of all textile waste is currently being recycled?"
They have several different types of fundraisers. The one I was looking at specifically was the shoe fundraiser. But then, when do I not like shoes? So this one is in the works for us, not quite there yet.
The one we have chosen to start at the moment is this:
"When Just Love Coffee Founder Rob Webb and his wife, Emily, were going through the adoption process, they found that many adopting families were frustrated by the lack of a good fundraising model. The Just Love Coffee Roasters fundraising program was born as a result. Our program is unique in that we don’t require you to purchase anything. What you do need to do is tell others about it ...
We handle everything on the back end, from roasting the coffees to order fulfillment and customer service.
All you have to do is get the word out about your store. Send the link to your Just Love web page to as many people as possible to generate sales for your account."
Why? Because COFFEE!! I'm the first to admit that I drink too much coffee (I average about four cups a day). And we really love this fundraiser because it's something that people typically buy anyway. If you are interested, the link to our shop is: https://justlovecoffee.com/kozikadoption. I'll keep everybody updated on the progress of that as time goes on.
I hope everybody is having a great week! One week from today, Jonathan and I will be married for a year!
Nikisha