Fundraiser Time!
Steve & I are so excited that the day to start our fundraiser has finally come! On April 2nd we had dinner with friends who want to help us with fundraising. We talked about the timing of a BIG fundraiser, different kinds of fundraisers we could do, bake sales, auction, dinner etc. It was a great time getting to know them better while we talked about adoption. As I was nursing Henry to sleep soon after they left, I did what I normally do after brainstorming....I researched and looked for more fundraising ideas and I don't think that it is by chance that I found an awesome idea from this blog www.beingmrsmurray.com/help-us-adopt/
The concept is pretty simple: 1,000 people donating $30 to raise $30,000 in 30 days. I was SOOOO excited to go downstairs and share what I had found with Steve and my parents. We do not know what the final cost of our adoption will be since we are not matched yet, but $30,000 is a pretty average number. We felt that we should continue to save, fundraise and apply for grants before we started being presented to birth mothers. We would have a hard time emotionally, if we connected with a birth mom and were unable to accept the match due to fees that have to be paid when we are matched.
In the past couple of weeks I have been working hard on designing a flyer, setting up an account with Adopt Together so that any gifts given can be tax deductible, writing a letter to share our story on Adopt Together, and lastly...printing out the flyers. If I'm honest this has been harder than I thought it would be. We decided to print the flyers at home to save money...but boy the printers are giving us a hard time! This has been the biggest frustration. Mom and I are VERY happy that we have a bunch printed and found the best way to get the job done. The boys have been helping us print and cut the flyers and even though they don't fully understand what is going on because they are so young, they have been excited to help us and watch me design the flyer.
We are so grateful for the friends and family who have already donated to help us get this adoption rolling and we are excited to finally share what is going on here for fundraising as I know some of you have been asking for details.
We are so thankful for your support...Any amount that you can give, $30, $10, $5, $1 will help and be greatly appreciated. If you are unable to help financially would you be willing to share our story? Anything you are willing to do will help bring a baby girl to her forever family...After all this fundraiser is for Nora, not for us. To donate visit: www.adopttogether.org/martinadoption between April 18th-May 17th. I will make sure to update throughout this next month.
Here is a breakdown of what we have already paid for with our savings and donations we have received:
Christian Adoption Consultants: $2,680.00
The home study $2,030.24
In person and online training: $400
Criminal background checks: $60
Child abuse background checks: $30
Driving record checks: $20.00
Here is what is left to pay for:
Agency application fees: varies
Birth parent's living expenses: varies
Legal fees: varies
Agency fees: varies
ICPC-Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (states talking to each other about baby): varies
Travel to pick Nora up:
A place to stay while we wait for the ICPC : up to two weeks
Your prayers for our family, Nora's birth mother and Nora are appreciated as we start the next step in our adoption journey.
Steve, Amber, Reid, Eli and Henry