Giving Tuesday Giveaway!!

          Reece's Rainbow is an advocacy and grant organization focused on the adoption of children with special needs.  In May of 2016, a decision was made to allow all waiting children aged 10 and up to qualify for a $10,000 grant towards their adoption on a first come, first serve basis.  The grant for Older Children with Down Syndrome has awarded 5 of these $10,000 grant and has 52 more grants available.  This is life changing for so many of these waiting kids, linked here. Please help share these children and their available funding!
         The Older Child Grant (Other Angels) has been a very successful program and has awarded 34 of these $10,000 grants since May! That is 34 children ages 10 and up who are HIV+ or have other special needs who now have committed families. Unfortunately, the success of the program means that the pot of funding for these grants needs to be replenished. And this Thanksgiving season, we have a chance to help do just that!
         A $5000 matching grant has been offered to help rebuild the grant funds.  That means that for every dollar given up to $5000, a generous anonymous donor will give another $5000. This will allow Reece's Rainbow to offer another $10,000 grant for a waiting child 10 and up.  And any amount given above and beyond will help fund another grant for another child.  You can give directly at http://reecesrainbow.org/givingtuesday to help meet this grant.  As of Sunday afternoon, $3224 has already been given which is a great start!
          A group of advocates for these older children has put together a simple giveaway to help meet and exceed this matching grant.  The prize in this giveaway is $100 in Miracle Money which allows you to pick from any of the almost 100 younger children featured on this year's Miracle Tree!! Here's how you can participate:

1. Share this post or share directly about the matching grant  1 entry
2. Give to the matching grant.  1 entry per every $5 given.  Any giving to this fund between November 18-29 counts and is on the honor system.
3. Offer a fundraiser to help meet this grant or to benefit the Older Child Grant in the future. 1 entry

Please comment with your email address and the number of entries. This giveaway closes at 8:00am EST on Wednesday November 30th.

         

Angels without Pictures

       Every November and December, Reece's Rainbow runs the Angel Tree Fundraiser which aims to raise adoption grants for hundreds of kids waiting for a family. This year, there are still 138 kids who have not yet met the goal of raising an additional $1000 to add to their adoption grant. Time is short! This fundraiser ends at midnight on December 31st. Please click here to meet all of these kids and pick one or more to give a donation to.
        On the Angel Tree, you will see many adorable faces pictured. Maybe you will be drawn to donate to Nels who is currently the closest to meeting his $1000 goal.

      Or maybe you will be captured by the beautiful Cara who currently has only $500 in her grant and is the lowest at the moment. Any of these kids would benefit from your generous gifts and are in need of a loving family.

    But I hope you will also consider giving to a child who is not allowed to have their picture shared on a public website. These are real kids with real personalities and real needs for a family! The laws in their country are intended to protect their privacy, but they actually limit their chances at finding a family. Our family is advocating for Nikolajs for the third year in a row.   His handsome face hangs on our Christmas tree. My kids pray often for "Nikky" and have held a lemonade stand and toy sale for him, have made duct tape hairbows for him, and have helped with a book exchange for him. The past two years, he met his $1000 goal. This year, his grant reads $772 with only a few days left. Would you help us meet the goal this year? Would you share his need for a family? 

       There are other kids on Angel Tree this year who have not met their goal and do not have the advantage of a photo to share publicly. Please consider giving to Shelley, Angelica, Jordan, Adonai, or Crystal! Your donations make a difference. 

Love for Kids who are HIV+ (and a few random notes)

       Hi friends! A few random notes to start out with. First, the 21 Days of Hope Campaign for Reece's Rainbow is still going on. So far, three kids with Down Syndrome have gotten at $2100 grant and there are 18 more in line to benefit. You can read more and give at http://reecesrainbow.org/21daysofhope.  My Angel Tree kiddo Nikolajs is number 17 out of 21 to benefit, so of course I am hoping that the whole campaign makes it!
         Second, my current family warrior family, the Greene family is in country to pick up their son "A." I am excited to share that they currently believe that they are fully funded! They also hope to be able to travel home in less than two weeks from now. Once they are home, I"ll look for a new family to shout for.
     OK, so far I spent last month advocating for kids with special needs who are called "Other Angels" on Reece's Rainbow. I started out this month with mentioning the kids with Down Syndrome since the 21 Days of Hope specifically targets these kids. The final category of kids left are those who are HIV+. Some of these kids are receiving regular medical treatment.
      Meet Prudence! She is 3 years old and lives in Africa.  Her grant has recently increased to $1,144 to help with her adoption expenses. You can read more about Prudence at http://reecesrainbow.org/87778/prudence.

      Next, meet 13-year-old Zebadiah! He lives in Asia and his adoption must be completed by his birthday is July of 2015 or he will age out and be ineligible for adoption.  You can read more about him at http://reecesrainbow.org/67210/zebadiah.

  

      Next, this is Raul who lives in Eastern Europe. Raul has the advantage of having a detailed description from a family who spent significant time with him. He is currently 12 years old. Please read more about Raul at http://reecesrainbow.org/63528/raul.

      Finally, meet Delphine who is currently four years old and lives in Latin America.  Delphine probably has special needs in addition to HIV and needs a family that is ready to love her unconditionally. You can read about Delphine at http://reecesrainbow.org/78756/delphine.

Love for Kids with Down Syndrome

     So, it's a new month, but I still have more kids to feature! If you are familiar with Reece's Rainbow, you will know that it is an orphan advocacy ministry that started out specifically advocating for kids with Down Syndrome.  Over the years, the ministry has grown and expanded to include many different kids with special needs.
       March kicks up a month of special advocacy to raise grants and find families for kids with Down Syndrome called, "March Miracles: 21 Days of Hope." For each of the next 21 days, the goal is to raise $1000 to support the Reece's Rainbow Voice of Hope fund (covers operating costs, paypal fees, etc). As soon as $1000 is raised, a child with Down Syndrome will get a grant of $2100. So your gifts are more than doubled. You can read more and give generously at http://reecesrainbow.org/21daysofhope.
        I want you to meet Jianna, who will receive the first $2100 grant.  Jianna lives in Asia and needs a family to jump on her adoption at warp speed! It must be totally completed before she turns 14 on May 5th. You can read more about her at http://reecesrainbow.org/86118/jianna.

     If a teenager is not your thing, maybe there is room in your heart for an itty bitty! Willy will turn 1 later this month. You can read about him at http://reecesrainbow.org/87019/willy.

          If money is a big concern for you with international adoption, I want you to know that there are several kids with Down Syndrome who have very large grants available to help with their adoption. This is Andruis in Eastern Europe and his grant is $21,559! What an amazing blessing to his future family! Read about him at http://reecesrainbow.org/1124/andruisl.

Love for Other Kids

   Oh my goodness, friends! I can't believe that this is the end of the month of February and my last post featuring the Other Angels from Reeces Rainbow. I have chosen to focus on these kids because they are often passed over and many of them have very low grants.  It is hard for me to know that I was not able to share them all. Please take some time and read through these groups of postings if you can (you should see familiar faces from all month long):
*Other Angel Boys, 0-5
*Other Angel Girls, 0-5
*Other Angel Boys, 6-9
*Other Angel Girls, 6-9
*Other Angel Boys, 10+
*Other Angel Girls, 10+
*Other Angel Siblings

      There are some special needs that are very unique or have very few kids listed with similar needs. Please take a moment to search for: Hypotheriosis, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Arnold-Chiari, Apert Syndrome, Ritscher–Schinzel syndrome, abnormal development of sacral vertebrae.  There are new kids listed often, and a great way to see them is by clicking on the "Newly Listed" link at http://reecesrainbow.org/category/newly-listed.   If you are interested in international adoption of a child or children with special needs, here is a great place to start!  Thanks so much for reading along.

Love for Kids with Hydrocephalus

    As our month of advocacy draws to a close, I want to thank everyone who has read about, shared, or prayed for these kids. Today, I get to introduce you to several kids with Hydrocephalus, or enlarged head size due to additional fluid in the brain. Some of these kids have not received proper medical treatment or shunts, while others have been treated but still need a family.  Search Reeces Rainbow for hydrocephaly or hydrocephalic as well.
      First, meet Mikah who lives in Eastern Europe. Mikah is 12 years old and really needs out! Mikah has cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus. You can read a more detailed description of Mikah at http://reecesrainbow.org/71864/mikah-11-43.

    Next, this is Amos who lives in a different county in Eastern Europe. Amos needs a family to file commitment paperwork before he turns 16 in December of 2015.  There is a detailed description of Amos at http://reecesrainbow.org/51605/amos.

    Next, this is Bolden who lives in Latin America and is only one years old! Bolden needs medical care to address his hydocephalus. You can read more about Bolden at http://reecesrainbow.org/86277/bolden.

  Finally, meet seven year old Sheila who lives in Asia. Sheila seems to be functioning very well and she is described as, "intelligent, active, extroverted and talkative." You can read more about Sheila at http://reecesrainbow.org/65900/sheila.

Love for Kids with Medical Conditions

     Today, I get to introduce you to several kids with medical conditions such as: allergies, asthma, celiac disease, and cancer. Some of these kids have additional special needs and some of listed for adoption strictly because of these medical needs. Reeces Rainbow also lists kids who are HIV+, but since these are in a different category, I will feature them on another day. Kids with hepatitis would also fit in this category of medical needs, but there were enough to feature them separately on their own day. 
      First, please meet Toby who turns ten this year and currently lives in Eastern Europe.  Toby's only listed special need is his celiac disease.  You can read more about Toby from someone who met him a few months ago at http://reecesrainbow.org/76869/toby-2. 

    Next, meet Wendell who lives in Asia and just turned five years old. Wendell has an eye condition in one eye and is allergic to eggs.  You can read more about Wendell and consider him for your family at http://reecesrainbow.org/77086/wendell. 

   Next, this is Presley who lives in Eastern Europe and will turn 7 next month. Presley has a history of leukemia, but does not have current symptoms.  You can read more about Presley at http://reecesrainbow.org/12532/presley. 

     Finally, meet Haven who will turn 8 next month. Haven has been diagnosed with "celiac disease, CP, toxic Hepatitis, hypotrophy of III stage."  She is currently afraid of strangers and will need a patient family to break through to her. Haven has a grant of $5064.21 to help with her adoption. Read more at http://reecesrainbow.org/12528/haven4205.