I wanted to ask you all to consider helping me make a very special Christmas wish come true for the amazing Orta family (GA, USA) who are looking to rescue and bring home a little boy from an Eastern European orphanage in January 2016. So please, if you’ve gotten value from this blog in 2015 and you are feeling charitable and Christmassy, please consider donating to Bring Evan Home.
To encourage your donations, I have decided to do GIVEAWAY. For each $10 donated, you will get one entry into the prize draw which will be drawn at noon GMT on the 18th January 2016. if you donate $50, you will get 5 entries & so on. Winners will be notified on the same day – and items posted by airmail on the 19th January 2016.
If you want to be entered into the giveaway, all you need to do is to forward a copy of the “Thank you for your donation to Help us rescue Evan from the orphanage!” email which you will receive from GoFundMe to my email at mirrorofmysoulblog@gmail.com. If you have already donated, you will be entered into the prize draw automatically (unless of course you donated anonymously, in which case you should forward me your confirmation).
The Story of why you should support Evan
Six years ago when as I was expecting my daughter (who had been prenatally diagnosed with Down Syndrome) I came across Reece’s Rainbow. Reece’s is a US based charity which helps to advocate and find families for orphans with Down’s Syndrome (DS) and other special needs by raising funds or adoption grants and promoting awareness. While nowadays it is possible for many individuals with DS to live happy and fulfilling lives, in many places around the world children like my daughter are abandoned shortly after birth and viewed as outcasts with no ability to learn or to be functional members of society. Often these children are transferred into adult mental institutions at a very young age (in some countries as young as 5) and many don’t live to see their 6th birthday.
I was so deeply touched by the stories of children like my daughter from all around the world that a year or so after her birth I found myself drawn into advocating and fundraising for orphaned children with DS (without knowing it, my Twin flame was also active in the adoption circles at the time; trying to adopt a boy and a girl with his wife). Then, BOOM, back in 2013, one little boy on Reece’s website stole my heart – Meet Evan!
Evan is a 4-year old little boy from Eastern Europe who was abandoned at just one month old because he has Down Syndrome. Isn’t he just precious!!! Unfortunately where he is from, children like him face a life behind crib bars, with no medical care, few diaper changes, fed broth maybe once a day, rarely (if ever) held or taken outside. So when at the beginning of 2014 I saw that a family from Georgia, USA, had committed to giving Evan a forever home, I got in touch with Christie (the mum) to see how I could help.
Just like me, the Orta family had fallen in love with Evan the moment they saw his sweet face on Reece’s Rainbow. They are an amazing family with so much love to give. In their hearts he is already their cherished son and a much adored little brother to Laura. They have everything Evan needs to live a fulfilling and happy life: not only will he have so much LOVE, but all his medical and therapeutic needs will be taken care of. His new mum Christie is an Early Childhood Special Education teacher with many years of experience working with children with disabilities (including DS).
The total cost of Evan’s adoption is about $38,000 and the Ortas along with family, friends (including me) and the Community have already raised a bulk of this through their fundraising efforts in the past 2 years! They are now preparing for a final trip to Eastern Europe to bring Evan home in January 2016 (flights are already booked!!), however they still need to raise about $5,000 to complete the adoption. So dear readers, friends and fellow bloggers who read me in your thousands every day from all around the world… You may not be in a position to adopt a child but maybe you are in a position to help ONE CHILD find a home? Maybe you could give $5 or maybe $50 or maybe more? 100% of donations received will go directly to Evan’s adoption. This fundraiser does not benefit me in anyway – and for those of you in the US, your donations are tax deductible.
You can donate directly to the Orta’s GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/4wdtv0
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for anything that YOU are able to contribute…even if you are only able to share Evan’s story with your friends and family. Every child deserves a loving home and a family – and I want to ensure this time next year there is at least one orphan less in the world!
God Bless you all and have a lovely holiday season.
Love, Jonna xx
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