This weekend I spotted another great fundraiser idea on Facebook – “Tag the Bag.” The Besk family (now famous among my readers for their Karaoke Party fundraising idea) used the idea to raise funds specifically for their airfare to Ethiopia.

Catherine was quick to give credit to her friend Ashley Rippke who in turn says it was actually her mom’s idea during their first adoption. Got that?

It’s pretty simple. Grab the suitcase you’re going to use for travel and some markers. For every donation someone makes, tag your bag with their name. You could name a specific amount if you want, but both these families made it open to ANY dollar amount.

The Rippke family raised approximately $3,500 with this fundraiser during their adoption of Elsa. (They bought the suitcase for $.50 at a garage sale and is now used as Elsa’s keepsake bag with items from Ethiopia and other special items she’ll collect during her childhood.)

This time around, the fundraiser has raised $7,500 of the Rippke’s $17,000 goal. And they’re not done.

Here’s a great graphic they did to explain their story and fundraiser.

The Besk family limited their fundraiser to a 48 hour time period. They received 58 donations and raised $3,250 for their airfare costs.

If your adoption doesn’t include travel, this idea could be taken elsewhere…

• tag the crib
• tag the stroller
• tag the carseat
• tag the diaper bag

What else could you tag?

 

In November of 2009, I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a form of cancer in the bone marrow. Due to the amount of pain I experienced and the round of chemotherapy that I went through, my husband and I decided that, instead of the possibility of passing this on to a child, we would adopt.

As we started to think more about adoption, we started to pray that God would let us know if this was something He wanted us to do. He showed us that adoption is a true reflection of what He has done for us through His Son, Jesus Christ. We are all adopted by God into His family.

In January of 2013, we started the formal domestic adoption process through Bethany Christian Services. Because of one doctor’s report, we were denied the process. In March of 2013, when I visited my lead oncologist, I asked him to clarify some things the other doctor said. When I left his office, he hugged me and said, “We will get your baby!” In just a week or so, we got another letter from Bethany letting us know they had reversed their previous decision and we were approved!

In April of 2013, I lost my job. It was a job that I loved and I had been there close to nine years. With that, we lost almost half of our income.

While we feel this is something God has called us to do, the $30,000 amount is something we cannot do without Him. This amount includes legal fees, counseling for the birth mother, medical expenses for the birth mother and other services provided by Bethany.

Through monthly fundraisers and generous donations, we have raised $6,000 so far.  We are hosting a fundraiser each month until our adoption is paid for and our child has come home.

On October 19, 2013, we will be hosting “Laissez Les Bon Temps Roullez for Baby Lewis.” Having grown up in Louisiana, I love a good party with good food. We are having a gumbo dinner and silent auction and are planning on this being our largest fundraiser to date. Our silent auction will also be displayed beforehand online to collect bids from people who are unable to attend the event.

I spend my days looking for people to donate items. I started with the contacts in my phone. I looked for anyone who owned a business, had a talent, was crafty. I wrote them letters asking for donations. Then, I went to my Friends on Facebook. I sent them emails. If anyone had any connection to something I thought was valuable, I asked. It is quite a humbling experience.

In the past few months, we have done a restaurant fundraiser (Texas Roadhouse – about $200), a garage sale (about $1,200), had friends run a half marathon in our honor (about $300) and done a ton of odd jobs here and there. Through these, and the generous friends and family members God has blessed us with, we have raised over $6,000.

In November of 2013, we will host a miniature golf tournament at a local indoor play place. In December, I plan to have my friends out to dinner to celebrate my birthday – with our child getting 10% of our guests’ bills.

Also, I have a friend who owns a salon. She asked if my husband and I could be her “charity” this Christmas. I immediately said no! There are so many people who need more than I do. But, a good friend in my Bible study group quickly pointed out that we have been praying for financial help for our adoption for a long time. Who are we to dictate how God wants to bless us? So…we are the family in need this holiday season. On our wish list, we have requests for money for the adoption, gift cards to help pay for diapers, formula and clothes and people’s favorite childhood books.

God is constantly showing us we are doing what He has asked. He will provide. It is so nice to be adopted by Him!

Each Friday I’ll feature a different fundraising adoptive family. My hope is that we can support each other and also learn from each other. For submission guidelines, go here.

Our family had the opportunity to go on a short-term mission trip to El Salvador to aid orphanages, and my husband and I prayed God would give us His eyes in seeing the world, and His heart in caring for others.  Boy, did he ever!  We are incredibly grateful that He not only showed us what true “need” is, but that He is allowing us to be parents through the blessing of adoption.   With the busyness of life and raising three children, I used to jokingly tell people that if God wanted us to have more children, I would need Him to make it perfectly clear.  In fact, I would need him to write me a letter!  One day the realization hit me, that He has in fact written us a letter – the Bible!  In it, Christians are clearly called to defend the cause of the fatherless, and God has made it clear that adoption is the way our family can do this.  We love our children ferociously, and are elated that He opened our hearts to welcome more!

We have two biological daughters ages 9 and almost 5, a 3-year-old son born in South Korea, and our newest addition is waiting in China!  He is a beautiful 3 year old with albinism, meaning he is lacking pigmentation in his body.  His hair is an angelic white, and his eyes are a beautiful violet-blue, and he has stolen our hearts!

Fundraising has become a weekly venture in the Hudson home!  We have held fundraisers at McDonalds and Tumbleweed, designed and sold t-shirts, and held a HUGE yard sale.  A friend held a jewelry party and raised money for us as well.  Thus far, the yard sale was the most successful with a whopping $1500 raised!

For our fundraising future, we are planning events at Orange Leaf, as well as a Christmas Shopping Extravaganza.

This will be an event where local businesses and direct sales companies, such as Thirty-One and Mary Kay,  will set-up tables and sell their products all in one location.  Each company will be donating a percentage of their sales of the day to our adoption fund!

Where did this fabulous idea culminate?  From a marvelous book we read cover-to-cover.  It’s called “Adopt Without Debt” – have you heard of it?!  😉

Customers will be able to shop with at least 9 different vendors, and we are recruiting more every day!  We will be selling homemade roasted pecans at the event as well – yum!

We are also embarking on an envelope fundraiser with the potential to raise $11,000!  Participants will be entered into a drawing for a variety of prizes, including $300 cash or a mini-iPad and various gift certificates and autographed items.  Anyone can participate in this fundraiser, so please check out our blog for more details:  www.afamilymadebylove.blogspot.com.  God has been amazing in His provision, and we give Him all the glory as He shows His power over the mighty financial obstacle in the adoption process!

Each Friday I’ll feature a different fundraising adoptive family. My hope is that we can support each other and also learn from each other. For submission guidelines, go here.