TREES OF GLORY FUNDRAISING ALERT

I leave in 4 days for Ethiopia and aside from meeting our new son for the first time, I am most excited about being able to visit my friends at Trees of Glory and the Children's HopeChest staff.  It is always a highlight of my trip to take the two hour drive into the rolling hills of the countryside to the Trees of Glory care point that is now serving about 150 orphaned and vulnerable children.  It is where our sponsor child Meseret receives biblical discipleship, nutrition, education and medical medical care.

Me and Meseret May 2011

I'm working to arrange a trip to Trees of Glory and I want to be able to shower them with school supplies and books for the new school year.  I'm limited on luggage space this time--even more than usually--because I am still not supposed to lift heavy items due to my surgery in March.  I usually cram every last pound allowed into my suitcase, but this time I have to pack a little lighter.

So here's where you all come in....I need your help to do a super speedy 4 day fundraising campaign to raise a goal of $300 to purchase school supplies and books for the kids at Trees of Glory.

the school room at Trees of Glory

more of the students that will benefit from this fundraiser

There are two options to help out.  

Cash donations are always welcome and can be given via the "donate" button 

at the top left hand side of my blog.

I also have 30 Ethiopian "love" bracelets that I brought home from my last trip to help raise funds for the Trees of Glory Well Project (fully funded and up and running thanks to so many generous donors--can' wait to see that in person!)

I'm offering these again for a $10 donation.  Every single penny goes to Trees of Glory and will help buy school supplies for the upcoming school year or provide for any other immediate need they may have while I'm there.

Just click on the "buy now" button to purchase one of these beautifully handcrafted Ethiopian bracelets.

I have 16 red bracelets.

I have 14 black bracelets.

When you order, please note that you'll have to select the color that you would like and provide your address for shipping.  A $3 shipping fee will be added to the $10 donation at check out.  If you'd like to order more than one bracelet, you have to go in separately to place each order (sorry--just not that tech savvy).  I can ship up to 3 bracelets to the same address for one shipping fee.  I will refund the additional shipping fees via pay pal if you do order more than one bracelet to the same address.  If you are local, I will refund the $3 shipping fee as well.

If I can get all 30 bracelets sold, we will reach the $300 goal just like that.

I'll be shipping bracelets after I return home and will post when I ship, but look for them to arrive on or around August 17th.

As always, please spread the word via email, facebook and blogs so that we can reach as many people over the next few days as possible.

I look forward to sharing pictures of my trip to Trees of Glory with you all.

If you ever wonder if this whole sponsorship thing really makes a difference, take a look at this video that I made from Nick's Children's HopeChest mission trip to Ethiopia in September 2010. Nearly all the children in this video are being cared for through sponsorship programs coordinated by Children's HopeChest.

Take note of the boy at the end of the video holding the yellow flowers. This is him now with Nick's mom Judy. Nick met him on his mission trip and the next summer Judy was matched with him as his sponsor. 

We've seen the difference sponsorship makes and it is an honor to be able to play a small part in helping these kids have a brighter future.