Mia received a sweet package from 2 little girls ages 2 and 4. Inside they had written notes about how they chose their own "favorite things" that every 4 year old girl should have and they wanted Mia to have these special things of theirs. These sweet girls gave Mia their most valuable and treasured possessions......including a photo album that had been theirs, so that Mia could keep pictures of her own family in it now.....so so sweet!
Mia's miracle has taught us all to give a little more
Dear Friends and Family,
My birthday is coming up and believe it or not, I am turning 30!!! I have been trying to decide how to celebrate this big day and I realized that nothing would make me happier than to help find a forever family for a little special needs orphan in Eastern Europe. So...I am organizing the Starfish 5K run/walk to raise money for Alissa. Alissa is a little Down Syndrome orphan who lives in Eastern Europe.
At the beginning of the year my manager at work announced that they were going to adopt a little Down Syndrome girl from Easter Europe through Reece's Rainbow Adoption Ministry. I was very interested to find out more and started to follow their adoption process very closely. It didn't take me long to find out that in these Eastern European countries, orphan children with special needs like Downs Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy are transferred from their orphanages to mental institutions at the age of four or five. The conditions in these mental institutions are scary. They are dirty, overcrowded and the children are not cared for. Approximately 90% of children die within 1 year of being transferred. As Brett and I browsed through all the sweet angels waiting for family's on Reece's Rainbow (www.reecesrainbow.org) tears came to my eyes and I knew that I had to do something to help. We began to feel overwhelmed however as we saw how many children needed to be saved but we realized that we could make a difference one orphan at a time and so we created the Starfish Fund. Please check out our website at www.starfishfund.com.
I want to be a starfish thrower and I want to save one orphan at a time but I need your help. Please come and be a starfish thrower and participate in my 5K race. It will be held at Kuna High School (close to Boise, Idaho) on August 27, 2011 at 8:30 am. We are also going to have a 1/4 mile race for children 8 and under starting at 9:45 am, a jump house, prizes, face painting and balloons. See my 5k poster attached and my website www.starfishfund.com for more information. All race day proceeds will go directly to Alissa's adoption fund with Reece's Rainbow. I know that many of you don't live in Idaho and won't be able to attend but you can still help by passing this email on to all your friends and family and asking them to pass it along too. Eventually it will get to someone in Idaho .
I'm not only trying to raise funds for Alissa, I'm also trying to create awareness for Alissa. Who knows...the next person to read this email might be her future forever family so please pass it on.
If you would like to help but you don't want to race, you can also make tax deductible donations. These donations will go directly to Reece's Rainbow and Alissa's adoption fund. You can make these donations through my website: www.starfishfund.com/donate.html (which will link you directly to Alissa's paypal account with Reece's Rainbow) or you can donate through Reece's Rainbow: http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=alissa
I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and such a great family. I appreciate all your support and help to make my birthday wish come true. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like any more information.
Love,
Carol
THIS link on her blog goes to Mia's story and why she decided to do this.
How amazing is that? So let's help her, help little Allissa find her family! Like she said it isn't always about how much you raise for these children but rather about getting their pictures out and finding their families....just like Patti did for us with Mia!
