UPDATED: Chipins (although very simple to donate with!!!) are famous for not updating for everyone very well. So, I will keep a running tally here for a while of how much has been raised! All times Central. At 11:04 am on Tuesday, Sam has $21 from 3 donors!! 11:05 am, he has $41 from 4 donors! 11:09 am, $100 from 9 donors! 11:12 am, $175 from 11 donors! 11:14 am, $210 from 15 donors! 11:19 am, $377 from 21 donors! 11:24 am, $433 from 27 donors! 11:50 am, $1032 from 66 donors! 12:02 pm, $1207 from 75 donors! 1:40 pm, $3707 from 141 donors! 2:02 pm, $3,844 from 153 donors! 3:17 pm, $4,585 from 192 donors! 6:51 pm, $5,964 from 262 donors! Thursday, October 7 at 10:36 pm, $8,163 from 394 donors! Friday, October 8, 10:00 am, $8,320 from 405 donors!
ORIGINAL POST:
This is Lightroom 3.
And this is Sam.
Stick with me. I’m going somewhere with this. With one and for the other, we are all going to do something good.
Sam lives in an orphanage in Eastern Europe. He was born with Down Syndrome. In some regions in Eastern Europe, parents who give birth to babies with Down Syndrome are often not given the choice to take their new babies home; they must go to orphanages and, later, institutions. Many parents often return home from the hospital and tell their families that the baby died. Sam did live with his family for a short while (it is likely he was not diagnosed at first), but was later abandoned at the orphanage.
Sam is a part of Reece’s Rainbow, a Down Syndrome Adoption Grant Ministry. They work tirelessly to find children with Down Syndrome and other disabilities in third world countries who have been discarded at birth simply because of their special needs. Reece’s Rainbow seeks out families for these children before it is too late and helps them to fundraise for the cost of the international adoption. I have known about Reece’s Rainbow for some time and wholeheartedly stand behind what they do!
Once the children with Down Syndrome in Eastern European orphanages turn 4 or 5, they are sent to institutions where a staggering 85% of them die within the first year. And the majority of that percent die within the first 6 months. Once these sweethearts are in institutions, most can then never be adopted. Ever. Sam is very fortunate that he is still in the orphanage, also called a baby home. He is five years old, so this is rare. The reason he hasn’t been sent away yet is likely because he is a favorite of his caretakers, the folks who were kind enough to send the recent photographs of Sam that I’ve shared on this post.
There are thousands of orphans and abandoned children all over the world, my friends! Right here, you can see just a few of them. Our little Sam is the fourth one down. How can any one of us make a difference in such a huge problem? Well, I’ll tell you what. Together, we can make a big difference for Sam. And I believe we are going to!!
I want to ask you to help raise $20,000 for Sam’s adoption fund.
Why? There are many families who have gone through the long qualifying process to adopt. They long to adopt and are open to children with Down Syndrome. But international adoptions are very costly. In Eastern Europe, they can cost up to $27,000. This is a roadblock for some families wanting to adopt. There are the flights, the stay in the Eastern European country, travel within the country, translation fees for the dossier, a facilitation team who drives the parents to their appointments, medical appointments for the child before they can leave the country, obtaining a Visa for the child and so on and so forth. That is what stops some would be parents from being able to adopt.
By raising the funds for Reece’s Rainbow children, it helps families who would otherwise not be able to afford the cost of an international adoption be able to commit to bring that child home. If we raise $20,000 for Sam, it make his basically a full grant!!! A family who wants to bring him home (And maybe that’s you!!!!!!!!) would be able to commit to sweet Sam this way!!!
And what on earth does Sam have to do with Lightroom? Well, nothing in particular, but I bet you may have guessed where I’m going with this. I was thinking some time ago about giving something away on my blog, and it struck me as it has so often about how much we have. I love Lightroom, and that means I have enough money to own my own computer. If you’re reading this, you probably do, too. You have internet access. You have time to edit photographs, be it for fun or for a business. There is margin in our lives. We have so much!!!
I believe that every person reading this can spare at least $1 (One dollar!!!!) to help Sam.
What does he have? He has the clear and present possibility of an institution in his future. If you can stomach it, watch this video on Serbian institutions. According to those who have visited Eastern European institutions like the one Sam could get sent to say this is what they are like. But worse, for you can’t hear all the sounds nor smell the smells in the videos. This is what Sam could have in his future, for he has no family.
But he has hope. And we can help give him a brighter future!!!!! So, here’s the deal, my friends. See this Chipin?
For every $1 you donate to Sam’s fund between today and this Friday, you will get one entry into a drawing to win Lightroom 3, fabulous photo editing software from Adobe that sells for almost $300.
Donate one dollar, get one entry. Donate $100, receive one hundred chances to win! And Sam? Sam will be the real winner!!!!
Fine print: You may leave a comment if you’d like, whether you donate or not. Reece’s Rainbow and I will be able to track the donations on our end, so there is no need to worry about your donation not counting as entries. They will count! The Lightroom 3 I am giving away was donated by Adobe. I stand to receive no monetary gain from this endeavor. The Chipin itself will run (in my sidebar) until December 31. The giveaway is only going until noon Central time this Friday, October 8. The winner will be chosen from everyone who donates between now and then. I will announce the winner Friday afternoon. For a non donating entry, please email me your name and address to contact (dot) mckmama (at) gmail (dot) com. All donations go to Reece’s Rainbow directly, a registered 501(c)3 charity and are tax deductible. Giveaway open to US residents only. You may still give to Sam through his Chipin wherever you live, though!!!! Minimum donation is $1. There is no maximum! Should something happen and Sam’s fund is not needed (If he were to sadly pass away or be sent to an institution), the money raised will all go to other waiting Reece’s Rainbow children.
Do something good. Help to get Sam adopted!!!! Wouldn’t it be awesome to someday be able to read an update that Sam was adopted and thriving in a loving home!? We can do it!!!!
I just donated and pray that Sam will be adopted soon. Blessings to you and your family for taking this on.
Thank you for this post! It hit home and made my heart so glad! My fourth child, Kaedon was born with Down Syndrome. What a gift he is. Even if I had the power or ability to change anything about him, I WOULDN’T! He is perfect just the way God planned for him to be!
…again, thankful for God’s sovereignty and plans for us!) My older son actually tells us all the time he prays this new baby will be born with Down Syndrome, so he is just like Kaedon because they love him so much. Ok….i’m babbling…but wanted to say thank you for posting this!! What a great cause you are getting the word out for and being an advocate for!
I have since visited Reece’s Rainbow site many times, as our hearts have been moved to adopt another child with DS in the future…(which has been put on hold a bit, as we unexpectedly became pregnant with # 5
I just want to reiterate that these donations are and have been all along, going directly to Reece’s Rainbow and are tax deductible.
The problem with the email showing as Jennifer’s is a chipin flaw. Reece’s Rainbow has received ALL of these donations and they are going to Sam’s adoption fund.
Rest assured, all of us who volunteer with Reece’s Rainbow work tirelessly to find these children in these countries and then find families for them so they can be given forever families, and to help the families who are adopting to raise funds for their adoptions.
We realise that every minute counts in the lives of these children. We share a passion to rescue these little ones who’s only ‘crime’ was to be born with a disability.
Anyone interested in becoming what we call a Prayer Warrior (or right now we have our Christmas Warriors for those wishing to raise funds for the children who will be featured on our Angel Tree) is welcomed to visit http://reecesrainbow.org/christmaswarriors.html .
Thank you.
What a great idea! I hear great things about Lightroom too!
That’s awesome. I will be praying for him!
This is such a wonderful cause! Thank you for passing this along!
Just donated, wish it could have been more. I think it is great what you are doing for Sam.
Thank you for helping this sweet boy!!!
To everyone that has donated, though you probably do already know this from the paypal form, all these donations are going directly to Reece’s Rainbow and Sam’s account. Everyone that has donated through here will receive a tax receipt from Reece’s Rainbow for your donations.
If you aren’t comfortable using the chipin donation you are welcome to donate directly through the donations option on the Reece’s Rainbow website. http://www.reecesrainbow.org.
AND if you include the paypal fees that helps Reece’s Rainbow significantly!
Thank you to those who have prayed and donated to Sam’s fund!
This is a child’s LIFE … literally. So, thank you so much to those of you who genuinely are concerned for Sam and have prayed and donated to his fund.
So happy you are doing this…..I have an unbelievable love for down syndrome children…..I hope little Sam finds a home soon. Thank you for doing such a wonderul thing for such a sweet boy!!
If I had the money and a bigger home I would love to adopt him. He is such a cutie and really needs a good home.
Love this idea! Thank you, thank you for spreading the word about Reece’s Rainbow. Our son Charlie is three and has Down syndrome. We learned about Reece’s Rainbow through other blogs and it has been such a blessing to donate “gifts” for grandparents, parents, etc. for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, birthdays. Because when it comes down to it, we all have so much and don’t really need one more gift…just thought I would toss out that idea since Christmas is right around the corner…Also, I just visited the Reece’s Rainbow website and signed up to be a Christmas warrior for an “at risk” child. That’s another great way to get involved with such a wonderful organization.
MckMama,
I’d love to donate to help Sam; however, the chip-in link isn’t showing up on my computer. Is there another way I can donate to the funds your raising?
Breaks my heart
Is anyone else having problems with the Chipin? I can’t click on it or cut and paste the link and I’d like to donate….
Wow. Heartbreaking. Thank you, Jennifer, for drawing attention to this tragedy.
I’ve posted a link to the Today Show video clip as well as to this giveaway/donation link on my Facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/heidischildstone
As you know, we found our daughter on reeces Rainbow. Please advocate for all the children, direct them to Reeces Rainbow to look at all the children! WE are in Ukraine right now waiting for a court date to bring our sweet girl home. She has cerebral Palsy, Reeces Rainbow represents all special needs children. Some as minor as minor CP, some as major as life threatening birth defects.
I hope Sam find a family soon, he’s waited far too long, as all the children have.
And all of the children can be donated to directly through Reeces Rainbow, each child holds his/her own grant fund, so please donate via Reeces Rainbow!
“Sam is very fortunate that he is still in the orphanage, also called a baby home. He is five years old, so this is rare. The reason he hasn’t been sent away yet is likely because he is a favorite of his caretakers.”
I can’t possibly be the only person upset by this comment (I know these are not Jennifer’s words; she is just passing on the information). So, does it really comes down to the child being liked by the caretaker. This is what determines if he/she get sent to the Institution or kept in the Orphange? I have to be missing something here. Please tell me I am missing something? What this says is that if the child is not liked or takes a little more work than off they go to die? But if the child is cute and warm and cuddly then they get to live? How is this remotely far, or legal, or ethical, or moral? I am NOT in anyway trying to start a debate but I need help to understand this. Becasue is sounds to me like something just isn’t right. I sure hope this comment get’s posted as I would like to hear the thoughts of others. Please! Especially, the Blogger who has adopted from this agency before (I apologize if I get that wrong). Thanks for helping me to understand. Wish I could post more often but I am a bit “gun shy” so it really has to be something that I need to understand for me to do more than just lurk and learn from others. Take care! JS from IL
Ummmmm JS maybe you should have read all the comments under this post before such a cavalier post. Just a thought.
Tami,
All I did was ask a question based on a direct quote from the original post. Instead of making me feel badly, perhaps you could explain to me why this practice is okay and how picking one child over the other becasue they are cute or more special than another DS child is acceptable. That’s all I am asking?
If anyone else out there would help me I would appreciate it.
Thanks anyway, Tami!
No one says this practice is okay, even remotely! The statement was made to demonstrate just how dire the situation is in most Eastern European orphanages for children with significant special needs. The resources are just not there in these facilities for all the children to receive lifesaving (let alone nurturing) care, so what tends to happen is that the care that is available gets focused on a few children.
It’s very sad. Every child deserves love and care and family of their own.
These aren’t Americans that are making the choice of who goes and who stays. They are people in Eastern Europe that work in the baby homes.
And one can only speculate why a child already age 5 has been held back from transfer to institution. Many times there have been children that the people who worked there considered a favourite and that was literally the only reason they were still there.
So, is it wrong? No, the wrong part is that they are there in the first place. It is a lie that they are believing that they think children born with Down Syndrome or other disabilities have no place being raised by their families with the same love, education and health care that you or your kids have in the US or here in the UK where I live.
I hope that the injustice of it ALL, not just this, motivates people to help raise awareness for these, very truly the Least of These, and help families that are adopting to get there to give these children a home.
The BEST way to effect change in this is by families going to these countries and showing them that these children DO have value.
By supporting these families we are also doing our own part in helping to bring about change. So we, too, are obeying God’s call to rescue the orphan.
“Do not withhold any good thing from those who deserve it when it is in your power to help them” Proverbs 3:27
Did you know, the Bible refers to the orphan over 500 times? I think it was a pretty big thing to God. Much of the Old Testament laws were based upon the orphan… how you harvest your own fields even.
But please do know this, it isn’t a trivial thing. Their lives LITERALLY hang in the balance. Since I’ve been working with Reece’s Rainbow there have been children that didn’t survive. It breaks my heart…
But…
Ignoring it won’t make it change.
Sitting and crying over it won’t help either… though I can’t help but cry…
BUT, working to help people find these children, then helping them in the process of adopting to raise funds to help offset the expense… THAT will help…
Donating to a family in the process of adopting… THAT will help…
Donating to a child, such as Sam, will help families that want to follow the call in James 1.27 to feel confident that they will be able to manage it.
The children ARE a blessing… of that I am sure…
JS,
You make a good point about the tone I typed in. I apologize for responding in a way that seemed unkind. My main point was that if you read all the posts that were written over the day they answer your question.
Tami,
I really don’t have time to read all the other comments (especially when there are 100′s of them) therefore, I asked for feedback. Thank you for acknowledging the fact that your reply was unkind. This is the exact reason why I would rather not post comments on sites; however, I took a risk on this one and now, I will go back to lurker. It’s not worth the backlash, and what I know will be a feud if my thoughts were to differ from the majority.
Thanks to all who responded.
JS
I hope you can let this comment through-on the topic of colorful clothes…many many people never received the orange bracelets you sold for Stellan. They paid for them and never recievd them. What happened to the money, what happened to the bracelets?
Thanks for being honest about this.
Hmm, we sent out all the bracelets that were ordered, even if people didn’t pay. A few orders fell between the cracks, and when those people emailed, we made sure to send them their bracelets! I had a “team” of sweet readers helping me collect orders and ship bracelets from all over the US and one helper in Canada. They did the best they could! I’m sorry if someone paid but never got theirs. If they didn’t email me, though, then I didn’t know their order had been missed!
What a beautiful/tragic/moving/heart-wrenching post. Thanks for letting us know about sweet little Sam! We chipped in! <3
I just donated money. I used my husbands email address because I don’t want to participate in the lightroom give away. I just can’t sit back and let these kids die and not do my little part. I am crying so hardand praying for each of the orphaned children in the world to be loved and find a wonderful family. I’m just commenting to say that in the case that my name does come up for the donation that you please remove me from the drawing. Thank you, and thank you for bringing these children and situations into our lives. We need to be reminded of their suffering more so we can realize how petty our own lives can be sometimes. and to PRAY PRAY PRAY!
Jessica – you said everything that I could not put into words with out sounding like a blubbering idiot. All these sweet babies…….
My sister alerted me to your page.
I was happy to donate for Sam’s future & did so without any hesitation. Reading Sam’s story had me choked up and my heart broke that I can’t write out a check for the full amount to help Sam. Or to help other children. Thank you for sharing and for allowing us to be a part of Sam’s life.
Jennifer–you, and Reece’s Rainbow have been on my heart this week. Over the weekend I attended a conference where Lisa Smith spoke and signed. WOW!!!! It gave me such perspective. Who are we to determine who can and can not contribute things to this world?!?! Lisa brought me to tears and made me think of all those sweet children in orphanages. I was delighted to see your post for Sam today! I am going to make my donation as well as look for more ways to help. Thank you, Jennifer, for you kind heart and your willingness to help those who do not have the means to help themselves.
i just wanted to say that you are an incredible woman. and you remind me every day that life is bigger than my own personal burdens. keep doing good, please, because you inspire me to do the same!
Why are the donations going to your personal Paypal account? I just went to donate and noticed they are going to mycharmingkids3@gmail.com? This is raising a huge red flag to me.
I donated and see it went directly to the charity. Sorry to get all testy. I get scammed by people all day long, and get a little freaked out easily.
This is something that ChipIn should really sort. The person that makes the chipin widget has to use their own email but then you specify the paypal account email. They should have that part show NOT the person who set up the chipin… just my opinion.
BUT I can confirm that all the donations are making it to Reece’s Rainbow. And I can also say a HUGE thank you on behalf of Sam.
Lu
I donated via the chip-in button here and used paypal to pay. It went directly to Reece’s Rainbow.
While I think what you are doing is commendable I have to ask this. Why not do something like this for an AMERICAN child? Why is everything on a different continent? The US has lots of children in orphanages that would love a forever home. Isn’t the saying…..Charity begins at home?
The clothes you want to send to Africa, I’m sure there are children in THIS country that could use that still serviceable clothing. There are probably children right in your town/state that could what you have to give away.
While its a nice thing to do,,,I just don’t get it. America needs good works too!
We don’t have orphanages here in the US.
Helping another human being on this planet is the point – not just Americans…. We don’t deserve help more than anyone else.
I am very happy to see MckMama doing this. He sounds like a boy who is truely in need.
kids in america still get to attend school and have a future…even if they are growing up in foster care.
kids in eastern europe with down syndrome move to an assylum, typically at 4…and i believe the statistics are most of them die before they are adults due to lack of care. even if they live, they have no education, and no hope for a future. there is no place in their society for them.
This is a legitimate question, some have answered much of what I would have said… the fact is, the Bible is why we need to not just consider children in the US. And yes, there are children that are waiting in care in the US, not so many with special needs, however. In the US there is a WAITING LIST for people who want to adopt a child with Down Syndrome. That means that in the years that a family would wait for a US child with DS to become available, there are hundreds that will have died in the orphanages across the world.
Being this insular costs lives.
But, also, we are told to take in the foreigner… God said he will bring your children from the East even! The fact is, children in the US won’t suffer the way these children do.
“Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, “Give them up!” and to the south, “Do not hold them back.” Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth” Isaiah 43:5-6
“It is not the will of your Father that one of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 18:14)
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.” (James 1:27)
“Remember those…who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” (Hebrews 13:3)
Proverbs 24.11-12
11 Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
12 Once our eyes are opened, we can’t pretend we don’t know what to do. God who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act.
A ridiculously high, I want to say 3/4s of the child transferred to institutions in Eastern Europe die within one year. NO children in the US are in orphanages, let alone institutions.
There are still “some” orphanages in the US.
http://www.childwelfare.gov/outofhome/types/orphanages.cfm
They are few to be sure, instead children wait in foster homes to be adopted. Regardless, there are still children HERE AT HOME that want/need forever homes, healthy kids, handicapped kids, not so healthy children,,,,they want homes too. There are very probably couples who would love to adopt these children but adoption is expensive. Again, I think what you are doing is commendable, I just think it should stay here. We can’t take care of the world.
My apologies, but it is still very rare for an American child to live in an orphanage. I feel very strongly that we should support orphans & adoption across the world, including within the US. BUT, my husband and I chose to adopt internationally. It really bothers me when people tell us we should be adopting here instead.
how many foster kids have you adopted from the US mary? i have done it….4 times. once i adopted internationally….when i look at my kids, the 4 from the US don’t deserve a permanent family any more than my 1 from another country. they are all human beings with a need for love and permanence, hope and a future.
2 of my US kiddos came from an institution….it was hard for them to even get a foster family. even then…they had plenty to eat, an education, and would have had a chance for a future. i can’t say the same for my little one from another country.
if you dislike the idea of foreign aid and adoption so much, i would hope that you would donate matching funds to a US based child centered charity of your choice once mckmama’s fundraiser is over. and if you haven’t already….look into being a US foster parent.
Because donating to provide a chance at survival for a child shouldn’t depend on where they are located in the world.
Helping others, child or adult, shouldn’t be limited to just the country we live in.
I have been following your blog since I saw the first news story about Stellan but have never left a comment before, however I thought Sam needed some help so I just made a donation. Thanks for letting us know about him.
Just a quick question. I don’t join in on giveaways but as I was sitting here reading, I thought of something. I have several friends here that would love to have Lightroom and would probably want to enter and I am sure many other military families out there would be interested.
When you say US Residents only, can you clarify that some? As you know, I live in Japan. However because we are US military living on a US military base, we are still US Residents. We have FPO addresses that are still considered US addresses. The cost is the same to ship here. The only real difference is you have to put a customs form on the package.
So when you say US Residents only, are you meaning those who actually live in the States or are you also including FPO/APO addresses as well?
Thank you for the clarification!
I’m so excited to watch this miracle unfold!!!
It’s my joy to donate to this organization, specifically towards finding Sam a home and family. I praying for this precious child, who will be an absolute blessing to some family, as well as for all of the children like him. My heart is just broken watching that video and seeing what may be in their future. It’s inhumane and a disgrace that human beings are treating the weak in this way.
Awesome! May God continue to bless you for all the good deeds that you do! And may Sam find his forever home!
Amazing. I can’t stop looking at this little guy. Thank you again for bringing him to our attention. I was just putting my baby to bed and thinking “This little guy doesn’t even know that hundreds of people are thinking about him tonight!” WOW!
Oh! How wonderful to see another blogger raise money for a child from Reeces Rainbow! I participated in the stunning and amazing fundraiser for darling Yulia .
You might want to let people know that they can donate to Sam through his “profile” on Reeces Rainbow in case anyone has trouble here.
I am so glad that you are following the amazing actions of the bloggers that raised money for Yulia.
I’ve been checking in on the progress of the fundraiser – and wow! Over a quarter of the way to the goal in a few short hours. This is nothing short of amazing and a testament to the love and generosity of your readers.
I watched that piece on the institutions and my heart was crushed even more. I certainly hope that the work that news report did will produce some changes in these places. I can’t imagine how people can even work in those places and keep people in those conditions.
Just absolutely heartbreaking!!!
This is such a perfect post seeing as how October is Down Syndrome Awareness month! Awesome post MckMama! I hope enough money will be raised!
I posted the link on my fb page. I guess I should have asked first. But, these children break my heart, and I wanted to get this out to more people thru my network of friends. Let me know if you want me to remove the link from my fb page.
You know, MckMama, it’d be a lot easier to go about my life in bliss in my comfy home if you wouldn’t post things like this!! It’s much more comfortable to just focus on me, what I need to get done today and how I’d like to spend my money. I wanted to order pizza for supper, for crying out loud! How easily do I forget. Thanks for the convication, MckMama (and God!). =) (Even if you ruined my dinner!)
I completely agree with you, Lisa! Every time I see something for $38 I think about those kids in Kenya … Darn you, (and Thank you!) MckMama, for taking us out of our comfort zones! =)
YEA, Mckmama!! I’m standing up are cheering for you! Thanks for doing this!
We donated & are excited to see Sam adopted into a loving home! Godspeed Sam!
We donated & are excited to see Sam adopted into a loving home! Godspped Sam!
If I could be more proud of you, somehow more impressed with the work you do, or love you more…someone would have to show me how. I’m thrilled you are you and that you’re mine. May our God bless little Sam and all the little Sams in the world, everyone who is generous enough to contribute to this great cause, and you my love.
Adorable!
Get a room!
No wonder you guys have so many children!
Oh my……waaaaaaaaay too funny =)
So glad to be able to help in this angels adoption
Wow I have looked over the Reeses Rainbow site and have sobbed like a baby. I am a PROUD mom of a child with Down Syndrome how sad they are just thrown to the side like this. You would think in this day and age people would have much better knowledge and these children do NOT need to be put in an institution.
The first time I was on the site I cried more than I could remember crying in a long time. When I asked my husband to sit down with me and look at all these precious souls of God and what their futures were. I wasn’t surprised to see my husbands tears freely flowing. But, seeing my husband cry without a moment of holding back, over these sweet little souls really touched my heart.
THIS, this makes my heart smile. As a mommy to a special needs child (and childhood cancer survivor) I send you a HUGE thank you. God Bless,,
Jami Poore (Izak’s mommy)
Reece’s Rainbow is amazing, if you have a chance you should follow the blogs of some of the family’s that are adopting from there, I love to follow their journey’s. I think it’s great that you are advocating for Sam (though how you picked one child to advocate for out of all those sweet faces I’ll never know, they all tug at my heartstrings!) and I hope that his family finds him soon!
Hi there!
I don’t know who you are, and you didn’t provide an email address or web link, but I just wanted to say hello, which is something I always do when I run into someone who spells her name the same as mine. (We are few & far between!) I’m also curious: do you pronounce your name to rhyme w/ “carry” or “starry”? I’m the former. :”>
Cheers,
Shari in Cali.
I wish I could donate
Without CC, DC, or any account whatsoever and without any cash on hand to buy lunch for my son this week $1 is even to much..
I truly hope the goal is well surpassed!
Nicole, I’m in Australia so I can’t enter the competition to win lightroom (even though I would ADORE it!). But, I can donate a little for Sam.
So, MckMama, can you please count my donation as an entry for Nicole?
That is so nice of you!
this is awesome! my bloggy friend puremommyextract adopted through reece’s rainbow. a great cause!
awww that’s awesome mckmama! so glad to be able to chip in, even if it’s just a small amount. like you said, everyone can give $1, and many can (and will) give so much more. just another way you are being an inspiration to mamas (and people!) everywhere! keep it up.
praying for sweet sam to get a forever family soon!
southern love and prayers from alabama!
Can someone please share with me how to link this Chip-In on my blog? I’ve shared it on fb, but I want to make sure and post it everywhere I can. Thanks!
How did you link to it on your facebook? I wanted to link to this blog post but cannot figure out how. Thanks.
I hope Sam gets a family! I’ll be praying.
It is devastating that after 4 or 5 years old they have to go to institutions….it just doesn’t make sense and is heartbreaking.
There you go again, helping other people out. What a sweet little boy. I pray that he will get a family that will love him the way he deserves!
Mud Pies For Mommy
http://www.mudpiesformommy.com
My son has Down Syndrome and after his diagnosis I came upon Reece’s Rainbow. I am a strong advocate for Reese’s Rainbow and my husband and I hope to one day adopt a DS child from Reece’s Rainbow. We’re praying for it every night. Children with DS are angels from God sent down to live on this earth. Thank you so much for doing this and loving them!
MckMama–
You are amazing. Thanks for letting me be a very small part of helping this boy.
Blessings to you and your family as well as the RR family.
This makes my heart happy and break at the same time. Happy that Sam will find his family through the generous donations of others and sad because there are so many others that won’t ever have the chance. What if every Christian couple adopted a child in need?! There would no longer be orphans. God has called us to take care of them! My husband and I have had this on our hearts for a while now but the funds are what is stopping us. We hope that one day we be able to bring a little angel home to add to our family! Off to donate! Thank you for doing such an awesome thing! Praying for your recovery and test results. May peace fill you these next few weeks!
I normally don’t enter to win things or even leave comments, but adoption is very close to my heart and this is a great cause! I hope that we can raise the money together and he finds a loving family to adopt him!
I’ll be donating later this week for sure! I don’t care about winning I just want to help Sam! I love the way that you use your blog to help people MckMama, it’s totally awesome!
my husband and i were at the Together for Adoption National Conference this weekend. our hearts are so broken for the 163 million orphans around the world.
one thing that was said this weekend that i cant get out of my head: God is the father to the fatherless. these children have a heavenly daddy who LOVES them. but if the church is the BRIDE of Christ, than that makes us a mommy to the fatherless. when i heard that this weekend, i looked down at my 5mo baby girl in my arms, and my heart screamed. i felt this gut-wrenching cry from somewhere deep within me. i don’t really think the church is doing a very good job….
we have almost solidified a decision to pursue adopting a little girl from eastern europe as well. we just can’t take the backseat in caring for the orphan anymore. i get that not everyone is necessarily called to adopt, but every believer IS called to care for the orphan. for our family, we KNOW adoption is our role in the global orphan crisis.
i am scared though. i am a stay at home wife and mom, and my husband is a TX public high school teacher…i have NO idea where the funds are going to come from. it’s well over half of his yearly salary to adopt internationally!
maybe ill have to put this chip in thing up on my blog when we are further in the process [not that i have but a handfull of readers- i just started blogging]. does anyone have any ideas on good ways to fundraise? if we decide to do this [which we basically have. something MAJOR would have to happen soon for us not to], then we have a long road ahead of us!
my donation was small, but hopefully it helps to bring this sweet child home with his forever family. thank you to everyone who has donated…you have encouraged me! the orphan statistics are so overwhelming and so heavy, but to see so many people rally in such a short has given me HOPE. i truly believe that god is stirring something deep within the body on behalf of ‘the least of these’.
praying for revival. pray with me….
Good Luck with your adoption journey, I hope all goes well for you!
I know some families that went to that! I agree with you about the church… I wrote a post about it called Christians Can’t Read http://www.thepoppiesblog.co.uk/2010/09/christians-cant-read.html
It was actually a post written as a sort of eulogy for one of the little girls on Reece’s Rainbow that was transferred to an institution and a few months later she died.
I can’t even relate to people in real life anymore lol. People complaining about this or that and praying for a touch from God… seeking His face… from a comfortable pew in a church just before they go out for coffee. Meanwhile, Olga was in an institution waiting for God to give her a home and family… He did… His.
There is also this post entitled I Wonder… http://www.thepoppiesblog.co.uk/2010/07/i-wonder-if-jesus-came-back-today-if.html
I wonder if Jesus came back today if he’d wonder why the churches are FULL, but so are the orphanages…
I don’t normally respond to things here — just a quiet lurker in the wings most days!
But I wanted to give you some information or at least some encouragement on the pursuit of your own adoption. We are currently awaiting our home study to adopt one (or 2 or 3!) through CPS in TX. There are dozens of places that offer grants for adoptions. Do a basic google search and you will be amazed at what’s out there. Don’t let the fear of not having enough stop you; the resources are available! Good luck!
WOw — as the bride of Christ, we are the mother to the orphans. Thanks for sharing that. Hadn’t thought of it in those terms. I did read on Steven Curtis Chapman’s website once something to the effect of “if every Christian family adopted one child, there would be no more orphans in the world.”
(NOT a direct quote….but that is my best recollection.)
I’ve added the chipin to my blog also – hope it helps generate more donations.
Hey J – heads up on using ChipIn for a ‘raffle’ to generate funds – I’ve done this a couple of times for the foundation and both times recently had my PayPal account locked as they don’t allow using PayPal accounts for raffles. Just a heads up and warning that this may happen. They are pretty quick at detecting it too. I made a donation – if I win, I will turn around and hold a fundraiser for Sam as I already have a copy of LR3.
Oooh that’s a great idea! I already have Lightroom too.
Thank you for this Jennifer! I wrote about it on my blog if you are interested: Loving This Mom Stuff
Liz
Thank you, thank you, thank you for doing this!! This is such a wonderful organization! I have a son with Down syndrome (16 months) and he is an absolute joy, I can’t imagine that anyone would want to basically throw these kids away! They are so, so special and their life is worth living! It’s also Down syndrome awareness month so perfect timing!;) Thanks again for doing this!!!!
Thank you so much MckMama for being a voice and hands for these most precious children. I hope someday I will be in a position to adopt one or more children.
I know someone who as we speak is in E. Europe right now adopting the most precious little girl through Reece’s Rainbow. It’s been a long road full of lots of struggles for them. Finally they have found the right avenue to completing their family.
I will be praying that Sam and many more of the Reece’s Rainbow children find their forever homes.
I have actually clicked on your Sam link before and was so saddened by what I saw. All of those babies with no home. Thank you for bringing this to your readers attention. I so hope we can raise the $20,000 and see Sam with a family!
What a wonderful thing to do!!! I will donate 50% of the sales from my book to Sam, not only for your GiveAway, but also for the entire month of October. Any one who buys it can post a comment on my blog so we can keep a running tally if they’d like. You can find the book at http://prismatic-existence.blogspot.com/p/my-book.html
Not much, but I sent my $10. Hope this little drop in the bucket helps! XOXOXO!
Thank you for highlighting such a special boy {and ministry!}
This is something that touches my heart. My brother in law (my husbands older brother) has Down Syndrome and is such a gift to his family. When he was born 50 years ago they assumed my in law’s would not want him! Of course they wanted their baby!
I am trying to make a donation and having trouble. I have tried firefox, IE, and chrome and the donate bottom will not take me anywhere! Any advice? I will try my netbook later and see if no one knows another way. Is the donate button suppose to produce a pop-up? Maybe I am blocking it. Help!
Yay, the Chipin button works on my netbook. Not sure why it would not on my desktop. The donate button does not work on either, but I wanted chipin anyway. I was in a hurry earlier, but can do it now.
I just sent $5! :”> I wish I could give more, but I was unemployed for 13 months until June 2010, when I went from unemployed to underemployed (very part-time work). But at least I’m working! And hopefully some day in the future I can give more money to many more nonprofits! But for now, I can only give small amounts to a small number. However, every dollar does help!
Cheers,
Shari in Cali.
Thank you. It is an honor to be able to donate to help Sam. THank you for bringing this to us. I almost spent $25 at a store today for flowers for my dining room table. I stopped and thought, well I don’t really neeeeed these. I put them back. Thanks to you that $25 just went to Sam, who definitely needs it more than I.
Miracles still happen! With a little help from above – we can make a miracle happen for Sam too!
Love love love that you are doing this!
I hope you raise $20 000.00 and MORE to help not only Sam but all the other children just waiting for a loving family & home! I know “THIS” is your calling & I pray for you & your family! How amazing it is that you can reach all these generous people through your blog & help others the way God intended!
I love seeing this sort of thing on your blog! I know you love your new baby, but I have missed this side of you
And that chip-in thing is cool, I’m gonna have to try that on my blog one of these days. I don’t have much readership so I don’t raise as much money as you can, but every little bit counts, right?
Right!
I was on Reece’s Rainbow site a few months ago and my heart was both filled with joy to see the good that this organization is doing and yet completely broken to know the fate that so many of these beautiful children face because of the high costs of adoption. I wish it were easier to get kids hooked up with good homes.
You can be sure to let everyone know that they can download the igive toolbar and use that search engine (Ithink it may be powered by yahoo). Every time they search, a penny gets donated to their selected cause. Igive also has a feature that makes a window pop up everytime you visit a store that donates part of your purchase back to your cause so you can give while you shop.
Wonderful project/charity and I am happy to donate to help Sam!
Totally wish I had a credit card to donate! But we are a “cash only” family, so we can see what we’re spending (we learned our lessons the hard way)… I will be keeping up with Sam’s donations and story though! Good luck to everyone!
Hi Danille!
You can still use PayPal to make donations, pay people, etc. without a credit card. If you have a checking account at any bank, that’s good enough. All you have to do is link your PayPal account to your checking account. Then if you pay a person or organization via PayPal, it acts just like a debit card to your checking account. 
I just donated! I can’t wait to see if his fund makes it to $20K.
What a fantastic way to raise money for this little boy!! I am going to dig up what I can to donate!!
Can I just ask a quick question – how will the winner be chosen? Will random.org or some similar software be used to select the winner? Just curious (everything else is made so clear in your disclaimer this is the only other thing I was wondering). Also will you be selecting the winner or will it be Reese’s Rainbow? Again just curious.
Thanks for hosting this fantastic giveaway for this sweet little boy!!
The folks at RR will probably do it for me, in some random fashion of their choosing!
Sounds good!! Thanks!!
I LOVE reecesrainbows!!! This is so crazy timely as I’ve been devouring the site for a week or so now. I’ve spent many a night bawling my eyes out over these babies and what we can do. My husband and I so long to adopt but like you said don’t have the funds. Thank you so much for doing this for Sam! We will definitely be donating. I can’t wait to see him with a forever family!
I was wondering what made you pick Sam? I scrolled through the site, and there are so many kids. Does someone you are connected with have their eye on him? Just curious! GREAT thing you’re doing.
The Reece’s Rainbow people knew that Sam was in need of help (I think because of his age and the amount already in his fund…it wasn’t much…and maybe other reasons I’m not aware of) so they….my friend Lu who volunteers…picked him for me!
I can answer that! lol The Director of Reece’s Rainbow sent an email appeal for Sam months ago. I contacted Jennifer and asked if she would mind being his Prayer Warrior. Not sure if you recall, she had a button on her sidebar of Sam.
The reason I thought of her was just that Sam with his blue eyes and blonde hair looked like a MckKiddo lol… not exactly but enough that God put her on my heart for him.
I have volunteered with Reece’s Rainbow for nearly 4 years now and have loved these kids and prayed and hoped for families for them and all those tears and prayers have definitely changed me. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t think about these kids every waking moment of my days…
You can also read the Reece’s Rainbow blog http://www.reecesrainbow.blogspot.com for information on all things RR and other things about children with disabilities.
He IS beautiful
Thank you for YOUR work LU!!!!
I would love to have Lightroom, even though I already have more versions of PS than I know what to do with, but what I would love MORE would be to help Sam! I’m constantly thinking about the little guy and was hoping that there would be some awesome news on him soon. Hopefully this will be the first step in his happily-ever-after!
Is there a way that I can link directly to the ChipIn itself from my blog/facebook? Or should I just link to this post?
Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of this. Just donated!
Just donated!
You can donate by credit card as I did. I hope someone adopts him. He is such a sweetheart!
This is exciting! Let’s give this little guy a home!
What a fabulous idea. So glad to be a part of it.
I would love to be able to donate, but don’t have the available funds at this time
However, I could help in another way. I have my own Thirty-One business (a faith based company, based on Proverbs 31), and I could donate a portion of sales if anyone is interested in buying? My website is http://www.mythirtyone.com/37762 there are lots of organizational bags as well as some baby bags and most all products are available to be embroidered!
I would love to be able to help this sweet little boy out! He just lays on my heart!
That is generous of you!
Hi Jennifer!
I think this is an awesome thing you are doing. I had no idea about this organization. I have a HUGE heart for children with Down syndrome. I am currently writing my dissertation, and my topic is helping children with Down syndrome transition to Kinder. I have worked at/with a school that serves children with Down syndrome for the last 4 years and so I know how special these babies are. It just breaks my heart to read what is going on in E. Europe! Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you with this!!!!
Nicole, you could join the Reece’s Rainbow yahoo group to talk with lots of the families that have adopted already through Reece’s Rainbow. Also the others that advocate for them. Also, if you go here : http://reecesrainbow.org/christmaswarriors.html there are other children that still need a Christmas Warrior (which is basically what Jennifer is for Sam) and you could find a child on the site to be a Warrior for!
Lu
Thanks! Yes I just checked everything out on their website and I am working on setting something up to help with donations already through my college!
It was SUPER easy to donate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Will be excitedly watching progress!
Wow… this was so easy to donate to! Love it!
I wish I could give more money that $20. I will keep him and all of those other beautiful kiddos in my prayers though. Thanks for drawing attention to this, MckMama.
I am in love with Sam! Will go donate now
! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t wait to follow this journey and will pray that Sam doesn’t go to an institution. I am SOOO happy, with all that you have been thru in the past few weeks, that you are still motivated to help make a positive difference. Great Job Girl!
I can’t believe he’s 5 years old. He looks so.. small :[ My cousins adopted from Russia, and I know it costs SO much. So hopefully this will help a family help little Sam!!
Donating was easy! can’t wait to see how Sam does !!
Looks like you’re having some fun today watching the donations roll in. Enjoy.
Oh yes, I am!!!!
McMama I am so happy that you are reaching out to help Sam. I am the lucky older sister of a beautiful little girl who has Down’s. I shouldn’t actually say little cause she is 30
but I have been very blessed to have her as my “little” sister. My mother and father were given the option of giving her up or placing her in an institution, just 30 years ago in the US. I am so thankful that they found that to be a ridiculous thought. I have been influence greatly because I have her in my life and I would never change our circumstances for anything. I was sure to make a donation for such a wonderful cause.
Gillian, my daughter is 4 1/2. When she was born they told us she had Down Syndrome. The next day a midwife came to tell me that I don’t need to feel I had to keep her. They would put her into care and that would be that. FOUR years ago in London, England.
What is more… as bad as these institutions are… in the US and UK the children aren’t even given the chance for life. 90% of pregnancies diagnosed as risk of Down Syndrome are terminated.
I can’t even begin to tell you the loss these people don’t even REALISE they are taking by giving up that child. Not to mention the fact that more than half of pregnancies diagnosed with DS end up not having it. So pointless killing… sorry, sounds harsh but it is what it is…
Lu
Hi Lucille!
How does your daughter pronounce her name? Mine is spelled like hers and pronounced like Jillian. It’s rare that I run into anyone with my name and spelling, so I wanted to comment to you. I bet your daughter Gillian is beautiful!
Take care,
Gillian
Wow that is an amazing story Lu. Thank you for sharing. It is unbelievable that was the situation just 4 years ago in the UK. It seems so unfathomable that it happens.
Love this…I have been thinking so much about donating lately..You just gave me a great opportunity..could not donate much but $25 will help I am sure!!
Yes, it will!!!!! Thank you!!!!
Is there a way to donate without using PayPal?
I want to help but I am waiting for PayPal to send me address verification stuff since we don’t have a land line telephone. Until it’s verified I can’t use it! (all this because hubby forgot his password! lol)
I’m not sure! Does anyone else know much about how PayPal/Chipin works? Let me look into this Stephanie!!!!
Thank you!!
It goes to the paypal site, but gives you the option once you enter your information to proceed without signing in to paypal (whether you are a member or not). I was able to just complete my transaction this way!!! Hope that helps.
Thank you! I didn’t even realize I could just pay with credit card from there. You rock!
It says you can use a debit card under the paypal thing. Hope that helps.
I just saw that, I should have..ahem..read the site, not freak out because it was Paypal. lol
Thanks girls!
Not sure if this would be an option for the give-away but anyone that can’t use paypal or credit card can always pay via cheque through Reece’s Rainbow…
Just send a cheque with Sam’s name in the memo to:
Reece’s Rainbow
PO Box 4024
Gaithersburg, MD 20885
Adoption is something that has been on my heart lately. Will definitely donate! Has anyone (or is anyone that you know of) already in the process or thinking about adopting him? He looks so sweet.
No one is in the process of adopting him Sam at this time. Thank you so much for donating!!!!!
Hey… Just curious… Was reading about Sam on the adoption site and it says he was taken from his home. Do you know if they actually take these kids out of homes, or was he given up?
Ahh! Reading all of their stories and knowing that these poor babies are facing death if someone doesn’t taken them makes me so angry. I know there is no way I could afford to adopt right now… But I would so be willing (not just willing, would LOVE to) raise one of these sweet babies as my own. It’s just so frustrating and so incredibly sad. *sigh*
What I heard from the RR representative I spoke with was that he was with his family and then “abandoned at the orphanage.” I do know that sometimes a lot of the specifics are not known! It would be awfully tragic if they really were taken away from homes who really wanted to keep them! Ugh. I don’t know the answer, though.
Jennifer, I’ve asked actually. Not sure I want to know the answer but if it is something ok to disclose publicly I’ll let you know!
Either way is tragic, but I just can’t imagine why they would take a baby from his parents. I hope that is not the case.
If there’s evidence on paper that a child was taken away from a family who wanted him/her (and was capable of caring for him/her–not in prison or addicted or abusive), the U.S. will not grant permission for the child to be brought to the U.S. as a U.S. citizen, and thus an adoption agency will not allow the child to be placed with a U.S. family.
So I’m thinking that Sam’s paperwork probably shows either that he was in fact abandoned at the orphanage or, like so many other orphans in Eastern Europe, removed from his family by authorities due to severe problems within the family. I haven’t read any info on him but I can’t imagine that there is any documentation that he was removed from a loving and capable family against their will.
amazing! THANKS mckmama
I gave $10.00. I’ve never given to anything like this. I have a 9 year old with down syndrome and I can’t imagine her going through this. Thank you!